Fascinating Ice Formations on Lake Ontario’s Shoreline

ice coated shoreline and trees, lake ontario, ontario, canada, 7

Our winter here in southern Ontario has been a real mixed bag to say the least.  Yoyoing between a series of very warm spells and frigid Arctic air has left us, here in Toronto, with no snow to speak of, and it is now the end of February.  What a surprise then, when Bob and I walked along the shore of Lake Ontario in Whitby, to find the water thick with slab ice and the most fanciful ice formations decorating the shoreline. Read more

Red Fox Hunts For Food In The Winter

red fox on the hunt in algonquin park, pic 1

Red fox

There is something really satisfying about observing a wild animal such as this Red Fox in its natural habitat. Read more

Question Mark Butterfly at Rouge National Park

Question mark butterfly along the Cedar Trail at Rouge National Park, Toronto, Ontario

Bob and I had not entertained our youngest son and his wife for quite some time, so in early August, we got together to catch up on all the news.  Not being ones to sit around and visit ad infinitum, after passing a couple of hours on our backyard deck, I suggested a bit of a walk to work up an appetite for dinner.  Cedar Trail at Rouge National Urban Park is close by, and we promised that we would not stand around for hours photographing birds, but the chance sighting of a Question Mark Butterfly did hold us up for several minutes with no complaints from our company. Read more

Eastern Wolf Lurking In The Shadows

Eastern wolf in Algonquin Park, in Ontario, Canada.

On any given trip into Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, Bob and I are on the lookout for wildlife.  Who goes to the Park and doesn’t hope to see an animal in its natural habitat?  One of the purposes of the Park is to provide a safe natural habitat for all the creatures that live within its boundaries.  On this visit to the Park in early October, an Eastern Wolf gave Bob a rare opportunity to see and observe its movements. Read more

Three Pied-billed Grebes Swimming at South Reesor Pond, Toronto

Pied-billed Grebe at South Reesor Pond in northeast Toronto, Ontario

Upon learning of a family of Pied-billed Grebes at South Reesor Pond in northeast Toronto, Bob and I made it our destination for a late afternoon outing in hopes of getting a look at them.  What we found were two immature Grebes with a mother whose vocalizations kept the pair in check. Read more

Shamrock Orbweaver Spider at Col. Samuel Smith Park

Shamrock Orbweaver Spider at Col. Samuel Smith Park

Shamrock orbweaver spider at Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

Late last summer, based on reports of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron being seen at Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke, Bob and I finally found the time to take a spin down to that waterfront park to see if we would be lucky enough to find it.  Amongst other things, I found this gorgeous Shamrock Orbweaver Spider. Read more

Wood ducks Relocated From Mimico Creek Oil Spill

Wood duck at Lower Reesor Pond in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

By word of a fellow Facebook member who frequents South Reesor Pond even more often than we do, Bob and I came to know about three young Wood Ducks that recently were relocated to this small body of water in northeast Toronto.  We had occasion to photograph mature males and females at High Park in the spring, and very young hatchlings in Rouge National Urban Park a couple of years ago, so we were eager to observe a few juveniles. Read more

Striped Hairstreak Butterfly in Huntsville, Ontario

Striped Hairstreak Butterfly on a plant leaf near Huntsville, Ontario, Canada.

After arriving at our accommodation in Huntsville, Ontario, late one July, we headed off almost immediately to stretch our legs.  As we are always on the lookout for whatever wildlife might cross our paths, we had our cameras in tow.  It was Bob’s keen eye that noticed the fluttering of a Striped Hairstreak Butterfly on a plant and had him exclaiming, “there’s a new butterfly!”.  Read more

Atlantis Fritillary Butterfly in Algonquin Park

Atlantis fritillary butterfly on the ground at Mew Lake, in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada

This past summer found Bob and me in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario in search of Black Bears.  The blueberry patch at the old airstrip near Mew Lake Campground was a magnet for two families of Black Bears a year ago, so we were hoping that some of them might have returned in search of this year’s crop.  Instead, the only visitors to the blueberry patch were countless Atlantis Fritillary Butterflies. Read more

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