The World Through Our Lens
On a drive into Algonquin Provincial Park, a few kilometres just inside the West Gate, Bob picked out a cow and calf in the ditch where they were nibbling on tender shoots and having a drink of water. Read more
To our knowledge, Bob and I have never had a House Wren visit our backyard before, but this past spring, many new species stopped in at our small suburban property for a rest en route to their breeding grounds. Among them was this House Wren. We were delighted that it decided to stay put and build a nest in one of our birdhouses. Read more
In years past, on a couple of rare occasions, we have had a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak drop by our backyard during spring migration. This past spring, a pair of males spent several days around our property enjoying the bird food and water fountain before moving on. Bob and I were pleasantly surprised late one afternoon to see that a female Rose- breasted Grosbeak had come to join in the free-for-all. Read more
Bob and I had taken a drive down to Queen Street East here in Toronto to check out the Cliff Swallows nesting at the Harris Water Treatment Plant. On the way home, we decided to make a quick stop at a shoreline City Park where we caught up with some Baltimore Orioles and a number of Bank Swallows, but not much else was happening there that afternoon. Then, another birdwatcher took us “under her wing” and escorted us to a tree where a family of Raccoons (Procyon lotor) was known to be nesting. Read more
Bob and I took a drive down towards Cambridge to see if we could locate any of the Sandhill Cranes reported to be nesting in the area of Grass Lake. Our first observation over the marshy lake revealed nothing to us of the Cranes’ whereabouts, but a fellow birdwatcher pointed us a little further down the dirt road where Eastern Bluebirds were preparing to nest. They were going to have to stand in for the Cranes until a little while later. Read more
A sudden change in plans had Bob and me with a free day in which to go birdwatching, an opportunity not to be missed. Recent reports had us setting our sights on an area just west of Toronto, an area to which we had never gone birdwatching before. It promised to be a fruitful day, and sure enough, amongst other species observed, we did sight one Sandhill Crane at Grass Lake near Cambridge, Ontario. Read more
On our second day of X-country skiing at Banff National Park , Bob and I had decided on the Pipestone Trail system and were planning on tackling a trail of moderate difficulty for our second ski of the season. The extreme conditions forced us to opt for one of the easy trails instead. Read more
One afternoon during our stay in Banff National Park, Alberta, Bob and I decided to take a drive from Lake Louise along the Bow Valley Parkway, a quieter highway than the Trans Canada, only two-lane versus four. We were in hopes of spotting some wildlife and were on the lookout for elk in particular. Seeing another vehicle pulled to the side of the road, we slowed to have a look. At first, we didn’t notice the Elk laying in the snow but rather thought the tourists were admiring yet another beautiful mountain peak. Read more
On a lark, Bob and I thought we would revisit Thickson’s Woods in Whitby, Ontario, to see if we could find the Great Horned Owls that inhabit that forest. It had been about a year since we earnestly looked for the Owls, and sure enough, one of the beautiful birds was found perched in the top of a tall pine tree. Read more