The World Through Our Lens
For my mom and dad, seeing a Northern Flicker is a fairly common occurrence at Oxtongue Lake, in Ontario, Canada. The birds frequent their backyard and beach property because both locations have sandy soil with a good supply of ants. When Bob and I visited in mid-May one spring, I was lucky enough to see a female flicker industriously trying to find some grubs in an old tree stump. Read more
On an outing to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, Bob and I were winding down our day after having spent several hours on the beautiful trails there. As we strode across Kettle Trail to regain the Trans Canada Trail and then the parking lot, an unfamiliar sound met our ears. We soon spotted the source in a treetop not far away. A bobolink in full song was in profile against an azure sky, making for a perfect snapshot. Read more
On spring, as I went about cleaning up the dishes after breakfast, out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur fly past the patio door and make a sharp veer to the left. I was grateful that the bird hadn’t been fooled into flying into the window’s reflection. I was keen to locate it in my backyard and thrilled when the bird turned out to be a Gray-cheeked Thrush. Read more
One of my favorite backyard features is the flowering crab apple tree outside our bedroom window. It reminds me fondly of the wild cherry tree that bloomed next to my bedroom window when I was a child growing up at Oxtongue Lake. Bob and I scrutinize this apple tree for avian visitors every time we pass by the window. A pleasant surprise greeted us late one afternoon when a Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) sat nestled in amongst the pink flower buds. Read more
On a birding outing to Second Marsh Wildlife Area in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, Bob and I couldn’t have been more pleased at our sighting of a Warbling Vireo. Read more
Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is revered as a magnificent location for bird watching. During one visit to the park, Bob and I came upon a pair of Long-tailed Ducks. Read more
Bob and I were on one of our regular visits to Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve, in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, to check out the development of the Great Horned Owl babies. As we turned to leave, we noticed some northern flickers near the top of a snag. Read more
On a warm sunny spring day, Bob and I visited Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve in Whitby, Ontario. We most often explore the trails of the forest, hoping to find some migrating birds, but on this visit, we opted for a walkabout the meadow adjacent to the woodlot. What a perfect habitat for the many species of songbirds that we saw that day, amongst them a beautiful Baltimore Oriole. Read more
It had been almost three weeks since Bob and I visited Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve one spring in Whitby, Ontario. We were long overdue for monitoring the baby owls’ next stage of development. When last at the forest, the Great Horned Owl babies had remained safe in the nest, but on this visit, the nest sat empty. It took some serious searching in the canopy of pine trees before Bob’s keen eye detected 3 owls perched near the top of one of them…one adult and the two owlets. Read more
On a visit to the unique woodlot known as Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve in Whitby, Ontario, we changed things up a bit, and crossed over the adjacent walkway to the protected habitat of the meadow that borders the forest. With its abundance of long grasses, bushes, shrubs, evergreens, and the remains of an old orchard, it was teeming with birds of all species. One type of bird that caught my eye were a group of Brown-headed Cowbirds, at rest on a branch right beside the path. Read more