The World Through Our Lens
Bob and I had never gone snowshoeing before, so when the chance to try out a pair presented itself, we seized it! After skiing the Leaf Lake Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, in the morning, we ventured over to the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail where we knew we could walk out on the bog and really give the snowshoes a workout. Read more
Bob and I do not profess to be expert bird watchers, but when we sighted our first ever owl, a Northern Saw-Whet Owl, a fire was lit within us. To learn more about raptors in general, we decided to take a drive out to the Mountsberg Raptor Centre in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada. Read more
Early one spring, on the shores of Lake Couchiching, Bob and I caught up with two members of the trumpeter swan family as they began their migration back to their breeding grounds in central Ontario.
Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) at one time were familiar sights in southern Ontario during periods of migration, but due to over hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries, for their feathers and their skins, as of 1886, they had vanished from the region. That year, a hunter at Long Point on Lake Erie shot the last known trumpeter swan that was migrating from the west.
Bob and I spent three days skiing and hiking on various trails in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, trying to make the most of the last weeks of winter. We love to go looking for birds and animals, but in this case, on Opeongo Road a Gray Jay came looking for us. Read more
On a visit to the Claireville Conservation Area in west-end Toronto, in Ontario, before we had barely set off from the parking lot, fellow visitors walking their dogs drew our attention to this wild coyote emerging from the edge of the bush. Read more
On one of our winter excursions, Bob and I drove to Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada, where we got to see a Black-backed Woodpecker when hiking along the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail. Read more
On a frigid yet sunny winter day, Bob and I ventured out to a forest in Whitby, Ontario, to see if we could spot one of the two Great Horned Owls that makes that forest it’s home. Read more
With a gusty northwest wind blowing, Bob and I headed to Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, Ontario. We wondered if the Red-bellied Woodpecker was still lingering in the woods there, and sure enough, I heard its repeated chiff-chiff and rolling churrr before actually spotting the Woodpecker on a nearby tree. Read more
Bob and I once again returned to Ottawa, the National Capital of Canada, to take part in Winterlude. Our favorite activity at this winter festival is skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway, which is actually the world’s largest skating rink and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more
