The World Through Our Lens
Colonel Samuel Smith Park is an urban park in Toronto, 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
On one of our spring birdwatching excursions, Bob and I dropped by Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke. The favorable habitat of this urban park attracts many species of migrating warblers, and it often rewards us with sightings of shorebirds. On this particular day, it was a nesting pair of Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena) that stole our hearts. Read more
What a challenge to capture any Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) in a photograph! Over the years, as Bob and I have canoed on various lakes and rivers, we have observed countless Kingfishers taunting us with their perpetual cat and mouse routine. Always just one step ahead of us, it seems that these birds are playful at best, and always wait until we are in sight before taking flight for another tree a couple of hundred feet further down the shoreline. This handsome female took no notice of our presence on the observation deck at Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Toronto. Read more
For weeks, Bob and I had been hearing about a Yellow-crowned Night Heron making a stay at Colonel Samuel Smith Park on Toronto’s lakeshore. When finally we had a chance to pop down there for a look, it was quite late in the afternoon so we did not hold out much hope of seeing it since other people had been numerous times without success. Lo and behold, after we circled the main pond on an obscure trail through the woodlot, we came out to a clearing and found the Night Heron perched nonchalantly on a rock. Read more
One summer, people had been reporting sightings of one, if not two, Juvenile Least Bitterns that have been hanging out at Colonel Samuel Smith Park at the lakeshore in Toronto. Bob and I went to the Park to look for a flutter of Monarch Butterflies one morning, but coming up empty-handed, we turned our attentions to birdwatching. It wasn’t too far from our location on Whimbrel Point that we found one of the Least Bitterns. The bird was much smaller than expected. Read more
One fall, Bob and I ended up spending most of the day at Colonel Samuel Smith Park at the edge of Lake Ontario in Toronto. Our mission to locate a flutter of Monarch Butterflies started early in the morning, but it was not until late in the afternoon that we finally knew success. There was no mistaking the chosen tree for its branches hung with hundreds and hundreds of these beautiful butterflies, come together to rest for the night. Read more
Bob and I are determined, so we decided to once again make a trip to Colonel Samuel Smith Park to try to see the Snowy Owl viewed by many birdwatchers. Persistence pays off! We did locate the Snowy Owl and spent 2 1/2 hours recording its movements about the harbour. Read more
Bob and I spent one afternoon exploring a marsh near Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. We barely had gotten underway when we spotted a member of the Weasel Family, a Mink, coming towards us, totally unconcerned about our presence in its habitat. Read more