On the Trail of Snowy Owls in Ontario

snowy owl near brooklyn, ontario

An irruption of Snowy Owls in southern Ontario in the winter of 2017/2018 gave Bob and I huge expectations of seeing one.  Reports had been pouring in from all across the province, so we made plans to go touring with friends in the hopes of turning up a couple. Read more

Osprey enjoys flight above Carden Alvar, Ontario

Osprey in flight at Carden Alvar, City of Kawartha Lakes in Ontario

After spending all day at the Carden Alvar in Ontario, basically patrolling along Wylie Road north to the T intersection and back again to McNamee Road,  Bob decided that we should continue to check out some other areas of that protected habitat before we made for home.  Cameron Ranch and Canal Lake both deserved a short visit, and near the causeway that crosses the lake we discovered one pair of Osprey already occupying a nesting platform. Read more

A Brown Thrasher at Carden Alvar

brown thrasher, carden alvar, city of kawartha lakes, ontario, pic 5

Our first time visiting the Carden Alvar had Bob and me astonished by the myriad sounds of nature that combined into a marvelous symphony:  choruses of frogs, whirring of Wilson’s Snipes, echoing conk-la-rees from the Red-winged Blackbirds, and Savannah Sparrows raising their voice in song.  On several occasions, all were overshadowed by another lively bit of birdsong that had us mystified…until we finally spotted this Brown Thrasher. Read more