The World Through Our Lens
One of our objectives when visiting Ward’s Island was to go ice skating on Lake Ontario! We had heard from a friend, a long-time resident on the Toronto Islands, that, over the years, rare opportunities had arisen when people could actually skate around sections of Toronto Harbour and perhaps, more dependably, on the ice of the frozen lagoons. Those occasions have been few and far between. Read more
One winter Bob and I caught sight of this Snowy Owl with a fresh kill out on the ice at Frenchman’s Bay, on edge of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Read more
After spending a few days on Vancouver Island, we returned back to the mainland for a trip to the BC interior. During a brief stay in Kamloops, we were lucky enough to see a number of Black-billed Magpies outside of our hotel. Read more
An early spring rendezvous in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, allowed Bob and me to fit in a stop at Lynde Shores Conservation Area while in the area. The Cranberry West Tract turned up no birds of note, but we did spy a family of deer, a young buck, doe and two fawns, that kept their distance in the thick brush. We then popped over to Lynde Shores for a quick tour around the bird feeding trail. Near one of the feeders, a beautiful Brown Thrasher was tucked low in the crown of a fallen tree. Read more
The objective of our drive to Comox from Bowser, British Columbia, was to find and photograph Bald Eagles. As we observed a pair of those magnificent birds of prey just offshore, we became aware of a considerable flock of American Wigeon Ducks scooting along the shore of the Salish Sea right in front of Bob and me. Read more
After arriving in Bowser the previous evening, Bob and I were eager to greet the first day of our stay on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We were thrilled that Bob’s sister Claire, and husband Martin planned to take us snowshoeing on Mount Washington, which required a drive along the coast through Fanny Bay. That is where Martin urged us to pull over so we could see the huge colony of California Sea Lions that had congregated there. Read more
Before Bob and I barely got underway at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, we were shocked to see so much bird life populating the surface and banks of the first water channel along the walking trail. Numerous pairs of Hooded Merganser ducks plied the calm waters adjacent to the East Dyke. Read more
It was very late in the afternoon when Bob and I landed at Cape Royal, one of the lookout points on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Despite our rush to see the spectacular views before sunset, we took time to observe this little Northern Sagebrush Lizard seen scampering amongst the rocks right at the lip of the Canyon. Read more
When Bob and I decided to hike Bright Angel Trail, we knew it would be a demanding challenge, and one that would take many hours. From the South Rim, Plateau Point was a speck at the edge of the Tonto Platform; from midway down the fault line, the narrow meandering trail that leads from Indian Garden to Plateau Point was more discernible but no less intimidating. Read more