The World Through Our Lens
After arriving at our accommodation in Huntsville, Ontario, late one July, we headed off almost immediately to stretch our legs. As we are always on the lookout for whatever wildlife might cross our paths, we had our cameras in tow. It was Bob’s keen eye that noticed the fluttering of a Striped Hairstreak Butterfly on a plant and had him exclaiming, “there’s a new butterfly!”. Read more
This past summer found Bob and me in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, in search of Black Bears. The blueberry patch at the old airstrip near Mew Lake Campground was a magnet for two families of Black Bears a year ago, so we were hoping that some of them might have returned in search of this year’s crop. Instead, the only visitors to the blueberry patch were countless Atlantis Fritillary Butterflies. Read more
Tommy Thompson Park on the Leslie Street Spit in Toronto, Ontario, is an amazing destination for anyone who is interested in observing birds, especially during spring migration, but a visit in July was also rewarding for Bob and me when we discovered scores of Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) with their young in the nests. Read more
On a particularly hot July day, Bob and I decided to seek cooler temperatures along the lakefront here in Toronto, so we loaded our bikes and made for Tommy Thompson Park. There, along the bicycle trail, Bob spotted this dainty Hickory Hairstreak Butterfly. It was a Lifer for us. Read more
My dad had been trying for 15 years to woo a pair of Eastern Bluebirds to nest on his property at Oxtongue Lake in Ontario, Canada. Not since the year 2000 had he even seen Eastern Bluebirds in the area. You can imagine how excited he was when a pair showed up in May 2015 and demonstrated interest in one of his homemade nest boxes. Read more
Earlier this year, during spring migration, Bob and I set off to investigate Shell Park along Lakeshore Road West in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Our short visit there was rewarded when we spotted an unusual hummingbird, a Leucistic Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Read more
On a recent day spent cycling along the Waterfront Trail from Scarborough to Ajax, Ontario, Bob and I drew up at a picnic table to have our lunch and rest in the shade. There was lots of bird activity in the thickets of sumac, deciduous trees and shrubs that dotted the wide open space of the trail-side park. When Bob spotted a red and black bird, it took us a few minutes to identify it as an Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius), a Lifer for us. Read more
On a rainy, cool day in mid-June, we found ourselves in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, on the off chance that we might spot a bull moose. No bull presented itself, but this darling baby moose with its mother was on the crest of a knoll enjoying a respite from the hordes of blackflies deeper in the forest. Read more
On a whim, at the end of May, Bob and I decided to organize a short stay in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, on the heels of another commitment that took us to the area. We opted to book a yurt at the Mew Lake Campground, never having experienced that type of camping before, and spent three glorious days scouting out birds and wildlife. What a thrill to have the opportunity of photographing 4 Red Fox kits (Vulpes vulpes) that were only about 4 weeks old. Read more
On Father’s Day, my family teamed up for a hike in Rouge Park, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was towards the end of our day’s explorations that we came upon a female Wood Duck and several ducklings at the ponds along the Cedar Trail. Read more
