The World Through Our Lens
On our first morning in Banff National Park, in Alberta, Canada, Bob and I had planned to go cross-country skiing, but with the sun shining brightly, we headed up instead to checkout the skating surface on Lake Louise. We were pleasantly surprised to find not one but two ice rinks, with one reserved for ice hockey, and the other set off by a glistening castle fashioned out of blocks of ice for ice skating. Read more
During our stay at Banff National Park, not a day passed without a dump of fresh snow. Either we awoke in the morning to an additional 6 inches weighing down the trees, or snow fell so thickly when skiing that we could barely see which way to go. One afternoon, owing to the lack of freshly trackset cross-country ski trails, Bob and I opted to go snowshoeing up into the mountains following the Lake Agnes Trail from Lake Louise. 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
On one of the first really warm March days of the season, Bob and I enjoyed a walk to our local park. We were thrilled to see an Opossum scouting around for some food there amid the snowdrifts, and it reminded us of the three that had visited our own backyard in late December. We had seen no sign of them since then. We were no sooner home from the park when a little visitor came calling…a very large Opossum (Didelphimorphia). Read more
An early spring rendezvous in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, allowed Bob and me to fit in a stop at Lynde Shores Conservation Area 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 we barely got underway at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, in British Columbia, Canada, 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
As Bob and I rounded a trail at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, in British Columbia, Canada, we could not believe our eyes. In a wide channel in the midst of a slough were several groups of Northern Shoveler Ducks. Read more
Even before Bob and I pulled into the parking lot at George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, there was no doubt that we were in for some fantastic birdwatching. On the approach, paralleling the road, was a channel where Great Blue Herons and Common Mergansers were leisurely passing the afternoon. Our walkabout began along East Dyke, but we soon branched off onto a trail that meandered alongside a series of very large ponds. That is where we became enthralled with a flock of Northern Pintail Ducks. Read more
