The World Through Our Lens
Ontario is one of the ten provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada.
Bob and I spend a lot of time at my childhood home at Oxtongue Lake, in Ontario, because my parents still occupy the same house all these 65 years later. That is where I had my first encounter with a Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) when I was knee high to a grasshopper. Seldom since then have we seen any snakes on their property, but this beauty slithered across the beach property recently, and I was so pleased to become reacquainted. 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
On a visit to Algonquin Park in Ontario, Bob and I were surprised to spot a White-tailed Deer just inside the Park boundary. It was only recently that I had remarked on not having seen a deer in the Park for years whereas at one time, they were very commonplace. 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
An Eastern Comma Butterfly was the icing on the cake for Bob’s and my bicycle tour around Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, Ontario one Sunday. Eager to check out the construction of new cells along the eastern perimeter of the Leslie Street Spit, we had embarked on a day-long circuitous route around the man-made peninsula in the hopes of seeing some shorebirds in the dwindling amount of water in the huge holes. Read more
Because Mizzy Lake Trail in Algonquin Park, in Ontario, visits so many small lakes and ponds, there are ample opportunities along its length to spot wildlife including a variety of waterfowl. One such bird to catch our eye was a Great Blue Heron that was skulking along the edge of a wetland adjacent to the old railway bed upon which a section of the trail is built. 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
