The World Through Our Lens
Ontario is one of the ten provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada.
Bob and I have seen many Double crested Cormorants in the Georgian Bay area when canoeing the Beaver River and in the Minesing Swamp, not to mention right in the town of Thornbury, but we had never come across a member of the species at Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby until on a recent visit there. Read more
Bob and I seem to have a fascination with Great Blue Herons. These stately birds always demand our attention as this one did on an outing to Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, Ontario. Read more
One fall, Bob and I were so excited to see what we thought was a new bird sitting on our backyard arbour. Trouble was, we couldn’t find the bird in any of our bird books, so we turned to Toronto and Southern Ontario Birding for their input. It turns out that this beautiful bird is a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). Read more
Every spring and again in late summer, Bob and I are graced with the attentions of hummingbirds in our flower garden, and this past year was no different. This Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) was seen visiting our Butterfly Bush repeatedly over the course of several days. Read more
It was rather late in the fall when Bob and I went for a walk at Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, but glorious sunshine made for an unseasonably warm day. It was no surprise, then, to find numerous butterflies visiting the remaining wildflowers in the meadows within sight of Lake Ontario, butterflies such as this Clouded Sulphur. Read more
Late one fall morning, Bob and I decided to pack an impromptu picnic and head down to Rosetta McClain Gardens on the Scarborough Bluffs here in Toronto. We anticipated wonderful views of Lake Ontario as we munched on our modest lunch, but we did not foresee the multitudes of dragonflies that had gathered at the gardens, ones such as this Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly. Read more
Years ago, I planted a Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) in my front garden in the hopes of attracting butterflies to my property. I never imagined that one day I would be seeing, not one, but two Giant Swallowtail Butterflies cavorting amongst the branches of the plant. Read more
When Bob and I dropped into Rosetta McClain Gardens for a brief walkabout, the last thing we expected to see were hundreds of Green Darner Dragonflies darting in and around the expansive flower beds. When one such dragonfly lit on a flower head, we had the opportunity for a very close look at its anatomy. Green Darner Dragonflies can be positively identified by the black bulls-eye in front of their large brown eyes. Read more
When Bob and I paddled through the extensive wetlands known as Minesing Swamp, one of the highlights was observing dozens of Great Egrets at rest in a stand of long-dead trees. The sight was breathtaking! Read more