The World Through Our Lens
Ontario is one of the ten provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada.
Bob and I were up early one morning in May in our attempt to get to the Carden Alvar, in Ontario, Canada, at a decent morning hour. We’re usually a little slow to get off the sheet, but in this case, we did better than usual and found ourselves on Wylie Road by 8:30 a.m. I know it’s not sunrise, but we still scored lots of sightings, among them several pairs of Eastern Bluebirds. Read more
Bob and I came home from Ontario’s Carden Alvar very satisfied with our experience in that unique habitat. The combination of grasslands, forests, shrublands and wetlands creates a landscape that is not only favoured by a wide variety of wildlife but also is attractive to those people who go in search of the birds and animals that live there. One such bird that we managed to see was a Wilson’s Snipe. Read more
Our first time visiting the Carden Alvar had Bob and me astonished by the myriad sounds of nature that combined into a marvelous symphony: choruses of frogs, whirring of Wilson’s Snipes, echoing conk-la-rees from the Red-winged Blackbirds, and Savannah Sparrows raising their voice in song. On several occasions, all were overshadowed by another lively bit of birdsong that had us mystified…until we finally spotted this Brown Thrasher. Read more
One day in early May, as I returned home from doing some errands, I found Bob tied up on the telephone. He no sooner hung up the receiver but what he declared, “there’s a new bird in our back apple tree!” It turned out to be a male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Read more
Bob and I had been looking forward to getting up to the Carden Alvar in Ontario, Canada, for at least a couple of years. I was filled with excitement at the prospect of seeing a number of early spring migrants and birds that favour the specialized habitat of the alvar plain, so it came as a pleasant surprise to also come across a rare Blanding’s Turtle. Read more
A Moose cow and her calf stand along the forest’s edge in Algonquin Park, in Ontario, in late April. Read more
Our anticipation ran high the night before our first visit to the Carden Alvar that is located northeast of Toronto, Ontario. We had our alarm set for 5:45 a.m. but I woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. We were on site by 8:30 a.m. and spent hours touring the area. It was around mid-afternoon that we came across an American Woodcock, and the sighting pretty much made our day! Read more
One particular family of Red Foxes in Algonquin Provincial Park has become quite celebrated, so much so that seeing them no longer represents a challenge. On our day trip to the Park in late April, it was exciting to come across not one but two Red Foxes separate and distinct from the other well known foxes. This vixen was spotted near Lake of Two Rivers. Read more
When my son forwarded photos of a Mudpuppy that he and his buddies pulled from Lake Nipissing in Ontario while ice fishing, I thought “how interesting” but gave it no further consideration. I did not realize how uncommon these little aquatic creatures are. Read more