Discovering The World Through Our Lens
An irruption of Snowy Owls in southern Ontario in the winter of 2017/2018 gave Bob and I huge expectations of seeing one. Reports had been pouring in from all across the province, so we made plans to go touring with friends in the hopes of turning up a couple. Read more
It had been several years since Bob and I came across a Northern Saw-whet Owl, the first time being in our local park in late October of 2012. It was that bird sighting that got us hooked on bird watching. It was a long interlude but not for lack of trying. Our patience and persistence finally paid off when we located this Northern Saw-whet Owl on a recent warm February day near Oshawa, Ontario. Read more
For a change of scenery at the end of a week of birdwatching in parks around Toronto, Bob and I decided to pay a visit to Oshawa. Our goal was to seek some of the migrating waterfowl that were moving through this area of southern Ontario. It came as a surprise to come upon a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) and two Great Horned Owlets in the same neck of the woods. Read more
Owing to family demands this winter, Bob and I have had no opportunity to do birdwatching, much less skiing or hiking. This past Sunday was our first day of liberty, and we seized the moment by going to one of our favorite spots for birdwatching…Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto. We were not disappointed and came up with a lifer, a gorgeous Long-Eared Owl. Read more
Bob and I had heard that, at a particular cemetery in Burlington, Ontario, there are no less than three Eastern Screech Owls (megascops asio) that inhabit nest holes in a couple of different trees. On the morning of our most recent visit, we did find one of the Red Morph Screech Owls, but when directed to a second tree that a pair of Screech Owls calls home, the cavity showed no sign of its occupants. It wasn’t until much later in the afternoon that I spotted this Red Morph when it poked its head out of the dark hollow for a peak at the world. Read more
Bob and I could not believe our good fortune when we found a second Eastern Screech Owl on the same visit to Burlington, Ontario. This Eastern Screech Owl Grey Morph is quite different from the Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl we had just observed at a nearby Cemetery. Read more
Well, Bob and I can finally say that we have seen an Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) in the wild, as opposed to one we visited at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre a couple of years ago. It has taken us two years to finally see the Eastern Screech Owls at Woodland Cemetery in Burlington and not for lack of knowing where to look. It was overcast one day last week when Bob and I again ventured west of Toronto in hopes of finding at least one of the known Screech Owls out of its nest hole. Read more
Bob and I are determined, so we decided to once again make a trip to Colonel Samuel Smith Park to try to see the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) viewed by many birdwatchers. Persistence pays off! We did locate the Snowy Owl and spent 2 1/2 hours recording its movements about the harbour. Read more
On a lark, Bob and I thought we would revisit Thickson’s Woods in Whitby, Ontario, to see if we could find the Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) that inhabit that forest. It had been about a year since we earnestly looked for the Owls, and sure enough, one of the beautiful birds was found perched in the top of a tall pine tree. Read more