A Mink & Me! at Oxtongue Lake, in Ontario.
As I stood quietly observing Bob’s first launch of his newly restored Laser Sailboat, I noticed a small animal swimming towards shore not far away. It turned out to be a Mink.
Tag: Oxtongue Lake
A Hummingbird Clearwing Moth at Oxtongue Lake
If ever you have seen a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, you were probably mesmerized as we were by the sheer look of its see-through wings and the way it hovers like a hummingbird. In fact, you might have mistaken it for one of those teeny birds. Bob and I have seen Hummingbird Clearwing Moths on a couple of occasions, once in Algonquin Park and this one above in my mom’s garden at Oxtongue Lake, Ontario. Read more
Northern Flicker Flashes Some Yellow
Bob and I were surprised when we visited my mom’s place at Oxtongue Lake, Ontario, in late April to see so many Northern Flickers, or Yellow-shafted Flickers as they are also known. On the first day alone, we saw no less than eight of these birds, six at one time in a leafless deciduous tree. Read more
The Courtship Ritual of Cedar Waxwings
My childhood home at Oxtongue Lake holds a very special place in my heart, and we visit there often. Every season has something special to offer and to excite Bob and me. In early June, it was the nesting pair of returning Eastern Bluebirds that first captured our attention, but with expansive views from mom’s sunroom windows, we saw at least a dozen other species of birds including four pairs of Cedar Waxwings. Read more
Modest Sphinx Moth Caterpillar at Oxtongue Lake
How would you like to come face to face with this fierce-looking caterpillar if you were about knee high to a grasshopper? It was about 4 inches long (10 cm), around 1/2 inch in diameter (1 cm), and surprisingly quick at navigating through the tangle of grass. This is the larva of a Modest Sphinx Moth (Pachysphinx modesta) that we saw in the community of Oxtongue Lake, Ontario, near the end of August. Read more
An Eastern Garter Snake at Oxtongue Lake
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
Eastern Bluebirds With Fledglings At Oxtongue Lake
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
British Twitching – Taking Bird Watching To The Extreme
British Twitching – Taking Bird Watching To The Extreme
Last spring, we came upon this group of British birdwatchers who had traveled from England to Canada to see and document the spring migration of birds across central Ontario. They were a pleasant group of avid bird lovers. Read more
Great Blue Heron Chicks At Oxtongue Lake Rookery
Great Blue Heron Chicks At Oxtongue Lake Rookery
On a visit to Oxtongue Lake, in Ontario, Bob and I made a point of revisiting the now familiar Great Blue Heron rookery because we knew the Great Blue Herons had made their return to the nests earlier this spring. What a delight to see so many young herons once we got our binoculars and camera lenses focused on the nests. Read more