The World Through Our Lens
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario.
One gloriously sunny morning this past summer, I was taking my time in the garden with teacup in hand. That was soon replaced by my camera when I spotted some interesting insects on the False Sunflowers (Heliopsis helianthoides “Ballerina”). One such bug that I had never noticed before was this Virescent Green Metallic Bee (Agapostemon virescens) of the Halictid Family. Read more
How exciting to find that the pair of Trumpeter Swans at our local park in north Scarborough now have two recently-hatched offspring to care for. As Bob and I looked on, the cygnets kept very close to “mom” on the shore of the pond… Read more
Bob and I are never disappointed when we visit Rosetta McClain Gardens in Scarborough. Serving as an enticing spot for migrating birds to pause and rest after crossing Lake Ontario, the Gardens usually are home to a variety of warblers and other songbirds, if for only brief periods of time. Many birdwatchers frequent the park to observe the hawks that soar over the Scarborough Bluffs upon which the Gardens are located. On one of our trips to the Gardens this spring, we were lucky enough to catch up with a couple of Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttata). Read more
After having discovered the Cliff Swallows that nest at the lakeshore in downtown Toronto, Bob and I were pleasantly surprised to find another colony of swallows that inhabit a section of the Scarborough Bluffs. These Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia) were found just below the rim of the high, steep banks of the escarpment that stretches along Lake Ontario’s shoreline in the vicinity of Rosetta McClain Gardens. Read more
The same day that Bob and I drove downtown in Toronto to watch the Cliff Swallows building their nests, we dropped in at Rosetta McClain Gardens to see what migrating birds were on site. Over 52 species had been observed there on one occasion recently, and with our cooler spring, we thought many might still be hanging around. In fact, we only caught up with a pair of Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) and numerous Bank Swallows. Read more
Earlier one spring, Bob and I found ourselves unable to keep up with the bird sightings even in our own backyard. Such was the case the day I spotted this Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina). I had been kept busy at the kitchen window that morning, taking photographs of a House Wren and Magnolia Warbler, when another flash of yellow drew my attention to the crabapple tree beside our deck. Read more
To our knowledge, Bob and I have never had a House Wren visit our backyard before, but this past spring, many new species stopped in at our small suburban property for a rest en route to their breeding grounds. Among them was this House Wren. We were delighted that it decided to stay put and build a nest in one of our birdhouses. Read more
At the peak of bird migration this past spring, Bob and I headed to Ashbridge’s Bay on the Lake Ontario waterfront in the hopes of sighting a variety of bird species all in one go. Reports had been pouring in about the large numbers of warblers and other songbirds seen there over the previous week, fresh from their flight across the wide expanse of the smallest of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario. At its maximum width, the lake is 53 miles (85 km) across. Amongst several bird species that we photographed that day was this Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). Read more
But for a fellow birdwatcher posting a photo to Facebook of the Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) nesting at the Harris Water Treatment Plant in Toronto, neither Bob nor I would ever have known such a colony existed. It was the structural intricacy of their nests that had us making a beeline to The Beach for a look. Read more