The World Through Our Lens
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario.
One of the highlights of our winter day trip aboard a Toronto Island Ferry to Ward’s Island, one of 13 islands in Toronto Harbour, was seeing a real proliferation of ducks, some of which were wintering in Southern Ontario from the Arctic. One such species was the striking Redhead Duck (Aythya americana). 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 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
One of our objectives when visiting Ward’s Island was to go ice skating on Lake Ontario! We had heard from a friend, a long-time resident on the Toronto Islands, that, over the years, rare opportunities had arisen when people could actually skate around sections of Toronto Harbour and perhaps, more dependably, on the ice of the frozen lagoons. Those occasions have been few and far between. Read more
Before winter draws to a close, Bob and I wanted to make a visit to Ward’s Island in Toronto Harbour. With the coldest winter in years still embracing Ontario, we set off on the ferry at the bottom of Bay Street for the 10-minute ride across the frozen harbour. I think it took a bit longer since the vessel had to cut through a thick veneer of ice. Once on the island, and near the pier, I found a Street Piano. Read more
On one of the first really warm March days of the season, Bob and I enjoyed a walk to our local park. We were thrilled to see an Opossum scouting around for some food there amid the snowdrifts, and it reminded us of the three that had visited our own backyard in late December. We had seen no sign of them since then. We were no sooner home from the park when a little visitor came calling…a very large Opossum (Didelphimorphia). Read more
Finally getting a break in the frigid winter weather, Bob and I seized the opportunity for a walk in the brilliant March sunshine at Milliken Park, in Toronto, Ontario. It seems we were not the only ones taking advantage of the warmer temperatures. An Opossum was out strolling atop the deep snow, on the search for something to eat. Read more
Our trip to British Columbia had been a birdwatcher’s delight, but once back in Ontario, it didn’t take us long to go on the hunt for new bird species in our own neck of the woods. A trip to Bluffer’s Park along the edge of Lake Ontario turned up some impressive Long-tailed Ducks). Read more
On a winter morning, Bob and I left our house to scope out Colonel Samuel Smith Park at the edge of Lake Ontario. We were on the hunt for some Snowy Owls that had been seen there a couple of days earlier. We had no idea that, later that same day, surging waves driven by gale-force winds would be battering the Toronto waterfront. Read more
In 2014, the province of Ontario had one of the longest and coldest bouts of winter weather to be experienced in recent years, decades even, and along with the pristine beauty of fresh powdered snow that had fallen into every crack and crevice came the magical frost on my Toronto windowpane. Read more