Discovering The World Through Our Lens
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region.
Imagine Bob’s and my surprise when we got wind of a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) hanging around in Whitby, Ontario, this spring. The bird’s presence here in Canada is very unusual, and it had birders’ tongues flapping. Word spread quickly as to its location, and people flocked to see the Ibis, in some cases driving long distances for a look at this beautiful wading bird. Read more
In mid-March of 2014, Bob and I took a drive out to Thickson’s Woods in Oshawa to look for the Great Horned Owls reported to have been seen in the tall pines there. On our way home, we took a slow drive along Hall’s Road South, which borders the Cranberry West Tract of Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby. There, we espied a small herd of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) lingering in the warm sunshine. 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
An early spring rendezvous in Whitby allowed Bob and me to fit in a stop at Lynde Shores Conservation Area while in the area. The Cranberry West Tract turned up no birds of note, but we did spy a family of deer, a young buck, doe and two fawns, that kept their distance in the thick brush. We then popped over to Lynde Shores for a quick tour around the bird feeding trail. Near one of the feeders, a beautiful Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) was tucked low in the crown of a fallen tree. Read more
Bob and I have seen many Double crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Georgian Bay area when canoeing the Beaver River and in the Minesing Swamp, not to mention right in the town of Thornbury, but we had never come across a member of the species at Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby until on a recent visit there. Read more
Bob and I seem to have a fascination with Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias). These stately birds always demand our attention as this one did on an outing to Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, Ontario. Read more
It was rather late in the fall when Bob and I went for a walk at Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, but glorious sunshine made for an unseasonably warm day. It was no surprise, then, to find numerous butterflies visiting the remaining wildflowers in the meadows within sight of Lake Ontario, butterflies such as this Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice). Read more
Bob and I were on one of our regular visits to Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve, in Whitby, Ontario, to check out the development of the Great Horned Owl babies. As we turned to leave, Bob noticed a large woodpecker zipping through the tree tops. A Northern Flicker landed near the top of a snag. Read more
On a warm sunny spring day, Bob and I visited Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve in Whitby, Ontario. We most often explore the trails of the forest, hoping to find some migrating birds, but on this visit, we opted for a walkabout the meadow adjacent to the woodlot. What a perfect habitat for the many species of songbirds that we saw that day, amongst them a beautiful Baltimore Oriole. Read more