The World Through Our Lens
Wildlife traditionally refers to non-domesticated animal species, but has come to include all plants, fungi and other organisms which grow or live wild in an area.
In early spring, 2021, Bob and I were contacted by a friend who had been tipped off to the location of a Great Horned Owl in our midst. It turned out that there was a pair of these owls raising a newly-hatched chick near the urban area of Markham, Ontario. Read more
Northern Hawk Owls are denizens of boreal forests and rarely leave their breeding grounds. Some winters, however, for lack of food in their normal habitat, Northern Hawk Owls will venture into southern Canada and even the northern United States. In 2019, nature enthusiasts like ourselves were thrilled to have a Northern Hawk Owl show up in the village of Schomberg in southern Ontario. Read more
Bob and I had been seeing reports of a Varied Thrush sighted in Central Ontario in early December 2019. A denizen of forests in the Pacific Northwest of Canada and continental U.S.A., the visitor was far from home and seemed to be enduring Ontario’s cold winter quite well. Read more
We are hoping that this bathing beauty brings a smile to your face during these Pandemic times, a Northern Flicker at our backyard water fountain.
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The route we chose as a conduit between Hilltop Camp and the Nyalazi Gate in South Africa had us experiencing a couple of close calls on our last morning in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve . One incident was when we came head-to-head with a pair of massive White Rhinoceros. Read more
On our first full day at Grasslands National Park, after waking up very early and having a hearty breakfast, we took the advice of our hostess and set out to drive the Ecotour Road to the Borderlands Lookout. It was a relaxing way to start our explorations on the heels of a very long travel day. Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make this video as part of my wife’s, Jean’s, birthday gift. As you will see, this video highlights our travels to South Africa, and it features Jean.
Hopefully, you all enjoy it, and in a small way, you are able to take a short virtual tour of South Africa with Jean.
For now, because of the pandemic, we remain “Out Of Africa”. Hopefully someday, Jean and I, and all of you, will be able to head back “Into Africa”.
Mandarin Ducks breed in Eastern Siberia as far south as North Korea, and they winter by choice in southern China and Japan. So, when a Mandarin Duck like Eddie shows up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, it creates a lot of excitement. Read more
Pandemic birding and nature hikes have kept us close to home since March of 2020, and one of our favorite places to get outdoors is in Rouge National Urban Park. On an early June day, we were very fortunate to see an Eastern Milksnake in Bob Hunter Memorial Conservation Area. Read more