Discovering 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.
Fiordland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand abounds with picturesque landscapes. While there, several stops to appreciate the scenery also rewarded us with a couple of special bird sightings. One pullover afforded us the encounter we had hoped for. Several Kea, also known as New Zealand Mountain Parrots, flew in to greet us. Read more
After several hours of bird watching at Long Point Bird Observatory in Ontario, Bob and I decided to check out another location, Crown Marsh, before heading off for dinner. A lengthy walk there on Long Point Trail 6 had us coming across this substantial Melanistic Eastern Garter Snake. Read more
When Bob and I visited Monteverde, we hiked in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve multiple times. One day, we found ourselves alone on a trail in the jungle. I was ahead of Bob when I heard him exclaim in a loud whisper “there they are!” I stopped in my tracks for Bob could only mean the Resplendent Quetzals. The pair was perched less than 20 feet to the side of the trail. Read more
On a recent wintry day, Bob and I headed to our local park for some fresh air and a bit of exercise. As we walked the asphalt trail through a wooded section of the park, I noticed movement off to the side of the walkway. A young Virginia Opossum had dared to be out of its den during daylight hours! Read more
From the patio door, on our second morning at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, I saw dense fog hemming in the mountains and feared, at best, an overcast if not a rainy day. A glance at the clock revealed it to be only 5:30 a.m. Two hours later, the fog was lifting, and the sun bathed the hillsides in golden showers of light. Read more
Bob and I arrived at Hilltop Camp in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park exhausted after an extremely long day that saw us traveling from Kruger National Park and across Swaziland to get there. Over dinner, we had views of the Park from the expansive restaurant patio that overlooked muted silhouettes of undulating mountaintops while an armed guard sat unobtrusively in the shadows and watched for wildlife like Vervet Monkeys that might cross the thin electric wire just below the terrace. Read more
On what seemed a very ordinary winter day, Bob and I took a leisurely walk over to one of our local parks to escape the routine of familiar household chores. Milliken Park in Toronto, Ontario, was almost deserted. Though we scanned bushes and trees, not a single bird was seen until I noticed a solitary Cooper’s Hawk perched on a sunlit branch. Seconds later, the hawk launched into the air and nabbed a Big Brown Bat that was flying by. Read more
On a bright, sunny Saturday in mid-October, Bob and I decided to make a trip to the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario. A fellow birder had reported groups of Sandhill Cranes in that vicinity where corn fields had recently been harvested. At first, we were afraid the drive would be all for naught, but in the end, we located close to 200 of these elegant birds. Read more
Bob and I had no sooner left the parking lot at Nkumbe Lookout when we spotted a trio of Klipspringer antelope gallivanting among the rocks on the other side of the road. What nimble little creatures! Read more