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.
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
Pandemic Birding had been a whole new experience for Bob and me. Since the pandemic was officially declared in March 2020, we had made outdoor activities a priority but always kept within a 30-minute radius from our home. On one such occasion in late May 2020, we happened upon this newly fledged Eastern Screech Owlet. Read more
Day 2 in Costa Rica had us first completing a very early morning guided bird hike. After breakfast back at Hotel Kokoro, Bob and I headed to Ecocentro Danaus on the edge of La Fortuna. It is a private reserve with a butterfly conservatory where Bob and I hoped to see some of Costa Rica’s tiny winged jewels. Read more
Ready to explore the Po River Delta, the biggest wetlands in Europe, Bob and I were off the sheets early on our first full day in the region. The enchanted landscape covers an area of 140,000 hectares, so under a crystal clear sky, we set off in the direction of Parco Regionale Veneto del Delta del Po. Read more
After our flight from Toronto to Regina, Bob and I drove directly to Grasslands National Park near the southern border of Saskatchewan. We were determined to complete a hike in the East Block of this Park and opted to do the Valley of 1000 Devils Route before traveling further west to Val Marie on the edge of the Park’s West Block. Read more
Bob and I were obliged to remain inside our car at Sunset Dam as is the case almost everywhere you go in Kruger National Park. Allowance is made for parking along one section of the shore, and it was from there that we had fantastic views of this African Jacana. 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
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
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