Tag Archive for ‘wildlife’
Northern Pintail is elegance on the water
As many of my readers know, after work I often go to Bluffers Park to see the swans, ducks, geese, and even the various types of gulls. On one particular day there were 30-plus Trumpeter Swans, a few Mute Swans, and even one special little cygnet (baby swan) I’ve taken to calling Coral. With a [...]
Gulls deserve more respect
Ahhhh yes! It’s finally a beautiful Saturday, and a great opportunity for me to get outside. Without a cloud in the sky, Donna, Pam and I headed to Ashbridges Bay to see if there were any wintering ducks around. On arrival we could hear a few ducks (the yodeling of the Long-tailed ducks is quite [...]
Saving the Scarborough Bluffs foxes
A while back I received a call from a neighbour on my street saying that they had found a fox with mange. That was when I first discovered how many of my fellow Torontonians loved our animal neighbours and were willing to go above and beyond to help them. Together, the neighbour and I called [...]
Owls a hoot, but keep your distance
Charlotte and I were walking down a path, through a generic patch of tall trees with branches everywhere. It didn’t seem to be anything special, least of all something to write an article about! As we were walking, talking, and enjoying the sunny day we both did a double take. We had walked within metres [...]
Hummingbirds on the move in East Toronto
A streak of red and green followed by the slightest hum of tiny wings beating 55-75 times per second: the beautiful Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) makes its always-memorable presence known to me. On this particular day the little hummingbird, only 7.5-9cm (3-5 inches) from beak tip to tail tip, appeared to be studying me as [...]
Blanding Turtle anything but bland
Say hello to the Blanding Turtle. I saw my first Blanding Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii) while I was driving my car down a dirt road. All of a sudden I saw a large turtle with his bright yellow neck, out on the road in front of me. I pulled the car to the side of the [...]
Robins battle for spring supremacy
Recently, on one of those lovely spring mornings we’ve been having, I looked out my front window to see the most bizarre bird behaviour between a pair of American Robins. When I first noticed them I went outside, grabbing my camera as always, and sat on my steps to get a better view. At first [...]
Duck spotting at Ashbridges Bay
Warm beautiful sunny days keep drawing me to visit Ashbridges Bay over and over again. If you choose to follow one of the great paths to walk by the water you will be rewarded and see many wintering ducks swimming close to the shore. At Ashbridges Bay I have been happy to see Bufflehead Ducks, [...]
