Irruption! It sounds a bit dramatic, but that’s exactly how the sign in our local bird food store described the anticipated fall flight of goldfinches and pine siskins. Apparently the pine cone crop around here wasn’t very good this year, so we should all expect to see huge numbers of …
Laura and I have put a lot of work into our back yard to make it a friendly and attractive place for birds, bees and other assorted beasts. We often enjoy the fruits of our labour over morning coffee, watching the comings and goings of our different guests. Over the …
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted anything on this blog and I apologize for the lack of activity, it’s been a tremendously busy summer so far. And while that hasn’t meant as much time to watch and photograph our feathered friends, there have been some enjoyable moments – …
It certainly took long enough. After a long crappy winter and an even longer, crappier spring, by early May pleasant weather finally returned to southern Ontario. This, of course, has spurred an incredible amount of bird activity in a very short time. Suddenly, the sounds of chirping birds fill the …
Waterfowl have long held a special place in my heart, and late winter has long been my favourite time of year to observe them. The birds are in prime shape, the drakes are sporting their brightest plumage of the year, and here in the lower Great Lakes, you have the …
I had hoped to get out to photograph some of the different ducks overwintering on Lake Ontario at some point over the last couple of weeks, but a number of pressing work commitments have kept me pretty much chained to my desk. I’ve no regrets, since the back yard feeder …
How many times have we heard the expression be careful what you wish for? Last time I wrote an update for this blog I was lamenting the lack of migrating birds and the blah fall weather. I even said I was looking forward to a change. Well, we got it. …
For many children, the last few weeks leading up to Christmas are a period when time stands still. Or at the very least, it seems to move a lot slower than usual. Weeks feel like months and days feel like weeks in that all-too slow march up to the big …
The unusually variable weather pattern that has characterized autumn 2017 in southern Ontario has continued on without too much change. Although the days are growing shorter and the nights are getting long, bird migrations – at least in our area – seem to continue in more of a trickle than …
Early fall in southern Ontario has, so far at least, been what the weather people call “variable.” One day it’s 30 degrees outside, the air conditioner is running and dinner comes from the barbecue. The day after that, it’s cool enough for a sweater, the heat’s on in the house …