Conflagration III
Spring equinox, and the humans come out to perform their annual rituals on Ward’s Beach. Oddly, the trees had a different burning pattern this year: their thermal columns were much shorter. Compare to this tree at last year’s equinox bonfire (thanks Alice!).
Spring Colours
Some of the earliest colours of Spring, a mallard duck swims in the low sunlight of snug harbour.
Mirror Mirror
A beaver swims in an opening in the lagoon ice, still partially frozen in early March.
Spotlight
An unlikely mating of a Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro lens to a full-frame Canon EOS 5DmkII (you’re not supposed to be able to use short-backfocus lenses on full-frame bodies) picks out a Dekay’s Brown snake amongst the dull browns of early spring.
Humpback of Notre Island
A mink scampers along the lagoon’s edge at the south side of the Manitou Bridge.
Early for the Party
An early arrival in March of 2009: one of the first Great Blues to finish its long migration north.
Moonrise Swans
Illuminated by the light of the rising full moon, mute swans sleep on black ice halfway across the outer harbour to the Leslie St. Spit.
Waking Nap
Mature pintails nap in the light of early morning reflected by the Queen’s Quay terminal building.
Willow Sunrise
At winter solstice, the sun rises directly between the main limbs of the Great Willow in the Ward’s soccer field.
Dive! Dive!
A pintail dives beneath the surface, fishing against the hardened seawall on the city-side.
Happy New Year!
Early January, and a postcard for climate change: a garter snake sunning itself on the boardwalk on an unseasonably warm day.
Rorschach Twilight
Toronto’s skyline glows in the hues of twilight in this January panorama. The inner harbour is just beginning to freeze, forming ice marring an almost perfect reflection. Lake-effect clouds also formed during the shoot, obscuring the CN Tower’s iconic shape.
Shaken, Not Stirred
Like an olive in a martini, a beaver floats in a hole kept open in the ice off of the RCYC’s south island in the winter of 2009.
Chew Baby Chew (audio)
[audio:Chew-baby-chew.mp3] If a beaver chews on branches and there’s nobody to hear, does it make a sound? As it turns out, yes it does (265KB MP3). Note: if the audio player doesn’t appear, click the title (Chew Baby Chew) to view the actual post.
Smoke on the Water
A long exposure (somewhere on the order of two minutes) turns the raging whitewater of the outer harbour into mist on a stormy fall night in 2009.
Shipsands
Islanders line up to catch the 7:45am boat, temporarily replaced with the valiant Shipsands and crew during the Toronto civic strike of 2009.
Miss Kim Simpson
The lovely panoramic glass windows of the Miss Kim Simpson, our temporary transportation during the Strike of ’09.
Smirnoff Snowman II
A close view of the boardwalk’s Smirnoff Snowman, and his novel way of staying warm on cold winter days.
Diving Mallards (video)
Our local mallards have learned a new behaviour: how to dive. Normally a dabbling duck, the extent of their underwater activities usually stops at mooning passersby and picking up what they can reach under the water’s surface. Some local mallards, however, have picked up the ability to completely submerge themselves, just like cormorants. Captured here […]
Jimmy on the Beach II
Very furtive and shy in the wild, the elusive Jimmy Jones is one of the hardest creatures on the Island to photograph.
Minklight
A late-season mink roams the shoreline of Centre Island. When they’re wet, they look positively vicious. When they’re dry, they look remarkably cute.
Leafmaster II
Even in late November, snakes can still be found on the warmer days warming themselves in the low sunlight.