Sungleam
Up close and personal with another expectant mother, here sitting on a prime (but busy) nesting site in the Hanlan’s Point straight.
Shoulder Check
A mute swan gazes over her shoulder at the lens as she sits on her nest on Unknown Island. Light would hit this nesting site for only about 45 minutes in the late afternoon, making photography require a specific appointment.
Amphibian Information
A red-eared slider turtle basks on a log in Snug Harbour. Sliders are a non-native species, usually introduced to an area by people releasing unwanted pets.
Asparagus Prep
Wild asparagus prepares to go to flower near the breakwall by Bayview Avenue. This monster was wonderful to watch grow, it reached six feet tall before storm winds blew it over causing irreparable damage.
A Guy Named Gus
The wild asparagus of Bayview Ave., here now almost three feet tall. Who knew they’d grow to be so big?
Magic Mushroom
Belying their market value, morel mushrooms look for all the world like alien brains. This fine specimen, lit with off-camera strobes, made a world-class omelette.
Mischievous Cloudbank Detail
A detail of this panorama, of a spontaneous cloud that formed over the inner harbour then broke off to drift over the Toronto skyline.
Mischievous Cloudbank
A spontaneous cloudbank forms over the inner harbour, then breaks off and drifts over the city, engulfing the Toronto skyline in an etherial layer of mist.
Black-crowned Regality
A black-crowned night heron perches like royalty on a branch near Centre Island early in 2008.
Sitting Pretty
A Canada goose mother sits expectantly on her nest by the IYC, patiently waiting for the vegation to fill in around her.
Fortress of Solitude
A mute swan sits on her nest in the Spring of 2008, paitiently waiting for the vegetation to fill in around her.
Yellow Menace
A cormorant, once a stranger to the Island’s lagoons, perches on a log next to Yael’s houseboat.
Redbreast Return
Always a delight to see after a long winter, this was one of the first robins to return in the Spring of 2008.
Christmas Nuke
A 180° panorama of a well-aged Christmas tree going up in 30-foot flames during the annual Spring Equinox bonfire on Ward’s Beach. It’s astounding how much potential energy is stored in a small tree after drying out for three months.
Bug’s Eye View
A bug’s eye view of a flowering snowdrop, not more than three inches from the ground and yet still caught in the light of the setting March sun.
Marked
One of the first black-crowned night herons to return to the Toronto Islands in 2008 was the first – and so far still the only – night heron that I’ve seen banded, someone’s program somewhere is tracking this guy. If anyone has any information as to the program, please contact me.
Red Return
One of the first black-crowned night herons to return in 2008 near Doughnut Island, looking very well fed after its long migration.
Lazy Reflections
The first painted turtle of 2008 basks on a log in the strengthening sunlight of late March. There’s still ice on the water at this point, and I’m always amazed that they can come out of hibernation at a time when full winter paddling gear is still required. Gloves, pogies, paddling jackets and PFDs are […]
Neck Plumage
A newly-returned great blue heron displays its wonderful breeding plumage near Centre Island, early in the spring of 2008.
Proof of Concept
Hot on the heels of their newfound popularity from the front-page Toronto Star article, a curious Toronto Island mink checks out the experimental IceCam, underwater and under the ice near Snug Harbour. A terrible photograph by any stretch of the imagination, there isn’t much light down there, but an interesting portrait of our furry little […]
Steamy Ongiara
The Ongiara makes her way through thick steam thrown up by an almost 30°C temperature drop.