Pokémon Ferry Day and Night
Also from the New Reality Department: the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal is a new destination for players of Pokémon Go. The top image, taken around 4:45p, shows people milling around outside the ferry docks, all playing Pokémon Go. The bottom image, via Instagram, shows the scene at midnight. The original Instagram post can be found […]
The New Reality
A huge lineup of people files onto the William Inglis on a summer Saturday evening. The lineup, beyond the capacity of the ferry, stretched around the waiting shed and halfway to the old firehall.
Harbour Jam
The Wm. Lyon Mackenzie, leaving Centre Island dock, attempts to thread her way through a traffic jam of water taxis. Eight taxis were attempting to get into the dock (six visible here) at the same time, a serious concern for paddlers attempting to cross the increasingly busy approach. Click image to view larger.
American Coot
From the sasquatch files, an unexpected surprise: an American Coot perches on the ice off of Ward’s Dock in February 2016. A complete B-Roll shot, this was late in the evening with absolutely no light.
Side Loadin’
Wonders will never cease. Top: Ongiara, doing a work run, ties up beside Ward’s dock in a perfect position to side load, something that they seem incapable of doing in winter when the dock becomes unusable due to ice. Bottom: Something I’ve never seen before, two ferries (Ongiara and William Inglis) at Ward’s dock. Excuse […]
Oh Beautiful Boat
Ongiara makes the first successful docking of 2015 at Ward’s Island, on March 18. This was a trial run without passengers, but heralds a potential return to service after four brutish weeks of commuting through the Island Airport.
News from the Gap
Finally, some good news from the winter of 2014-15: the Eastern gap is finally starting to break up.
Pikeflections
A mature northern pike swims in the shallows, reflected in the surface of water less than 6″ deep.
Hidden Cooper
A Cooper’s Hawk sits hidden in the branches west of Snake Island. A Cooper’s couple raised a family in the area in 2011, it’s nice to see them back again.
The Coyote Times
A fleeting glimpse into the mysterious world of Toronto Island coyotoes: a remote camera catches a coyote pair hunting on the ice near Doughnut Island. Note: this is a compilation of several frames, showing them as the camera sees them. It is not a pack, it’s only one pair of coyotes imaged several times. Click […]
Ongiara Gapping
An odd view of the Cove from the deck of the Ongiara, as some captain in 2001 takes her out the Eastern gap to open up an ice blockage.
Grebe Horns
A lovely horned grebe, migrating through, swims in the inner harbour. Painfully shy, they were absolutely not interested in hanging out with the photographer.
Island Iridescence
Glowing like a pet store tropical fish, a sunfish swims past an underwater remote near Pike Cut. Clarity of the lagoons is already dropping as the water temperature rises. This b-roll image looks mottled due to air bubble contamination on the lens port, a common problem in summertime.
Back in School
A school of yellow perch float motionless in front of a remote camera, their numbers seeming to stretch to the underwater horizon. A B-Roll shot by all accounts, but I didn’t know that we have schools of perch this large in our lagoons.
Coniferous Perch
One of the first black-crowned night herons to return to the Toronto Islands in 2011 perches in snug harbour in this distant twilight shot.
Peeking Through
A remote camera catches a blackbird chick waiting for feeding, seen through its mother’s legs.
Rude Awakening
Startled from its nap, an early black-crowned night heron waits for the photographer to leave so it can get back to some serious sleeping.
Missing Link
Walking upright out of the water, a Toronto Island beaver carries mud and vegetation in its arms to build a scent mound, territorial markers to let other beavers know that this area is verboten.
Early for the Party
An early arrival in March of 2009: one of the first Great Blues to finish its long migration north.
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 […]
Leafmaster II
Even in late November, snakes can still be found on the warmer days warming themselves in the low sunlight.
Conversations (audio)
[audio:9870-Conversations.mp3] The lonely call of a Toronto Island coyote on a still November night (919KB MP3). Note: if the audio player doesn’t appear, click the title (Conversations) to view the actual post.