Moon Heron II
A black-crowned night heron stands in perfect silhouette against reflected light from the rising full moon.
Visiting L23 and C24
Up close with Trumpter swans C24 (top) and L23 (bottom), now in their third week of residing on the Island. Trumpeters usually only pass through, they don’t normally spend too much time here. L23 and C24 were first reported here.
Trumpeter Visitation
A pair of tagged Trumpeter swans is currently (as of May 2, 2012) hanging out around Doughnut Island. Trumpeters, tagged by the people managing the Wye Marsh, are making a comeback in Ontario after being extirpated almost 200 years ago. Trumpeter swans don’t normally stay very long here on the Island, we’ll see how long […]
The Colours of Spring
A male mallard shines bright on water still reflecting the dull browns of early spring.
Moon Heron
A black-crowned night heron perches on a rock off of the boardwalk around 9:00PM, bathed in the dappled light of a rising full moon.
Numero Uno
The first black-crowned night heron to return to the Islands in 2012, two days earlier than the first arrivals in 2011.
Translucent Airlines
Light shines through the flight feathers of a long-tailed duck, taking flight near Hanlan’s Point.
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.
Wingtip Flight
A great blue heron takes flight near Doughnut Island, wingtip feathers outstretched mere inches from the surface of the water.
Hot September Sun
A great blue heron stands on the tern raft in the centre of the trout pond, panting in the hot September sun with its tongue on full display. This might be the start of an odd new wildlife theme, hot on the heels of this black-crowned night heron and canada goose.
Shining Light I & II
A great blue heron hunts in the September light off of Algonquin Island, evoking the image of this great egret from September of 2008.
Hiding In Broad Daylight
A cormorant proves hard to see even in broad daylight, the low September sunlight casting many background areas into dark shadow.
Straight as an Arrow
A great blue heron takes flight in Long Pond, primary and secondary flight feathers outstretched.
Woody Couple
A lovely wood duck couple, stopping over on their fall migration, grace the waters off of Doughnut Island.
Canvasback Haze
A rarity for these parts, this elusive canvasback spent the summer here, often visible around Sunfish Cut.
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.
Great Blue
A great blue heron stands on a submerged log in Snug Harbour, keeping a wary eye on the photographer.
Dr. Tongue
A mature black-crowned night heron licks its bill after successfully spearing a fish for lunch. Click image to view larger.
Night Reflections
An adolescent black-crowned night heron hunts for fish, reflected perfectly in the calm waters of the lagoon at almost 10:00pm.
Heron Pose
The camera turns night into day as an adolescent black-crowned night heron hunts on a log at almost 10:00pm, head down, standing motionless for minutes at a time waiting for fish to swim by.