Sitting Pretty II
The “Doughnut Peahen”, who lived wild on the Island for at least two years, sits on a branch near Doughnut Island. Where she came from is a mystery, neither the IYC nor the farm ever reported any missing.
Revealed Heronry
The skull of a great blue heron, time-worn and well weathered, shows off the distinctive heron shape, with a long beak for catching fish in shallow waters.
The Nose Knows
Up close and personal with a mute swan near Doughnut Island. Anything but shy, this fellow eventually swam inside the minimum focus distance of the lens, making further photography impossible.
Cello Fan & Picnic Setting
A trumpeter swan joins in the picnic-like setting at Sunfish Cut for Jacquey Malcolm and Anne Bourne’s cello performance for Luisa Milan’s Hydro-Glyph.
Birds of a Feather
A pair of Canada geese fly through the inner harbour in 2007 in perfect synchronicity.
Quadruplets
The nest of a red-winged blackbird reveals four unhatched eggs, suspended among the reeds in the Trout Pond.
Taming The Dragon
A Canada goose warns unwary adventurers of impending doom if they stray too close to a well guarded nest.
Herons For Jimmy
Recently reminiscing of the days of his youth (which were, when, last week?), Jimmy Jones recently commented that he was seeing fewer black-crowned night herons gracing our local lagoons (read: between Ward’s and Snake). Their numbers are certainly traditionally higher down Doughnut-way, but as if on cue several herons came out today just to remind […]
The Latest Addition
A rapidly growing Canada goose gosling poses on the cropped grasses of Centre Island.
Learning The Ropes
A Canada goose gosling emulates its parent, learning how to feed and drink from the lagoon edge on Centre Island.
Rocknest
A Canada goose nests in a safe, yet seemingly uncomfortable, location on a rocky breakwater off of Olympic Island.
Reverse Snowbird
In town for the season, this black-crowned night heron has probably left the stifling heat of a Florida summer just in time for things to finally warm up here in Toronto.
Watch That First Step
A Canada Goose nests in a most unlikely place, 14′ up in the hollow of a dead tree. Normally they nest at the waterline, and the goslings start to swim almost as soon as they’re hatched. This particular brood will have to get creative to reach the lagoon once they hatch — Canada Geese can’t […]
Mute Portrait
Dramatic lighting falls upon a mute swan as it swims through the intermittent shadows of late March twilight.
Show of Force
A male mute swan spreads his wings outside the camera frame after successfully chasing off another pair of swans from his chosen nesting territory in the lagoon. In contrast, this adolescent’s wings are still only partially developed.
Underwater Buffleheads
A bufflehead duck, white feathers glowing in the gloomy lagoon light, dives in search of food beneath the surface. They’re extremely shy birds, so they’re difficult to photograph normally without extremely long focal length lenses. Underwater remote cameras come into their element in a situation like this, as they unobtrusively monitor the daily life under […]
Business End
A mute swan, seen from an unusual angle, forages on the bottom of the still-desolate lagoon near the edge of what remains of the late spring icepack. Warmer temperatures should complete iceout over the next few days.
Tundra Stopover
A lone tundra swan, easily identifiable by the yellow spot in front of its eyes, stands on thinning ice near Algonquin Island. Rare to see hereabouts, it could have been seperated from this group that flew overhead previously. (Click image to view larger.)
Trumpeter Airlines
High overhead, a “wedge” (thanks Don) of swans forms their familiar migratory v-shape. Their black bills indicate that they’re either trumpeter or tundra swans, but trumpeters are often tagged, and since none of these appear to be tagged consensus is leaning towards identifying them as tundra swans.
Numbered Days
And old squaw duck pauses between fishing dives, perfectly reflected in the lagoon’s surface. Their days here this 2010-11 season are already numbered, as migratory birds begin to return to the Islands and increase competition for food.
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.
Super Moonsong
A freshly returned blackbird sings to an almost full “supermoon“, adding his voice to the rising cacophony of the wet meadow in springtime.