The Stare

Fox

Hungry

Fox

Tree Frog

I saw this frog during a class field trip to Manitou Mounds and Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre. I debated in the morning whether or not to take my macro lens as it is so heavy, so decided not to. I now wish I did, because I had to use my all purpose 18-200mm instead. The shot turned out ok, but not with the clarity and detail that my macro lens provides.

Backyard Bears

Guess who was in our backyard this afternoon?

Third Time the Charm?

On the long, slow, snowy drive, just over half way from town, I crested the hill and there it was.  The elusive lynx.  It was my second sighting of this cat in the four years we have lived in NW Ontario.  The first time I slowed the car to a stop in order to watch the spiky eared cat pad across the road on its large paws and then disappear into the forest.   It was a shady part of the drive, so I didn't even bother picking up my camera from the passenger seat to take a photo.  At today's sighting and before the cat moved off, I pulled over, quickly picked up my camera and shot a few frames, hoping to get at least one photo.  But, alas, shooting through a dirty windshield of a vibrating car does not a sharp photo make.  As I got out of the car, the lynx moved into the forest.  And then I noticed the smaller kittens that had already crossed the road and were in the trees.  If only I had been a minute or so earlier on the scene.  Sigh.  Maybe the third time around I'll get at least one sharp capture of a lynx.  But, as my spouse pointed out when I told her my story, at least I saw a lynx, and a lynx family at that.  It's a rare treat to see these secretive animals even once, let alone twice.

Running With The (Insert Animal Here)

Surprised, I slowed my run to a jog.  Hidden by the vegetation, a young female moose was consuming its morning meal on the slope of the ditch.  Startled by my presence, she leaped out onto the road in front of me.  With a frightened look, the moose began trotting ahead of me on her long spindly legs, hooves clip-clopping on the asphalt.  After a minute or so the cow turned sharply to her right, and, with a combined look of fear and relief, leaped back into the bush, crashing her way through the underbrush to safety.

In the past few weeks, during my early morning runs, I have had various wildlife encounters.  A black bear has crossed my path, more frightened of me than I of her, a small curious fox has followed me a number of times (with locals pulling up beside me in their vehicles asking "Did you know that a fox is following you?"), and now a moose (of which sightings have been rare of late).

I've heard of running with the deer, running with the wolves, running with the bulls, but ... running with (well, behind) the moose?  That's an encounter that I had to write down (or rather, type out).

Sturgeon Tagging

Lake sturgeon in Northwestern Ontario are a threatened species and as such are protected under the Endangered Species Act (for more info, see here).  Yesterday I was invited to come on a sturgeon tagging outing by a local resident who has been helping foster improved relationships between local First Nations groups and Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).  The day was a beautiful one for a boat ride, a relaxing way to start summer holidays! 

I learned a lot about sturgeon and their habitat, why they are endangered (overfishing), and what is being done to encourage their comeback (such as tagging them to follow their movement patterns, learn more about spawning habits and where sturgeon spawning grounds are to improve the grounds for better reproduction).  I was also able to capture photographs which I can use for future science lessons on ecosystems and endangered species.  The photos are from different sites, but I put them in a sequence to give an idea of what happened at each capture/release site.

Following the MNR boat...

Pulling in the nets, hopefully with a caught sturgeon...

Weighing and measuring the sturgeon...

Tagging the outside of the fish...

Tagging the inside (to track by satellite)...

Holding a sturgeon before its release...

Releasing...



Fox

I was puttering away, taking photos for my monthly photo project with my DIY light box (I made one today inspired by a similar project here), when I looked up and out the kitchen window and saw the fox.  I let the family know it was in the vicinity, quickly changed lenses (macro to 70-300mm), checked my camera settings, put on my boots, and went outside.  The next fifteen minutes were bliss.  I had always wanted to capture a photograph of a red fox, especially with snow as a background.  Out of the numberous shots I took one or two were ok, but it was worth it to follow the fox around and practice shooting such a beautiful creature.  I love March break and being able to take the time to do this!