Tag Archives: Ontario

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photos: Banded Wood Snail

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Wildlife Photo: Grove Snail
Wildlife Photo: Grove Snail in Toronto

 

A few summers ago these guys invaded my patio. At first I didn’t think much of it, a few large snails popping up around the patio. Then more and more showed up. Then baby snails with tiny shells appeared and I knew things were getting a bit crazy.

For some reason that summer was the summer of the snail where I lived! I don’t have a garden and they didn’t bother my neighbours, it was a fairly confined little area that the snail infestation occurred in, and thankfully they’ve been kept to manageable levels since that summer.

I never gave them much thought in terms of wondering what species they were until recently, so I grabbed my camera and got some closeup shots of this guy. As far as I could tell it’s the same type of snail I’ve seen regularly around Ontario since I was a little kid.

My first check told me this was a banded wood snail. What a cool name huh? But I didn’t see much in terms of that being an official type of snail, so I dug deeper. Turns out the actual species is Cepaea nemoralis. And, it turns out the more common name is the grove snail, or black-lipped snail.

Wildlife Photo: Banded Wood Snail
Wildlife Photo: Banded Wood Snail in Toronto

 

I like the reasoning for the black-lipped snail. If you notice the edge of the shell, near the opening, has a dark brown/black ring. That is where the name comes from. Another species is called the white-lipped snail, and it has a white ring near the opening!

Only about a dozen or so of these guys showed up over the course of this past summer, so I think we’ve reached a peaceful equilibrium where I don’t have to worry about the crunching sound of snail shells as I walk around my patio.

Wildlife Photo: Black-Lipped Snail
Wildlife Photo: Black-Lipped Snail in Toronto

 

I’ve never been one to take many close-up / macro photographs, but it was kind of fun having such a slow moving subject to get photos of. Perhaps I’ll see what other small creatures I can find in the urban jungle!

 

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Trumpeter Swans at Wye Marsh

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Once believed to be well on their way to extinction, trumpeter swans are now enjoying some re-introduction success in Ontario, and across North America.

Less than 90 years ago, only a few dozen trumpeter swans remained outside of Alaska, and the birds had long been extirpated (locally extinct) in eastern Canada. Thankfully, with careful planning and re-introduction programs trumpeter swans now have a fairly stable population base in various wetlands and marshes across the US and Canada.

In Ontario, one such place is the Wye Marsh. A re-introduction plan began in the 1980’s, and the first baby (cygnet) trumpeter swan was born here in 1990, thanks to introduced birds. A few years later, and wild trumpeter swans were nesting at the marsh and calling the area home!

These are large birds, the largest waterfowl found in North America. To see them in the wild is a real treat, and to watch them take off, with their huge wingspans (up to 10 feet!) was a great experience.

The trumpeter swans at Wye Marsh are mostly found further away from the trails and lookouts, but with enough patience, a good camera lens (this photo was taken at full zoom) or binoculars, you should be able to catch a glimpse of these impressive creatures. I cam across these trumpeter swans as part of a 3-hour kayaking excursion deep into the lakes and marshes at Wye Marsh.

Trumpeter Swans
Trumpeter Swans taking flight at Wye Marsh

 

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photos: American Mink in Toronto

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One of the great urban wilderness surprises of Toronto is located out on Lake Ontario. It’s a 5km stretch of land known as Tommy Thompson Park, or the “Spit”.

The park is only accessible on weekends and holidays. With a strict no dogs policy it has turned into a urban haven for wildlife and birdlife. You can easily spot herons, egrets, cormorants, geese, swans, ducks, falcons and other birds here. You can spot beaver huts and if lucky – maybe coyotes or other more elusive creatures. Definitely one of the best places in Toronto for wildlife viewing.

Mink in Toronto
American Mink in Toronto

 

I was lucky to stumble across a hungry American Mink (Neovison vison), also called an Eastern Mink or Little Black Mink, as it is the smallest subspecies of mink. He was darting along the shoreline in search of food. He scampered across the rocks, stopped for a nice big yawn, then dove into the water. The mink is the largest member of the weasel family in this part of the world.

He swam out about 30m before diving down and disappearing for a couple of minutes. When he finally emerged, swimming back to shore, I saw he had caught some dinner. It was some strange looking blobby fish that had a white fin. As ugly as that meal looked, the mink sure liked it and hid behind some rocks to devour his tasty meal back on the beach.

Yawning Mink
Mink stopping for a yawn before diving into Lake Ontario for a meal

 

If you’ve ever wondered “what do minks eat?”, well apparently ugly fish is on their menu! Judging by the shell piles on the beach, this mink had a steady diet of mussels as well, which I had expected him to find on this swim.

It’s the first time I’ve come across a mink in Toronto, but hopefully not the last. Great to see such a cool creature only a short hike away from the Toronto skyline!

Mink Swimming with Fish
Mink swimming back to shore at Tommy Thompson Park with an ugly fish for a meal

 

Travel Articles

Were ATVs created for Rainy Days?

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Puddles of mud aren’t normally something you look forward to encountering when driving, walking, hiking or biking around outdoors.

But that all changes when you’re on an ATV! The bigger the puddle, the messier the adventure and more thrilling the ride. Perhaps it was with a bit of luck that on my last ATV adventure a torrential downpour occurred just after getting suited up. I was prepared though, with a mighty fine looking trenchcoat keeping me dry on my ride.

Sweet Honda ATV's
The sweet ATV’s we rode up near Parry Sound with Bear Claw Tours

 

The guys at Bear Claw Tours were pretty awesome, outfitting us with all the right gear to stay warm and relatively dry. It was also pretty sweet that they had a fleet of brand new Honda ATVs. No falling apart clunkers here, these were slick riding machines that were a real pleasure to drive.

The rain that accompanied us for most of the 1/2 day adventure was surprisingly accommodating too, as when we had a little snack break overlooking a nearby lake, it stopped to let us enjoy the view.

ATV Lunch Break
Enjoying an ATV lunch break by a lake

 

Riding along the trails, bouncing over rocks and scrambling around trees was great fun. But the best parts were 1) the puddles and 2) letting loose and going all out on the flat trail, just to see how fast we could go!

Not knowing what lurked beneath the murky water, some puddles were smooth and easy riding, while others had us lifting our legs up, so not to get flooded, while bouncing over some unforeseen submerged rocks. It was fun riding and I managed to avoid getting stuck in any mud holes! I was happy I had some big, bad rubber boots though.

Ready to get dirty!
Ready to get dirty on the trails with my rubber boots!

 

The slippery, muddy and wet rock conditions did challenge me a few times. I underestimated just how much an ATV will “slide” on the mud when you’re doing sharp turns. They do turn sharp, but I still ended up having to do a couple of 3-point turns to get myself around the steep, sharp corners on the muddy trail.

An added bonus of the rainy day ATV ride? Less mosquitos! The few times when we’d stop and it wasn’t raining, the little buggers would descend on us in the forest. But when it was drizzling (or pouring), it kept them away, allowing us to enjoy the ride, scenery and adventure that much more.

ATV fun in the rain
Zoom zoom…let’s go, ATV fun in the rain

 

Now, I may be odd in that I don’t mind walking in the rain and getting soaking wet. I’m not one to duck for cover at the first sign of bad weather. But when it comes to being outdoors in the rain, most sports and activities just aren’t as much fun. I can’t really think of anything else that embraces the “let it rain” attitude better than ATVing. Sometimes it is just too fun to get dirty and splash around, so next time you’re wondering what to do on a rainy day – think about how you can get dirty, instead of staying dry – I guarantee you’ll have a blast if you head out on an ATV.

Editorial note: A big thanks go out to Bear Claw Tours in Sequin, Ontario and Explorer’s Edge who had me racing through the woods on a special “Quintessentially Canadian” tour.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: North American Red Squirrel

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Wildlife Photo: North American Red Squirrel
A North American Red Squirrel in Killarney Provincial Park

 

These little squirrels are found across the majority of the US and Canada. Smaller than the gray or black squirrel, red squirrels in North America are a bit darker, almost brown in colour, compared to the Eurasian red squirrels.

Noisy, with a prolonged “chattering” sound, they’re not aggressive, but they also aren’t afraid to let you know if you’re in their territory. Indeed, territory is a big deal for North American red squirrels. From a young age, the only way to survive is for a squirrel to find it’s own territory and defend it from other squirrels. They prefer hardwood forests and in many parks you can see squirrels chasing each other around, defending their territories and the trees and food supply within it.

Some people find them cute, some think they’re like rats. I think they’re great little creatures. But they don’t have an easy life as they face a pile of predators from lynx and crows to foxes and weasels. It’s a pretty tough life for a red squirrel, with 4 out of 5 not surviving long enough to reach their first birthday!