Frozen Whiskers

How cold was the water at Ottawa's Petrie Island this one February morning? Just ask this beaver family. Beaver families are called colonies. Beaver babies, referred to as kits, will stay with their colony for two year. When they reached sexual maturity, they leave their colony to find a mate and establish their own territory. This moment included mature beavers and yearlings. Sighting the first one was enough of a treat, but when more bubbles were heard from the water - one right after the other - that sighting of one grew to five. I was already sitting in my spot when the beavers came up onto land. They were calm - they were grooming, cleaning their teeth and even takes naps huddled together, showing they were unbothered with my company.

Acting Shy

Before mom was seen, the brave baby's curiosity drove it to the forest's edge to check out the photographer. But a soon as mom followed, suddenly mom wanted to hide its face - but only for a minute until the rest of the herd revealed itself in the open meadow in Quebec's Parc du Lac Beauchamp on a perfect late winter morning. The park is an unfenced municipal conservation area, so deer a free to move around within and outside, of the park. Quebec’s mainland white-tailed deer population is estimated at over 250,000.

Time to land

Semipalmated sandpipers move to the upper parts of the beach as the tide comes in, switching from foraging to resting during their fall migration.

Barred on a Branch

It's been a busy autumn day of hunting, preening, sleeping and fighting off crows and local hawks in Ottawa's Fletcher Wildlife Garden. It was a nice surprise to catch an owl perched so close to a trail I was walking. It didn't move or make a sound, only watched as I initially walked by and then, of course, watched as I pointed my camera. Barred owls are highly territorial. They feed on small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.

Sheltered peeper

A spring peeper was peeping from underneath a leaf on the forest floor.

The Cabbage White

It's a hot summer day and this Cabbage White butterfly is finding some juicy nectar in a garden rife with sweet violet flowers. These butterflies are commonly seen in fields and gardens. This one in particular scored a jackpot when it flew amongst the bountiful gardens at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum's on-site gardens. Despite its beauty, the Cabbage White is considered an economic pest as its larvae feeds on leaves of Brassicaceae plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale.

Salamanders

Mating aggregations of spotted salamanders in shallow water are often a confusing tangle of heads, legs, and tails!

Salamander tails

Mating aggregations of spotted salamanders in shallow water are often a confusing tangle of heads, legs, and tails!

Bumblebee

Macro shot of a bumblebee pollinating a blooming flower

Arabesque

It's an early fall morning in Ottawa'f Fletcher Wildlife Garden and this barred owl is taking advantage of its down time and lack of crows to preen. Its belly is full, but just before it can settle for a nap it must take its bath, starting with the gams. Barred owls can weight between 1 and 2.5 lbs. and are originally native to eastern North America but over time has expanded its range across Canada and the Pacific Northwest

Streaming light

As I looked straight up a tree trunk at the mushrooms, my camera caught the sunbeams hitting the lens just right to create lines of light streaming across the picture. A happy accident!

Morning Fish

Great Blue Heron hunting in the shallow water along the shoreline.

Lakeside Stroll

A doe and her fawn cool off along the shoreline on a late spring evening.

coyote puppy

coyote puppy

Loon Splash

A common loon splashes water after it surfaces from a dive

Bighorn Sheep

This image shows a Bighorn Sheep lamb and its mother foraging on a mountain slope.

catching food

Prothonotary warbler

Sunset

A indigo bunting is singing during sunset

hunting moment

a coyote is hunting

Frozen Whiskers

How cold was the water at Ottawa's Petrie Island this one February morning? Just ask this beaver family. Beaver families are called colonies. Beaver babies, referred to as kits, will stay with their colony for two year. When they reached sexual maturity, they leave their colony to find a mate and establish their own territory. This moment included mature beavers and yearlings. Sighting the first one was enough of a treat, but when more bubbles were heard from the water - one right after the other - that sighting of one grew to five. I was already sitting in my spot when the beavers came up onto land. They were calm - they were grooming, cleaning their teeth and even takes naps huddled together, showing they were unbothered with my company.

Acting Shy

Before mom was seen, the brave baby's curiosity drove it to the forest's edge to check out the photographer. But a soon as mom followed, suddenly mom wanted to hide its face - but only for a minute until the rest of the herd revealed itself in the open meadow in Quebec's Parc du Lac Beauchamp on a perfect late winter morning. The park is an unfenced municipal conservation area, so deer a free to move around within and outside, of the park. Quebec’s mainland white-tailed deer population is estimated at over 250,000.

Time to land

Semipalmated sandpipers move to the upper parts of the beach as the tide comes in, switching from foraging to resting during their fall migration.

Barred on a Branch

It's been a busy autumn day of hunting, preening, sleeping and fighting off crows and local hawks in Ottawa's Fletcher Wildlife Garden. It was a nice surprise to catch an owl perched so close to a trail I was walking. It didn't move or make a sound, only watched as I initially walked by and then, of course, watched as I pointed my camera. Barred owls are highly territorial. They feed on small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.

Sheltered peeper

A spring peeper was peeping from underneath a leaf on the forest floor.

The Cabbage White

It's a hot summer day and this Cabbage White butterfly is finding some juicy nectar in a garden rife with sweet violet flowers. These butterflies are commonly seen in fields and gardens. This one in particular scored a jackpot when it flew amongst the bountiful gardens at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum's on-site gardens. Despite its beauty, the Cabbage White is considered an economic pest as its larvae feeds on leaves of Brassicaceae plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale.

Salamanders

Mating aggregations of spotted salamanders in shallow water are often a confusing tangle of heads, legs, and tails!

Salamander tails

Mating aggregations of spotted salamanders in shallow water are often a confusing tangle of heads, legs, and tails!

Bumblebee

Macro shot of a bumblebee pollinating a blooming flower

Arabesque

It's an early fall morning in Ottawa'f Fletcher Wildlife Garden and this barred owl is taking advantage of its down time and lack of crows to preen. Its belly is full, but just before it can settle for a nap it must take its bath, starting with the gams. Barred owls can weight between 1 and 2.5 lbs. and are originally native to eastern North America but over time has expanded its range across Canada and the Pacific Northwest

Streaming light

As I looked straight up a tree trunk at the mushrooms, my camera caught the sunbeams hitting the lens just right to create lines of light streaming across the picture. A happy accident!

Morning Fish

Great Blue Heron hunting in the shallow water along the shoreline.

Lakeside Stroll

A doe and her fawn cool off along the shoreline on a late spring evening.

coyote puppy

coyote puppy

Loon Splash

A common loon splashes water after it surfaces from a dive

Bighorn Sheep

This image shows a Bighorn Sheep lamb and its mother foraging on a mountain slope.

catching food

Prothonotary warbler

Sunset

A indigo bunting is singing during sunset

hunting moment

a coyote is hunting