The Evil Cormorants

A few years ago I rarely ever saw a cormorant anywhere. This has changed. By my admittedly rough count there are now about fifty-six billion cormorants in and around the Toronto area. If you go to the tip of the reclaimed land at Colonel Sam Smith Park in the early morning you will sometimes see them heading west in numbers that make the 401 look empty. And I'm barely exaggerating.

Because there are so many of them, the Province has culled (i.e. killed) significant numbers of them in the past, especially toward the east end of Lake Ontario. They're considered a nuisance because when nesting they can completely strip trees of vegetation. They also eat prodigious amounts of fish and of course make more and more little cormorants like the one at the bottom of the post.

I'll let someone else debate whether they should be culled. There are an awful lot of them. Still, I kind of like them. A very large colony nests on the Leslie Street Spit in an area that is closed to the public.

You know what I'm going to say: Click to enlarge.

Black-Capped Chickadee on Hollyhock

These tiny birds seem to be to more common to the east of Toronto (why I couldn't guess) but you can find them most anywhere. If you've never seen one you might be surprised just how small they are. Highly inquisitive, and usually quite tame, they'll follow you around if you walk through their territory and also eat right out of your hand. Remember though, as with any kind of wildlife you really shouldn't feed them.

Theoretically, because these are tiny birds they should have tiny little bird brains, yet I've seen them identify a hawk from half a mile or more. They'll raise a huge racket as a warning, and often they'll spot a hawk before I can. After all, as a flock they have a set of eyes looking in every direction at once. Without practice most people couldn't ID a hawk from half a mile, so these little guys aren't as stupid as you might think.

An Even Greater Great Egret

How typical: the animal world of the city is reading my blog and after I post a B minus shot of a Great Egret and whine and wail about how hard they are to find, and woo hoo hoo, sure enough, just a short while later I go to High Park again and there are three egrets, flying around, pretty much providing a photo op. And much more clearly here you can be sure this is indeed a genuine Great Egret and not the 'white morph' of the Great Blue Heron because the black legs of the egret are clearly visible. Click to enlarge.

PHOTO TIP: Just like with swans, the white feathers of the Great Egret reflect a huge amount of light which means they can be hard to expose, especially if you want to balance with the background. With swans I say use the spot meter function of your camera, but Egrets are so slight and thin it can be hard to keep them centered all the time. Instead, if you see an Egret you're probably better off adjusting your exposure compensation down about one and two-third to two full stops.

What's So Great About the Great Egret

I've often kicked myself over reports of having just missed a great egret in Toronto, and every now and then I hear about several hanging around in one spot at once, flying around, spreading those big wings in a way no photographer could resist. I do catch up with them from time to time though, and here's one I shot in the duck pond of High Park.

Note that there is also a Great White Heron, which is simply a Great Blue Heron with all white feathers, a 'morph' as ornithologists call it. You can be certain this is not a Great White Heron because it lacks tufts on the top of its head and is a little more slender. I'll also say that egrets aren't quite as skittish as herons...though they're not exactly bold either.

As always, if you want a slightly better look, click to enlarge.

Toronto Coyotes

Toronto Coyotes doesn't seem as obvious a connection, as, I don't know, say, Toronto Blue Jays, but there are coyotes in Toronto and I ran into a small pack of them recently in, yes, Area 51. Remember, this is a park area literally only a stone's throw from the intersection of a major highway and street, right in the middle of the city.

Here's the one I think was leader of the pack:


This was pretty early in the morning and it's interesting to note that while coyotes were originally diurnal, that is day animals, they've become nocturnal in response to living near humans. Coyotes are so good at adapting to human habitation in fact that they're one of the few animals whose population has increased when they've come in widespread contact with us. It's believed many major North American cities have as many as several thousand coyotes living within their borders, though I'm unaware of any study of this type with regard to Toronto.

I saw three coyotes in total. Here we see the straggler:


Like his or her pals, this coyote spent quite a while hovering close to see what I'd do next. When they saw that I was just going to take their picture, they went on their merry way.


And though this is pure speculation, I think you can tell which of these coyotes is the dominant one by looking at the eyes. Here's a closeup of the straggler:


Now check out the closeup of the coyote I think was the leader, excusing the poorer quality because he was farther away:


Again, it is pure speculation and perhaps it's my imagination, but while the eyes of the coyote straggler look worried and a little afraid, the eyes of this other coyote don't look scared at all. So I think that's the boss...

My best tip for spotting a coyote: go out very early in the morning.

Who Was Icarus, Anyway?

Those of you who are absolutely overeducated will know Icarus was the guy from Greek myth who made his own set of wings but flew too close to the sun  with them. The result was the wax in the wings melted and he, um...crashed and died.

Here's a Cedar Waxwing, not to be confused with the slightly larger and harder to find Bohemian Waxwing. And yes, there is waxy stuff on their secondary wings the purpose of which is still a mystery. I'm pretty sure these birds don't crash on sunny days though.

Or maybe they do...Cedar Waxwings eat so much fruit they some times get drunk from eating overly ripe, fermented berries. MADD should step in right away.

A Moth Welcome to Eat My Clothes

In keeping with our recent spate of bug shots, here's the quite beautiful Ctenucha virginica, also known as a Virginia Ctenucha.


These are daytime moths that can be found from Virginia (hence the name) all the way up through Ontario and parts west. This one was within a stone's throw of the East Don River. Click on the photograph to enlarge this guy, because he looks pretty cool.

Ischnura verticalis with a Drop of Water

Yes, this is an example of Ischnura verticalis, commonly known as a blue green damselfly. And no, I didn't know the scientific Latin name before I looked it up.

If you want to get a shot of these or see them flitting around try most any park or area that has a pond or marsh. They're predators, so if you're really lucky you can see them eating other little bugs.

I'm not sure how this guy got a big drop of water hanging off him because it wasn't raining, but it made for a cool shot.

Man's Most Deadly Enemy

With only a camera, flash and tripod I faced down this dread beast. The bane of all Canadians...

Yup. It's a mosquito. A male by the looks of him, because he's pretty big. All pumped up on steroids and possibly West Nile Virus. Try to avoid these and wear lots of deet and bright clothing.

And remember, if you go camping, exactly one mosquito will end up inside your tent and buzz around your ear as you try to sleep. This is actually in the Canadian constitution, so don't blame the mosquitoes for that. They have to do it.

CORRECTION:

Ahem...

After further consultation with our vast and highly paid staff here at Toronto Wildlife, it seems that this is not a mosquito at all but a Chironomid, or what's commonly known as a midge fly. In case you had any doubt about our high ethical standards, now you know: if we make a mistake we admit it. The male part of the identification was correct.

FYI, mosquitoes and midge flies are apparently often hard to distinguish, so my original guess, or mistake, can perhaps be forgiven.

American Goldfinch

Here's another species I see all over Toronto in the summertime that most people (I think) never notice because they think every bird flying by must be a pigeon or sparrow. If you have a fair-sized backyard I guarantee goldfinches pass through from time to time.

This is a male. The females are also yellow but a duller shade. Look for goldfinches especially in the Don Valley river area.

Black-Crowned Night-Heron

I'm no bird psychologist, but I'm pretty sure this black-crowned night-heron wasn't overjoyed to see me. I caught him waiting for some unwary fish to go by at a small stretch of white water along the Don River. Perhaps he thought I was there for fish too.

Night-herons BTW are the most common herons in the world and can be found on five of the...let me count my fingers...seven continents. If you want an image of a heron they're a good bet because they aren't nearly as skittish as Great Blue Herons. That doesn't mean you can run at them while yelling however. Always be discreet and deliberate when approaching any kind of bird.

Buying Camera Equipment on the Net

I touched on this in a previous post about where to buy camera equipment in Toronto, but I've gotten other questions about buying gear (especially used) from the US.

Let me point out again, you pay no duty whatever on camera equipment purchased from the US and shipped to Canada. You will have to pay PST and GST and cover the exchange of course but when it comes to used equipment you'll still usually save cash, and sometimes quite a lot of cash, by buying stateside.

If you're worried about buying used, it's actually a much better value for your money than buying new. Almost all my lenses and most of my cameras were bought used. A used lens works just as well as a new one.

As far as specific outlets, I'd recommend both B&H Photo and Adorama who are both honest and quite conservative when it comes to their grading system on equipment. Check them out.

Punching Above His Weight

Sure, maybe I'm paranoid, but as I snapped this guy's picture I swear he kept looking in my direction every time the shutter fired, just as you see here. I've seen wasps do this before, which is interesting because this little Argid Sawfly is actually related to the wasp family.

Taken at the Don Valley Brickworks, which is yes, near the Don River.

Click to enlarge and really see the compound eye.

Emergency Ditch

Yes, I'm behind a little. Here's a Common Goldeneye found off the Leslie Street Spit in April, almost certainly on his way farther north.

I have lots of images of these guys and when they land they always look like they're crashing. It must be the big eye. A lesson for all you budding animators out there.

Let me also emphasize (as I have before), if you're using a tripod the chances of getting a flight shot will be greatly reduced. You just can't react quickly enough. If you have a 500mm or 600mm lens then of course you need a tripod. But if not, try to leave that sucker at home.

Solitary Sandpiper

Okay, now I'm really being a wiseguy.

There are actually several species of Sandpiper, and they all look very similar. They're not easy to tell apart. Even experts have trouble and I'm not really an expert.

One variety is the Spotted Sandpiper. I'm pretty sure that's what we're seeing here, but there's also another species called the Solitary Sandpiper. These don't really spend all their time alone, they're just more solitary than other sandpipers. And while I am pretty sure that this is a Spotted Sandpiper (because, um, of the spots) he is alone.

Which makes him a solitary Sandpiper. Get it?

I apologize.

Daring Daytime Burglar

Like the image from another recent post, this was taken quite literally on the banks of the Don River. This raccoon, I suspect quite young, was out in the middle of day, which is something you don't often see. There was nothing else in this tree that I could detect, so I guess he was just goofing around.

Many years ago while jogging I surprised a raccoon very early in the morning and in a complete panic it attempted to climb a nearby No Parking sign. With a lot of slipping and sliding it actually succeeded...and ended up right at my eye level. Not great as escape plans go.

Tree Swallow with an Attitude

Yes, the swallows have returned...er, well, actually they returned a few weeks ago and I just forgot to post this picture. And no, they don't just return to San Juan Capistrano.

This specimen (a male I think) clearly seems to think it's superior to me. This is surprising because I've often noted that swallows don't seem too bright: they spend the whole day basically chasing each other in circles. That's all day, every day. Yet somehow, I'm the low guy.

Male Wood Duck

Yes, a baby wood duckling is cute, but an adult male wood duck is spectacular.

Here's a male right along the shores of the unfairly maligned Don River. A lot of people are shocked to know there are such colourful birds so close to home, but (like I say about lots of wildlife) wood ducks are really quite common. They're just shy. They also happen to be the only ducks that nest in trees instead of beside the water, and up in the trees they're that much harder to spot once the foliage kicks in. Wood ducks are actually so common that you're allowed to hunt them during duck season if you're so inclined. But not in city limits of course.

If you want to see these guys with your own eyes your best chance will usually be the duck pond at High Park.

When Hawks Attack

We hate to repeat ourselves at Toronto Wildlife and sure, we've posted an image of a Red-tailed hawk before. But this is a different red-tailed hawk and it's a cool action shot. So there.

This hawk actually had a black squirrel and a grey squirrel trapped on two not-so-high trees about four feet apart. Here he's just making his strike on the grey squirrel. Normally I don't love shots that have blurry wing motion but I think it works this time considering the context.

For the more timid and romantic among you...the grey squirrel survived. So did the black one. And, after awhile, the red-tail gave up and went to look for easier prey.

Taken at Colonel Sam Smith park in Etobicoke. Click to enlarge and get a better look at this picture.

Sunbathing on the First Day of Spring

To usher in the first day of spring (today!), here's an an image of a painted turtle basking in the sun's rays. And yes, these guys are probably still hibernating now. This image was taken last summer.

Painted turtles are all over Toronto, in fact they're very common from Southern Canada right down to Mexico. Sometimes you can catch a half dozen of more of them on a log or rock all basking together and piled up like a bad multi-vehicle crash on the 401. Any sort of wetland near your home will almost for sure have one or more of these guys.

And note: this really isn't a very good image. Because this guy is basking in the direct sun there are harsh shadows around the edge of his shell and by his rear leg. Always avoid harsh direct sunlight for any kind of portrait, whether it's of Uncle Jack or a turtle.