The Butterfly Effect

It's a term from chaos theory, and in Toronto 'the butterfly effect' means you will never ever see any butterflies in the areas the city has created to attract butterflies. Where can you see them? Well, really, they could show up in most any park or backyard. And with their big colourful wings, you can get some great images without any specialized equipment, which isn't true of other insects.

Of course, you could go to the Toronto Zoo or the Humber Nurseries Butterfly Conservatory to get some shots, but that would be cheating. Realize that any images taken at those spots do not count as wildlife photography.
 

 

Pictured here, in order:  a Wood Satyr, a Female Cabbage White, a Skipper, a shy Acadian Hairstreak, and a pretty lame image of a Monarch. I apologize for that, however Monarchs are kind of like Canada Geese in that they're so common they get taken for granted, so when you need a good shot of one you never have it.

And be sure to check here and here if you think butterflies are always more attractive than their moth cousins.

Click, as we say, to enlarge.

 

The Short French Tyrant Bird

What's the rarest creature ever featured at Toronto Wildlife? Hm...difficult to say. Probably none of the wildllife in our index is actually endangered, so the question is maybe, what specimen are you least likely to see?

Possibly - though it is open to debate - this is your winner.

This is the Bonaparte's Gull. They aren't really named after Napolean, but rather his nephew, ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. They only have a black head during breeding season, while the rest of the year they look like most any other seagull at a quick glance. They are reasonably plentiful around the city, however you just don't catch them in black head configuration too often. At least I don't, and I was only able to snap a couple of quick shots of this customer before he was gone.

Be aware that these birds can be mistaken for the Common Tern, and vice versa.

Taken at Cranberry Marsh. Click to enlarge.

Hawkeye

As we've briefly touched on before, identifying hawks in this part of the world can be tricky. This is especially true when trying to distinguish a Cooper's Hawk from a Sharp-shinned Hawk. In this case, the highly-credentialed Toronto Wildlife bird identification brain trust believes this to be a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Click to get a better look for yourself. A Red-tailed Hawk would only have the dark bars farther down on its belly.

There was also a debate as to whether this shot should be published at all since it was taken at the Kortright Conservation Centre in Woodbridge. But, really, if we've already decided that Whitby is in Toronto, then Woodbridge qualifies. If you've never been there, the Kortright is a great place to visit, though you should be prepared for lots of walking and you do have to pay for parking.

Uncommon Merganser

Okay, it's the Common Merganser, but the lame joke is hard to pass up since these guys aren't that easy to come by. When I do see them they are almost invariably flying by low and fast over the water, so I personally dub them Cruise Missile Ducks. Common Merganser's are among the first birds to return to the Toronto area in the spring and while - as I've said - they're not exactly plentiful, they aren't endangered. They are more common than their cousins, the Hooded Mergansers.

Speaking of an early spring, it's been a very mild winter which may mean the birdies will be back early this year. Over the next few days and weeks we'll be easing out of our standard winter hiatus to get you primed for the new season.

And if you haven't noticed, Blogger has updated things so that now if you click on an image you get a nice display interface to view things at a larger size. Try it out.

Fall Migration 2010

It's time to panic. Sure lots of birds pass through the city during the fall on their way to parts south. But many species start this migration as early as mid-August. At this point the whole process is well underway.

If you do get lucky you might catch some Red-breasted Mergansers like the one above, yet another No Way That's In Toronto bird. These guys are easy to confuse with the very-similar Common Merganser. The biggest tip-off that you're looking at a Red-breasted version is the red eyes.

In almost the exact same pose, here's another Red-breasted Merganser side-by-side with a female for easy comparison.


The main takeaway from this should be that if you're going to birdwatch this fall don't delay. All these fairweather Canadians will be past and gone before you know it.

Highrise Hawk

As many of you already know, our huge staff here at Toronto Wildlife laughs at danger, and we spare absolutely no expense of time or effort to obtain the very best urban wildlife images. To that end, last night, right after dinner, I walked out onto my own balcony. And from just a few feet away this hawk was staring back at me.

Thinking of you dear reader I went all the way back inside and got my camera. When I came back out the hawk hadn't budged and was still staring at me. He seems a little freaked out, likely because he's not used to seeing relatively large (but still fashionably slim) mammals just a few yards away when he's 130 feet high.

And from up high he checked out the area. First he looked down.

Then he looked to his right.

Then he looked over his shoulder.

Then he looked to his left.

Then he kind of...well, I'm not sure what direction this is, but he saw something interesting.

Then he (or she) took off with one more concerned look in my direction. As you can see from the darker lighting, this was almost exactly at the moment the sun went down which might not be a coincidence.

This hawk was fast. And here's a tip, sometimes you can be too close to what you're photographing, because at the speed this hawk flew off there was no way to physically pan quickly enough to get even one real flight shot. I got this one and then just empty sky.

After a good deal of hemming and hawing I've decided that this is probably a Sharp-shinned hawk, however you should definitely read about the Broad-winged hawk before you take my word for it.

UPDATE: July, 2012. The last paragraph above seems awfully prophetic now. This is actually a Merlin. Oops.

Rats of the Air

We're not snobs here at Toronto Wildlife. If it's wild and it's in Toronto that's good enough for us, just witness our posts on the supposedly-lowly squirrel and chipmunk. How could we have overlooked the Rock Pigeon for as long as we have?


If you've never seen a pigeon in Toronto please smack yourself in the head immediately. They're everywhere in the city, and they can be found everywhere from the tip of South America to Alaska and coast-to-coast. Pretty good for a bunch of poor immigrants from Europe. I could tell you amazing facts about the pigeon - yes it's true they can always find their way home - but the thing that strikes me most is how cool some of them really look. If you really had never seen a pigeon and were told it was a rare, exotic, important, endangered bird you'd think, Wow! Look at that thing! It's beautiful. The same is true of seagulls, and yes I promise to do them one day too.

These shots of pigeons also confirm our first rule here, which is that it's better to have a good shot of something common than a bad shot of something rare.

Hinterland Who's Who

I'm hoping you can guess this is a chipmunk. I only mentioned
Hinterland Who's Who because for some reason when I see a chipmunk, it always reminds me of those annoying commercials with the melancholy music that I used to see when I was a kid. And apologies to our international readers, because that's a one hundred percent Canadian-only pop reference.

Like my posting of the red squirrel and the bunny rabbit, this shot is for cuteness value only. I will say if you want a great pic of a squirrel or chipmunk use flash if you can, because their fur will look that much more glossy and colourful. This shot could certainly have been improved if I'd used flash, which I didn't.

No One Can Resist the Red-Tailed Hawk

Even though we've already shown images of Red-Tails not just once, but, er, twice, they're birds of prey, aren't they, which makes them really cool. Raptors (the fancy name for birds of prey) aren't as rare as you might think in the city, but Red-Tails are truly all over the place. Right off the top of my head I can think of at least a dozen spots where they're found regularly.

This particular hawk was in High Park and she spent a good minute or so posing for me. I'd guess this is a female because it was pretty large and female Red-Tails are bigger than the males. Also note that in the sun (this was shade) the Red-Tails often have a much more brilliant reddish colour.

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.

The Ludicrously Hard to Photograph Kingfisher

If you go to most any sort of reasonably-sized pond in a Toronto park there will usually be a Kingfisher there in the summer, and where there's one there's usually two, because its mate won't be far. They aren't that small, but they're fast - really fast - and also incredibly quick, and they just don't like coming anywhere close to where people are. It's not uncommon that you can be somewhere near a pond and see the Kingfishers flying all over the place, only to find they instantly disappear when you advance to the pond's edge. It's very annoying.

How quick are Kingfishers? At a park in Vaughn (is that Toronto?--close enough) there's a blind beside a rather isolated pond, constructed so visitors won't disturb any nesting birds. This blind consists of a ten foot wooden wall with some viewing ports cut in, and it's right beside the pond. When I first saw it I guessed that the Kingfisher I could already hear would probably sometimes land on top of the blind to use it as a vantage point to look for fish below. They aren't called Kingfishers for nothing.

So - thinking I was smart - I took a position behind the blind, camera at the ready. Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, a Kingfisher lands on top of the wall, just six feet away from me. But before I could actually take a shot, boom! It saw me and was gone. So when I say these guys are quick I mean they're quick.

I've heard various tips on photographing Kingfishers that aren't entirely ethical, so I won't share any of those. I'll just say if you want to get a shot of one, especially flying, you have to keep at it, fire off as many shots as you can, and just basically hope you get lucky. That's all you have sometimes.

The Kingfisher below is a female based on the dash of red on its chest, Kingfishers being one of the few birds where the female is more colourful than the male. I shot it at Area 51.

Big Storm and Tornado Hits Toronto

Well, this is something a little different than what we normally do, but last night a really whopping storm hit the city, and it was wild, so I thought I'd post some video I shot from my eleventh floor pad. If you're paying attention, this is the first video in the long and storied history of Toronto Wildlife. Bear in mind this was during broad daylight, and normally from this position visibility stretches out a couple of miles.

The sound more than anything (from a tiny pocket camera no less) is what makes this impressive, so make sure you have your 5.1 surround hooked up.

The Greatest Great Egret of Them All

Okay, okay, I promise to post no more shots of Great Egrets for awhile or make any more Great Egret puns unless I meet one that talks and/or kidnaps me. But this was too much to pass up, a flight shot of the same Egret in High Park seen perching below in Part II. Like their close cousins the Blue Heron, these birds are easy pickin's for flight shots because they glide in a nice straight line at relatively low speed and because with wings spread they really are big targets.

Click the image to get a better view.

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.