Bill Ford-Smith
Distant seagulls
This image was a result of an assignment from the class I’m currently doing; the idea was to produce more of an environmental picture of seagulls, giving a sense of the open and quite harsh conditions in which they live in the winter (even a mild one as we’ve had this year). Having the Toronto skyline looming out of the mist in the background…
Fool Hen
I had no idea Canada had things like this; I’m more used to the idea of grouse living in the highlands of Scotland or similar, being shot at by inbred members of the aristocracy… This splendid chap is a Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis); according to my bird book, it is also known as the Fool Hen, due to its habit of allowing people to…
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is a frequent sight over Ontario in the warmer months; soaring with their characteristic tipping motion as they look for lunch. Whilst not exactly beautiful birds, in a conventional sense, they are still impressive: their olfactory sense especially, which is primarily how they find food. According to my bird book, gas companies take advantage of this, by putting attractive-(to…
Seagull against the Toronto skyline
This image was taken on a beautiful sunny afternoon in the middle of March last year; I had done a walk along the lake-shore to Rattray Marsh and was heading back to the car – although it was beautifully sunny and the water was crystal clear, it was also d**n cold (to use the technical meteorological term) and strategic bits of me were starting…
Chickadee in winter
I’m rather fond of chickadees; they’re as close as you get to things like Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus for any North Americans who haven’t heard the word used in an avian context!) in Canada and are thoroughly charming little things. A highlight of a winter walk in some of the woods around here is getting them to feed from your hand. Whilst doing the…
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
This shot was taken at Ball’s Falls, near Hamilton; much as I would love to claim that I deliberately got the soon-to-be-lunch insect in the shot, that would be a complete lie, alas – I was only trying to get a decent shot of the bird (the blighters move very fast) and got lucky! According to my bird-book, this is a Golden-Crowned Kinglet (Regulus…
Red-Winged Blackbirds
The male Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a ubiquitous sight in the GTA, especially near marshland; given how common they are, it’s hard not to get a bit blasé about these rather splendid creatures. The main thing that struck me, the first time I saw them, was that a calling male does look rather as though he’s trying to make himself explode! This is…
Walking by the DVP
My first job in Canada was just off the Don Valley Parkway and some lunchtimes a friend and I would take a stroll around the block, to get a bit of exercise. I always took my camera, although rather more in hope than expectation; on one occasion, this splendid bird decided to put in an appearance…
Cootes Paradise
Cootes Paradise (possibly an egregious missing apostrophe there?) is a rather lovely wetland near Hamilton; it is looked after by the Royal Botanical Gardens, although it is a semi-wild landscape. In the not too distant past, the wetlands were badly damaged by pollution, excessive human use and also by the damage caused by the introduced carp from Lake Ontario. Happily, in more recent years…
Geese: shortly after dawn
One distressing aspect of an enthusiasm for photography is the need to get up at a totally unreasonable hour to catch some of the better light; this image required my surfacing when most sensible folk were still tucked up in bed. The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is one of the classic sights in their namesake country and these creatures seem to be everywhere at…
Bill Ford-Smith 