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  • Sydney Daniels

summer '24: lakes edition

I have not visited this many cottages and campgrounds in one summer since I was a kid. This summer's travel plans were such a treat, I had to split up the blog storytime into two parts. I hope you enjoy the photos I captured during this summer's lake time!


Mother Moose with calf

Lake One: Koko Lake, Nipissing

Driving from Waterloo to Nipissing for a single weekend might not sound worth it to some, but if you're travelling with 9 of your friends for a weekend up north, now we're talking. Our friend took us to his family's cottage for an extremely entertaining and fulfilling weekend in June.


We spent tons of time on the water, cooking together, laughing over drinks, and staring at the stars before bed. During our full we piled into one tin boat, one canoe, one single kayak, and a paddle board to set a course for 'Blueberry Island'.



We were about 400m from the island when we (myself and the boys in the canoe) spotted a pair of Loons! They were pretty far away so not only was I struggling with the distance to get a good shot, but I am shooting from a wobbly kayak.


I managed to get some decent photos and I was very excited to see these stunning birds, so I packed the camera away and kept paddling. Yet at the same time, the pair seemed to be getting closer to us...


Sure enough, this pair would dive and surface closer to me for a little while, until they disappear and pop up maybe 5-10ft from my kayak! I was filled with so much excitement but had to tell myself to focus on these two and to keep quiet. It felt so magical, I wouldn't shut up about it for the rest of the trip.



Speaking of the rest of the trip, the morning before we left the cottage two of the boys and I went on an early morning canoe ride to look for the Moose they accidentally stumbled across last summer. We paddled around the little bay and had no luck finding this Moose, so we head back and dock the boat.


We start chatting for a bit and as we are ready to head up, one of the boys spots movement across the water. Not only did we spot the adult, but a little Moose calf too swimming next to the marsh! We start taking pictures like crazy because they are hustling, How lucky were we to have these amazing wildlife interactions in such a short weekend.


Eastern Chipmunk

Lake Two: Leonard Lake, Muskoka

I spent the week at a cottage with my family and grandparents in Muskoka and the lake quota had been well surpassed, I was loving it. The wildlife here was not very diverse, but they were definitely not shy which provided for some fantastic photos.



We became close friends with the resident chipmunk, Conrad, and red squirrel, Reggie, since my sister pulled out peanuts at the dock. Conrad was much braver than Reggie to the point where it would sit in the bowl of peanuts and feast. Conrad also got up close and personal with us, climbing into my grandma's hair or all over my sisters arms and legs.


At Northwood, the name of the cottage, we were greeted by some really nice neighbours almost every day; nearly a dozen Mallards would hangout on the shore near the dock or resting on 'Lily Pad' mats in the water. Most of them seemed relatively young, it looked like one adult with her teenage ducklings.



With free access to a number of small boats, my sisters and I embarked on a few 'Sunset Paddles' during our stay. Leonard Lake didn't look big but had a lot of small coves and pockets to explore. We paddled around a small island one night during sunset which was a treat, but on our way back we saw a weird, dark figure land in one of the tall pines.


In my humble opinion, Cormorants should not perch in trees. I don't know what was wrong with this image but something didn't feel quite right when I saw my photos. They are great photos nonetheless, but something about them just make me uncomfortable. Someone in my Instagram comments said how strange it is to see webbed feet gripping on a tree branch, and I couldn't agree more.


Insect on Queen Anne's Lace flower

Lake Three: Earl Rowe Lake, Alliston

Growing up, camping at provincial parks was a tradition in my family, especially when we found our favourite park, Killbear. We haven't been camping since 2020 since we've gotten older and busier in the summers, which is why it was such a treat to go camping with my partner, Alex, at Earl Rowe!


We spent the August long-weekend in the 'Heron Loop' which was fun to see how Alex and I were brought up as campers. That being said, we killed it in terms of setting up our site and camping meal planning. We were greeted by a lovely visitor at our site as we were setting up; a Ruffed Grouse, who we named Ruffles, was sitting just past our site in the brush.


Ruffles was extremely chill and let us snap pictures of them for a while. Adding a new bird to both of our life lists was a great start to this camping adventure.



During our only full day at Earl Rowe we hiked their lookout trail to see out over the surrounding farmland in Alliston. The birds on the hike were few and far between which was disappoint seeing as we're both big birders (especially Alex lol).


After reaching the "summit" and getting some pictures of the scenery we started trekking back down where we managed to find another fun bird to add to my life list. Right as we got to the parking lot Alex spotted an Eastern Bluebird hiding in the canopy above us.



The lighting made it hard to identify this guy since it's colours were not super bright blue, but this was a pleasant surprise and made up for the lack of birds on the trails for me.


On our last day, we spent a lot of time near the water (a stinky human-made lake full of goose crap) to observe the waterfowl. There were tons of geese and gulls, some terns, and a few cormorants each time we stopped by. Alex made some very cool discoveries by the water too; Wilson's Phalarope and a Semipalmated Plover which were supposedly rare finds at the time!


Common Loon mother and chick

Lake Four: Blackwater Lake, Seguin

Last lake trip of the summer was spent at my Aunt & Uncle's cottage near Parry Sound. Blackwater Lake is a relatively quiet spot which is fitting since we have dubbed their dock 'The Diddly-Squat Dock', if you're visiting you do Diddly-Squat.


This lake is home to a pair of Common Loons who frequently call out in the morning and it's arguably one of the best sounds in the world. This year the pair was able to have a chick and it was the cutest little puff-ball!



Alex and I paddled to take a look at them one day and even though were were still a good 100m-200m away from them, one of the parents did not like us being around and starting calling out asking us to leave.


The morning before we left the cottage my Uncle took us out on his boat so I could get some better shots of them, especially the little one. When we showed up, only one of the parents was with the chick, I guess the other was out fishing. On the bigger boat we were able to get closer than we were on kayaks and paddle boards, but we still made sure to keep a safe distance from the chick.


Overall, this was a fantastic way to wrap up the summer adventures. As amazing as this summer was, I am more than happy to say goodbye for now, and can't wait for fall to really set in!

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