A season of observing hawks (and other animals) – wildlife photography of winter 2021-22

This photo essay is dedicated to late Mirza Naim S. Beg, who passed away in March 2022. He was a renowned wildlife photographer and eco-tourist from Pakistan.

It seems like yesterday we were exchanging notes on why winter photography would be easier for me to do in the Greater Toronto Area.

Mirza Naim Beg, through his photography, wildlife pages on Facebook, and organized ecotourism trips, woke me up from my slumber of 20 years on wildlife photography. I distinctly recall that during a wildlife trip to Pakistan from Canada in February 2020, he was constantly educating me on local wildlife, its habitat, and on how to improve my pathetic photography technique. You can read about the details of the wildlife project here.

During my hikes with K2 in the ravines and parks of Mississauga and Etobicoke, I took shots of wildlife, albeit far too less than any of the previous winters.

Winter photography was challenging as usual. The temperatures were in double digit below freezing. I had to use handwarmers inside winter mittens to keep my hands and fingers warm every now and then. In addition, I had to wear a toque and ear mufflers.

All photography was done on the go using Pentax hyper-program mode on Pentax K-5iis and Pentax KP cameras with Pentax DA 55-300 mm PLM, DA 300* mm, and DA 18-135 mm lenses without any post-processing. I know the shots are not good quality, but please enjoy.