Greg Shchepanek

 Amphibians Galore American Toad ( Anaxyrus americanus ) Surprising to find so many amphibians hopping around the Fletcher Wildlife Gardens in downtown Ottawa. First, there were rabbits found pretty much everywhere which is not surprising but nice to see and photograph. Most notable was finding an American Toad close to the Amphibian Pond and later finding a pool just filled with Northern Green Frogs and their tadpoles which was a great setting to photograph the frogs. Usually we go to Fletcher for some bird sightings but this time proved to be the amphibians that were present throughout the Gardens leading to a most pleasant surprise and an opportunity to get some great shots. The Gardens are located next to the Dominion Arboretum and situated within the Central Experimental Farm and is known for its floral arrangements of natural Canadian plants and ornamental water ponds situated throughout the property.    Always happy to come across a Toad on my adventures usually f...

  https://shchepanekgreg.myportfolio.com/ I originally had two websites, one for graphic design and another for my photography but I ended up losing them during the pandemic to the exuberant costs it took to maintain them. So I ended up with myportfolio.com which is owned and operated by Adobe Inc. and most importantly it is free and it does a relatively good job of highlighting my work and interests. The site is comprised of a splash page and then four Work pages : Flora Photography; Photography; Fauna Photography and Graphic Design.  I decided to go this route in 2023 and that is why the pages are all labelled with that date. But the work spans my thirty five years in the graphic design & photography industries. But I must say I am lacking in samples of my graphic works, you can get a better sampling on my Facebook pages :  Graphic Illustrations  and my photography at :  GSDesignPhotography On my splash page you can see samples of a variety of my work in p...

 The Disappearing Monarch Monarch Butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) Jack Pine Trail, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Conservation Status: imperiled (S2N,S4B) in Ontario, CA (NatureServe). Taken July 20, 2018. Once bountiful and ever present, is a thing of the past for the Monarch Butterfly as it slowly disappears from the landscapes of North America. Once every year I could visit a location and was sure to find my beloved Monarchs doing their thing. Even with some years a more proliferation of the butterflies was witnessed but sadly this has all come to an end and with only one single sighting this year in Alleyn-et-Cawood, Québec where the species once had a stronghold in the Milkweed fields. One could venture to the Arboretum in downtown Ottawa and find the Monarchs in full flutter on the varieties of flora arrangements of the gardens. Here I will look at the presence of the Monarch Butterfly over the past five years noting that documentation of the butterfly has fallen and 2022 mark...

 Most Favourited Frogs  Northern Green Frog ( Lithobates clamitans melanota ) Foley Mountain Conservation Area, Ontario, Canada. Second to Squirrels comes those amphibians, the frogs that are a favourite to my viewers on my Flickr site and presented in Explore. The above photo is the third most popular that was taken just this year while I celebrated my birthday out in the woods. I discovered this Northern Green Frog on Foley Mountain at a beaver pond, here it was teaming with frogs that were posing to boot. This particular frog sat and had no concerns as to the large lens that was positioned in front of him. Going out I commonly search after the frogs be it next to water or far from the shoreline. It is nice to capture them in the water but I'll take them as I can get them. It is surprising how far you can find some species from vicinity of water, commonly I find Leopard Frogs high on hill tops and nowhere near a source of water. As well Wood Frogs are known for their locati...

 Most Popular Squirrel Photos American Red Squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ) Britannia Conservation Area, Mud Lake, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I have been photographing nature for about thirteen years now and squirrels have been a favourite amongst viewers wherever I post my photos so here is a compilation of favourite squirrels on my Flickr site. Squirrels do the darnedest things and the cutest behaviours wherever you find them in North America or just in your backyard. Some of my most iconic squirrel photos were taken in the Northwest Territories where the American Red Squirrel abound and are the most prevalent critter on the trails. From eating mushrooms or just chatting up a storm you can find the red squirrels performing all kinds of antics in the Boreal Forest. Down in Ottawa there are a variety of squirrels that can be found in the woodsy areas of the city notably the Eastern Grey Squirrels both grey and black. Thrown in with the Eastern Chipmunk there are much squirrels t...