Greg Shchepanek

 Dunrobin, Ontario A warm Sunday in the west end of Ottawa visiting Constance Creek found two young Blanding's Turtles trying to cross a busy road, picked up one who was hiding in his shell and too frightened to complete his journey the other successfully scampered across the road with no help needed. The Blanding's Turtle is an endangered species and saving them when I can is a great duty.  Blanding's Turtle ( Emydoidea blandingii ) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Conservation Status: vulnerable (S3) in Ontario, CA (NatureServe). Endangered in Canada (Canadian Species at Risk Act). The woods were filled with White Trilliums and a few Red here and there could be seen. But not too many spring flowers were to be found I really wanted to get the Painted Trilliums but alas there were none to be seen in the woods. Pure Green Augochlora Bee ( Augochlora pura ) on a White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) Bill Mason Centre, Dunrobin, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Wild Strawberry ( Fragaria ...

 Merivale Gardens in Ottawa Saturday this weekend went exploring the sand dunes of the Piney Forest and was lucky to find the Tiger Beetles out on the dunes in the warm sun. I didn't get a chance to photograph any last year but I did come across a number on the sandy beaches of Petrie Island in eastern Ottawa. I think this is the first time I photographed Tiger Beetles with my new Canon EOS R7 with the 100mm macro lens. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the photos being that the insects are hard to find not moving or flying about. The sand dunes at Merivale Gardens has three species of beetle including the Ghost, LeConte's and the Eastern Sand. This time I came across the most common LeConte's/Festive Beetle. LeConte's Tiger Beetle ( Cicindela scutellaris lecontei ) Merivale Gardens, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Hoping I will get some more varieties this summer I would most definitely like to get some shots of the Ghost but unfortunately they are getting hard to...