Discovering Wildlife in Toronto’s Don Valley

Discovering Wildlife in Toronto’s Don Valley is a recent book written by Toronto area photographer Jim Chung. It is the first photographic study of urban wildlife in Toronto. The coffee table style book is completely and beautifully made in Canada.

The author moved to Canada’s largest city two decades ago and was delighted to discover the metropolis had developed walking paths throughout the Don River ravine systems that meander through the middle of the city to empty into Lake Ontario. While enjoying nature walks with his wife, he also carried a camera for those just in case opportunities. Over time, those documented opportunities revealed an astonishing diversity and abundance of wildlife unknown to even long term residents of the city.

The book may have been a decade in the making but it is also a product of the Pandemic. Work at editing the book began in late 2019 and became a full time endeavor through the Spring of 2020 as everybody stayed home. Even now, there are few safer outdoor activities than going for a walk along the Don River and making these discoveries for yourselves.

Appropriately, birds make up the largest component of wildlife with over 400 species present in the city and the images were chosen to also tell a story about the unique behavior of each bird species. Northern Cardinals mate for life and the couple are often found together. Red Wing Blackbirds are polygamous to the extreme and are so territorial that they have no fear facing off the ominous Turkey Vulture, clearly several times its size!

The author began his career as a self taught astrophotographer and because the equipment required can be expensive, there is a tradition amongst astronomers to economize and make their own. The monochrome image of the chipmunk is in fact made from a true monochrome sensored DSLR much like a Leica Monochrom.   It is not simply a desaturated colour image as evidenced from its extreme sharpness and noise free background.    The DSLR was surgically modified by transplanting a monochrome sensor in place of its stock colour sensor. The chipmunk popping out of its lair was captured with an Olympus E-M1X body and a Zuiko 600mm prime lens.

Butterflies in flight are notoriously difficult to photograph. Since they often do not fly in a straight line but make sudden, darting course changes, getting one in your field of view alone can be difficult. Getting one also in focus is an exercise in frustration. You can check the author’s blog at:  jimchungblog.com for how he accomplished this particular shot.

Jim managed to safely pull off a shallow depth of field portrait of this Red Fox by using his Olympus E-M1X and Zuiko 600mm f/8 lens. 

By shooting at the unusually slow shutter speed of 1/200s, Jim accurately hand tracked the horizontal flight of this impressive Great Blue Heron to introduce motion into a static image as shown by the blurred forest background and the moving wing tips.

True wildlife does not tolerate human proximity and consequently high focal length photography is typical. Young White Tailed Deer buck with Olympus E-M1X and Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6 telephoto lens.

Short exposures and high frames per second shooting rates are required to catch small song birds in flight.  1/1600 s and 30 fps with Olympus E-M1X and Zuiko 300mm f/4 prime.

Widely available at Indigo/Chapters and Amazon, the author is also happy to send you an autographed copy from his personal inventory at $45, shipped anywhere in Canada.

About the Author

Jim Chung is a professional writer, speaker, astronomer, sports photographer, and musician. With degrees in dentistry and biochemistry, he is the author of a book on astrophotography and several scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals. His work has appeared in Sky & Telescope, RealClassic, Practical Performance Car, and Cycle Canada.

Prior to undergoing corrective laser eye surgery, Jim Chung was often mistaken for a younger and better-looking Yo-Yo Ma. Jim lives with his family in Toronto. He has recently taken up ballroom dancing with his wife because one should never get too comfortable with one’s routine.