The Hiking Boot

A few weeks ago I received an email I wasn’t expecting to get as I had entered a few photos into the Canadian Geographic photo contest and my above photo of a Great Egret I took in Hamilton last year had made it to the shortlist!

An interesting fact: In 19th century North America feathers from Great Egret’s were highly sought after for use in women’s hats. So many Great Egrets had been killed that the population of the birds had declined so much they were almost wiped out entirely. Thankfully, conservation efforts have helped the Great Egret bounce back and they can now be found in wetlands across south-western Ontario. Even though their numbers are doing well now, climate change, habitat loss and bad government policies are still negatively impacting these animals lives. It’s important to remember that conservation efforts both large and small are incredibly important and we all have a role to play in that.

As for the contest, the results were published last week and unfortunately my photo wasn’t picked as a winner, but what an honour it is to be considered among other great photographers/photographs that made the cut!

To see the winning submissions click —> Canadian Geographic 2026 Photo Contest