August Photo of the Month

This month, the gang at Nature Canada selected this picture, which the photographer has dubbed ‘Life at the water’s edge’, which captures two damselflies mating on grasses in Cootes Paradise, Hamilton, Ontario. Thank you Jean Crankshaw! (Update from online community member James Wolford: the two insects are not "mating", but rather are in the "in tandem" position, with the male at the top in the photo and the female below. This position is either a pre-mating or post-mating relationship. If they have already mated, the male could be "guarding" the female to prevent her from being mated by another male before she lays eggs fertilized by her current mate. Thanks James!)

In the last few months, we have been receiving so many beautiful nature shots that it's becoming more and more difficult to narrow it down to just one. We just think it's a shame to leave such stunning nature photography in our inboxes, so here are a few other photos that almost made it as Photos of the Month.

Why not leave a comment and tell us which photo you would have selected!

Runner-up #1: From Connie, Dwayne and Grace in Manitoba, who wrote: Our “baby” helping rescue baby robins who fell out of their nest during a storm. One week later “our” birds made their first flight..yay!

Marty Burke from Ontario writes: This is a recent photo of a very elusive, male Belted Kingfisher taken on the Cataraqui Trail near Portland, Ontario. The image was taken using a digiscoped Nikon D200 dSLR camera that included a 1.4 teleconverter to increase the magnification. This bird was perched approximately 180 m (600 ft) away.

During a storm that struck Port Hope, Ontario, earlier this summer, photographer Art McLeod sat by the Lake Ontario shoreline watching this factory get hit about a dozen times. He was able to capture this hit.

Jack Cohen sent this photo of a Great Horned Owl taken in Fish Creek Park in South Calgary. Says Jack: "I interrupted his afternoon nap just a few metres from his regular nesting site." Photo details: Canon EOS 40 D, 1/125 s @ f 6.3 with Shutter Priority, ISO 200, 400 mm, Flash Filled & Exposure Bias of +1.

Keep sending in this those nature shots! Here's how.