Chickadee Photo Art

Red Tailed Hawk

// January 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Birds of Manitoba, Birds of Prey, Interlake

Welcome back to my website & thanks for visiting !

The Red Tailed Hawk is common in the countryside of southern Manitoba and is often seen perched on poles or trees alongside field areas.  They are large birds of prey who would feed on small animals such as rabbits, mice, gophers and the like.  Their belly area shows white plumage while the back and tail are a rusty brown colour.

As I was taking these photos  I thought the hawk was going to take to flight as it suddenly turned toward me, lifted its back end and stood up a little straighter.  However, it appears it needed to do what hawks do . . . throw a projectile “poop” out. Oh well, I thought I would post this unusual photo anyway.  See below.

After the hawk did its business it took to flight.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Bald Eagles

// December 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // Birds of Manitoba, Birds of Prey, Boreal Forest

Bald Eagles are both predators and scavengers.  They can be seen soaring high in the sky riding the air currents, by roadways dining on roadkill or perched up high on a tree or pole keeping watch on their hunting grounds.  I have observed them raiding a goose nest, picking a fish out of a lake, locking talons in mid-flight and then twirling together in the sky.  With eyesight second to none and the ability to dive from the skies upon their prey they are truly amazing birds of prey.  The mature eagles display their unmistakable white heads and tails while the young keep their mottled brown plumage until their third year.  It’s always a thrill to see a Bald Eagle in the wild.  Webcams such as the one on Vancouver Island a few years ago make it possible for people around the world to watch the nesting and habits of these beautiful birds.

Below:  Immature Bald Eagles – likely second year as the white plumage is beginning to show.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Mother Nature has the hiccups !

// December 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Birds of Manitoba, Birds of Prey, Boreal Forest, Mammals

I think that Mother Nature has the hiccups! Our weather this year has been totally out of our normal weather patterns. This hare started turning white in October just showing white on its ears, feet and belly. Now, at the end of November the hare has completed its colour transition and is totally white. It is so cute but very vulnerable now to predators because it is no longer camouflaged due to the lack of snow. We should have snow on the ground by now but instead we have still been enjoying the above normal temperatures. A very unusual but welcome fall seeing as we didn’t have much of a summer this year. In early October we had a fair bit of snowfall but it all melted away and our temperatures went up into the double digits again. The Canada geese are still here and should have been gone a few weeks ago while the Snowy Owls have returned. The small ponds and marshes are just beginning to get a layer of ice while the waters on the lakes and rivers remain unfrozen. Like I said earlier, Mother Nature must have the hiccups . . . Most of us are enjoying one less month of winter weather but there are those that depend on winter for a living or look forward to winter recreation – the ski resorts, snow clearing operators, snow machine enthusiasts and the like. It has been snowing lightly today so perhaps winter will arrive in the next few days – we’ll see. Personally I’ll be happy to settle for a warmer winter with snow – can’t imagine not having a white Christmas on the prairies.

Look at those big feet !  This will help the little hare run on top of the soft snow instead of sinking into it.

The Snowy Owl preys on rabbits and small rodents.  They survey their hunting grounds from high up and can often be seen perched on top of hydro poles.

Enjoy !

~Sharon