Chickadee Photo Art

Winter Bird Feeding Station – Redpolls

// February 5th, 2012 // No Comments » // Birds of Manitoba, Boreal Forest, Canadian Shield, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Winter

Winter feeding can attract a variety of beautiful birds that remain with us year round.  Nuthatches, chickadees, grosbeaks, woodpeckers, jays, redpolls and sparrows to name a few.  The next few posts will feature photos of this year’s visitors to the feeders.  Black oil sunflower and suets seem to be the food of choice for those named above except the sparrows prefer a millet mixture if given the choice. I’ll start with the beautiful little redpolls.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Skunk in Winter

// February 1st, 2012 // No Comments » // Boreal Forest, Canadian Shield, Mammals, Recent Posts, Rodents, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Winter

You could not miss seeing this black and white striped skunk out for a walk on a sunny and warm winter day. They are normally nocturnal so I am not sure why this one was on a walk about during mid-day.  It was walking along and rooting under the snow here and there in search of food.  These photos were taken in the Pinawa area.  About the size of a domestic cat, skunks won’t bother you unless they feel threatened and it is very wise not to annoy them.  In all fairness to the skunk their body language will give you warning if you are too close.  Their diets consists mainly of insects and they do eat small rodents as well. Sometimes in more rural areas  skunks will damage lawns by digging for food.  I especially love the baby skunks and they are adorable reminding me of kittens following along behind their mother.  One campground in the Whiteshell that I frequented had many skunks which would appear with the onset of dusk and they wandered around the campsites in search of food. They were so used to people and being fed that they were almost like the campground pets.  One walked right under my camp chair one night on its way to the lakeshore for a drink of water.  I enjoyed watching them wander about without feeling threatened.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Snowy Owl

// January 27th, 2012 // No Comments » // Birds of Manitoba, Birds of Prey, Interlake, Recent Posts, Winter

We are fortunate to have these beautiful arctic birds visit our area each winter.  The Snowy Owls can often be spotted sitting on the tops of hydro poles, signs along side our highways or outbuildings.  These owls are diurnal, meaning they are active both day and night.  Their preferance for higher perches allows them to scan their hunting territory ( in our case the open prairie fields ) for small rodents or rabbits.  They breed in the high arctic  where their prey would be lemmings and sometimes ptarmigan.  Both parents are fiece defenders of the nest and young owlets. The Snowy Owl featured here is either a female or immature bird as it has fairly extensive black markings.  An adult male would be mainly white with fewer dark areas.  Their bill is black, their eyes yellow and feet are heavily feathered. Snowy owls can weigh in the 6 pound range and have a wingspan of up to 59 inches which makes it one of our largest species of owls.

 This snowy only moved when its head turned around to look the other direction.  My neck hurt just watching it !

Enjoy !

~Sharon