Chickadee Photo Art » Winter

Winter Bird Feeding Station – Redpolls

Sharon — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:00:50 +0000

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

Sharon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:34 +0000

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

Sharon — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:05 +0000

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

Ice Circles – Not “That Wierd or What”

Sharon — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:00:42 +0000

Last March I posted a Blog on “Unusual Ice Formations” – Ice Circles. You need icy cold rushing water with little eddies on the side to produce these ice platters. As it happened, I noticed on a television program this past year “Is That Wierd or What” – William Shatner’s TV show, that they featured Ice Circles. Canadian born William Shatner of Star Trek fame was visiting a United States Army lab facility where they were attempting to form and explain these unusual ice formations. They did in fact produce some in the lab but definitely not as beautiful as the naturally formed ones shown below. As it happens, we have them occurring right here in Manitoba and it is likely they are not that uncommon if you get to the rivers at the right time of spring thaw. It is clear that the froth generated from the rushing ice cold water gathers in the eddies and swirls around forming the circles which then freeze up because of the water/air temperatures. Eventually these ice circles free themselves from the eddies and float downstream where they melt. So once again – here are some recent photos of our made in Manitoba Whiteshell ice circles.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Photo Art Images

Sharon — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:00:06 +0000

Today I thought I would post some altered images. Above – two birch leaves that managed to hang on to their little branch all through the winter.

Below: An altered image from a star trails photo that I recently took. I’ll be posting the star trails photos at a later date. The streaks are the stars moving in the night sky. This photo was taken around 10:30 at night away from any city light sources.

Lastly – while reviewing photos of frothy spring waters and ice circles I noticed a shape in the froth that reminded me of a swan’s head. So with some cropping and editing of colour I thought it could be posted. Can you see the Swan’s head too?

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Whiteshell Winter

Sharon — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:00:20 +0000

Officially it is spring but snow remains and we do have plenty of that this year. A winter drive to the Whiteshell Provincial Park on a sunny day is really beautiful. Below: Hoar Frost in the boreal forest where fast currents prevent the water from freezing. The resulting moisture rises up and puts a white coat on the trees.

Below: This is in the Barrier Bay area of the Winnipeg River System. You can see snow machine tracks on the frozen part of the river and open water on the other side. Current are very fast in many sections of this river.

A few roads in the park are plowed in the winter which allows for a drive into the winter forest.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Trans Canada Highway in Canadian Shield

Sharon — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:00:44 +0000

Today a different kind of post for those visitors to the site who do not experience winter or have the opportunity to visit parts of Canada that we refer to as Canadian Shield. On a recent road trip to Kenora I decided to take some photos from the car as we were driving down the trans Canada highway to give you an idea what it looks like in the winter. Obviously I was not the driver this day. Winnipeg to Kenora is about a 2 hour drive with the first hour being flat prairie farm land but then you get the beautiful boreal forest, Whiteshell Provincial Park and bedrock, mossy landscape and an abundance of wildlife. This area of N.W. Ontario is referred to as “Sunset Country” in the vacation guides. It is truly beautiful both winter and summer with activities for all seasons. In addition this area is a terrific fishery with many different species in hundreds of lakes. So – part of the winter road trip is below.

Below a view of the winding two lane Trans Canada highway which always has a lot of transport truck traffic passing through. This is a highway where one needs to be alert at all times. The Ontario highways department keeps this road really well in the winter, plowing quickly in addition to sanding and salting the roads when they are icy.

Below – The Trans Canada highway cuts through the Canadian Shield bedrock in N.W. Ontario.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Winter Birds – Black Capped Chickadee

Sharon — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:00:59 +0000

I always love photographing these cheeky little birds summer or winter . . . These photos were taken the same day as the previous Common Redpoll photos in the Whiteshell area. A brisk winter day with light snow. Chickadees are very approachable and will take seed from a hand. Yet another resident of our boreal forests.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Winter White

Sharon — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:00:14 +0000

This morning we awoke to a winter wonderland and everything outside was coated in beautiful hoar frost. A thick fog hung in the air as the warm temperatures higher up collided with our cooler ground air. Winnipeg is a city of extremes with temperatures a few days ago in the minus 30′s C and colder if you factor the wind chill and now hovering just below the zero degree C mark. Winter can be a really wonderful season so today I am sharing a few recent photos of our winter white. Cedars and trees around the city were painted with delicate ice crystals.

Enjoy!

Sharon~

Spring Ice Jams

Sharon — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:00:45 +0000

Ice jams often form on the Red River in Spring causing sudden rises in the water levels. Below are some photos of an ice jam on the river and beautiful ice formations on some posts after the water receded.

Enjoy!

Sharon