Chickadee Photo Art

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

River Otters

Sharon — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:00:41 +0000

Another fall day and a drive out to the Whiteshell Provincial Park. Once again I happened upon an otter family of three. Every time I come across an otter or otters they always will swim a little in my direction, pop their heads up and take a look. As usual, their curious nature allowed for this photo before they swam a little farther down the river. I am always thrilled to see these playful animals in their natural environment.

Below: A river otter from an early spring trip, once again taking a look.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

King of the Beasts

Sharon — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:00:15 +0000

This is the last of my zoo posts but I would be remiss without including our lions. Not too lively while I was there but at least the lioness was awake – the old fella – well, it was a Sunday afternoon and he was napping. Hmmmm . . .

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Siberian Tiger Cubs & Snow Leopard

Sharon — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:00:07 +0000

Still some photos from my October zoo visit. A few more photos of our precious Siberian Tiger cubs and one of the snow leopard who was cat napping.

Below: Snow Leopard

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Assiniboine Zoo

Sharon — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:39 +0000

A few more photos taken at the Assiniboine Zoo this past October. Normally I do not use captive animal photos on this website but did take a few snapshots while visiting our tiger cubs this fall. So today, a flamingo, Steller Sea Eagle ( this is a really large bird ) and a toucan.

Below: Flamingo in the tropical house preening its feathers.

Below: Steller Sea Eagle. With a wingspan of up to 8 feet and weighing in at 15-20 lbs this eagle is considered the most aggressive and powerful of its cousins, the bald eagle and white-tailed sea eagle. They are believed to breed only in far eastern Russia and some migrate as far south as Japan. Their diet consists mainly of salmon and like other eagles will dive into the water clutching a fish with their talons. They will also steal food from other birds. This Steller Eagle sits alone in a rather small chain link enclosure at our zoo – mixed emotions here. While it is the only opportunity I would have to see this beautiful bird of prey it is sad to see it alone and so confined. Like our bald eagles, Steller’s nest along waterways where their food sources are.

Below: Toucan in the tropical house enjoying a cateloupe. The birds in the tropical house fly around freely and have a variety of tropical trees to perch in. These smaller birds are likely quite at home in this facility.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Manitoba Scenes

Sharon — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 02:06:03 +0000

Today a few scenes from various locales in Southern Manitoba. We are fortunate to have such a variety of landscape that ranges from wilderness to farmlands. It is always interesting taking a drive in any direction from Winnipeg as there will always be something of interest that one happens upon.

Below: Wind turbines producing power along highway 75 near the U.S. border

Below: early evening on the outskirts of Winnipeg

Below: Shimmering silver tracks of Via Rail entering Winnipeg.

Enjoy!

Sharon

White Tailed Deer

Sharon — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:00:43 +0000

Some recent photos of white tailed deer today. These were taken in late October / early November and as I had hoped there were more bucks visible at this time of year. It is rutting season and we need to be extra alert while driving in both the city (we have a large urban deer population in Winnipeg) and on the highways. The deer run all over the place during the rut and many are killed in traffic.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Mule Deer

Sharon — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:00:40 +0000

Mule deer are found in the Western portion of North America – the Rocky Mountain regions and get their name from their large “mule like” ears. They are more grey in colour than their cousin the White Tailed Deer. The mule deer’s tail is black-tipped, whereas the whitetail’s is not. Mule deer forage and mate in the fall as do others in the deer family with fawns being born in the spring. Humans and automobiles top the list of enemies but their natural enemies would be mountain lions, coyotes and also bears. They are always alert and rely on speed to avoid harm. These photos were taken in Alberta near Jasper.

Enjoy!

~Sharon