The (Grey) Ghost of Christmas Present

Between shopping and wrapping I was able to sneak my camera along for a drive to a few local haunts and had many adventures along the way...starting with an unscheduled detour to find a lost Husky named Isis. 

Apparently she couldn't contain herself when she saw a small herd of 7 deer, and all 8 of them stampeded in front of my car.  Before Isis knew it, the deer were gone and she was far from home - lost and feeling sorry for herself.  After a lengthy (and cold!) search in high grass and trees, covered in dirt and burrs, I spotted Isis lounging in the middle of the manicured trail!  She was sad and scared, but all ended well, and she (and the deer) were none the worse for wear. 

With Isis safely back with her owner, I was able to focus on wildlife, and was so happy to find a male Northern Harrier.  Harriers are right up there on my favourite bird list and are my favourite in flight bird to (try to) shoot.  While the female is gorgeous, they are much more plentiful than the male and there is something thrilling about finding the elusive "Grey Ghost".

Male Norther Harrier - Whitby, Ontario

When hunting, Harriers use their hearing more than other hawks, with the help of their owl-like facial disks, and hunt "on the wing".

One field in particular had so many voles that even I (without my facial disks) could see them scampering around - one just missed running over my foot!

The only nice thing about shooting in bitter cold and wind is that you're almost guarenteed to find a Harrier.  They love the wind and can be seen displaying their aerial acrobatics in between meals.

Red-Tailed Hawks were also plentiful.  This one was quite comfortable in my presence, and perched for several minutes before taking off after something much more interesting than me.

Red-Tailed Hawk, Whitby Ontario

Another bird that seems to be more visible when it is windy is the American Crow.  You can see that his outfit is getting messed up in the wind.

American Crow, Scugog Ontario

My favourite sighting of the weekend was the elusive "Johnny Claus".  He didn't slide down the chimney, choosing instead to hang out on the couch.   I normally don't dress my dogs up, and my photo shoot with Johnny reminded me why! 



Johnny, not too impressed with me but wishing everyone a Happy Holiday all the same!
(Osgrrr respectfully declined my request for a photo shoot)



Snow Day

There were lots and lots of hawks to watch today, most of them seeming to play in the snow rather than hunt.  These two Northern Harrier females were off in the distance and were having so much fun in the heavy snow.  Why do Harriers love intense weather so much?

Northern Harriers playing in the snow - Whitby, Ontario

Rotary Park was pretty quiet except for two squirrels who harassed me the whole time I was there.  I would have needed a macro lens to get a shot of the black one, he was so intent on searching me for peanuts, but this cutie stayed at least far enough away so I could focus.

This one was quite beautiful and looked very cold!

Give me peanuts...or at least a sweater!

Eastern Grey Squirrel - Ajax, Ontario

Rough-legged Hawks, White-Tailed Deer and Wildlife Repellent

When critters hear that my sister Lee is in the area they run, fly, swim, slither, trot and scamper to the nearest exit.  All that bad luck seems to multiply into good luck for me the moment she leaves.

This phenomenon has earned her the nickname "Wildlife Repellent".

I went from seeing next to nothing with her in the morning to meeting a beautiful deer pretty much the moment we parted company.


"You may take my picture...now that Lee is gone"

 A few minutes after that I found three Rough-Legged Hawks hunting in the same field.  Next to Harriers, they are my favourite hawk and I don't get to see them very often, so to find three was a thrill.  Once I realized they weren't skittish, I sat in the middle of the field for an hour taking sh*ts (sorry Ann, couldn't resist).



There was one dark-morphed hawk in the group and he seemed to gravitate toward me, at one time catching lunch about 10 feet away from where I was hunkered down.

The Rough-Legged hawk, like the Golden Eagle, has feathers all the way to his toes and I saw this today when they were hovering in high winds.  Despite their size, their feet are very small, more like pigeon talons!

Rough-Legged Hawk, Dark Morph

I am hoping to get a second chance at these guys because the dark colour of the bird and the angle of the sun made shooting difficult.  Hopefully they will be around tomorrow.
Regardless, it was so exciting to be able to spend time with them today.

Owl Prowl

I often wonder what the neighbours must think, with me creeping out of my house at an ungodly hour, camera in hand and ISO cranked to 3200...

That is typically what happens on days when I can get out and shoot and the effort was well worth it today.  It was such a thrill to encounter this beautiful Barred Owl!

My heart skips a beat when I discover one of these birds.  They are by far the most animated of owls, actually appearing to have facial expressions, and I could watch them for hours.  Especially when they are in hunting mode.  

Goose-Watching Barred Owl

They react to sounds from activity around them, their heads swivelling back and forth, and point their beak up to the sky as geese fly and honk overhead.  They also seem to mutter to themselves!  If you encounter one that is not used to human activity the sighting won't last long, but the majority of Barreds I've seen are just fine with you observing, from a respectable distance of course.

In early 2004, there were several Barreds in Durham, along with Great Grey Owls (my other obession) and I took this video of a resident Barred Owl, who happened to be at the exact spot where I saw the owl today. I named the one in the video "Smooch", because it looks like he kisses the tree at the end.  This clip is a good example of how animated they can be:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jando1111#p/u/4/zmCM8K0OYKc


Their only natural predator is the Great Horned Owl, and I was shocked to once see a Great Horned and a Barred in the same tree!  I'm pretty sure this was an unfortunate accident - the Barred had been startled and happened to land in a tree where a Great Horned was perched.  Fortunately for the Barred, feathers didn't fly.

The other amazing thing is their call - I've only heard it once in the wild and it is incredible!
http://home.centurytel.net/bobowlcalls/recordings2/01%202005-09-20%20p023%20M%2019_4s%2011025%2016b.wav

Northern Cardinal, Male

I wasn't quick enough to get shots of the Blue Jays who were pounding this owl in the head and stomach.  He gave them quite a few clucks.  But amongst all the avian activity, this male and female cardinal seemed to feel quite safe feeding right in front of it.

For some reason I haven't had much luck photographing Cardinals but the lighting was nice later in the morning and this husband and wife were quite patient with me.


Northern Cardinal, Female

Before heading home I stopped by Thicksons Woods, and there was no sign of the Saw Whet but I found another male Cardinal who thought about flying off when I got out of the car.  But the seeds were too tempting so he allowed me to take a few shots of him as he had lunch.

Northern Cardinal, Male, Thicksons Woods, Whitby ON

Oh Deer

Most animals were smarter than I was today, choosing to stay hidden and out of the wind's way.  But it was all worthwhile when I found these three beauties.

White-Tail Deer, Whitby ON

Fishin' Magician

As much shooting luck as I had yesterday, the opposite was true today.  All creatures, furred and feathered, took off when they saw me.  I did see a beautiful coyote in the distance but he too disappeared before I could get close enough to take a photo.

Fishin' Magician!

There was one high point though.  This gull, who I had been watching for a while, seemed to be taking it easy.  I looked away and he must have done some hocus pocus because he produced this huge fish!   Not a great shot because he was off in the distance, but it was fun watching him try to rangle the poor fish in.



Black-Capped Chickadee

Also a few other critters like this cute chickadee (one tried to land on my lens!)

but the lighting was terrible today.

Dogs Gone Wild

Osgrrr and Johnny had a blast playing in the leaves today!

We spend a fortune on toys for Osgrrr and he loves them, but I've never seen him have more fun than he did today with this stick.  Both are 11 years old...I wish I had that much energy!


OSGRRR - They don't make a stick big enough that I can't carry!





Sweet Johnny



Johnny spent the afternoon getting cuddles and looking dignified.

There's no such thing as too much fun!

An unexpected surprise

I seem to have the most success shooting in the worst conditions.  Today was another really windy day, and 5 hours later my hands are still frozen!

But it was worth it, and I didn't need to leave Durham to find these three amazing critters!

Red-Tailed Hawk who didn't clean up after his meal

I was surprised by this Red-Tailed Hawk.  Despite the bare tree, he was well camouflaged and birders were driving right past him.  He allowed me to shoot for quite some time from the car, and eventually flew off when another birder drove up to try his luck.

Next, I saw this cutie.  There weren't many small birds out in this wind but I guess when you can cling onto a tree trunk you must be pretty stable.  I've seen many Rose-Breasted Nuthatches but haven't photographed one so it was quite exciting.  It was not the best light unfortunately.



 But the grand finale was this beautiful Northern Sawwhet Owl.  I had only seen two in the wild until now, and this one was extra special because I didn't know he was there.  I was watching some chickadees and he caught my eye. 

Although this looks like a night/flash shot, it was taken in the afternoon.  The owl was perched in evergreens completely bathed in sunlight, and the lightness of the bird and the shadows in the cedars made exposure really tricky.

He was so cute I wished I could scoop him up and put him in my pocket. 

  

Northern Saw Whet Owl  "Now I see You....."



"Now I Don't"

  Thanks to these three, and a gorgeous Northern Harrier, it was a great day!

Windy Weekend

Red-Tailed Hawk

There’s nothing that challenges a stabilizer like a really windy day and on most shots today I lost the battle against mother nature. At least I was able to salvage a few.



While looking for the beautiful buck that so far has eluded my lens (except for a few blurry rump shots), I was surprised to find this hawk hunting in a Durham field where I don’t often find raptors. He was perched on top of a dead tree trunk and let me share his field with him.

Red-Tailed Hawk in hunting mode

Either I was extra-stealthy or I wasn’t important enough to distract him from his mission! 



I spent quite a while with this hawk, who didn't seem to have much luck in the hunting department.



Noelville, Ontario

There is nothing furry or feathered in this photo but I couldn't resist taking shots of the beautiful scenery in Noelville Ontario. The four+ hour drive north of Toronto was well worth it.



One of many beautiful scenes in Noelville, Ontario



Wile E Coyote

While looking for an ideal coyote release site, we discovered a promising dirt road.  Walking along a path that lead toward a conservation area we encountered this beautiful and very healthy-looking coyote!  He assessed the situation, decided we were no threat and lay down in the field (while keeping an eye on us).

A coyote sighting was long overdue!

Eastern Coyote, Whitby ON

Misty Morning

Early mornings are so peaceful on the lake and the mist was beautiful against the fall colours.

Mark enjoying the beautiful view

Oddly enough though, the best photo opp of the weekend came when we stopped at Oshawa Second Marsh to stretch our legs (and paws).  I had a great encounter with a Great Blue Heron.  While typically skittish, two herons were involved in a mid-air chase and were so intent on one-another that they let me get a few shots in.  I had luck (and good lighting) on my side.

Haliburton Highlands Weekend Away

This weekend we headed to Haliburton Highlands for a little R&R and a whole lot of photography.  I had only seen a few ravens in my time until this trip, where we were seeing 20-30 at once.  They were quite curious and so vocal - what a great call they have.  It sounds like a cross between a heron and a crow.

 

Early mornings at the cottage were cool but beautiful, with heavy mist on the water.  I tried my best to see or hear on owl but no luck. 



Hailburton Wolf Centre



We did, however hear wolves and although we were located near the Haliburton Wolf Centre, the howls were from a pack across the water. 

Before heading for home, we tackled a couple of trails in Algonquin and saw evidvence of moose...but we are still moose-less in Ontario. Sigh. 



Gray Jay, Algonquin Park Ontario



Instead, we spent some quality time with some beautiful Gray Jays.

Is anything cuter?





Eastern Screech Owl - Finally Free

This is an owl I won't soon forget.  Found in North Durham huddled against a house, he was brought to Toronto Wildlife Centre where it was determined he had injuries to most of his body.  After a month at TWC, he went to The Owl Foundation for several months and there regained strength and was prepared for release.

I released him back in his turf and he immediately flew into some cedars.  This photo was shot at high ISO and I really didn't think it would turn out but luckily I was able to get one shot out of it. 

Such a beautiful bird.

Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl, finally released after many months in care.