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)