Although looking forward to spring warmth, this morning I am reminiscing about my Great Gray Owl experiences of this winter.
These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. Their large facial disks, also known as "ruffs", focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night. They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 60 cm (2 feet) of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. These owls can crash through snow that could support the weight of a 180-pound person.
- Wikipedia
From my Great Gray Owl archives, February 2010.
Tags: GreatGrayOwl owl raptor winter prairie boreal forest Manitoba Canada wildlife nature bird SpecAnimal
© All Rights Reserved
A male Pine Grosbeak, fortunately for me, came flying in while I was standing outside the Interpretive Centre at Fort Whyte with a friend of mine and began foraging with a female grosbeak by his side. My friend was delighted with this lifer for him.
Tags: Pine Grosbeak grosbeak male nature wildlife prairie fauna Manitoba bird birds
© All Rights Reserved
...a big wet noodle!
May your Fur-Filled Friday dreams come true...
Look to Larger View, please!
Tags: polar bear
© All Rights Reserved
...this shot was taken from my summer archives last year. I haven't returned since then. The region was in flood disaster mode earlier this spring due to the ice jams on the Red River. I dream of returning for more views of one of my favourite birds.
Tags: pelican bird waterfowl Lockport summer archive wildlife nature prairie Manitoba Canada SpecAnimal
© All Rights Reserved
© All Rights Reserved