Winter’s Last Hurrah: Blue Shadows and Big Birds

It’s finally feeling like spring! But we did get a stretch of “real winter”, and enough snow to get out the cross-country skis and snowshoes. So I’m sharing some images from the last few weeks, before we leave the cold weather behind for good.

A cold, sunny day with fresh snow means I’m snowshoeing in the woods, looking for birds, like this hairy woodpecker…

… and admiring the blue shadows!

It has been an exciting time to watch the big birds! A white head and tail mean a Bald Eagle is mature–at least five years old. The ones with more mottled colours are juveniles.

Building a nest?

An immature Bald Eagle

Turkeys are an everyday sight, but I’d never seen one in a tree before! (They do roost in trees at night, but this was daytime.) Those red berries must have been very tempting.

This raven was working on a meal in a snowy field. As usual there were two of them, but they weren’t close together and they didn’t seem to be sharing.

And then there are the owls. I haven’t gone looking for Snowies, but did spot this one hiding near some farm equipment. Can you see it?

Late one afternoon I was heading to my studio, trudging noisily through the snow. Rounding the corner of the building I surprised a barred owl, not more than 10 metres/yards away. It flew to a nearby tree.

And last but not least: one afternoon, while walking the dog, I spotted this beauty on a fence post. Of course this had to be one of the times I wasn’t carrying a camera. I ran all the way home, loaded a fresh battery, and ran back… and it was still there! A beauty!

A big question in my mind: I can easily edit out the white wire. But that’s the reality of farm country, so it’s part of the story. And maybe with so much AI-generated imagery these days, it’s better to leave it, exactly as I saw it? Something to ponder.

We’ve seen the first Red-Winged Blackbirds, Killdeer, and other migrants! Spring is coming!