28th December 2019
Location: Schomberg, Ontario | Weather: Cloudy start but sunny later. Unseasonably warm at 4C |
First of all I would like to wish all readers a very Merry Christmas - I hope Santa brought you something nice !! This morning I took another run up to Schomberg to see if could nab a few nice images. The weather looked pretty favourable, so "a case of make hay while the sun shines" as I'm sure this bird visit to our area will be short lived, and it could be some time before we are blessed with another visit from another of this amazing species. We initially setup at a spot where the Owl had apparently been favouring over the last few days - it was a low vertical "tree" that from pour chosen position had a perfect background, so should the owl perch there again we would hopefully get that killer shot. I have discovered that after doing this for many years that one of the best ways to get that great shot is to find a spot that offers the best background and perch, then wait it out. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes not ... as was the case today.... oh well maybe next time. While we were waiting at our chosen spot we had an unusual fly by ... a Snowy Owl !!!! I never expected that. |
23rd December 2019
Location: Back Roads north of Elmira | Weather: Sunny and pleasant, only slightly chilly |
The last couple of times I've been out, has been to the Northern Hawk Owl circus that's been on the go for the last couple of weeks in Schomberg, north of Toronto. As much as I would like to have another shot at getting that killer shot, I decided enough was enough, and that I needed to find another subject. With that in mind I headed up to an area up and around Mennonite country north of Elmira. The targets were Snowy Owls, Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs, Waxwings (preferably Bohemian) and whatever else that fate would drop in my lap. In my first hour I found a total of 3 Snowy Owls, but none of them were too close, but I was still happy with the sightings and the shots that I managed. The highlight was seeing and photographing a couple of flocks of Snow Buntings. One flock was fairly small at around 40 birds, but the flock I found a bit later was well over a 100 birds. The larger flock was foraging along a gravel road, and although I initially scared them off, the returned and continued to forage along the road and along the snowy verge next to the road. At one point I had a Bunting within 20 feet off my vehicle - awesome!!! I was hoping to find a Lapland Longspur in the mix but unfortunately there seemed to be only Snow Buntings in the pack. I also spotted a few raptors hunting in the area - a few Red-tailed Hawks, a Rough-legged Hawk (pictured below) and a Northern Harrier (95% sure) A pretty successful day |
16th December 2019
Location: Schomberg, Ontario | Weather: Sun, Cloud & chilly |
12th December 2019
Location: Schomberg, Ontario | Weather: Sun & cloud and chilly (-10C) |
This is another "life" bird for me so I was quite excited, as I headed up, with the possibility of some image captures of this unusual bird. (Hawk Owls are rarely seen this far south).
Unbelievably this Owl has been hanging out in a small swampy area generally in the middle of the small town of Schomberg, and within minutes of arriving I'm looking at the bird through my lens, and almost filling the frame - it was that close. I should also point out that the bird was fearless of the few photographers & birders that were there, and continued to hunt all around where we were - sometimes flying and landing on a low tree less than 30 feet from where we were standing.
The bird had no problem locating and catching prey (mainly Meadow Voles) - some of which it ate right away, and many were left in the low trees, between branch & trunk, and some stuffed into crevices in the tree - thus creating a food store for "leaner" times.
You'll notice in the images below that there is some colour variations, and was all down to the light levels, and as to whether it was sun or shade.
4th - 10th December 2019
Location: In my back yard (Kitchener, Ontario) | Weather: Wintery |
3rd December 2019
Locations: Toronto & Burlington | Weather: Sunny morning, cloudy afternoon ~-4C |
1st December 2019
Location: At home in Kitchener | Weather: Ice pellets .... |