# Some of the birds around in winter



## daniella3d (Aug 21, 2015)

Winter is coming.... and the snowy owls will probably be back. 

I hope they don't, because that would mean they are starving up north and many will die.

I read often people asking why some people feed them...We've been feeding owls for a few years now, after finding 5 of them dead from starvation here in Quebec. Many many many of them die each year because they can't find enough food. Snowy owls have a high metabolism and need about 25 mice per day. They may look big but underneat the feathers, most that get here are just skin and bones. When they are so weak that people can pick them up and bring them to rescue centers, then it's to late already and nearly all of those die. 

The real problem happen when there is some rain and that build up a crust of ice over the snow. Then the birds can't get any catch and they starve to death. Starvation is also the reason they were so far out south last year, because it was to damn cold here in Quebec as well and there is not enough food. This is a problem for snowy owls and great gray, who cannot get their food in such conditions. Barred owls have no problem because they live here all year around and they hunt in the woods, not in fields.

Here are a few of our friends. Those were taken with a Canon DSLR camera and L lenses.


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## Erythrone (Aug 21, 2015)

Wonderful pictures. I suppose you pay attention not to feed them too close from roads?


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## Lanmark (Aug 21, 2015)

I'm glad you feed them. Wonderful creatures! Amazing photos!


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## Ruth (Aug 21, 2015)

Beautiful photos and beautiful owls!!!!!!!!!!!


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## emydura (Aug 22, 2015)

These are some of the most amazing bird photographs I have seen. Great detail, superb composition and the photos are so sharp. The photos leave me breathless. 

Sad to hear about them starving to death. Is this a natural phenomenon or is it due to human disturbance?


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## Clark (Aug 22, 2015)

No shortage of rats in Jersey.
Send them down.


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## JeanLux (Aug 22, 2015)

:clap: Great pics :clap: !!!! Jean


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## ehanes7612 (Aug 22, 2015)

Great Pictures


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## Secundino (Aug 22, 2015)

Amazing photographs, but - winter is coming? Where??


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## Wendy (Aug 22, 2015)

Amazing photos! What do you feed them? In this case I think it's a good thing to help them through the winter months.


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## NYEric (Aug 22, 2015)

Amazing photos. I can bring you some mice from the pet store.


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## Erythrone (Aug 22, 2015)

Owls photographs feed them with mice in our country (and no, winter is not here yet!). It is now very popular to bait those birds. 

You can read more about feeding owls here : 

https://lodgetrailmedia.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/of-mice-and-owls/


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## daniella3d (Aug 22, 2015)

Yes that's a good point, I walk about 500m to 1km inland. It's very dangerous to feed them anywhere close to the road and yes we do ask the land owner for permission. Last winter the ice crust was so thick that I did not even need showshoes! It was like walking on concrete.

I don't do photography much anymore as I prefer to watch the birds with my own eyes, but I still feed them when I see some in great need of food. It's very expensive though, so not sure how much longer I can keep that up.

I much prefer that they don't come here at all when they have plenty of lemmings, it's best for them. They are not migratory birds and if they are all the way here, it's bad news for them. People think they can find their food easily, but not so! Many starve to death each year. Starvation and collision with cars are the main cause of death for them. The young birds are especially at risk as they end up with the worse territory and have inexperience for catching their food. So most of the birds I feed are very young birds. Strong adults rarely need it and are usally very independant.






Erythrone said:


> Wonderful pictures. I suppose you pay attention not to feed them too close from roads?


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## daniella3d (Aug 22, 2015)

It's not due to human, it's a cycle of life and death caused by the cycle of the lemming population. When the lemmings are abondant up north the snowy owls have more babies which manage to survive. But when the lemming population drop, so does the birds. And in winter it is very hard for them to catch those lemmings as they live underneat the snow. Then they have to come south to find food. The colder and thicker the snow and the more south they have to go. There was even one in Florida last winter! 

Of course some of them die because of humans. They get shot, they get hit by cars, they get electrocuted by power lines, but most die from starvation.




emydura said:


> These are some of the most amazing bird photographs I have seen. Great detail, superb composition and the photos are so sharp. The photos leave me breathless.
> 
> Sad to hear about them starving to death. Is this a natural phenomenon or is it due to human disturbance?


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## daniella3d (Aug 22, 2015)

It's a constant war. Birders prefer to see the birds dead...they say it's nature taking its course. I hate this mentality.

And some photographers are putting the birds in danger when feeding them near roads and traffic. There need to be a regulation for this. People should be able to feed them but not close to roads, and not harras the birds.

People who feed them rarely harrass the birds because that's the birds who come to the photographers and there is no need to go run after them at all.

Those who walk in the field and harrass the birds and make them fly off without giving them some food are those that are causing real harm because they make the birds spend their precious energy and don't compensate any of it with food.

When people try to feed snowy owls, they should do it way inland, far from the roads, and from a far distance. If the bird is starving, he will come. If not, it means that bird is not hungry so people should move on and leave the bird in peace. Only starving birds will respond to a mouse bait, but those who do respond really need that food or they will not survive the winter. They can see a tiny mouse from 1 km away! 

It's not illegal to feed snowy owl and often the wildlife service come to watch and monitor what's going on.

But I hate the way most birders think, and that they prefer that the birds have no interaction with humans and they if they have to die from starvation, so be it, it's nature after all. Of course the same people that complain about feeding the owls probably have a bird feeder in their backyard ...so It's ok for them to do it, but not for others. nonsense.

People need to see the difference between feeding owls and harrassing them. If a bird come on its own will, then it's definitely not harrasing.

2 years ago there were 4 great gray owls in a little park near Ottawa. Birders have complain and complain about people feeding them non stop. The wildlife people came to investigate and replied to them that the land owners gave permission and that it was very benificial for the birds to get the extra food during such cold winter. Case closed. That was the end of the complain and people fed these birds all winter. The 4 of them managed to survive the harsh winter and where very healthy by the end of the winter with great feathers and strong enough to get back up north, which they all did at the end of March.

It's all over Canada, from East to West. Snowy owls are just starving when they finaly get south, they are very thin. Here is an article from Vancouver, BC:

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/s...reat-desperate-island-search-for-food-1.18500




Erythrone said:


> Owls photographs feed them with mice in our country (and no, winter is not here yet!). It is now very popular to bait those birds.
> 
> You can read more about feeding owls here :
> 
> https://lodgetrailmedia.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/of-mice-and-owls/


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## Erythrone (Aug 22, 2015)

daniella3d said:


> It's a constant war. Birders prefer to see the birds dead...they say it's nature taking its course. I hate this mentality.
> 
> And some photographers are putting the birds in danger when feeding them near roads and traffic. There need to be a regulation for this. People should be able to feed them but not close to roads, and not harras the birds.
> 
> ...



I got your point. It makes me think... Did you know there are sometimes emergency winter deer feeding projects in our province ? However white tail deers are now much common here than 200 years ago... For many people like me, the population is too high in many areas and the deers modify the ecosystems. But this species has a high economical value because of hunting so it looks like it is important to feed them in winter...


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## Migrant13 (Aug 22, 2015)

Definitely some of the best owl photos I have seen. Kudos to you for helping them out. Owls are some of my favorite birds and we did see a lot of them last winter in Massachusetts.


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## SlipperFan (Aug 22, 2015)

Excellent, stunning photos, Daniella! You really shouldn't stop making them. I wish you could post them, and your story, somewhere where more people can see them, read about them, and understand.


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## Happypaphy7 (Aug 22, 2015)

Amazing photos! Thanks!

BTW, the second bird, are the eyes open? They look rather creepy to me. lol

Also, winter is already coming up there?


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## daniella3d (Aug 22, 2015)

The second bird is a barred owl. The eyes are totally black, so they reflect anything around. If close enough, you could see your own reflection like in a mirror 

Their eyes are like a black pearl.

I was kind of joking about winter but in truth it will be here soon enough (2 months). In November it is already winter and snowing. The snowy owls generally get here in November or December.

Slipperfan, it's hard to make some people understand, on both sides. 

As for deers, the park rangers put up food for them in our local park in winter, right in middle of the city. Amazing how well they have adapted to modern life in the city.




Happypaphy7 said:


> Amazing photos! Thanks!
> 
> BTW, the second bird, are the eyes open? They look rather creepy to me. lol
> 
> Also, winter is already coming up there?


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## abax (Aug 22, 2015)

Thank you for feeding the owls daniella. I may never see
one, but it makes me glad that some people care enough
to make sure the young ones get through winter. I feed
every woodland critter who cares to come to feed at our
house and we now have more wildlife in this area than
there has been for many, many years. Sharp Shinned and Red Shouldered hawks are returning because the supply of little critters to feed on is plentiful. Humans CAN make a difference.

Magnificent photos!


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## Marco (Aug 23, 2015)

wonderful photos. Thanks!


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## Happypaphy7 (Aug 23, 2015)

daniella3d said:


> The second bird is a barred owl. The eyes are totally black, so they reflect anything around. If close enough, you could see your own reflection like in a mirror
> 
> Their eyes are like a black pearl.
> 
> ...



Good to know and it's very interesting that their eyes are black. 
They looked as if they were closed in the photo since they were very dark. 

Yes, wild animals being taken care of by humans. 
I wonder if feeding them make them too familiar with humans? 
Maybe they just get to know that that's just a seasonal thing to depend on and survive the winter? 

I don't think I've ever seen owls in person.
I'm rather scared of the encounter to be honest for some reason. 
I feel the same way about eagles. They are beautiful birds but scary to me at the same time. Those beaks and claws, and eyes!


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## abax (Aug 23, 2015)

Happy, don't be a sissy! The only birds you need be scared
of are Pileated Woodpeckers around a nesting area. They
WILL drill a hole in your head! We have Great Horned, Barn owls and
Screech owls here and they only bother rabbits and field
mice.


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## Fabrice (Aug 24, 2015)

To me, perhaps the most majestic and interesting birds too.

In the beginning of the year, I did some studies about this one, very difficult to see it because it's a "shy" but incredible specie: (not my pictures)


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## SlipperFan (Aug 24, 2015)

More excellent photos. I love how the orange in the Great Horned Owl's eyes echo the background.


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## abax (Aug 24, 2015)

Great Horned are majestic birds and quite large. Every
now and again one lands on the peak of our roof to spy
the surrounding area and HOOTS. They are incredibly
LOUD!!!

Fabrice, your photos are stunning. I rarely see them, but
hear them frequently at 2am to 3am. Only a very large
bird could possibly make that loud sound.


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## JeanLux (Aug 25, 2015)

Impressive Fabrice, thanks for showing!!!! Jean


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## KyushuCalanthe (Aug 25, 2015)

Awesome photography. The fourth shot is "picture postcard perfect". When I was a kid we always fed the local birds, but in the end I think the squirrels got most of it :rollhappy:


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## Hamlet (Aug 26, 2015)

Amazing pictures of beautiful animals.

It made me sad to read about the starving birds. You're a good person for feeding these beautiful creatures, I like you.


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