3 January 2009
Red squirrel
Next the red squirrel on the perch!
3 January 2009
Black squirrel
And now the black squirrel (really, the melanistic phase of the Grey squirrel)strikes a pose!
1 January 2009
White-winged crossbills, males
1 January 2009
White-winged crossbills, male
Every so often, some of the crossbills would fly down into the snow, dig their bills in and take up moisture.
1 January 2009
White-winged crossbill, female
You can see the crossed bill from which they get their name in this photo.
1 January 2009
American goldfinch
A couple of goldfinches were amongst the flock of crossbills.
1 January 2009
Animal activity
Just outside the FWG there was a scene of great activity, with the area well trampled by foxes and crows. In the lower left corner of the photo you can see the remains of a cottontail rabbit, the cause of all the excitement. It doesn't appear that the rabbit was killed at the site as there are no rabbit tracks visible nor is there any sign of blood. It was probably killed further away and for whatever reason, carried to this location. It is possible that two foxes (at least) were feasting, judging from the number of fox tracks around. Clearly, crows came for their share too, as the entire area is also covered by crow tracks. It is sad that this rabbit died, but then because it did, foxes, crows, and who knows what other wildlife, were able to eat.
1 January 2009
Crow tracks
A closeup of crow tracks.
1 January 2009
Crow tracks
Another shot of crow tracks.
1 January 2009
Rabbit and fox tracks
Further away from the above site, I came across a set of rabbit tracks and a set of fox tracks which converged at one point and then separated again. No signs of a chase, so the animals were probably not there at the same time.
1 January 2009
Red-tailed hawk
Gillian Mastromatteo was at the FWG today and photographed this lovely red-tailed hawk sitting near the Ash woods feeder. This bird is hanging out more frequently at FWG lately as Sandy saw it on 30 Dec. at FWG.
1 January 2009
White-winged crossbills, males