I admire Canadian's and definitely Alaskan people who live off the grid surviving those brutal temperatures. It's 13° today in my area I would consider that warm for you. That's awesome to have horseshoe hare in your neck of the woods. Do you see snowy owls?Canada is in the grip of a Polar Vortex and temps have been in the -30C range with wind chills hitting a low of -49C in my area the past few days. The feeders are only attracting a few species this winter, but all of those are here in good numbers throughout the day as a consistent and reliable food source is very important in weather like this. Very few surprises showing up, but...here's a Snowshoe Hare. He's similar to the Varying Hares I grew up with in Ontario, but they were an introduced species and have largely disappeared there over the past few decades. In contrast, this guy is a born'n'bred Canadian species, very common hereabouts but fairly nocturnal; seeing one in broad daylight is a rarity around here. I think the extreme cold has driven him out in daylight to try to warm up a bit in the sun while also chowing down on some more willow twigs and buds. Workin' hard to keep those internal fires burning...
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Can you tell I still haven't broken down and bought a camera...?
Birding!
- Thread starter jjohnwm
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I assume you mean +13F? That's about -10C, and we're actually forecast to have that kind of temperature about a week from now. Certainly above average for the end of January, will be nice...but the closer we get to 0C/32F, the greater the chance of more snow, so it's a mixed blessing.
I've seen Snowy Owls in my area every winter, and they have periodic "irruptions" when they are much more frequently seen. We're not having such an irruption winter now, but there are still a few around. While I haven't actually seen a Snowy on my own land, I have observed them numerous times...most recently yesterday morning...on the plowed field next to my land. The property line is only about 250 yards in that direction, so occasionally...like yesterday!...I have the unparalleled pleasure of watching a Snowy Owl in the field while I am standing in my PJ's next to my woodstove and holding a hot cup of coffee in one hand and my binocular in the other.
Of course, I just had to push it too far. I set up my spotting scope and tripod in the living room, which gives a terrible view through window glass, but I got 45x magnification rather than the lowly 10x provided by the binocular. Then my wife walked in and the whole thing went downhill real fast...
