Category Archives: Winter

This is probably the most common hawk in North America. The Red-tailed hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ) eats small animals like rabbits, squirrels, and voles. You’ll most likely see Red-tailed Hawks soaring in wide circles high over a field. When I was taking this photo the sun was low on the horizon and the sunlight was coming from directly behind me, which beautifully lit this bird of prey. You can see the catchlight or specular highlight in its eye. Click on either one of the images to see a larger size.

Trumpeter Swans ( Cygnus buccinator ) spend the winter on ice-free coastal and inland waters. The weather we are experiencing is an arctic airflow and the temperatures are unusually cold. When I was photographing these Trumpeter Swans the wind chill made the temperature about twenty degrees below zero ( Celsius ). The slough where they usually forage for food is frozen, so they are unable to eat aquatic vegetation. I hope the weather becomes milder, the ice breaks up, and they are able to find something to eat. Click on any one of the photos to see a larger version and then use your left and right keys to scroll through the gallery.

We received some snow last night and I decided this morning to get outside with my camera. The wind was howling, it was cold and the snow was blowing horizontally, but walking in a winter storm was a refreshing change of pace. I didn’t see any other people and the birds were more relaxed with my presence. I came across this Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) perched on a branch and I could see it was using its nicitating membrane to protect its eye from the snow and wind. The nicitating membrane is like a third or inner eyelid that sweeps across the eye from side to side. It’s either translucent or semi-transparent while it covers the eye. It reminds me of someone wearing goggles while skiing in a snowstorm.

A medium-sized bird that is found on any open water from ponds to ocean, the Double-crested Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) lives on the west coast year round. They lack waterproof feathers, so I’ll often seem them perched in the sun and using the technique of ‘wing-spreading’ to dry their feathers after swimming. The double crest is only visible on adults during the breeding season ( March to May ). They have orange-yellow skin on their face and throat and striking aquamarine eyes that sparkle like jewels.

It was raining heavily when I came across this male Hooded Merganser ( Lophodytes cucullatus ). This is a small duck with a slender bill and a hood ( crest ) that can be raised or lowered, which changes the shape of the head and the white head patch. Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills.