Tag: winter

Male Common Redpoll in winter.

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One from the archives, taken in Saskatchewan in the late 1990s. I found a small flock of Common Redpolls (Acanthis flammea) feeding on windblown seeds caught in a snow bank.

Due to the temperature and wind I set up a portable hide (blind). This allowed me to get close to the birds without disturbing them while keeping slightly warmer as I was out of the wind. Sitting in the hide also put me closer to eye level with the birds on the snow bank.

The red on the breast makes this individual a male. The current scientific classification of the various Redpoll species is under debate by the various taxonomic authorities. My reasoning is that if they can’t agree I’m sticking with this being a male Common Redpoll.

Common Redpoll on snow.

 

Frozen lake at sunset.

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Actually, quite a small section of Last Mountain Lake at sunset in winter. Throwback Thursday travels back to Saskatchewan, Canada in the late 1990s.

Last Mountain Lake, also known as Long Lake, is approximately 93 km long but only 3 km wide at its widest point.

The northern section, where this shot was taken, is the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area. The area is a major staging ground for Snow Geese on autumn migration along with other wildfowl and Sandhill Cranes.

Frozen lake at sunset.

Week 52. Minimalist seed head.

David M2 Comments

This seed head was photographed on a walk mid week. I had taken shots of some of these seed heads a week or so previously but those shots hadn’t really worked for me.

I photographed another of these seed heads in low sun on Saturday afternoon but prefer the simplicity of this earlier shot.

This brings to an end my 52 week photo project. Due to various issues I wasn’t planning a project for 2019. Until yesterday that is when I came up with the minimalistic monochrome or monochrome minimalism I rambled on about in the previous post.

Simply a seed head.

Hoarfrost on Cotoneaster.

David M2 Comments

One from the archives taken in Cheshire, England in the mid 1990s. I think this is Cotoneaster horizontalis, commonly grown in gardens and popular with some species of birds in the winter due to the berries. It is native to western China but is well established in the U.K. where some consider it my be becoming invasive.

I have two copies of the original slide. The first, done several years ago has a much warmer colour than this version edited last winter. I normally prefer a warmer colour balance to a shot but for this post went with the cooler colour balance.

Hoarfrost on Cotoneaster berries.