A MIXED BAG TODAY INCLUDING A SHORT ATV RIDE

 A few photos from my morning walk, a shot from the driveway and I took the RZR out yesterday to see what the trail conditions were.  I only put 12 kms on but that was enough excitement for me.

Red-winged Blackbird

Song Sparrow singing

Song Sparrow

Took this from the driveway this afternoon

I headed up to the Burnell Lake area to see if conditions were good enough to lead a ride soon.  The further I got the deeper the snow and it was frozen so I was able to stay on top of the snow.  If it was to warm up while we were riding, we'd probably get stuck.

A much wider vehicle than mine made these tracks so I had to put one wheel up on the center.  Were the snow softer, I would be in deep trouble!

Burnell Lake is a trophy fishery so they aerate it to keep the fish healthy.

That snow was so frozen I didn't leave a mark on it when walking

One wheel up.  I'm lower down so it is warmer and starting to soften.

A view back down towards our home

DRIFTING IN THE AIR

 Aileen and I went for a drive around the block yesterday afternoon as the sun made an appearance and we decided to take advantage of it.  As we were driving along Willowbrook Road, I noticed a car parked where paragliders/sailors sometimes land so I started checking nearby ridge tops and spotted a couple of people on one.  After sitting and waiting for a while the first one lifted off and after he was on the ground the second one billowed up and drifted around landing in the same spot which was right beside us.

He doesn't look happy.  Notice that he is in an enclosed bag whereas the second one had his legs exposed.

Since I had a powerful lens on my camera, I used my phone to capture the second one landing

He made it look so easy

WINGS

 Some photos from the past few days.  Their commonality is that they all have wings.

Since it has the red maple leaf on the underside, does that mean it's an Air Canada plane?

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

House Sparrow

Canada Goose

Mallards

Pygmy Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch

RAPTORS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLUS TRUMPETERS

 A few feathered critters from the past couple of days. They are all within one kilometer of my house.

Dark-eyed Junco, while not a raptor, is raptor food.

Peregrine Falcon also called Duck Hawk since ducks are high on his menu.  They are the fastest bird and animal in the world reaching speeds over 320 kms per hour (200 mph) when diving at their prey.  The high speed dive is called the stoop and they strike the prey with clenched talons which kills by impact.  I got this very far away photo under the cliffs of McIntyre Bluff.  I believe this is the elusive bird we've been trying to get a photo of when we hear them soaring under the bluffs making a loud high pitched keening sound.  They've always been too far away and moving too fast for capturing with the camera.

This Bald Eagle was in a dead tree beside the gas station along the river.

Sharp-shinned Hawk on my walk this morning

Trumpeter Swans Aileen pointed out to me on our walk this morning

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

         For a change I thought I would post a couple photos that I converted into black and white.

I went with a black background to obliterate the confusing elements so his texture would stand out better.

A little more typical black and white rendering here.