First Snowfall

[Bill Markwick]

Toronto had its first snowfall - at least the first that didn't melt as fast as it came down.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/5910/snowscn19sr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

It was only about 2cm, but it looked like real winter, so early in the morning I headed off to the park.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/5462/snowsqr12vl.jpg

A black squirrel (actually a member of the grey family) gets his first faceful of snow this season.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/6728/snowsqr29se.jpg

A young squirrel with lots of fat and fur, all set for the rest of the winter.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7351/snowchk15wl.jpg

One of a whole flock of chickadees lining up for shelled peanuts. I can see why the chickadee shares top billing with the cardinal as #1 Christmas card bird.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2808/snowwbn19am.jpg

A white-breasted nuthatch avoids the crowds over at the shelled peanuts and takes a whole one from the squirrel's pile. Their name was originally "nuthack" - he'll soon have the peanut open.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/5931/snowwpk16vx.jpg

A downy woodpecker decides that he wants a more personal touch. The nuthatches and chickadees hoard their food by storing it in cracks in the tree bark, so they keep coming back as long as the peanuts last. The woodpecker just takes one or two and flies off, so this was the only shot I got of him.

Regards,
Bill

[Phill D]

Excellent woodpecker shot Bill, that's my favourite bird. I've never even seen one in the wild let alone had one eating out of my hand, that was a pretty special walk in the woods thanks for sharing.

[Bill Markwick]

Excellent woodpecker shot Bill, that's my favourite bird. I've never even seen one in the wild let alone had one eating out of my hand, that was a pretty special walk in the woods thanks for sharing.

Phill! You could see the pics! At last! :D

Regards,
Bill

[Balrog]

Great nature shots, Bill!

[black_z]

Nice shots!! It's amazing how close you can get to the animals!

If the Woodpecker was any bigger it might hurt when he put his claws in you!

[snowrdr]

It was only about 2cm, but it looked like real winter, so early in the morning I headed off to the park.

Thanks for sharing. Those are great shots, looks like you had a very successful morning with the FZ20. :cool:

[Bill Markwick]

Thanks for sharing. Those are great shots, looks like you had a very successful morning with the FZ20. :cool:

Thanks to everybody for their kind words. The FZ20 had its first cold-weather workout, and it was fine.

Getting close to the animals requires two things:
1. Patience
2. Peanuts
The peanuts, the universal animal food, are probably the most important. ;)

Nuthatches, chickadees and woodpeckers are like chipmunks: they'll eat out of your hand in no time.

Regards,
Bill

[ReF]

The peanuts, the universal animal food,

LOL

all them animals are cute, and the snow and low shadows in the fourth one down is really nice. i think i gotta go find me some snow this year, just because of your pictures ;)

[Phill D]

Yes Bill they just started appearing in your latest posts. I don't know why....life's too short to go digging any more & besides I don't want to change anything so I'll just enjoy your photos while I can.

[Alina Borovikova]

grasses in ice

[ducksoup]

Getting close to the animals requires two things:
1. Patience
2. Peanuts
The peanuts, the universal animal food, are probably the most important.

I know the peanuts work fine, but my experience for attracting birds is that McDonalds french fries will bring in just about any bird. I imagine they would work for chipmunks and other common forrest animals. Test it out anywhere...just toss fries some on the ground or even the hood of your car sometime and it's suddenly like Alfred Hitchcock is filming nearby.

Mike

[Kushnirenko]

Kharkiv, Ukraine. Fuji FinePix S9500. Dec, 17, 2005