The Discovery

Last year at the cottage saw several close encounters with Turkey Vultures, beginning in June...

...and again in July:

By early September the fall colours in the Kawarthas were already impressive, so off I went at dawn one morning:

   

But it was while exploring a new area along a winding road that I made a discovery:

A Turkey Vulture roost!

A cast of Turkey Vultures.

A committee of Turkey Vultures.

A meal of Turkey Vultures.

A wake of Turkey Vultures. 

I wasn't sure how spooked these gregarious goofs would be by my presence but I soon learned it wasn't an issue as they continued with their fascinating morning routine:

Scratching:

Mouth stretches:

Balancing:

More mouth stretches:

Preening:

More scratching:

Warming up:

More preening:

Fluffernuttering:

More preening:

More mouth stretches:

Balancing, before heading out to cruise for dead stuff:

Making room for more dead stuff teehee:

Drying wings by facing the morning sun:

Watching one's neighbour...

...and then deciding to distance oneself from one's neighbour:

Checking out new visitors to the roost:

And so it began, my love affair with these characters, to be continued...

Locked in a Deep Freeze

Everyone and everything is trying to stay warm during this latest winter deep freeze:

Black-capped Chickadees weren't as bubbly as they usually were:

A Rusty Blackbird in Pickering stayed close to the ground, seeking shelter from the wind:

A trip up north on Friday with Tessa was a huge success. 

Dozens of Common Redpolls frequented an array of well-stocked feeders: 

One lone Redpoll found some shelter on a wire between some evergreens:

From the back, these little winter finches aren't overly remarkable, with gray-brown streaking...

...but when they turn around? 

Bam, there's that dazzling red cap!

A side view shows more streaking...

...but when they turn around, there's that dazzling red cap again!

Making the best of a cold situation, it ate some snow:

Its tiny yellow bill had some snow on it:

A few Evening Grosbeaks (a year bird, yay!) were heard before they were finally seen, just as my fingers were feeling some frostbite. It was time to return to the car even though I really wanted to study each and every one of those Redpolls for a Hoary, grrrrr:

A total of seven Snowy Owls were seen in our travels, including three fabulous males. 

This was the second male:

Record shots of three different Snowy Owls:

The third male, and my final Snowy Owl for the day was an unexpected surprise, what a beauty! 

Tessa also did her best to keep warm yesterday:

Stay warm, everyone and everything, this deep freeze is far from over!