*A young raccoon walks on top of a thick snow cover in search of food during our harsh winter.* Be sure to check out my Winter of wildlife photo gallery in the link below and at the end of this post.

Owls, coyotes and turkeys, it’s been quite the winter

Winter is always a difficult time for gardeners.

It’s often too cold or dreary to be outside, and, although there are wintery days that our gardens are covered in snow and take on an almost fairy-tale look, most days are filled with imagining what could be once spring arrives.

But winter can be a wonderful time for wildlife. The trees are bare, the landscape is barren for the most part and we have better views of the birds and mammals that visit the garden.

Birds are obviously the prime winter visitors to our gardens, but if you are lucky enough to live in an area where wildlife is abundant, you may have attracted new visitors to your woodland or natural garden.

In our garden, a reliable source of water in the form of a heated bird bath, attracted a variety of birds and squirrels all winter. Our bird feeder brought in many of our familiar winter visitors – cardinals, blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, wrens and a variety of woodpeckers.

For a full gallery of images, please click here.

*The regular cast of characters from this Tufted Titmouse to cardinals and woodpeckers are regulars at the bird feeders.* Be sure to check out my Winter of wildlife photo gallery in the link at the end of this post.

The bird feeders also brought in deer, especially as the snow covered more and more of the ground and made finding food more difficult. Our trail camera caught skunks, racoons, rabbits and an opossum also feeding below the bird feeding station.

A fox visits from time to time, no doubt cleaning up the mice that feed at the base of the bird feeding station.

For the most part, the garden hosted a familiar group of birds and mammals similar to past years.

With one big exception.

This winter was the year of the wild turkeys in our garden.

Last year, it was the winter of the screech owl. This year the owl did not return but was replaced by much larger avian visitors.

They first appeared in late fall under the bird feeders and decided that the conditions in our garden were enough to their liking that they pretty much stayed all winter.

This is not the first time wild turkeys have visited our yard, but it is the only time they have stayed for a prolonged period of time.

*New this year is our resident wild turkeys who have decided that the woodland garden is a good place to spend the winter.* Be sure to check out my Winter of wildlife photo gallery in the link at the end of this post.

Of course, the regular supply of food from the bird feeders played an important role, but the supply of natural seed from our Northern Sea Oat grasses also became a favourite food source for our two male wild turkeys. (It started out as three male turkeys but early on the less dominant turkey of the group disappeared and has never been seen since.)

It’s been a wonderful winter watching our turkeys grow from fine young males into more mature Toms. A day rarely goes by that they don’t greet me when I go out to fill up the feeders. We have long conversations on almost a daily basis about whatever is on our minds.

They’ve come to trust me but are quick to move away if I get too close to them on my way to the feeders.

They are relatively safe here. Our dog, Holly, passed away in the fall and although there are dogs behind us, a hill across the back of our property provides some cover and a fence keeps the dogs at bay even if they spot the wild turkeys, rabbits, etc.

I expect the time will come soon when the Toms wander off into the woods to find mates. I’m sure they will bring their families around at some point in the summer. Last year, I counted 17 turkeys (mostly babies) in the back yard at one time.

I have spend the winter capturing images of these birds, never knowing when they will move back into the shelter of the larger woodlands.

Give a hoot about owls

*I was able to capture an image of this lovely Barred owl in the woodlands near our home. It’s important not to use any poisons in your garden to control mice, the main prey of these lovely birds.*
Be sure to check out my Winter of wildlife photo gallery in the link at the end of this post.

Getting out to capture a greater variety of wildlife

While our garden provides endless joy and photographic opportunities even in winter, I like to get out and experience wildlife in the nearby woodland or even farther afield.

As a wannabe wildlife photographer, getting out of the garden affords me the opportunity to photograph wildlife that is not present in our garden.

This year, I was intent on capturing images of a few more elusive birds and mammals that are not regular visitors to our yard.

Struck out on the Snowy Owl but got another instead

First on my list was the snowy owl, which have yet to photograph, despite driving all over Ontario in search of these migratory overwintering birds. There is still hope, but my chances are fading fast.

That’s not to say my attempts were in vain. One evening, while I was out looking for Snowys, I came across a lovely Barred owl in the woodland near my home and captured successful images of this beautiful owl.

After weeks of trying to capture a good image of a coyote, I was fortunate enough to meet up with this beautiful coyote in a nearby woodlot. Be sure to go to the link below to read about the memorable ten seconds of time we spent together face-to-face on a woodland path. Be sure to check out my Winter of wildlife photo gallery in the link at the end of this post.

It’s an important lesson for photographers and nature lovers to just get out and experience the world around us because you never know what you are going to stumble upon.

In search of coyote images

Second on my list of winter wildlife images I hoped to capture this winter was a coyote. Weeks of searching for them in freezing conditions paid off with a wonderful, up-close encounter with a lovely coyote and resulting images. For the complete story of my coyote encounter click here.

A little further afield, I visited the winter home of hundreds of Sandhill cranes and came away with a few memorable images. Be sure to check out my Winter of wildlife photo gallery in the link at the end of this post.

Sandhill Cranes: A morning of great promise

A few weeks later, after many failed attempts to photograph coyotes and snowy owls, I decided it was time to visit the winter migratory home of Sandhill Cranes that gather by the hundreds in a lakeside town about 1.5 hours from where I live.

Going to an area where you know there is a very good chance of capturing wildlife images is always a good idea, especially after weeks of failure out in the field.

A morning with the Sandhill Cranes resulted in hundreds of usable images, but only a handful of good images that I can be proud to show here and on other social media sites.

It’s been a long winter for many of our backyard wildlife friends. Our chippy popped up out of the deep snow to enjoy a little of the warmer weather and was even seen wandering on top of the snow looking for a late-winter food food source.

Surviving a brutal winter

As our brutal winter loosens its grip on our gardens and natural areas, I have noticed more wildlife leaving the comfort of their dens in search of food. Last week, while searching for snowy owls, I came across a young raccoon that was out walking about on top of three feet of snow no doubt looking for food.

Earlier this week, I watched one of our many chipmunks leave the safety of its underground burrow to enjoy a little sun and go out in search of food.

It’s been a difficult winter for wildlife. Heavy snowfall has its benefits for some wildlife that benefit from its cover and its insulation value. However, it creates serious hardship for many others that find obtaining food difficult when the snow cover is so deep.

The diminutive screech owl, for example, is apparently having difficulty capturing enough mice to survive the winter in this area. Wildlife rehabilitators, for example, are apparently reporting an increase in malnourished owls being brought to their facilities.

We can do our part to help wildlife in our gardens by providing the necessities of life – water, food and good, safe cover.

Consider using this winter as an inspiration to ensure the wildlife in our gardens not only survive in but prosper when winter returns next year and in the years to come.

I am sure that if you are kind to our wildlife, you will reap the rewards every day in your wildlife garden for years to come.