From one day to the next, the snowy owls have arrived in Kawartha Lakes.

After looking for them without success for the last month, in one day this past week I saw three of them, and heard of a couple more that had been seen.

The ones I saw were all quite far out in the fields, so it was not possible to get great photos of them, but with patience I am sure there will be opportunities in the future. For now it is important to give them space to get used to their new surroundings and to let them rest and recover from their long trip from the north.

When photographing snowy owls it is also important to remember to respect people’s private property and not trespass. The snowy owls that we see here each year do not live here year round. They live and breed in the far north. Each year, some of them come south once winter sets in.

A female snowy owl hunkers down to get out of the wind and rest. 

The ones that come south are usually younger owls. When they fledge from their nests up north some of them have a hard time finding territories of their own where they can find enough rodents, in particular lemmings, to survive. Lemmings are their main source of food in the north.

Snowy owls are very territorial birds so most of the better hunting territories are already taken by older birds. Some of the younger birds that can’t find a territory of their own will come south. Down here they don’t have as much competition and can find plenty of mice, voles and rodents in the vast farm fields.

I look forward to having the opportunity to get some photos of them while they are here.

While out looking for the owls I also came across a couple of other interesting characters. One day as I was heading home I came around a corner and there on the edge of the ice along the shore was an otter.

A river otter enjoying a nice walleye it just caught.

It was getting a little dark for taking pictures but this guy was so close I could not resist. He was on the near edge of the ice and he was munching down on a fish. It looked like a nice sized walleye. He looked up my way and thought about fleeing but he was enjoying that fish so much he stayed and finished his meal.

A red-tailed hawk scans a farm field for something to eat.

The red-tailed hawks seem to be quite active recently as well.

I have been seeing a couple almost every day. They have been perched in trees on the edge of farm fields, scanning the open fields for a juicy meal like a rodent or rabbit. Red-tailed hawks are one of the larger hawks we have in this area.

Quite often they take off as soon as one stops the car, but these ones were busy hunting and they stayed long enough for some nice photos.

The red-tailed hawk launches from its perch to go after prey. 

They look so powerful when they launch from their perch to go after prey or to go find another more productive hunting perch.

It is always an adventure when you get out in the Kawartha Lakes, no matter what the season. The sights and scenery make it well worth venturing out to enjoy nature.

© Peterborough Examiner