Of Pygmy Owls and Feathers

A silent landscape of blues, blacks whites and grey. Winter in Kokanee Creek Park. I love walking out in the snow and discovering the life hidden in the park. I can rely on watching the dippers singing, diving and chasing each other and the song sparrows stoutly maintaining their snowy little territories. This last couple of weeks I have watched a Pygmy Owl hunting in the park. This small brown and white “tennis ball with a tail” blends in well with the landscape – but then there are those bright yellow eyes. And hidden in the bush are small grey feathers touched with scarlet scattered on the snow. Remains of a Pygmy Owl meal?

Winter is a subtle landscape where small splashes of colour reveal stories of life and death in the park.

all writing and photos copyright J.A. Siderius 2015. If you use them, please credit me.