Who knew birding could be so dangerous? The drive north on highway 400 today left me jolted, and amazed at how oblivious people are to danger. Even with full sun and relatively clear roads, a mini van lost control and did a 180 degree spin two car lengths ahead of me, slamming into the guardrail. This nearly caused a pileup as all of us behind him had to slam on our brakes, narrowly missing each other.
Two more multi-car pileups were seen within 2 kms from that accident, and yet folks refused to slow down for their own safety. Just amazing. I took dirt sideroads all the way back…
On the bright side, research paid off and Snowy Owls were found today. At least 3 different Snowies were spotted while driving up and down country roads, making for a perfect Saturday birding excursion. Many hawks were also spotted.
Interesting behaviour was noticed with these owls. One in particular obviously had prior experience with another predator. This Owl didn’t mind me or a farm tractor being in his vicinity, but he took flight when a flock of crows approached, possibly mistaking them for something else.
One special species spotted today is what appears to be a juvenile Bald Eagle, that may be what the Snowy was afraid of.
Even factoring in the temperature (-17C without windchill), this was a great Saturday outing. The last-minute Christmas shopping can wait until Monday…
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