Landscape Transition

Here in South Central Pennsylvania we have undergone rapid transitions to our landscape twice in the past two weeks.  After an autumn and winter without snow cover, we were inundated with over two feet of snow arriving the evening of January 22nd and continuing through the entire day of the 23rd.  The snow compacted, evaporated, and melted some over the next week until about six inches remained.  This week the days warmed into the 40's to lower 50's melting the snow rapidly.   This was the situation on Tuesday when I shot the first four of photos posted here.

The creek ice which was safe to walk on a few days before was beginning to show signs of cracking due to water levels rising.

Areas of water pooled on the softening ice in some areas.

And in the rapids areas of open water with floating ice made it clear that the ice break-up was underway.

Rain arrived during Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning it was heavy at time.  The rain exacerbated the melting sending a heavy flow of water into the streams.  By Thursday morning the creek bordering our farm was flowing freely.

Remnants of the winter's ice cover remain strewn on the creek banks.

And Daffodils have already emerged in anticipation of the arrival of Spring.

Winter Storm Jonas, The Next Day

The snow stopped falling yesterday at dusk.  Its difficult to tell what the actual accumulation was for the snow drifted as it fell.  Today was a day of digging out while keeping an eye out for the occasional photo op to remember the storm by.

Winter Storm Jonas

 After much media fanfare winter storm Jonas arrived yesterday afternoon.  Snowing fell throughout the night and continued until dusk leaving about two feet of white powder in its wake.  The following are a few images I captured when I hiked to the farm today to feed the livestock.

March: Wind & Snow

 

March, is a month of transition, some days are like winter while others are more spring like.  With snow falling today and tonight's temps to be in the single digits, one would never guess that spring is only two weeks away. 

 

Winter will soon be past but for some animals spring will not arrive soon enough.  Last year's growing season provided mast, grasses, and browse that wildlife depends upon to get through the winter however by now many of those foods are or will soon be exhausted.  It has been my experience that small fawns, weakened by winter, frequently will die about the time the grass begins to green in spring.

 Birds that flock to feeder are more aggressive now than they were a few weeks ago.

 

Earlier in the year the bird feeders were a nicety, a place for an easy meal.  Now with natural foods becoming more difficult to find fights between birds frequently erupt. 

 

Soon spring will usher in a new season of abundance, but until then many species of wildlife are facing their hungriest time of the year.

The Season's First Snow

Today the first snow of the season blanketed our area.  While areas to our north have been inundated with unusually heavy lake effect snow in the past weeks, Fulton County is located too far south to be significantly affected.

 

When I looked out the door this morning a little before daylight the first big wet flakes were splattering on the deck.  Throughout the morning the huge flakes continued to fall, clinging to everything they touched.  By late morning the electricity was flickering frequently and the power lines stretched under the weight of the soggy, sticky, snow and only spending a few minutes outdoors unprotected was sufficient to soak your clothes completely through.

 

 Though I was unsuccessful locating any rutting bucks, at least this doe posed nicely for her portrait.

The cows gathered at the hay feeder do not seem to mind the snow building up on their backs.

 

And a pair of snow covered leaves still clinging to a dogwood tree makes an interesting composition.

While winter is still nearly a month away, with the snow here it feels as if winter has already arrived! 

Deer Season Ends in Snow

The 2013 Pennsylvania firearms deer season came to an end at nightfall today.  When I crawled out of my warm bed this morning the sky was clouded over and just before dawn snow began falling.  Throughout the morning snow showers intermittently filled the air with steady snow beginning soon

after lunch.

 

   

Throughout the day the occasional sound of gunfire, muffled by the falling snow, thudded in the distance.  With the winter storm upon them I found some deer feeding in heavy cover where they were protected from the cold wind. 

On this particular afternoon the deer were feeding on the dried leaves of wild sunflower.  This year we experienced a near total failure of the acorn crop. 

As darkness descended the most dangerous time of the year for our local whitetails passed.  Although there are a few weeks of archery/flintlock hunting season for them to contend with after Christmas, the winter weather will be a greater threat than the hunters. 

Looking Ahead to Spring

While Nemo didn't impact my area winter is still holding us in its icy grasp.



Windblown Cattails

 With the early spring waterfowl migrations in mind I stopped by some of my favorite local waterfowl spots yesterday.  The cattails in a swampy area are shedding their fluff but the only birds I spotted were a red-tailed hawk and a northern mocking bird; both year around residents.

 A wood duck nest box sits empty, suspended over ice covered water

However this will all change very soon.  This photo taken on February 22, 2012 was my first migratory waterfowl encounter last year.  Upon checking back through my records I find that Red-winged blackbirds usually arrive in my area during the last two weeks of February and are soon followed by a progression of waterfowl species.  While the lakes can hold ice longer, wetlands are usually thawed by the first week of March and waterfowl will arrive as soon as the water is open.

First migratory waterfowl encounter of 2011.  This photo was captured March 4th.

 

While spring doesn't officially arrive until March 20th this year those that are attuned to natures cycle know that wildlife will begin reacting to the change of the season very soon.  It's time now to check out the spring photography gear for with only a couple of weeks to go the wonder of the spring migrations will be upon us here in southern Pennsylvania.

Feeding Whitetails

Whitetail feeding on Multiflora Rose

 

Whitetails are opportunistic feeders and will utilize any food source that they find to their liking.  Browse is the single most important component of their diet during the winter months and the deer in my area have found multiflora rose to their liking.  Multiflora rose, now considered an invasive species was first established here by soil and wildlife conservation agencies.  Multiflora roses bloom with a profusion of small flowers and produce huge numbers of 6-8mm diameter rose hips which many species of wildlife utilize.  During the winter months the deer are undaunted by the sharp thorns as they give the bushes a good trimming.

Whitetails feeding on Ferns

 

Frankly, as much as I observe deer, I was surprised to observe a herd of deer digging for fern fronds.  There was to doubt that they were intentionally targeting the ferns and after returning home and googling the food value of ferns I could easily see why.  Ferns contain significant amounts of minerals and vitamins; apparently a good source of winter nutrition when included along with higher calorie foods in the daily diet.   

Fawn eating a Fern Frond

 

 

 

A Winter Morning With Whitetails In The Woodlands

 After a week of cold temperatures the weather moderated with an incoming snow storm Friday afternoon.  By Saturday morning the storm had dwindled to flurries and the deer were actively feeding in the woodland.

Deer utilize many types of forage and during winter browse is high on their agenda. 

By late morning the deer had finished feeding

Spending the mid-day bedded up

Eastern Towhee

Female Eastern Towhee

 

Eastern Towhee's spend most of their time scratching in brushy areas.  Only occasionally do they fly up to a perch and when they do they seldom linger for more than a moment.

 

Female scratching for food

Male Eastern Towhee dropping a seed husk

Checking out the lens

 

And getting back to the work at hand; scratching out a living

 

With the summer foliage gone and food becoming scarce the wintering birds are much easier to photograph than are birds at any other time of the year.   

More Snow and a Towhee

Eastern Towhee Male

 

I awoke this morning to find more snow falling; the third snow storm this week!  A snowy day is the perfect time to spend at the bird feeders and with that thought in mind I set up in the pop-up blind that is now sitting on the my deck.  After a morning of photographing Blue Jays, and Cardinals ( and capturing more blue jay snow scenes that I know what to do with), when the snow stopped in early afternoon it was time to relocate to another feeding location where we have spotted a pair of Eastern Towhees recently.

 

While towhees are not rare in my area they are normally difficult to photograph as they spend nearly all of their time scratching about on the ground in brushy areas.  With the snow covering their natural feed I though perhaps a little bird seed scattered about a small opening would entice them to expose themselves to the camera.

 

 

Snow

While the each season changes the appearance of the landscape nothing changes its appearance as dramatically as does winter's first coat of snow.  Along with altering the appearance of the landscape it also changes the daily patterns of many of our wild critters.

 

Our first snow of the season came Monday afternoon and was followed by snow and ice Wednesday resulting in 7-8 inches of total accumulation covered over with a thick crust of ice.  A fawn with hair fluffed to repel the cold stands silently in a winter landscape covered in snow and ice. 

 Before the storms feeding on grasses was as simple for the deer as dropping their heads and nibbling; now each bite requires the crust to be broken and the snow pawed away.

And walking isn't as easy for each step meets resistance; the crust must be broken by the deer's weight before firm footing can be made on the ground below.

With much of their natural food covered with snow the birds are flocking to the feeders.  I thought this was the white-throated sparrow pic of the day.........

 

Until I captured this one.  While partially obscured by the intervening branchs I was drawn to its inquisitive look as it peered out at the camera.