Birding In The Snow

For a person from tropical, I always wonder what it is like to watch wildlife in the snow? I am so use to watching and take photo of wildlife in the rain but never during snowing.

For Hokkaido during winter, there is no guarantee that it will snow everyday or most importantly during the day. It is common to snow in the night but it will be too dark to take any photo without using of lighting equipment which may interrupt the usual behavior's of the wildlife.

It must be my lucky day when I visit Notsuke Peninsula and it started snowing.

The snow add some magical feel for the photo of these Sika deer.

Slaty-backed gull fly pass during this heavy snow.

The Hokkaido Red Fox running in the snow covered field.

My luck continue into the night and I took this photo out of my hostel window at night at Rausu.

I even get to shoot this Hokkaido Red Fox out scavenging for food at night and is snowing!

The big difference between shooting in the rain and shooting during snow is the risk of camera getting water damage. Shooting in the snow pose lower risk of water damage as the snow did not melt easily under sub-zero temperature and I just simply wipe them off my camera/lens. Something new for me😊.

My Bonus for Visiting Jordan (J10/10)

 

This trip of my to Jordan not a birding trip, thus I have no proper watching gear with me. Not even a bino but just a compact camera. I am lucky enough to be able to still see and photograph some of them at the tourist attraction area.

Black Redstart  (Phoenicurus ochruros) near my entry spot to the Dead Sea.

Blackstart (Oenanthe melanura) not to be confused with Black Redstart. This was shot in Wadi Rum

Hooded wheatear (Oenanthe monacha) my first time seeing a wheatear.

Pale rockfinch or Pale rock sparrow (Carpospiza brachydactyla)

Tristram's starling (Onychognathus tristramii)

White-spectacled bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos)

White-crowned wheatear aka White-crowned black wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga) looks very similar to Hooded wheatear. Both are shot at Petra.