Predator

Just getting ready to go out to do some shopping yesterday, and noticed a hawk perched in the trees in the back yard. Grabbed my point and shoot camera and tried a few shots, but they didn't come out very well. So, I quickly set-up my spotting scope and tried to get some shots through that, and this was the best one (through the very dirty skylight in the solarium ):



Certainly not as good as Adrian's bird photos, but it was the best I could do with the equipment I had. Checking my field guide, this appears to be a Broad-Winged Hawk.

Hopefully the squirrels and rabbits were in hiding!

Very cool to see that. All I get in the trees around the house are finches, sparrows and crows.

However, since it dropped to -15C last night it seems the creatures were looking for a warm place to bunk. This a.m. I noticed numerous skunk footprints around my front porch in the fresh snow. Thankfully, it's impossible for them to gain access to the former skunk hotel, so they can become someone else's problem this winter.