Kingston - This is a leucistic bird with nearly pure white feathering. There is some pale beige on the underwing and under the tail but otherwise, to the untrained eye, this looks like either a white morph Gyrfalcon or a Snowy Owl. It is not a local bird, only moving into the area a few weeks ago.
Ottawa - If you check the photo I posted the other day, you will notice that this red morph is in the same hole. Apparently this morning the gray was in the hole and the red came by and the gray flew out, surrendering the hole to this bird. Could they be a pair? Yes that's possible. This is not nesting season but they could be paired up. Only 10% of the population is red and in the Eastern part of the province they are fairly rare. I just did a comparison with the other photo and aside from the gray bird being fluffed up to keep warm, it is standing a bit taller on what is presumably the same perch as the red morph. Female raptors are larger than males. The colour has nothing to do with the bird's sex.
This is a rare wanderer from the West that was discovered inside a farm building. The shot was taken inside from 4 metres with the window as a backdrop. The bird had the right idea because it is a large heated structure with lots of windows that it checks for anything moving, like flies and spiders. We discovered that it gets in and out through a pet access door that has vertical plastic strips which can be easily pushed to the side. Smart bird. It may survive the winter.
Canada (British Columbia)
