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| THE NEWSLETTER OF PHOTOGRAPHER PAUL BANNICK | December 22, 2009 |
 Great numbers of northern owls often move south from the arctic tundra and the boreal forests and into the northern states and southern provinces during the winter when food may become more difficult to capture in the deep snow. A Northern Hawk Owl prepares to snatch a vole scampering across a snow-blanketed bog. |
 "The Owl and the Woodpecker" |
As Fall Becomes WinterThe struggle for survival drives dramatic changes in the distribution, behavior and appearance of birds as fall becomes winter and finding food and shelter becomes more challenging. 
The cold nights of fall in the high country bring color to the leaves and changes in the birds. The Clark's Nutcracker desperately searches for the last pine nuts and caches them for the leaner months ahead. 
The shorter days of fall alter both the appearance and behavior of White-Tailed Ptarmigan. The gray and brown feathers that hide the bird so effectively in the grass and rocks begin to give way to plumage that will better hide them in the snow, and even the solitary males come together in flocks.
Ground birds like ptarmigans are extremely vulnerable to predators such as this Cascades Fox. 
White-tailed Ptarmigans seem to be aware of the color of their plumage, spending time along the edges of snowfields when dark feathers remain. By the time winter comes these birds are completely white, save for the black eyes and bills. When white birds are forced to move across snow-free areas in search of food, they move more quickly and are more skittish.
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