Ravens Valley, from the Storyteller.

@ravensvalley / ravensvalley.tumblr.com

I’m not here to teach (or educate) anything to anyone but only as a reminder about the benefits of nature which, has its own limits. Wilderness cleans our air, filters our water and provides home for human as well as for wildlife. So it is crucial for humanity, which is already to blame, to bring radical changes today before it’s entire extinction tomorrow. That is my only intention here folks. All Donations are Greatly Appreciated and Help us to get much closer to Achieving our Goal which is the Preservation of Natural Environment for Wild Birds ((All Rights Reserved))

In the Northern Hemisphere, Ravens have accompanied people around here for centuries.

Spirit animals associated with life mysteries, magic, death, and the netherworld; they're making their presence known in the Grand Valley night and day, with their croaks.

Outside the house for years; they are gathering around here in large communal roosts, numbering between 200 to 400 of individuals, during our Winter breeding months.

Symbolizing communication from the Gods, divination of the future and the Goddess of war and death, Morrigan; they are well known for their intelligence and way smarter than we think. They are the smartest birds of all.

Encounter with a young White-tailed Jackrabbit at sunrise this morning. These guys are nocturnal so probably he was on his way for a good night sleep.

Often people come across these bunnies in spring and mistakenly assume they are abandoned by their mothers; but they're not. The Edmonton Humane Society has issued a public statement asking people to not bring bunnies into animal shelters.

Nobody's around yet.

It is still the nesting period but soon this tree will be invaded with many youngsters who will enjoy a big bonanza feast with parents, right in the middle of the valley.

Then will sleep all together on it the entire night with a full stomach.

I stumbled on this magnificent Urubu à Tête Rouge last evening. He was very far from me and the sundown was setting his way just in front of my leans so, not a 100% clear shot.

But here's to say… with the Northern climate around here forcing them to have more meat on their shoulders, these guys are larger in size than the neotropics one. They can easily weight up to 5 pounds given them a large wingspan of 70 inches which allows them to hoover for kilometers, even with no winds.

And wearing a war painted face mask with an impressive athletic stature like that, they can easily roam many territories.

His Leucistic color reflects the softness, the purity, the vitality…

Some people would say Albino but actually it is a Leucistic bird. And for people that are not familiar with this term, Leucism is a genetic condition in which there is a partial loss of pigmentation which causes the white, pale, or patchy coloration of the feathers; but not the eyes.

Our little friend here has arrived Yesterday morning with a flock of about 25 Dark-eyed Junco to have breakfast with us and still here today. I've seen in the past some partial decoloration on a few birds like on Pigeons and others but never a completely decolorated one under my eyes.

((I'm sure there is no need to say that we opened a directory in the computer and took over 50 pictures of it. Right?))

So according to experts Leucism occur at a rough estimate of 1 in 30,000 birds and to see one with a complete decoloration like the "Great White Raven" in Vancouver Island, is "RARE" and you need to be very lucky.

Good day folks!

Keep it simple; natural… Always stay in tune with nature. Be concerned with protecting the natural environment and the planet.

Earth Day, the annual celebration that honors the achievements of the environmental movement and raises awareness of the need to protect Earth's natural resources for future generations.

A new nest has been located about 2 km from here by observing activities nearby. And that nest has been built on an approximately 60° sidewall at about 50' from the ground on the far West mountain range.

At this moment the nest is completely uncovered and can easily be spotted by predators but for Ravens, it's part of the game. I've been observing Raven's nests for years now and I know that Ravens around here prefer to build in deciduous trees. Eventually growing leaves will produce fresh air while protecting the nest against bad weather. Also youngsters don't have much feathers and sunshine will keep them warm while parents are away looking for food. Coniferous trees would simply create too much heat with no air while sap would damaged their feathers that later would not be useful for their first flight lesson.

Anyway, their nesting period has started in mid-March which now makes more than 21 days of brooding so far; meaning eggs have hatched and we're about to see some serious activities up there. Also meaning 4 to 7 new Ravens in the valley.

In solidarity with people affected by climate change's effects:

Once the location has been determined as not accessible by land; Rescue-Chopper is always the best solution you can get in case of emergency evac.

:Relevant footage from last year's #TheDayAfter because yes, climate "is still" changing.

Good day folks, hope everything's going well for everyone. It is Spring Season but not around here. At 6:15am the temperature is at -11°C with a windsheild of -20°C so, it pretty much feels like it's still Winter. And it means that I don't have to worry about shaving myself because either way, in the SV or the Cabin, I'll be alone with Basco the entire day.

Also that I'll have plenty of time to get familiar with my new Camera and all the equipment bought with it. The old one has been exposed too long to bad weather conditions.

So after all. It's going to be a magnificent day.

In Canada, Disturbing Peace of Migrating Birds can be costly.

Daily I see many bloggers that photograph animals most of them, birds. Disturbing peace/habits of migrating birds can cost a lot in Canada.

Some bloggers are willing to go way too far to get very nice clichés of birds for their blog admirers. The ECCC who works to protect wild species in their habitats in Canada, and to make sure law is respected, have caught one of these photographers who was abusing of pre-recording bird’s song to attract them in front of his camera to get better photography. This kind of practice in Québec, Canada, is not tolerated. Birds who are resting in their nest are disturbed by the sound and at the same time are more expose to potentially predators.

This kind of bad behavior has been observed twice from that same photographer in two National Reserve Fauna Parks and the man, who plead guilty, has received a much more salty fine.

Most of the time year after year, when I look into these woods, there are sleepy Mourning Doves around.

But in the middle of Winter Season, when food is getting scarce, Predators are more vigilant than ever in the Valley and Doves will move on higher secluded spruces going up to 60 to 70 feet high for a maximum of security. Terrestrial Predators like Wolverines will never climb that high for a feast but some Raptors like Eagles, Hawks and specifically Barrel Owls at night will do. And half of them will unfortunately contribute to the food chain.

Now it is finally Spring Season and as I see, by the regularly flock passing by over my head, 3 quarters of them have managed their ways to escape enemies. Meaning way more of them will be seen this Season resting in the area of the Grand Valley.