PotM Calendar
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PotM Calendar
The Photo of the Month (see gallery) is a year-round calendar of wildlife and nature images with story contributions from visitors, friends and fellow photographers.
When it comes to nature photography, it's not only those exciting tales of high adventure that often accompany talent and skill for a fabulous result. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a well-timed shot or well-framed one can say as much about you as a photographer. So, if you'd like to showcase one of your pictures here, free, for one calendar month with a bio or personal account, then this page is for you.
Snowy White and the Severe Cold by Roger Cox
The New Forest Wildlife Park, Hampshire
Few are willing to brave an arctic winter on the frontiers of the frozen north. But as animals hibernate or migrate to escape the blistering windchill of an endless twilight in temperatures as low as -36 oC, one bird is prepared to stay, and surprisingly, it’s an owl.
Owls typically hunt at night and sleep in tree hollows, caves, and nest boxes during the day. They also prefer temperate to equatorial climates. But the snowy owl is different. Couples mate for life, but only the most seasoned adults with the thickest insulating feathers can survive out on the tundra in freezing darkness to roost and nest on the ground. Females like this one at the NFWP, are polar-white with dark bars on their plumage for camouflage against predators while brooding their young. As the family's sole providers, males become whiter with age, ever blending into the background to aid their more frequent hunts for lemmings, fish and birds.
Their golden eyes are no less effective at spotting prey in near darkness as in the light of a 24-hour day, and should their quarry take to hiding beneath the snow, they rely on another keen sense—hearing. Yet, for all their sensory perceptions, it's the quality of the Arctic summers that determines the quantity of their food and, therefore, the likelihood of hypothermia or starvation for their young. A constraint that has put them in the unfortunate position of having one of the highest owlet mortality rates in the world.
Special announcements or simple hellos. Place your message, or link here as part of your PotM agreement. With no places left for 2024, the PotM Calendar is now closed until December 18th. To learn more about posting news, comments and events under a PotM agreement, see our Terms of Use page, where you can submit your photo (along with your story) during the last two weeks of every month.
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