A little pygmy owl in the Kamloops area fluffs up its feathers to keep warm during in winter temperatures.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Giles
January 13, 2025 - 6:00 AM
The winter landscapes in Kamloops and the Okanagan are alive with birds and area photographers are busy photographing them.
Birds that stay around during winter months have strategies to keep warm and layers of feathers that repel water and trap in body heat.
When birds fluff up their feathers it creates hundreds of pockets of air that hold heat and keep them insulated even in the coldest winter weather, according to Audubon.
Bird feet are made of bones, tendons and muscles designed to withstand the cold however some birds tuck one leg up at a time or crouch to warm them.
Birds, like this short-eared owl in the Kamloops area, puff up their feathers to keep warm.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Giles
Winter birds will also fluff up in a group for warmth, and find and store seeds for later when resources are scarce.
READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Deer and bighorn sheep shenanigans in Kamloops, Okanagan
The birds in this collection are some of the fluffiest and puffiest.
If you have photos of wildlife you want to share, send them to news@infonews.ca.
This northern pygmy owl was spotted in the Kamloops area.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Valerie Walsh
A merlin in the South Okanagan has its feathers puffed up in winter.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kathy Green
A puffed up chukar is spotted in the winter in the Kamloops area.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Giles
A pygmy owl in the Kamloops area puffs up its feathers to stay warm in winter.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Giles
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