If looks could kill. This Coyote appears to be in a snow-covered field but actually it was on the ice of a large pond. I was hidden in cattails along the shoreline.

A Great Gray Owl is lit by dramatic, late afternoon light as it glides across an open bog, typical habitat for the species. Great grays are big owls, with a wing span of 60 inches.

Have you ever wondered why a deer’s legs don’t freeze? They are so skinny and the hair is so thin. Deer possesses a physiological adaptation called “countercurrent exchange” where veins in the legs returning blood to the heart lie next to warm arteries running down the legs.

When it’s cold outside Ruffed Grouse will often park themselves next to a tree or stump, out of the wind, and in a sunny location. Also, they fluff their feathers to increase insulation. This puffed-up grouse resembles a feathered volleyball.

The top image is of a leucistic Pine Grosbeak. The bottom image shows a normal-colored grosbeak. For the past few weeks, the leucistic grosbeak and about 20 others have been feeding on crab apples in my yard in central Minnesota. Leucistic birds display varying patches of white.

This sparrow-sized bird is a Snow Bunting. They are attractive birds, displaying various shades of brown, and black. Snow buntings nest in the Far North, and migrate to the northern tier of states during winter.

A Rough-legged Hawk is hunting from an old wooden fence post. Rough-legged hawks nest in the far north and migrate to Minnesota and other northern states during winter, where they can be found hunting for mice and voles in open areas such as farm fields and bogs.

A Coyote is staring from behind a screen of frost-covered big bluestem.Those intense yellow eyes tell a story but I’m not sure what it is.

Four ruffed grouse are silhouetted against a fiery sunset as they fill their crops with crab apples prior to going to roost.

Follow the leader is the name of the game as three White-tailed Deer angle up a slope in an oak forest. Note all ears are focused rearward, listening to the intruder.

Yesterday I photographed this leucistic Pine Grosbeak as it fed on crab apples in my yard in central Minnesota. Leucistic birds display varying patches of white caused by a lack of pigmentation. Even the grosbeak’s feet show leucism. Leucistic birds are not partial albinos.

This long-tailed rooster Ring-necked Pheasant is especially colorful because it is lit by a low sun in late afternoon. A male pheasant can "out color" almost any bird on earth.

A Black-capped Chickadee is perched in a crab apple tree sprinkled with rime ice. As slight as chickadees are, the icy rime spikes are even more delicate.

A Ruffed Grouse showing off. Grouse occasionally strut during winter, like this bronze-phase bird (neck ruffs and tail band are bronze instead of the more common black.) Usually there is at least one other grouse nearby - in this case in a tree above the strutting bird.

This is a White-tailed Jackrabbit. The name “jackrabbit” is confusing because they are actually hares. Unlike rabbits - like the common cottontail rabbit - hares turn white in winter in the northern part of their range.

A male Pileated Woodpecker, is the king of North American woodpeckers, at least size-wise. They are one of many bird species that feed on crab apples during winter.

A Coyote is using a well-worn deer trail to navigate through the woods. A split second after I snapped this image, it spotted me and swiftly did an about-face.

A colorful male Pine Grosbeak is tearing apart a crab apple to extract the seeds. I’ve had a flock of pine grosbeaks feeding in my yard for the past few weeks here in central Minnesota. Keep an eye on fruit trees when you’re out and about.

An Eastern Cottontail Rabbit is leaping across a snow-covered meadow. It’s interesting the image was taken at the precise moment only one foot was on the ground.

A Ruffed Grouse - silhouetted against a colorful sunset - paused while enjoying a bedtime snack of crab apples. Seems appropriate as another year comes to a close. Happy New Year. Thank you for your likes and comments over the past year.