Winter foraging

 

Normally red squirrels are shy creatures and difficult to get close to, but in my experience they're much more docile in winter. Maybe it's because food is scarce and the squirrels are desperate to get their fill, so that you can get close enough for long enough to snap a few photos. This one accepted me standing a few meters from it for minutes without moving much, even though the blackbird next to it soon tired of my presence and fled. The squirrel stayed put and I was the first to leave.

 

Feeding the deer

With so many deer in the Dyrehaven north of Copenhagen, it's necessary to feed them in winter for them to survive. Hay, straw and beets are on the menu at the feeding stations.

January is not a photography month in CPH

Even though the weather in January in Copenhagen didn't scream out for a lot photography, there's still things to do, like visiting the Copenhagen Zoo. I got there around feeding time for this bird, as it gulped down the mouse. With an abundance of nice museums in Copenhagen, this is a fine time to get indoors to take some snaps of the exhibitions.

Feeding the birds

Many people feed the birds in the few open water areas in Copenhagen. While a nice gesture, it's not without it's problems, as it gets the birds used to getting their food for free. Another more serious problem is that the huge flocks contaminate the water in the lakes with their droppings and the surplus bread.

Watch out for the bears

Some of the birds of Copenhagen enjoy the Zoo as a place to get some extra food. This hooded crow does seem to tempt fate a bit, though, as the background is one hungry polar bear. So it kept one eye on the bear and one on the food, and before it became dinner it took to the air.

No steak today

The polar bears are omnivorous so this watermelon was a treat though i bet they would have preferred a bloody steak instead. The Copenhagen Zoo have a policy that their animals should work for their food instead of getting it on a silver platter so to speak, so it's often hidden in small portions around their enclosure.

Birds in flight

To get those elusive photos of birds in flight you just have to be standing next to someone with a giving heart and a bakery worth of bread to give. When the birds flock your biggest problem is actually to follow the same bird without getting other birds in the frame.

Keep the window closed, please

No, it's not possible to open these windows, so the children are perfectly safe. Here the public can get really close to the lions without having to be afraid of ending on the menu.

How to eat cardboard

I don't know if Copenhagen Zoo forgot to feed the tigers that week or if this cub is just trying to figure out what is possible to eat. The cardboard didn't end on the menu that day though.

A lot of feathers

With a whole raw hen on the menu for this Amur leopard there's a lot of feathers in its cage, but it obviously enjoyed the small challenge of ripping it apart. A little macabre for us civilized people who have forgotten that the meat in the supermarket actually came from a living animal, but a good eye opener for the attending kids. Especially as they weren't on the menu this time:-)