Bildkollektion

©nationalpictures.co.uk / David G Hemmings/NATIONAL PICTURES/MAXPPP - ; Great Britain - National News and Pictures "Moment before Death" This image was created when this Northern Hawk Owl was about to hit the snow to catch a meal on a cold winter afternoon. With more ice and snow blowing in from the Arctic it is worth remembering that some creatures still like the freezing conditions. This Snowy Owl seems to be chuckling to itself as it ruffles its feathers against the cold. Taken by photographer John Gavin in the Salisbury State Reservation in Salisbury, Massachusettes, he said: "I love the expression on its face. It is almost as if he's laughing." And these other pictures of snowy owls capture the symmetry and majesty of the species as it glides over the snow. Bird photographer David G Hemmings, whose work has appeared on the cover of National Geographic said: "The images were captured in Northern Quebec when this beautiful Snowy Owl was cruising over a frozen field, possibly looking for a new roost or perhaps looking for prey." Another shot of his shows a Northern Hawk Owl as it plunges into the snow to grab its dinner. And this spooky shot shows a Great Grey Owl swooping out of the woods after sunset to begin hunting. David G Hemmings is one of four photographers whose works are currently on display as part of an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History Ornithology Department in New York City. He said: "As a planet we are losing species at an alarming rate. It is my hope that through my photography I can share my passion and love of birds with all who care to look." (KEYSTONE/MAXPPP/nationalpictures.co.uk / David G Hemmings )

Deer walk on a hillside after a snowstorm on Mt. Hamilton in San Jose, Calif., Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

GROSSBRITANNIEN LANDWIRTSCHAFT SCHAFE

With just their wooly coat and fellow sheep for company this gathering of a small flock in the North Yorkshire moors look somewhat isolated in the shows that fell in Kildale, Wednesday 24th January 2007. (EPA/Paul Kingston)

TIERE EISBAEREN

Polar bear mother & cub. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO/Dan Guravich) === ===

DEUTSCHLAND OSTSEE WINTER STRANDKORB

Deutschland, Mecklenburg- Vorpommern, Pommersche Bucht, Usedom, Ahlbeck, Strand, Enten, Stockenten, Strandkorb, Spaziergaenger, Seebruecke, Winter, Schnee, Kaelte, Frost, Europa. MF (Bildtechnik: Fabprofil sRGB) English: Germany, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Pommersche Bucht, Usedom, Ahlbeck, beach covered with snow, ducks, mallards, covered wicker beach chair, walker, people out walking, pier, winter, cold, frost, frozen, wintry, Europe. (KEYSTONE/LAIF/Langrock/laif )

epa00939175 A cat named Blyp checks the weather situation outside its home in a Copenhagen suburb Thursday 22. february 2007. A heavy snow storm in the northern and eastern parts of Denmark has caused huge traffic problems. ( EPA/Liselotte Sabroe

Birds sit on a telephone wires above a snowy landscape in Les Preses, north-eastern Spain Sunday Jan. 29, 2006 Most of Spain is currently gripped by freezing temperatures and snow. (AP Photo/EFE/Robin Townsend) ** LATIN AMERICA, CARIBBEAN AND SPAIN OUT **

NATUR TIER SCHWAN

See, Schwan, Spannung. (KEYSTONE/LAIF/Piepenburg)

USA WINTER WILD

A doe mule deer, left, rests in the deep snow of the Gunnison Basin east of Gunnison, Colo. on Wednesday January 16, 2008, as another deer forages for food beneath the snow. Recent below zero temperatures and above average snow has forced the Colorado Department of Wildlife to launch its biggest feeding operation in the last 24 years. "The snow is deep and it's heavy, so it's taking an extraordinary amount of energy for the deer to get to food," said Joe Lewandowski, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/Rocky Mountain News, George Kochaniec, Jr.) **DENVER OUT, MAGS OUT, TV OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT**

JAPAN TIERE ROTGESICHTSMAKAKEN

epa01981936 In sub-zero temperatures a Japanese Macaque monkey soaks in the warmth of a mountain hotsprings at Jigokudani (Hell's Valley) in Nagano Province of central Japan, 07 January 2010. The Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata), also referred to as Snow Monkeys, live freely in this area that is covered by snow one third of the year. Jigokudani is the only known place in the world where monkeys bathe in natural hot springs. As a habit, they come down from the mountains where they spend the night and bath during the day. The monkeys can be viewed live on the internet. EPA/EVERETT KENNEDY BROWN

DEUTSCHLAND WINTER ZOO MEERKATZEN

epa01981163 Meerkats warm themselves under a heating light in their enclosure in the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, 06 January 2010. The freezing temperatures changed the everyday life in the zoo. EPA/BERND THISSEN

Snow Monkeys, (macata fuscata), warming themselves; Shiga Highland, Japan. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE SOURCE/Akira Uchiyama)

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) sleeping in the snow. Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE SOURCE/George D. Lepp)

ARCTIC FOXES (ALOPEX LAGOPUS)

Arctic Foxes (Alopex lagopus). (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE SOURCE/Art Wolfe)

SCHWEIZ WINTER WILDNOT

A deer is stuck between icy walls of snow on either bank of the river Landquart in Klosters in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland, pictured on February 18, 2009. As the deer tried to cross the river Landquart, the huge amounts of snow on either side turned into prison walls, forcing it to stay in the river's icy waters. The canton of Grisons' gamekeepers and the police finally managed to free the animal out of its unfortunate situation. (KEYSTONE/Arno Balzarini) Ein Hirsch bleibt am 18. Februar 2009 in der eisigen Landquart in Klosters im Kanton Graubuenden zwischen hohen Schneemauern stecken. Beim Versuch die Landquart zu durchqueren ist ein Hirsch aufgrund der riesigen Schneemengen beidseits des Bachufers im eisigen Bach stecken geblieben. Retter der Buendner Wildhut und die Polizei konnten das Tier aus seiner misslichen Lage befreien. (KEYSTONE/Arno Balzarini)

PYRÉNÉES-ATLANTIQUES

France, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2007 © David Sauveur / Agence VU (KEYSTONE/Agence VU/)

Snow covered husky out in a blizzard. Northwest Greenland. (KEYSTONE/ARCTICPHOTO/Bryan and Cherry Alexander)

USA ZOO TIER LOEWE

This handout photo provided by the Smithsonian's National Zoo shows Luke, the male African lion, watching the snow fall at the zoo in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2007. Although it does not snow in his native Africa, Luke seemed content to lie outside of his heated den and finish his lunch, occasionally shaking the snow from his mane. (AP Photo/Smithsonian's National Zoo, Mehgan Murphy)

RED SQUIRREL (TAMIASCIURUS HUDSONICUS).

Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), winter, northern Michigan. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO/Rod Planck) === ===

USA VOGEL KARDINAL

A male cardinal waits for a turn at the bird feeders at the Cleveland Metroparks Brecksville Reservation Nature Center, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007, in Cleveland. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/The Plain Dealer, Chris Stephens) ** MANDATORY CREDIT **

TIERE VOEGEL ADELIEPINGUINE

Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) diving into the sea from an ice floe. The adelie penguin is distributed around the entire coast of the Antarctic continent and breeds further south than any other bird. It breeds in colonies that vary in size from tens to thousands of birds. The adelie penguin feeds mainly on krill. Photographed on Paulet Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/CHR 366 WILLIAM ERVIN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY) === ===

SCHWEIZ HUND BERNHARDINER

A dog of the Saint Bernard has fun in the snow on the Great St. Bernard Pass after returning from their winter quarters in Martigny, Switzerland, Monday, June 9, 2008. The dogs will spend their summertime on the pass and return to Martigny at the onset of winter. (KEYSTONE/Olivier Maire)

USA SCHNEE STURM

A herd of pronghorn antelope run across the snow-covered plains of south eastern Colorado, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007, in Bent County near Lamar, Colo. Ranchers, pilots and snowmobilers on Wednesday searched for thousands of cattle trapped by heavy snow and high drifts in Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico. (AP Photo/The Rocky Mountain News, Evan Semon) ** MAGS OUT TV OUT MANDATORY CREDIT INTERNET OUT **

USA MONTANA FLUSS GAENSE

Morning steam rises off the water at DePuy's Spring Creek south of Livingston, Montana, Friday, January 10, 2003, silhouetting a flock of ducks and geese creating a frosty morning scene along the Yellowstone River. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/The Livingston Enterprise/Erik Petersen)

BALD EAGLE IN FROST-COVERED TREE

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in frost-covered tree. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO, Inc./Ron Sanford) === ===

USA TIERE PFERD

Frost covers the winter coat of a horse standing in a pasture near Great Falls, Mont., Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Great Falls Tribune, Robin Loznak)

WHITE-TAILED JACKRABBIT (LEPUS TOWNSENDII)

White-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) Lievre de Townsend (Lepus townsendii) (KEYSTONE/PHOTONONSTOP/Henry AUSLOOS)