Bird Counting, Victoria Day Weekend

It was certainly a good weekend for it; hardly a drop of rain, not a lot of bugs (yet), and quiet enough to be able to hear the birds singing!  We saw and/or heard a large variety (by “we” I mean Dodie, Myles, and I, at different times); our total for the weekend was 42 species.  I so wish I had a picture of the Black-Backed Woodpecker we saw; it was a first-time sighting for me, and I didn’t have my camera with me.

The Mergansers dropped by to say hello.

As soon as I got out the camera, they started to turn away. Camera shy?

There is lots of power in those wings.

I should have had the setting on a higher shutter speed.

We counted more Robins than anything else (19). They seemed to be everywhere.

Om nom nom...

The Blue Jays were at the feeders, of course.

Love the little dangling feet!

I was pleased to see several Veerys. They are friendly little birds.

He flew in for this closeup.

Iain got a picture of the Beaver dragging a stick around.

I really wish he'd go to another lake - he makes such a mess.

And Nibbles came by for a snack.

If he would only content himself with the clover and weeds, and leave my Purple Liatris alone!

The wee Bunny is still living around there somewhere, too.

He came to the patio door again, too. He must see his reflection.

Aside from this, the usual assortment of Squirrels and Chipmunks kept the feeders empty!

A weekend

A wee visit to Mom’s place to do a bit of set-up in the back yard and to visit with her and Kyle. They have both been very busy already, so there wasn’t a lot to do; but we did hang out all the chimes and bird feeders, and set up the patio furniture. Iain expanded the patio area a bit.

Relaxing after a bit of work. Iain got some digging done, while I did the easy stuff.

 We don’t get to see them as often as we should. Life is TOO BUSY, for them and for us!


We are so thankful that these two have each other to rely on!

Sunday afternoon we made a quick trip to the lake, thinking we should set up the gazebo, as the blackflies are on their way and it will be the only place to sit outside in any kind of comfort. Sadly, the roof has ripped in several places (which we discovered as we tried to hang it). It is six years old, and has been outside all summer each year, so I guess this is understandable.

So, we did a quick fix with the ever-useful duct tape. Not sure how long this will hold (in fact, with all the rain we received Monday and Tuesday, I won’t be surprised if it is off), but it’s the best we can do until a new one arrives, probably in June.

Yuck. I don't want to have to look at this for very long.

The flowers are blooming at the cottage!

Daffy-dills!

On the way home we spotted some Mennonites who live in the Renfrew area. At first I thought it was just someone with a team of horses out for a tour, so I took a picture through the windshield. It was only as they approached that I realized they were all dressed in black. I put my camera away quickly, as I’m sure they don’t like being treated as photographable oddities (although, if you look considerably different from the average person, and you are doing it on purpose, you should probably accept that you are going to be an object of curiosity). I was really going for a picture of the horses, anyway.

A nice team!