Tuesday, March 26, 2013

MEET MY NEW CO-WORKER!

Meet Basil!
Going into work just got a whole lot easier. The students residence office recently hired a new employee, Basil, who is a therapy dog. He's a fur-ball of love and joy.

He was wanting me to rub his tummy in this picture, and I happily obliged.


He's just over 3 months old and won't grow much bigger.

Time for a nap! Working for a living tires a puppy out.

I start vacation today and will miss his puppy kisses.


Taking a blogging break while on vacation, I'll be back in a couple weeks.

Friday, March 22, 2013

NOT THE WAY I LIKE TO SEE BIRDS

2400 birds (91 species) who didn't survive migration.
Yesterday on my lunch break I walked across the street to attend FLAP's annual "dead bird layout" at the ROM. It's a public awareness program, to make the public aware of the dangers migratory birds face every year just trying to make it through our city. Lights left on in city buildings at night and reflective glass are deadly to the birds. The 2400 birds pictured above is a small sample of the estimated 1 Million birds that die in our city every year.

I wanted to go to show my support for this organization, but it was tough to see, and I teared up a few times, first time when I spotted my "wish bird", a Whip-poor-will, in the mix. I stayed for the speech given by Founder, Michael Mesure, and was surprised to learn that FLAP has been around now for 25 years. I applaud this organization for their dedication and hard work, they are making a difference.

For more information on FLAP, please check out their website by clicking HERE.

A Northern Shrike was in the very middle of the group.
A circle of  Blue Jays around a group of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

This isn't how I like to see birds, but I am grateful to everyone at FLAP for working so hard to lesson the number of birds killed every year.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

BIRDING BY CAR WITH SPECIAL GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER

Only my 2nd time seeing Short-eared Owls in the wild.
A couple weekends ago, Rob and I went out with our friends, Dave and Andi, on a day long birding trip that ended with a fantastic dinner at Jake's Grill in Burlington.

We birded parts of south western Ontario and did most of our birding by car. All photos in this blog were taken by Andi while sitting in the car. She got some great shots!

First time seeing a Horned Lark this winter!
We saw many Horned Larks and the biggest flock of Snow Buntings we've ever seen. We also had amazing views of a juvenile Bald Eagle and Rob and I had a lifer with Tundra Swans.

Always fun to see Wild Turkeys!
A herd of deer grazing along the highway.
Ok, the deer aren't birds, but we saw the largest herd of deer driving back home that any of us had ever seen, probably over 40 in total. We had to stop to have a look!

It was a great day and who knew you could see so many great birds just sitting in your car!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

NO PROUDER CANADIAN

Stompin Tom Connors, the proudest Canadian.

Stompin Tom Connor's music was as much a part of my childhood in small town Nova Scotia as Kool-Aid, and I was saddened this morning to hear of his passing.

He was my first concert at age 5 and a special memory with my Dad. I saw him a couple more times in Ontario, and blogged about him in 2009.

He is a Canadian legend and loved this country and it's people like no other. I thoroughly enjoy his musical, toe-tapping stories about Canada from coast to coast. Though I am sad to hear of his passing, I'm glad there was a Stompin Tom to miss.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

FUNKY FEET & SLEEPING BEAUTY

A red-morphed Eastern Screech Owl snoozes in the sun.

Last Sunday Rob and I went out for a short birding trip. We ran into some friends and had some great sightings. It was a short but sweet adventure.

We were pretty excited to see an American Coot out of the water.
They have the funkiest looking feet!
  
You never know what you're going to see when you leave the house!