MY "BIRTHDAY BASH"

Celebrating my 43rd birthday.

This year for my birthday I did something I haven't done in years, went to a bar to dance. My friends and I gathered at "Hollywood on the Queensway" for an evening of fun.

We ate, drank, danced and laughed. I have a wonderful circle of friends, and would like to thank them all for making my 43rd birthday a memorable one.

Below are a few pictures of the evening, enjoy.

Some of the party goers and me.

Murray and Debbie came from the other end of the city to attend, was great to see them.

Rob and I had our first slow dance at a bar last night.

Anita and I doing a shooter.

Friends mixing and mingling.

Our birding buddies, Jim & Lynda.

Amanda and I on the dance floor.

  It was a great night!

AND LIFE GOES ON.....

Meeting Hugh Dillon at work during filming of Flashpoint.

Today was a bitter sweet day for me. It is the beginning of my birthday weekend, had an exciting film shoot at work and a stark reminder that life keeps moving forward.

My Mother's ashes were laid to rest in Nova Scotia today,  she passed in January and her funeral was at that time. Today was a small graveside service with my Dad, a few family members and dear friends. The timing of the service was short notice and I hadn't planned on going down for it. I arranged to have flowers laid during the service as a way of taking part.
 
Work though, gave me a distraction. Also very short notice was the news that "Flashpoint" was going to be shooting their final episode on campus. I'm a fan of the award winning show, and this is their 5th and final season.

The campus was hopping when I arrived at work at 7am, it takes a lot of people to film a TV show. I got a "good morning" from Enrico Colantoni, a great look at Amy Jo Johnson, who I have been a fan of since the TV show Felicity. But the highlight for sure was getting to meet and have my picture taken with Hugh Dillon, legendary front-man of The Headstones who plays Ed Lane on the show. 

My Mom and the service were never far from my mind, but it was hard to concentrate on work, or anything really, with all the crew and actors running around, I got caught up in the excitement of it all and the day flew by.

I was also given birthday presents and cards from a couple of co-workers/friends and in the afternoon I was taken completely by surprise when I was presented with an ice-cream birthday cake and my team of co-workers singing happy birthday to me.

An Owl necklace from Sabrina, I love it!

Yummy ice-cream cake.

And then I came home to a dozen red roses waiting for me from Rob, not a regular occurrence in our home.

Lovely surprise waiting for me when I got home.

What a day!

I can't help but think that there was some divine intervention going on. Everything falling into place like that, to keep me busy and distracted so I couldn't dwell on events and places I couldn't be. I feel I had a little nudge from Mom today to let me know that it's ok to celebrate my birthday, enjoy my life and be happy. Thanks Mom, I will. 

 

ASHLEE'S CHOICE

Green toe nails for a month, thanks to my niece.

I went for a pedicure after work on Friday, and for fun, I let my 12 year niece, Ashlee, pick my color.
She lives in Alberta, but we text quite often, so when I texted her for her suggestion, she said green or blue. Oh boy, I never stray from pink or red, so this was something out of my comfort zone.

I chose a Spring grassy green, and like the grass, it's grows on me a little more everyday.

Ashlee's 6 year old sister, Tayler, gets to pick next time.

EASTERN BLUEBIRDS ~ UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

A pair of Eastern Bluebirds.

Last Sunday, Rob and I joined the president of the Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society, Bill Read, and a few others on a field trip. We had joined the organization last year after learning about it, and had been looking forward to the trip for months.

We went to a private orchard that had many, many, Eastern Bluebird nest boxes set up. Eighteen pairs of Eastern Bluebirds had successfully taken a box as a home to raise a family. You can learn all about Eastern Bluebirds through the organizations website. 

Bill aging an adult male Eastern Bluebird.

The day was very informative and interesting. Bill banded some adults and chicks. It was really amazing to learn and see things about these birds that we never would of on our own.

A nest full of Eastern Bluebird eggs.

Bill told us that some females lay white eggs, and if they do, they will always lay white eggs. I was happy we got to see these pretty blue ones.

A nest full of healthy and hungry Eastern Bluebird chicks.  (Photo-Betty Brechun)

When you are near a nest with chicks in it, the parents are always close by and keeping an eye on things .

The day took a very up-close and personal turn with the discovery of a parent abandoned nest box with 5 cold and hungry chicks inside. Bill monitors these boxes and knew that something had happened to the male, but the female had been around the day before, but not today. Sometimes when the "pair bond" gets broken the other deserts the nest/chicks to find a new mate. Nature can be cruel sometimes.

Our first job was to get these chicks warm, and the warmth of our hands was perfect. So, for the next little while we walked around cupping a five day old chick in our hands. It wasn't hard to tell when they were warm, because when they were they started peeping and begging for food. Next up, the bug hunt! This wasn't an easy task with all the dry weather, but a couple of girls in the group were great at it and got the little guys fed.

Once Bill was satisfied that the birds were warm and well fed he put them in a nest box in his car, where they would be warm and safe. After the field trip he was hoping to relocate them to another nest box in the orchard with parents.

A five day old Eastern Bluebird chick, a little bald beauty.  (Photo-Betty Brechun)

Our "bluebird" group holding the orphaned chicks.  ( Photo-Anne McLagan)

 
That's one of the things I love about birding and doing trips like this one, you never know what's going to happen on an outing.

CHICK-A-DEE-DEE-DEE

Our decorative "Outhouse" birdhouse has become popular with the Chickadees.

I have a soft spot for Chickadee's. They were my "spark bird", meaning the bird that got me hooked on birding many years ago. Rob and I were at a park close to home, and one landed in my hand for a peanut, that was it, my spark moment, and I've been hooked ever since.

Even with the many feeders we have out, we didn't have many Chickadee's come to our yard, it was always a great thrill to have one or two show up from time to time. All that changed 3 years ago when a pair moved into our decorative "Outhouse Birdhouse" that Spring. After a few weeks of the pair moving in, we could hear the babies peeping away when we were outside and were very excited about this happening.

We went away for one night, just one night, and the babies "fledged", meaning they left the house and went on their way while we were gone. We missed it. We were so disappointed, but happy that the birds had nested in our yard. Ever since then we do have Chickadees in the yard on a  more regular basis, and we like to think it's the ones that were hatched here.

This year again a pair of Chickadee's nested in the same birdhouse, after fighting with some House Sparrows for it. Rob helped the Chickadee's win the war for the house, and another clutch was hatched. Again, we listened to the little one's growing up inside the box and watched the parents bring food to the little ones constantly. I even had a glimpse of one of the babies peeking his head out of the box on Monday, but Rob was the really lucky one, he saw them fledge yesterday while I was at work. As disappointed as I was that I missed it, I was glad that he was here to see it. He got some great pictures and does a wonderful job of explaining what he witnessed in his own blog, which you can read here.

I have a feeling there is going to be even more Chickadees in the yard this winter and that's just fine with us!     

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR! - PICTURE BLOG

A female Yellow Warbler sitting in her nest. (Pelee National Park)

We knew Spring had sprung early on our Pelee trip this year, as we saw so many birds already in nests!

A few other young ones were sighted while on vacation too, please enjoy my first "picture blog", all photos by Rob. Don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them.

A Robin sitting in her nest. (Pelee National Park)

Chipping Sparrow in her nest. (Rondeau Provincial Park)

A young Great Horned Owl. (Pelee National Park)

An Eastern Screech Owl, who I like to think was keeping an eye on his mate and nest. (Pelee National Park)

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird sitting in her nest. ( Presqu'ile Provincial Park)

Young Mute Swans just outside of Presqu'ile Provincial Park.

Passing his mate some worms to feed the baby Chickadees. (Our backyard)

Me listening to the baby Chickadees.

A fledgling Red-winged Blackbird. (Sam Smith Park)

A mama Raccoon with two babies. (Humber Arboretum)

And last but not least.......

A young Red-tailed hawk! Isn't he adorable?! (Humber Arboretum)

For some great advice on what to do if you encounter a baby bird click here.

THE SANCTUARY

My favorite place to spend a summer day, our backyard.

Today was the first time in our 17 day vacation that we didn't go anywhere, and it was a much needed and enjoyable day just hanging at home, most of it in the backyard.

We put out the lawn ornaments today and Rob planted a few Marigolds. We had a BBQ for  lunch, followed by me having a nap on a blanket on the lawn. The budgies enjoyed the weather from their cages on the deck, and Meadow found lots of shady places to nap. We enjoyed watching the birds splash around in the bird baths, the antics of the many squirrels that call our backyard home, and kept a watchful eye on the 2 bird houses now home to young.  It was a perfect way to spend the last day of our vacation.

I look forward to spending most of our summer weekends the same way.

Meadow hanging out with one of the lawn ornaments.

 

PELEE ADVENTURE

We're just a couple of "Bird Nerds".

This past Monday morning, our friends Jim and Lynda picked us up before the sun was, to head over to the Leamington area for our birding adventure. We hit three great birding spots on our trip; Rondeau Provincial Park, Hillman Marsh, and of course the warbler capital, Point Pelee National Park.

We had been over to Pelee the same week last year, but it was quite apparent that Spring really did arrive early this year. We didn't see as many warblers as last year, and we found a lot of birds already sitting on their nests. Separate picture blog to come about that.

We still had a fabulous trip, and saw many, many birds. Our species total topped out at 86, and Rob and I had 10 lifers! We also got to witness a Dunlin murmuration and the flying courting ritual of the American Woodcock, both spectacles were truly spectacular to witness. 

One of my favorite moments of the trip no one captured a picture of because we were all staring at it through binoculars. It happened at Hillman Marsh, on their longest trail through the marsh. We witnessed a male Red-winged Blackbird sitting on top of a deers head just as relaxed as can be while the deer kept a watch on us before darting away and the bird flew off. I still don't believe I saw that, but I did.      

Please enjoy a few pictures from our trip and click on them for a better view.

It's always nice to feel welcomed! We enjoyed a couple meals here.

Sunrise at the "Tip" of Point Pelee National Park.

The "Tip" of Point Pelee is a welcomed sight for migrating birds.

Our birding buddies, Jim & Lynda.

Watching this Dunlin murmuration for several minutes was breath taking.

This first year male Orchard Oriole caused lots of excitement because we had no clue what it was.

A male Tufted Titmouse feeding his lady friend, apart of the courting ritual in many bird species.

Last stop before heading home, a Chip Truck, just outside of Rondeau Provincial Park.

It was another great birding trip. Bird, bird, bird,... bird is the word......

KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

A striking Red-headed Woodpecker.

We just returned from our four day birding adventure to the Pelee area with our friends, Jim & Lynda.

On our way down we decided to stop into Rondeau Provincial  Park, as none of us had been there before, and we heard the birding is excellent there too.

We had also heard through the birding grapevine, that a gentleman who lived in one of the many homes in the park was having a rare to the area, Yellow-throated Warbler visit a feeder on his property and was welcoming birders to come and see it. This bird is normally not seen on this side of Lake Erie and was causing lots of excitement in the birding community.

Think about that for a moment.

It's not too often that strangers open the kindness gates like that. When you have a passion for birds and birding, an opportunity to see a bird like that is a gift, and he was giving that gift to everyone who wanted to see it.

We were given directions to the cottage from a couple we met while on a trail in the park, and decided to visit the home after our walk.

It wasn't a hard cottage to find, the many birders with cameras waiting on the lawn was a sure give away, but so too was the sign he put at the beginning of the pathway up to his cottage with directions of where to walk, park and "welcome birders".

While we were there Rob and I had two lifers, the Yellow-throated Warbler and a Red-headed Woodpecker. I know the warbler was causing all the excitement, but seeing the Red-headed Woodpecker took my breath away.

We stopped into the park again on the way home today, and did a couple more trails, and went back to the cottage, where we were treated to another sighting and song of the Yellow-throated Warbler, but the Red-headed Woodpecker didn't show this time.

Thank you sir, from the bottom of my birding heart, for opening your yard like that to us and sharing your birding knowledge, it was appreciated more then you will ever know.

This Yellow-throated Warbler was causing lots of excitement.

The Red-Headed Woodpecker getting a mouth fill of home made suet.

   More blogs to come about our trip, but I thought these two birds, and that one awesome gentleman deserved a blog of their own.

SUMMER GUESTS

A beautiful male Baltimore Oriole

I don't remember where I saw my first Baltimore Oriole, but I remember the first time one landed in our yard, because it rendered me speechless, and that doesn't happen often.

Five years ago I decided I was going to attract these flying fire balls to our yard. We got the right feeder with some help from our friends at Wild Birds Unlimited and set to work. Some orange halves, grape jelly and some patience was all it took.

For two summers a pair of Baltimore Orioles would stop in the yard for a week or two, eat our offerings and move along, and then do the same on the way back through in the fall.

Three years ago they stayed all summer! Knowing they had it good here, with food, shelter and water, they nested close by and were in our yard constantly. At one point last year we had 8 of these beauties flying around the yard.

I'm happy to say they've returned again for another season, and we believe there are 2 -3 couples close by.  Our yard is going to be a busy one this summer.

Enjoying some grape jelly.

MISSING MOM

The white flower pictured above was the last Mother's Day gift I gave my Mom. It was around this time last year when I was in Nova Scotia to be with her as she recovered from her surgery to have a brain tumor removed. But, it was too big, too late, and my Mom passed away this past January.

I remember wanting to buy her really flowers, but wasn't able, as she was on the "brain floor", which was scent free. I will eventually place this flower by her grave on a trip to Nova Scotia, but I'm not ready yet. It's placed in a spot in my home where I see it every day. It reminds me not only of my Mom, but of the time we spent together after her surgery.  The surgery and medication gave me my Mom back for a little while and being able to sit, talk and laugh with her again was a gift.

I appreciate Mother's Day more this year then any other and I know the best gift cannot be bought in a store or even held, because it's time.  Time spent with the ones you love is the best gift, and I know I will always long for a little more of it with my Mom.   

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATORY BIRD DAY

A gorgeous male Scarlet Tanager

Today was "International Migratory Bird Day", a day to celebrate the birds and the miracle that is migration. It turned out to be a great birding day for us. The highlight was seeing the above pictured
Scarlet Tanager, we hadn't seen one since spring 2010, so it was joyful to see one after so long.

We also saw 10 species of warblers while on our outing this morning, and had some lively conservation with other birders who were also enjoying the lovely birding weather.

Below are a few pics from our outing this morning.

 Female Black-throated Blue-Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Black & White Warbler

Another shot of the Scarlet Tanager because he's just so pretty!

Hope you took some time to enjoy the birds today!