For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Good morning to everyone! I do hope you are feeling well and having a sunny day thus far! Please help yourself to some coffee, sit back and relax for a bit. You know, it’s not necessary for the sun to shine in order to have a sunny day. Even on cloudy days the sun still shines brightly. But sometimes we just have to look beyond the clouds to see the sun. And with that sunshine we can go out with a smile on our face. It’s another milder morning here, with a temp of 18F (-8C) and mostly cloudy. The blue jays are busy getting peanuts. There is only 6 of them this morning, getting less all the time. I also saw 2 chickadees and a redpoll. Not exactly a busy morning.
Perhaps it’s the mild winter we are having so far that is keeping the birds away. Though that was never a problem before. I know that when walking down to the river this year I never saw many chickadees or nuthatches. So that could mean numbers are down for those birds. I’m wondering if perhaps a hawk has decided to hang around this winter. That can happen in mild years. And they can really clean up the smaller birds. There are times when the small birds suddenly disappear for awhile. That means a predator in the area. But it could be a shrike as well. But they don’t go after blue jays since jays fight back, and they are the same size. And the jays will chase the shrike from their area which helps the small birds. A hawk is a different matter, they are bad for all the birds.
A deer must have been killed by a train. The last couple of days there has been quite a few ravens flying around, plus at least a couple bald eagles. There is one eagle sitting at the top of a large spruce tree right now. I would try for a picture but there are too many branches in the way from a large birch tree out here. And it’s in a rather awkward location to get any closer to it. Oh, there it flies now, going back down for more food I guess. I hope it wasn’t Major. Today we have a couple different winter bird pics to share, a female redpoll sitting in the snow looking for seeds, and a goldfinch wearing it’s winter feathers. In summer this bird is bright yellow. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
Β©2020 Steve McLeod.
Good morning steve from the afternoon of the uk. Hope your day is spectacular buddy ππ
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HI John! Thanks so much! I hope your day is going well, take care!ππΊ
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Thanks for a most relaxing read! I enjoy hearing about your birds. Blessings Steve!
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Thanks for stopping by Cindy, glad you enjoyed it! God bless!ππΊπββ
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Darwin would have a field day just sitting on your deck! π
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Probably get him confused!ππΉ
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“A hawk is a different matter, they are bad for all the birds.” not bad for the hawk. lol it needs to eat too. a hawk has been seen around my place the last 2 weeks and the doves and quail are quite nervous and scatter at the slightest noise.
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Yep, they need to eat, but somewhere else please! Depending on the hawk, they can take 2 birds a day, one for sure. Doesn’t take long to clean out the smaller birds at that rate.π³ Even the shrikes will eat a bird a day during winter, but they move around a lot so they don’t clean out an area completely.
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hmmmmm….natural selection. only the best survive. lol π though im poking fun, i do understand.
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Nature is meant to be balanced regardless of the likes and dislikes of people …
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yes
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Yes, but at times it gets unbalanced.
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It rebalance again …
Hahaha…
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In time, though not always getting back to normal.π
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Change is the only constant with the divine …
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Would rebalance *
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Yep, I know you’re having fun.π
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I admitβI do enjoy watching the birds of prey such as hawks….getting the poop knocked out of them by the ravens! Ravens rule the air! πππΊ
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Ravens and crows do hate the hawks and owls. One time I saw a raven chase an eagle, the eagle got fed up finally and flipped over on his back when the raven got close…and the eagle had lunch.π³ππΊ
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The other day I watched two ravens chase away a third. It was like fighter pilots doing barrel rolls! Feathers falling out of the sky….πππΊ. Eagles are super cool, eh? Big birds
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Sounds like a raven strayed into the wrong territory! Yes, those eagles can get big, there is always lots of them down at the river.πππΈ
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It certainly has been an unusual winter so far. Maybe the little birds are still able to find a little food in the woods? Hate to think of them as food for a bigger bird!π³π²
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Yes, I’m sure they can still get natural food yet and that’s likely the main reason for the lack of birds at the feeders.π
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They’ll be along when the temps really drop.π They know a good restaurant when they see one.ππ
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I hope so, or it will be a dull winter for pics!π€π·
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Yeah for certain! Hey maybe you could ask Jasper to talk to them? Or maybe Theodore? Spread the word about the bigger boothes you built!ππ
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Theodore left me too. Sigh. I’m thinking of opening a new one, self serve, all you can eat salad bar, the works!ππ€β
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Just remember… location, location, location!! Find a good path in the woods with lots of trees and bushes!ππ
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Hmm, now where would I find such a place?π€π€
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Well… I’d start looking in the woods.π
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You keep coming up with these good ideas tonight. How come I don’t?π€π
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Hey… i just said that! Stop that copying me!
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Hey I said it first, you just copied me before I had a chance to say it.π
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Like they say in your old country.. feable minds think alike!ππ€π€
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Hmm, I never heard that one before.ππ
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That one hasn’t been around as long as you, so maybe that’s why?π€π€π€
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I also didn’t make it up.π
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Oh that’s right… I did! π Thanks for noticing!ππ
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You’re welcome.
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Again?? Oh well.. Thank You!
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Im sure Theodore will be back after the holidays.. poir guy must be scared to death!!
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That’s what I’m afraid of!π³π³π¦
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Naw… he’s faster and smarter… he’s just staying out of site.π
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I sure hope so, but if I see one of the neighbors tossing out these huge turkey bones…π³π³π¦
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Yeah.. I see your point.. He’ll be fine
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I sure hope so, but if I see one of my neighbors tossing out huge turkey bones…π³ππ¦
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It could be his cousin!π€
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He doesn’t have any cousins, I asked.π
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Oh… I forgot you can gobble.π€
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I’m not fluent yet, but I’m getting there. I like to talk turkey.
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I’m sure it’s handy during the Holidays! I can get that accent right though.π The “eh” part at the end always fouls me up.!π¦π€π€
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Why do you say eh at the end when you talk. Very strange.ππ
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Yes I know!ππ
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Aww look at the beauty of birds. The pictures look amazing. The first didnβt seem to want a picture lol. As if to say, No selfie! π
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They seem to do that quite a bit some days, turn their head just as I click the picture!ππΉ
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Good morning Steve even if is another day here π€ͺ
I’m sorry for the deer….I hate it when accidents like this happens…trains, cars…π
The pictures are so beautiful π¦ π
Wish you a wonderful day, no matter what day it is π
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Hi Ribana! Yes, another day, nice today even though cloudy.ππ¨πββ
Yes, animals don’t understand vehicles and the dangers of them. Trains kill deer every year around here, as do other vehicles.π³π¬
Thank you Ribana! I hope you have a great day as well!ππΊπ»
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Are you sure? }Mild winter? This is hell -8C π³ and u say it’s mild π i should call a sensitivity doctor to check Ontario citizens π because I hear they say -8c is a mild winter π« Have a wonderful weekend Sunday π€π
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Oh, but it is mild,π the cold weather is coming!π€ͺ It will start to get colder a bit later this week, but still not real cold.π₯Άπ Hope you have a great evening!ππΊ
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Seriously π so what is a real cold ππ³ all I know is one thing, I cannot survive in Ontario,ππ€£π as it’s like surviving in moon without spacesuit for me ππ€£π
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When the temp gets down to -30C to -40C, then it’s cold. The coldest on record here in our town is -62C! A friend and I went for a 2km walk that day. It stayed that cold day and night for 5 days. People were warned not to go outside. Most everything closed down.
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-62C π« my god I fainted already. That is the worst of the worse π such a cold temp, not sure I could survive such changeπ³π But happy that you all have learnt survive, so that is Human, we could survive any place, all it takes experience and intelligence to live ππ
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Yep, we adapt, though it’s not easy when it gets super cold,π₯Άπ§ even with all our warm clothes we tend to stay indoors most of the time.π³ππ₯Ά You definitely wouldn’t like it here!ππ±
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π³ you should motivate us on how to survive and have fun at this place π maybe that way you’ll have a plenty of population at your village π
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The best way to survive and have fun here is to move somewhere else!πππ€£π€£πΉπΉ
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Yeah, keep moving in the snow ππ that’s still a fun way ππ
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Snow is fun?π€ Oh my.π³π²π¬π€ͺπ₯Άπ§
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ππ€£π isn’t it fun, full of white snow, fall in like a bed and bit between invisible rocks and get broken ππ
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Fall in the snow is nice and soft, but you might not find your way out again!π³π³π€ͺπ€ͺ Especially if it is 2 meters deep!π²π²
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2 metres deep ππ€π³ that’s scary π how about a boot that is 2 metres talk πππ€£π
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That’s why we have snowshoes for walking on top of the snow. Just don’t fall. That’s bad stuff!π³π³ππ
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2 metres shoes could definitely help π ππ
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