It’s been a quiet week …

… but we have the Wrens and they are always popular. You will be thankful that we have resisted the temptation to go off-topic and have a genteel rant about Brexit – a hard decision, but we will save that for 2019.

Carolina Wrens

The pair of Carolina Wrens have continued to be regular visitors to the garden – slightly less so on days when the snow cover was not total so that they were able to fossick for food in the leaf litter which they prefer (sensible birds) to our feeders. One of the birds was feeling bold on Tuesday as the snow fell and checked out the deck before moving off to a nearby bush, then the ground under some trees and then away until next time.

Really is a treat to have them here – quite apart from their scarcity this far north they are such attractive little balls of toffee-coloured fluff and feather.

It’s early days this winter, but we have heard reports of two other gardens along this southern shore of the Montreal West Island who each have a pair of their own. The locations are too far apart for it to be the same birds so it is safe to infer that summer 2018 has been a good breeding season for them … we now have to hope that the garden feeders are kept topped up and available until spring returns.  These birds, can cope with our winters just so long as they can find shelter and food but as they are ground feeders for the most part the food usually has to be provided at feeders by gardeners.

Happy Cat

Friday and the cat has been let out of his carrying basket at the very last minute. Freezing rain, shiny roads, can’t stand up, dangerous. Routine trip to vet for check up rescheduled to next week and now the winter has truly started. Snow is lovely, minus temperatures are fun, but this stuff is simply miserable.

I don’t recall ever experiencing real freezing rain before coming to Quebec 20 years ago (more than enough experience since that happy day) but coincidentally the UK is forecasting a lot of it for tomorrow over there where it is really rare. Smashed cars and limbs are almost a certainty given that strap on cleats and winter tires are almost unheard of there.

** Checked the UK news Saturday … yes, cars off the road were the order of the day because, guess what, ice is slippery. Brought to them by Storm Deirdre.

Next week is the CBC

Next Saturday is the Christmas Bird Count but the account and photographs we hope to have for you will probably not be ready by Sunday noon so will need to wait until after the holiday. Something to look forward to – we are!

Three years ago we found a flock of Wild Turkeys – what will we get in 2018?

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