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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Late Visitor

    (Icterus galbula)   

This species is not a common visitor to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
but more and more are reported every year.

I had a surprise when I looked out the window
Monday morning.


A juvenile male.
Isn't he sweet?

It's pretty late in the season to be hosting orioles.
When I contacted Blake Maybank,
one of Nova Scotia's leading birders,
he sadly informed me that this little fellow is
LOST!
And, will probably try to survive the winter here.

So, out went the oranges, the grapes, the jelly...
and if he continues to visit,
as he has the last three mornings in a row,
we'll have to get some mealworms!




                     


Sunday, November 13, 2011

And the Winner is....

A huge thank you to everyone who participated
in this give-away,
and especially to those of you who took the extra time
to visit Kim's on-line store
to have a peek at her other wonderful patterns.

Having give-aways is lots of fun because
it gives me an opportunity to become acquainted
with other very talented people I've not yet discovered.
I've enjoyed visiting each and every new-to-me blog!

And now...
Drum roll please..............

The winner is:   Mageezroom

Congratulations!!


And again, thank you everyone!

*



Friday, November 11, 2011

Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs

Well, maybe not cocoa puffs,
but big, fuzzy caterpillars would be a nice tasty treat!!



(Coccyzus americanus)
made several rare appearances
in the Northeast and Atlantic Maritimes this fall,


Yellow-billed Cuckoo Range Map

delighting many birders
in my neck of the woods.


Negotiating a seldom used, overgrown dirt road
to access a beautiful stretch of beach and bogland,
we came across this little guy foraging along the edge.
He managed to stay one step ahead of us,
and having never seen one before,
we were stymied!


He wasn't exactly cooperative
when it came to documenting his visit,
always hopping or flying just out of range
at the exact moment it was time to 'click'
for a picture.

The Yellow-bellied Cuckoo is a fairly good sized bird,
10 - 12" in length, with a down-curved bill
that hosts a black upper mandible
and a yellow lower mandible.

It has the prettiest rufous coloring to its primaries,
most obvious when it flies away. 
Which I observed ALOT in my futile attempts
to snap a good picture.

In addition to consuming massive quantities of hairy caterpillars,
the Yellow-billed Cuckoo also considers berries, small fruits,
and even small amphibians to be fine dining.

My best guess is that nasty weather
blew them off course
and they ended up wandering far beyond
the northern fringes of their territory.

However, I'm no authority.

For a better view of this lovely bird, check out this post by TexWis
She has some nice clear, beautiful close-ups!!



Saturday, November 5, 2011

The Harbour Quilt Company Give-away


Great Blue Herons and Kingfishers are common
summer residents in the Atlantic Maritimes,
and as you saw in a previous post
Kim, from The Harbour Quilt Company
in Antigonish, Nova Scotia
has captured their beauty and elegance
in one of her quilted wallhangings.

Kim has graciously offered to sponsor a give-away
of this very pattern!


You guessed it!! 
It's my personal favorite,
one of Kim's very own designs,
Captain's Pond,
in which she has embraced
her deep appreciation for nature
and combined it with her talent and skills!

There will be three opportunities for you
to enter this give-away.

1.  Simply leave a comment at the end of this post.

2.  Visit Kim's on-line store,
then return here and tell me
which is your favorite
pattern/kit!

 3.  Mention this give-away on your own blog,
and come back to let me know.

As an extra bonus, the winner will also receive
a craft-size package of
Fusi-Boo,
a fusible batting made from a unique blend
of rayon fiber from bamboo and natural cotton.
This bonus prize is being generously donated
by Trish at the  Fairfield Corp.

I will select the lucky winner
one week from today, Sat. 11/12.
using the random number generator.
Good Luck!!
A special thank you to Kim and Trish
for making this give-away possible!!

*This give-away is now closed!!