My sweet little Northern Flicker

This little gal spent hours hanging onto the rocks on the sunny side of the house.  I was pretty worried by the time 4 hours passed and she had only moved a few rocks over.  Well, actually I was worried long before that ... but it was at least 4 hours til she flew off and went to the suet feeder and also got a drink of water at the heated water bowl.  I felt somewhat better then...

It looked like she was sleepy.. because her eyes kept closing.  There was definitely something not quite right with her though, because usually they fly off if I even move anywhere near the window.  This day, I was even able to remove the screen inside the window to get a better photo of her and she just hung there.  By then, I was not sure if I wanted to take her photo... because I felt it wasn't fair.  If they are injured or sick ... I always feel like that.  It is like having an unfair advantage over them and I feel bad about it.

Silly me I guess.  But, later, at dusk, when she did fly away to the nearby Poplar tree and then...on to the nearby golf course trees....I felt a bit better about her health.  She was back in the morning and only hung out on the house side for about 2 hours and then... hasn't been hanging onto it since.  Maybe she just had a headache from pecking something too hard,  or was sick for a few days or something....  I hope that's all it was.

Anyway....I did take several great photos of her and I wanted to post them today.

Here she is  ...  my beautiful little Northern Flicker girl.  Please do click to 'embiggen' and see her lovely face right up close and personal.  So gentle looking... and, I'm sure she sees me, but doesn't appear too concerned about me at all ..... maybe she knows I'm harmless.

If you'd like to see more birds.... head over to Stewart's blog, Paying Ready Attention.  Or, click on the badge below..

Soft and Downy

Isn't she just?  Look, there are even lots of little feathers all around the base of her beak.  I don't know if those are what they term 'rictal bristles' or just some soft, downy feathers... either way I think they are cute.

This is a little lady Downy Woodpecker that comes to the suet cage for her favourite.  Peanut butter and bugs.  Suet cakes I buy at the bird feed shop.  They, and the Northern Flickers get on there and hang... literally ... sometimes it appears as though they are snoozing...but, sometimes, maybe they just refuse to get off and give anybody else a chance.

There is a "pecking order" too it seems.  If the little Downy is on there and a big ol' Northern Flicker shows up....well, the little one flies off for a bit.   But, she comes back... and so does her boyfriend... I've never seen it the other way around.  No Flickers leave if a little Downy shows up for grub.  Big Meanies.
Don't forget... click to make larger to see details if you like.

Waiting patiently for me to finish shovelling so she can come into the patio for her suet cage.  Not too nervous at all...unlike the big Flickers... who take off the instant I go out there.  They may be big meanies in the bird world...but, they are afraid of me.  Hah....

Here is one of the big Flickers...  all fluffed out so he looks even bigger.  It is -25C these days and they puff out their feathers to keep warm I guess.  And...below...... ...the little lady Downy so you can see the size difference.  Sorry they are a bit soft focus looking... almost fuzzy... they were taken with the venetian in the way...but, didn't want to scare them off so left it.

Linking up with Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday again... check them out by clicking on the photos below.

"A gentle expression"

That's the phrase the bird books uses when describing the look of Northern Flickers.  It's so true.  Look at this guy...or maybe it is two different guys ...I can't say for sure.
All I know is ...they hang out ...literally..on my suet cage.  We buy the 'peanut butter and bugs' one and they seem to love it.

Here he is on a cold day.. perched on top of the feeder pole in the sunlight.  Definitely looks like a gentle expression to me.

Hunkered down and all fluffed out on the top of the patio wall
.. still looking pretty gentle.  I wanted to say 'chill' or 'cool'...but, ..hahahha it is cold and snowy and those words seemed not quite right.  Somebody may have thought I was trying for a pun or something..

This is the type of weather we are having ...   it is still snowing, so I will definitely be out there again this afternoon putting in some more shovelling time.  Did over an hour earlier, so I don't think I'll bother with the treadmill today..or the weights... I have sidewalks, a patio and a double driveway to shovel... that'll be another good hour of exercise, so I can opt out today.  ...  maybe just some good stretches later.  Or.....not..........................

Check out lots of other great birds at this site.  Just click the badge...

Best Christmas present ever ...

A robot.  Yep.  IRobot Roomba.

You know when we were young and a vacuum cleaner as a gift was not what we had in mind? ....   Times have changed.

He works diligently let me tell you... and, he doesn't miss a spot.  Those legs under the beds?...especially the ones in the middle? ... he goes around them at least 3 or 4 times making darn sure there is no dust left lingering... what a treat.

The first time we asked him to do our bidding it was almost like having a new puppy.  We followed him around the house checking everywhere he was going... to make sure he wasn't getting into any mischief.  He is so clever... mapping out the areas; making sure he didn't miss any spots, etc..   When we tried out his services a second time he was even more organized.   After all, he had 'mapped' our house previously.  There is only ever a slight problem near the docking port... but, maybe a chair in too close proximity caused that.  We moved the port and will see what transpires next time.

It takes him about as long as it takes me to vacuum the whole house... but, hey..  I can let him get on with his job and I am free to do other things...I love it.!!  Of course, I will still be vacuuming...but,  if little Snoopy does his job once a week, I bet I can cut my own vacuuming down considerably...   he won't be able to open and close doors to get behind them..nor will he do steps .. so the human touch is still essential every so often.   But, the square footage I will actually have to do will be minimal if he does all the rest and does a good job.

After so many years of renovations and having to vacuum daily and sometimes many times a day...I will be so happy to have this little vacuuming buddy ... can't even say how much I love him already.  The main vacuum cleaner is also being replaced... we killed it with all the drywall dust we vacuumed over the years of the silly renovations.  Maybe next week I'll get my new one of those......... the shipment is stuck in eastern Canada.... snowstorms and whatnot... probably some Christmas delays as well.