Scramble is a Star :)

That's right folks, that pesky little squirrel of mine was on television this morning (CTV Morning Live to be exact)!

Unfortunately I didn't get to see it, but my mother called me just as I was walking out the door for work, frantically telling me that a photo of Scram was on a local news program and that they were talking about my webcam!

I had sumbitted my photo to Cindy Day, meterologist at CTV, and I guess the staff liked it, because they chose to share it this morning.

I'm so bummed that I missed it!

Ah well, I'm just glad that more people had the chance to see the cam, and that pesky little squirrel!

Night time snacker

Northern Flying Squirrel :)

I don't usually view the cam at night. Typically the only time I see the cam after dark is when I run outside quickly to refill the seed.

Last night, my husband wanted me to go downstairs to help him with his mountain bike. The cam and feeder are by the window in that room.

I happened to glance up at the feeder and saw a squirrel.
"What on earth is Scramble doing at the feeder this time of night??" I questioned.

I got closer to the window to investigate. It didn't really look like a red squirrel. It looked more grey and softer.

"Wait a second," I told my husband, "what is this thing?"

We could only see it's back side, but from that, my husband said, "That's a flying squirrel!"

He pointed out the squirrels little winged arms which we could catch a glimpse of when he turned sideways to get more seeds.

Suddenly it all made sense! Flying Squirrels are nocturnal and only come out at night. They can glide from tree to tree.

I really wish I could have got a picture of his face, but it was really hard to get any type of picture through glass, at night, so alas, I only got a picture of his back.

I wonder how long he's been visiting? I hope he continues to visit our feeder.

Maybe at some point I will be able to get a night-vision cam so he can be viewed in the evenings. Now that would be awesome! I guess I need to start saving some $$$$!

Power Outage

We're having very high winds today (gusts of 100km/h). I worried the power would go out, and it did.

I'm at work and noticed the cam went down around 2:00pm Atlantic time (1:00pm EST). Hubby called me a few minutes later to inform me that a power line is down and lying across the road just a little ways from our house. He couldn't get home, so he was calling the power company.

Not sure when we'll have the cam back up. We may be down for the rest of the day!

(Temporarily) Warmer weather!

..Wait.. isn't tomorrow February 1st?!

After at least two weeks of miserably cold weather (-29C/-20F), we're finally getting a break.

What a shock to wake up to all of the snow being melted away, and the thermometer reading +17C/62.6F. We went from needing to wear at least 3 layers of clothes, to being able to walk out the door in a t-shirt and undies (as my husband did this morning to take out the trash!).

It's really nice to have a break in the snow and cold. It's pretty uncommon to have such a "balmy" day during a time of year when we're usually experiencing our coldest weather!

We have to enjoy it while it lasts though..it's forecast that the cold weather will be back by Saturday.

The cam may not be as lively today, since the birds will have more natural food sources uncovered on the ground right now. Enjoy what visitors we have :)

Hark! Who goes there?

a small tunnel between the feet of the owl statue

For anyone who was watching the cam late last afternoon, you probably saw me taking pictures and digging around.

You see, after filling the feeder, I came inside and turned on the cam to see a little critter wandering around by the owl statue. When I looked closer, I saw that it was a Star Nosed Mole! 

The mole, hiding in the statue!

The little fellow had dug a tunnel underneath the owl statue, and was living inside of it (there's a hole in the bottom of the statue, which is hollow). I briefly lifted the statue to take a quick photo of him, and then quickly put it back in place, as to not further disturb the little guy!

Strangely enough, moles do not eat seeds. They are insectivores! It must be hard to find food during the winter when the ground is so frozen!

I hope he sticks around!

Grosbeak alert!

A visit from an Evening Grosbeak.

I can't help but get excited to see an Evening Grosbeak at the feeder! I *think* this is a female..although it may be a male with more drab, winter plumage.

Either way, it's nice to have another visit from them! It seems that whenever the bad weather strikes, a Grosbeak arrives to cheer things up!

Keep an eye on the cam! You may get a chance to see one!

Another new visitor!

Common Redpoll with Chickadee in background.

How exciting! Yesterday, I was lucky enough to have the day off from work. I was lounging around the livingroom when I noticed a flock of birds hanging out in the trees above the cam.

When I checked the cam, there were about 10 of the little buggers eating and perching and fighting with chickadees.

At first I didn't recognize them, so I consulting the bird book that my husband got me for Christmas (Formac Field Guide to Nova Scotia Birds). Finally I concluded that they were Common Redpolls! The males were gorgeous with their pink tummies and red crowns.

Unlike most winter birds that are here year round, these birds only visit our province in the winter months. Here's to hoping they stop by our feeder again!

These birds were VERY friendly. I was shocked that I could get so close to them to take photos. After some extra research, I learned that they are one of the most curious and friendly birds you can encounter. They very often will eat out of your hand with little coaxing!

For more pictures of the visitors, check out the gallery!