Backyard Raccoons

Its funny how every late Spring/early Summer I am out and about the area in search of Raccoon families to see and photograph. What I capture with the camera is unique and not just with the animals but also with their homes being tree cavities (no two trees are alike). Family and friends both enjoy the images I share with them.

The funny part is that I seem to forget how our backyard has them prowling around. I guess without the tree cavity homes and finding them in the daylight pushes them out of my head. You know, out of sight, out of mind.

We normally see one family each summer. Last year we were fortunate to have a mother and 3 young'uns hit our yard a few times a week and within half an hour or so of dusk. This was great as we had a small window of daylight to enjoy watching them and their antics.

Here is mom and 2 of the kids. I shot this through the kitchen window screen as to not disturb them.

This one is my favorite photos from last summer; almost like he's wondering who these stone creatures are or something. I think it captures the curiosity of a child, in this case, a Raccoon only months old.

We enjoyed seeing this family until mid-Autumn and after that, their visits were later and we were missing them, or they weren't coming around as often or for very long as the gardens disappeared when I cleaned up after the frosts started.

This year we are treated to another family, actually two families, plus some stragglers. I think mom from last year is back and she's got 3 kids again. One night she was out there with them when another mom and 2 kids showed up, making for 7 Raccoons total. I know of a couple other monster sized ones that come in every now and then, who sometimes push the families out when there be spilled bird seed about (as an example). And I do mean MONSTER SIZED with these 2, they are like mid-sized dogs but only bulkier. So in all I know we have at least 9 in the neighbourhood. It doesn't really surprise me but I do wonder where they come from, like where they sleep during the day? I used to have an old shed that would house one or two from time to time thanks to a hole in the roof. I almost miss that shed some days because you never knew what or rather who was going to be found sleeping inside.

Unfortunately these animals don't show themselves until after dark. So they are a visual treat out back but not much good for photographing. You can see here in the pics below of my testimony to that.

I shine a flash light on them when I am out back with them.

Here is one of the kids who seems to have a bit of a foot fetish. He comes around us and sniffs our feet. Last Friday evening I fell asleep out back and he woke me up with his cold nose on my toes. He's gotten that close a few times. I am wary of them becoming too accustomed to humans so I make the effort to spook them a little and get their guard up around humans.

I recently shared this on Facebook and Twitter stating this is the sign to find our home/sanctuary.

We have a good chuckle seeing them sit like people out there as they grab peanut bits and sunflower seed spilled over where I fill the bird feeders everyday.

I did have a couple sightings of them earlier in the summer when the days were longer. The next few were from July.

Mom is in the middle and she's grooming the kids out back about about 6am on a Sunday morning.

Mom gets up, one kid follows, while the other just falls over and watches them walk away. He wasn't ready for the grooming session to end. He did lay there for another minute or two (I think he was hoping she'd come back) before he followed them.

I didn't quite get what I hoped for here but it was worth a shot.

They've been loving the couple basin bird baths out back. Water can be harder to find for an animal than food especially during the dog days of summer. And seeing this explains why most mornings these basin baths look like mud pits.

I know far too many people who aren't impressed with such creatures around their homes. We simply "Raccoon proof" our garbage, we inspect the exterior of the house regularly and all is well. We can all live together in this city in harmony. We have our homes and people need to realize that the outdoors is theirs. All they are trying to do is survive like any other living being. Humans build and build and build some more, destroying their natural habitat; what choice do they or any other animal have but to adapt?

I say this to others often "who needs television and those nature channels? We have a wild world outside our doors!"

Here are a couple very short videos I took last weekend. I used our point/shoot camera and a crappy flashlight but its cool to see what goes on after dark in our backyard. Video one. And here is another video which has "toe sniffer" as I call him coming up to my foot once again.

I'll share a few photos of what I was talking about at the beginning of this blog, what I try to capture and share. This is the way we all like to see them, a mom with her babies, in a tree out in the woods.

Oh, and just so you know, I did find a few other families near the house. I was disappointed that my "hot spots" for them over the last 3 years were empty of families. Who knows where they will be next Spring?

A pretty mother.

One of her beautiful kids.

And lastly, another mom and one of her kids.

We are very lucky to have so much wildlife around us for living in the city. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Macro Mania continues...

I apologize for my disappearance this summer, it's just been difficult to sit at the computer for very long and try to spew out a story when lately there just isn't one to be had (although I still have some Falcon stories to finish).

I'm hanging around the yard more than anywhere else these days and I don't mind. It's quiet for birds but there's a lot of other teeny creatures if one takes the time to look for them in the garden.

My love is for the Spiders and I was blessed with a slew of little Jumping Spiders a few weeks back including the Zebra Jumper and to my joy and surprise was one wee little Black Jumping Spider. Lately I'm finding Cross Orbweavers all over the back, weaving their webs everywhere possible (I found 7 yesterday).

Of course there are so many other cool things out there but it's just a matter of finding them and sometimes identifying them as well. Some we are able to but sometimes we must call in an expert... good thing we have a few friends to help us along the way.

So try to enjoy this photo blog, which is mostly of the Spiders, but stick around for the end, I think it's worth it.

A Zebra Jumping Spider enjoying his catch. I swear he paraded it around in front of me. This Spider is less than 3mm in size!

I've still yet to identify this one. I love the color of it!

Another species of Jumping Spider with the remains of it's meal.

Another Spider I'm unsure the species of. I like the 2 large black dots on his abdomen. I guess it's a defense, like making it appear as he's got eyes on that side of his body.

A Zebra Jumping Spider on the picnic table.

I love this shot of a Jumper sitting on a dime! It really puts into perspective how small these Spiders are that I'm taking photos of.

Okay, how about a break from the Spiders for a moment? Here's a little Bee covered in pollen.

And funny as I key this, here's a shiny Green Bee, actually an Agapostemon, and one got in my Croc, and stung me twice on the foot this afternoon. Little bugger! Ya, there's a story to this one dealing with my discovery of him and me hopping around inside the back door.

Gotta share this one, my greatest find this summer, a first for me at home... a Black Jumping Spider. He was a very tiny specimen compared to one I found at Rattray Marsh last summer; but this one was here so that gives me hope to see more (and bigger) another day. He's sitting on the rim of my lens hood here. Can you say "really small?"

I love the stance on Jumping Spiders. They seemingly carry a really big attitude.

Now for the recent finds of Cross Orbweavers about the backyard. These are much bigger than the little Jumpers I was finding. These are about dime size instead of a fraction of it.

Notice the cross on it's back?

I suppose most of you have had your fill of Spiders here, eh? You gotta admit that Mother Nature has an eye for detail even on the smallest of creatures. I will end this with a couple other macro shots. One is a new species to us at home. The other was something I decided to try with a mostly co-operative subject. I hope you like these!

Today, coming home from work, I took notice to this yellow Butterfly on the bush out front. Upon further inspection I ID'd it as a Little Yellow Butterfly. Ang got home, checked the book and said "maybe, but perhaps it's this or this?" One of her other possibilities was the correct ID and I said "yes, perhaps". Since we weren't 100% positive, she contacted our friend Walter, who is quite the expert on these winged beauties and confirmed this as being an Orange Sulphur Butterfly.

And lastly, I was hand feeding Pierre the other afternoon and I had the macro hanging off my shoulder. I decided to try and take his picture with it, seeing what kind of detail I could capture. I was blown away by this image and it impressed a lot of my friends. The best part was this was free style, as in no tripod or anything, just pointed it at him and shot. Of course Pierre sat in front of me but he kept moving his head in curiosity; I believe he was checking out his reflection in the lens. Anyways, ya, love this shot, and hope you do too. Maybe it will help you forget about the numerous 8-legged monsters you just viewed?

As summer winds down, I do hope to get back in here a little more often. I figure my shift changes will cease as well, allowing me to get into some kind of routine again. Thanks for bearing with me and my lack of entries.

See yas again soon!

Meet Layton the Falcon

Well lookit this, I might actually key out another blog this week... two in two days! Lets hope for no interruptions and get this one going now.

Most of you are aware of our Falcon watching adventures through June, mostly at the Etobicoke Sunlife buildings at Islington and Bloor. I kinda got lost in the summer and some Falcon events, back and forth with some work hours going from a morning shift to an afternoon shift, which has really messed things up. But I got to finish the tales of the watch, from my point of view sooner than later (it's already a blurry bunch of bits now).

I want to tell you about the first bird to fledge from the nest this year, her name is Layton, and she is named after Jack Layton. Seems famous Canadians was the theme at some of the sites. If you have been following my blog, you might remember her from the last and probably only blog I did of the Sunlife Falcon Fledge Watch of 2013. If you missed it, here it is.

Like that blog tells, I spent about 5.5 hours face to face with Layton the day she took her first flight. She was rescued that one time and has been a star flier ever since. I recon she never wants to touch ground, be handled by humans or put in a cat carrier ever again. What has amazed me with her, is that from the day after her rescue and release, she suddenly was learning really fast on what it takes to be a great Falcon. She flew fast, hard and was agile in no time... and vocal too! In mere days we'd be seeing her out and about more so than on the nest ledge.

The first real notice of how quickly she was learning was when I showed up after work early the next week to help with the watch and heard her screaming above me. Why was she screaming? She was playing with her father, Jack! Jack is an amazing dad and an amazing Falcon. I will tell stories about Jack one of these days. I was in awe to watch Layton right on Jack's tail high above us. She was having a blast and keeping up with him. They flew about the buildings for a couple minutes and then Jack lead Layton right to the nest ledge. He landed. She landed right in behind him. Jack took one look at her and then flew off, and Layton stayed there on the ledge. It was almost like Jack knows Layton is young bird and she needs to build her strength and endurance over time, so him leading her home, was like he said "okay kid, time for a rest". Layton chilled out for a few hours after that. I was so happy I got to see this occur between dad and daughter.

Jack being chased by Layton, notice how the much larger the young female is over her dad?

Jack on his way out after dropping Layton off.

Dinner time for the 3 other chicks as Layton was layed out after the big flight with dad.

A few days later I was rewarded in seeing Layton and Jack having another go at it in the sky. The show was longer this time and they were lower at some points, higher at others, and disappeared behind the Sunlife building too. It was spectacular!

Seeing Layton's progression was thrilling. But we always have concerns about a young bird growing up so fast and perhaps getting a little too over confident in their ways. Fortunately for us at ESL, we never had an issue with Layton getting into trouble again.

We were more focused on her 3 siblings now but it was always a blast to see what Layton would show us next. And a couple days after her last play time that I saw with Jack, she showed me something new, something I have heard about with Falcons but never witnessed... food transfers! Basically an adult comes in with dinner and gets the young Falcon to fly up to the parent, upon which they release the meal, and the younger bird catches it. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. But we watched Layton do two food transfers over 3 hours and both were successful. I missed taking pics of the first one because I was too blown away and wanted to see it all with my own eyes and not through the camera. Of course after the fact I was kinda wishing I got something to share with others and keep for a memory. So how great it was for a second transfer to happen mere hours later! We heard the screaming, saw mom O'Conner come flying in with a kill and thought she'd be bringing it to the ledge for her siblings. As she neared, we heard Layton and saw her race after mom. And the transfer happened. Angie, Bruce and myself were cheering her on from the street below. Here's some of that action that I am delighted to share with you all.

Layton coming up under O'Conner.

Great release by mom and catch by daughter!

Layton races off with her prize.

Here's mom O'Conner after the second food transfer. What a Falcon she is! We have many stories about her.

As fellow watcher Bruce put it, "we just had our reward for all the hours we've put in with these birds".

Another day or so later, I'm down at the watch. It's pretty quiet until these old guys from the condo to the east of the nest building decide to come up to the roof top and enjoy some sun. Well, O'Conner was not having any of this and immediately flew in on these guys, screaming her disapproval at them and swooping down over their heads. The guys were waving their arms up in the air at mom, and one guy jumped a few times trying to hit her with his hand. A stupid move on this guy's part and mom's talons sure could do some damage to him. But mom didn't let up. I wanted to yell and scream at these guys but I'm in the alley behind The Longest Yard, so I am across Bloor Street from them and 20 some odd stories below (no way they could hear me). And there I am without my camera! Argh! So I could do nothing more than watch. Moments after mom flew in on the defense, I heard a familiar scream and soon had my visual of young Layton joining the fray with O'Conner. I could tell she really wasn't sure what to do but she just followed mom and repeated everything she did. So now these guys had two Falcons strafing them and neither were giving up. Like mother, like daughter I guess. The guys were now high tailing it for the door to get inside again. But just before they did, there were more Falcon screams, and Layton's smaller sister Shania was now off the nest ledge and coming to help. I was mind blown by this! I won't forget this but am sorry I have no images, crappy and cropped as most are that I get from this watch, but something to share. Oh well. I'm sure you all can paint a better visual in your head than what my shots could have shown you.

Ya, that was pretty awesome and the fact that Shania, who fledged a few days after Layton, was out and on the attack too. The other 2 siblings were slower to get motivated and fledge but they have their own stories I hope to share before the fall.

And as we waited for Lil Big Frank and Lizzie to take flight, we enjoyed Layton and Shania's playing in the sky above us.

Here is Shania on Layton's tail. They were having a lot of fun up there.

And they took turns on who was chasing who. As you can see here, Layton is now on "the attack" after Shania. I forgot to mention that Layton has a green tape band, Shania has a red one. It makes for easier and quicker identifying during the fledge watch.

We are now about 6.5 weeks since I took those last shots. And though the watch has ended, I still visit the site, even momentarily every couple weeks. I see the young birds high above us and it's hard to tell who is who most times due to the height and angles. I've discovered a favorite roost of Layton's, or so I think, since I've found her there a number of times in the recent times. It warms my heart to see her doing so well (so are her siblings but this blog is about Layton).

I tell people that I know without any doubt Layton will be a recognized nesting mother in the next couple years, somewhere in North America. I only hope it's somewhere not too far off that we can go and visit our girl.

Please wish Layton all the best when she leaves home come fall migration!

Most of You Would Have Done the Same...

The past couple weeks I've taken notice to an active House Sparrow nest outside my work. About 15 ft or so up the exterior wall there is a siding finish that begins and runs up the rest of the wall to the roof which gives a nicer finished look to the windows/offices on the second level. There is a gap between the wall and the siding that is excellent for Sparrows to build nests in, giving them total shelter from many of the elements.

I hadn't given much thought to the family, I'd just see them when I changed my propane tank for my forklift, since it was right by the tank storage. Last week the little ones within were getting pretty vocal and the parents were constantly bringing in food.

Early in my shift today I had to go outside and change the tank on my truck. I heard the little ones and could actually see them when I looked up the side of the wall. I knew they were going to fledge any time now.

About 6 hours later I am outside again. I hear Sparrow noises quite steadily as I open the door, so immediately I dart my eyes to the nest area. I wasn't expecting to see what I was looking at now. One of the young was hanging upside down from the nest... dead. A second young Sparrow was hanging there, upside down as well, peeping away and fluttering. It didn't take much thought after seeing this to realize the young birds were stuck in the nest material.

I learned last year on our Eastern Bluebird field trip with Bill Read that House Sparrows often use garbage to build their nests. I found that odd. But last summer we had a family in one of our nest boxes and when I cleaned that house in the fall; I was given proof to Bill's statement. There was cellophane from cigarette packages mixed in with dried grass and feathers. I thought it was pretty cool in a way that they were recycling the crap human litter bugs carelessly tossed anywhere but in garbage bins. But today I see that them using other discarded items found may not be such a good idea for their nests. I can't even really say what was in this nest only that it was durable material, very tightly woven, but not enough that little bird nails couldn't get into it... and get stuck.

It was a bit of an effort to get to this nest. I couldn't just leave this bird struggling like this. The still alive young was terrified of my appearance and started freaking out. And then the parents came in and started screaming at me. I worked fast at getting it and it's deceased sibling out from behind the siding. I was in disbelief to how tightly packed in this material was. I had to work a blade in and cut the bird(s) free. A long clump of this stuff came out attached to the birds.

I remembered how we held the birds at the banding station which kept them from moving and causing harm to themselves. This helped me with the little Sparrow. I cut away the dead bird so I could work on helping the live one. The one leg was actually free of the entanglement but unfortunately the other was in there good. And with the strain of it pulling on it and hanging upside down, for hours I suspect, he did some damage to it. I cut almost all of the nest material away and then tried to untangle the last bit but I lost my grip on the bird and he flew out of my hand.

I tried to catch him again but he wanted no part of that. The parents were still nearby shouting their disapproval at me. He fluttered and flew and made it across the parking lot and through the fence. The parents got quiet and disappeared as I watched the young one go out of sight.

I wasn't happy with the ending I had with this little bird but I know it certainly was better than leaving him there to struggle to exhaustion in the nest beside his dead sibling.

Not everyone likes House Sparrows but I don't know many people who would have left him there to die.

House Sparrows aren't native birds to our continent. They are aggressive small birds and wreak havoc on some of our native species. We had a battle with the Sparrow family here as they bullied our nesting Chickadees. I think I blogged about that and will have to add the link later. Here is some more information about House Sparrows that you may find interesting...

What is the most abundant songbird in North America? Next time you're driving around town, compare the number of House Sparrows you see to the number of our native songbirds you see. There are estimates that there are twice as many sparrows across the country as all other native songbirds combined -- a really sad statistic considering the house sparrow is not even a native bird of North America.

The House Sparrow, actually the Weaver Finch, which is the subject of all the "sparrow controversy," should not be confused with any of our numerous native sparrows such as the Grasshopper Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, etc. In fact, the House Sparrow and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, are the only non-native sparrows in North America. So, for the sake of clarity, whenever I refer to the general term "sparrow," I am referring solely to the non-native House Sparrow.

It is thought that the House Sparrow, originated in the Mediterranean and expanded its range into Europe with the growth of civilization. Only at the insistence of man did the House Sparrow make its way across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. In 1850, green inch-worms were destroying trees in New York City's Central Park. Many people thought that the House Sparrow's main diet back in England consisted of these same green worms and that if sparrows were brought to New York City they would solve the worm problem in Central Park. Others thought the House Sparrow would eliminate crop pests. While others theorized that the House Sparrow would eat grain out of horse manure (which was becoming a bigger problem as the city grew and the number of horses on the city's streets increased), which would help the manure decompose more rapidly. In addition, the new wave of immigrants who were forced out of Europe in the late 1850's because of economic and agricultural failures, missed the little birds they were accustomed to seeing in their native Europe. While it appeared the house sparrow was an easy answer to several problems facing a new society, no one could foresee the damage that would be done to the population of native birds.

The first introduction of the House Sparrow was conducted by the Brooklyn Institute in 1851. Eight pairs were originally released but none were able to survive the change in climate. More attempts were made in New York City and other areas along the New England seaboard, and eventually the birds adopted to our colder climate and multiplied. The house sparrow rapidly spread across the United States. The abundance of spilled grain used for feeding horses and the artificial nesting cavities provided by man helped the sparrow along.

In less than 25 years, the mistake that was made became obvious. An over abundance of house sparrows became a problem in cities and the sparrow caused extensive damage to grain crops and fruit trees. And, with the increased house sparrow population, there was an evident decrease in the number of native songbirds. A well-intended deed of our ancestors quickly turned into a disaster.

To learn even more, click here, which is where I got the info that I'm too lazy to type out.

If you are still with me, I almost did this blog without a photo. I wasn't going to take one of the sight I beheld out back. Some may found it quite upsetting with the dead one and the struggling other. So here is our favorite House Sparrow that visits us. A partial leusistic female Angie nick-named Snowflake. She first showed up in the summer of 2012. So she's been with us for over a year, although she did disappear through the winter. We were happy to see her return in around March of this year and is still with us most days.

I Visited Smudge Today

I visited Smudge today at the shelter. It was a rise of emotions within me as I neared Toronto Animal Services on The East Mall. I wondered how he would look, how he would act, if he'd remember me, etc.

I arrived at the shelter and spoke with the woman I met when I dropped him off there about 6 weeks ago. We had a brief chat, she told me all about him once again, how lovable he is, he wants pats, scratches and hugs before his morning meal. They all adore him and know it's only a matter of time before he gets adopted.

He does have a bit of a tummy issue right now which is giving him the runs. They are waiting for results from fecal and blood samples figuring their initial tests during his quarantine may have not picked it up. But other than that, he is doing great. You wouldn't know he was a cat with the runs by how he acted in his cage which is quite roomy for a boy of his lion-like size. He's all clean now, no mats on his fur, the scars on his nose have healed and the white fur is just that... white and not muddy like the day I took him in. And he is quite content on where he is staying right now. He has lots of attention from the people who look after the animals at TAS and he has a group of feline friends he shares the cat adoption room with (at least a dozen).

I talked to Smudge a little bit, gave him some rubs under the chin through the cage. He played with my fingers a bit but was more interested in another cat out of it's cage at the moment. Every time the cat passed Smudge, out came Smudge's paws to grab this other cat's tail. It seemed to be a bit of a game they were having.

Another family was in the adoption room while I visited Smudge. A mother and her two young daughters. I guess they were interested in the one walking around. The young girls took quick notice to my bonding with Smudge and then the questions poured out.

Do you know this cat?

What's his name?

Why did you bring him here?

That was question hurt a bit but I know what I did (that Angie and I agreed upon) was the best thing for him. But it's not an easy thing to explain to two young girls under the age of 8.

So, I said I knew the cat. I told them his name is Smudge. I said he's a beautiful lovable boy and once had a family. But that family moved away and could not take him. So they left Smudge at his old house but the new family did not want him. Smudge found help through us and some other people on the street but none of us could take him in as we all have lots of pets already. It was best to bring Smudge to the shelter, keeping him safe indoors, away from all the rain we have had, and cool instead of being outside on the really hot days like we had last week. I tried to explain about the situation with the birds but stopped short to not upset the young girls.

They looked at me, looked at Smudge, rubbed his paw through the bars and said "good luck Smudge!" And then they went back to the cat they were first checking out.

I took a couple pics of Smudge and said "see ya later". He gave little notice to me as he was waiting for the next pass of this other cat.

Before leaving I talked to the woman at the counter again. I told her about my blog and how I feel obligated to help this cat out. She understood and assured me it will happen, that he will get adopted, he's too nice of a cat to not get picked up in the coming weeks. But for now, he is happy and he is safe and that's what counts most. We both agreed that it will take one serious minded person/family to meet him and he will be adopted.

Smudge currently resides at 146 The East Mall in Etobicoke and here is a link to their website. Last I saw, Smudge's adoption page was down while they worked with a vet to cure what is ailing him.

Here are my other two blogs about him from the last little while if you are new to the story about this cat.

First blog titled "The Queen and the Beggar".

Second blog titled "Whatever Happened to Smudge?"

I thank everyone who has been taking the time out to read and share these blogs. It will be great when because of us all that Smudge finally gets his forever home.

"Get Your Hands Off My Bird You Freak!" or Rob Loses His S**t On Dundas

Facebook friends and a few others know this one but I gotta share it here...

Yesterday I took our Budgie Misfit to the vet. You all know Misfit, don't you? Remember her story from last October with the broken egg kinda inside her? See the story here if you missed it.

Here's our rescue girl, one of my favorite photos I've taken of her.

So, we get to the vet office in "the junction" area of west Toronto. Parking is only street parking along Dundas and of course you have to pay. I park the truck right outside the vet office and walk to the pay meter to get my pay pass which is at the most, about 25 feet from the truck. Misfit is waiting for me in the truck on the passenger seat (in her cage).

Misfit rides shotgun with daddy to the vet.

I start dropping my coins in the machine and I hear a door open, the corner of my eye catches a figure at our GMC. I look and there's some woman now with the door open looking inside! It's kind of a blur after that since I went into a sort of red rage which happens very rarely. I know I was loud, I know there was a lot of profanity and I was like a charging bull.

I remember her saying something about wanting a better look at the bird. And she reached into the truck to grab the cage.

It all ended rather quickly, my heart pounding, the woman scurrying off with her tail between her legs, and probably needing a change of undergarments, and Misfit making these unpleasant growly gurgling noises she's started ever since visiting the vet was becoming a regular thing. She makes them whenever something is unsettling to her now. But she calmed down pretty quick and in we went to the vet office.

I still shake my head at this. I didn't think there was a need to lock the truck door when I was that close to it and my time away wouldn't have been more than a minute or two depending on how slow the meter would be. And surely she must have seen me get out of the truck in that time.

But the great news is that after 10 months of this and that with Misfit, the vet, some treatments being shots to curve her egg laying desires, diet changes, sleep schedules, etc; we are now done and hopefully for a very long time. Angie and I are very strict with Misfit and Moonie now but don't worry, they like it. Birds are very social creatures and these two sure love the fuss over them.

In other Budgie news, a friend of ours, Jennifer, had this sad sight at her office in the Bramalea area (Dixie and Queen). It's a lovely male Budgie who is obviously lost and was getting their attention from the third floor window. You can easily see he's familiar with people and apparently really wanted inside. Unfortunately the windows do not open and not much could be done for him. This happened yesterday too.

Today he was no where to be seen but hopefully found his way to a bird feeder in the area and maybe some kind folk find him and give him a new loving home. Both Misfit and Moonie are proof that this can happen to this guy as well.