Bright colour on a sloppy day

Today I thought it would be fun to post this very cheerful photo sent from a friend of mine who lives now in Campbellford which is a small Ontario town quite a bit east of where I am. She has just moved into her new home and put up her bird feeders.

I must confess that when she sent me this photo I was quite jealous - here she was only two days or so in a new home, new place and she has one of the most beautiful birds around on her feeder. This evening gros beak looks as if he's settled in for the day doesn't he?

Such fun to see such brilliant colours,and these particular gros beaks aren't as numerous as they once were. I've seen small groups of them occasionally, but only once or twice nearby in the last ten years or so.

So with Hurricane Sandy looming here's to all the wild birds who hopefully have more sense than humans and are tucked down somewhere not trying to fight the winds and get blown off course while migrating. May you land safely wild ones and stay safe in the storm.

The same wishes for any person in the path of this storm - up here we don't expect much except perhaps high winds and a few downed tree limbs, maybe some power outages. But there are other places not so fortunate on the North American east coast...may everyone and everything be safe throughout the next few days.