Robin in Canada

[AndyD]

https://www.birdguides.com/news/first-european-robin-for-canada-makes-headlines/

Twitchers in Montreal are excited to see this redbreast.
Apparently your Robins are a type of thrush, ours are of the flycatcher family.
Also we have Scandinavian visitors over winter, while ours fly south to France.

Friendly inquisitive birds, in the garden will watch you for freshly turned earth, watch you through windows and even fly into the house.

[dolmansaxlil]

Your robins are so much cuter than ours! Ours are known as a sign of spring.

[AndyD]

If you come over for a holiday you could stay with us where I can promise robins looking in as you play our Bluthner

[Bernard]

I love the European Robin, so adorable. I love our robins too, they have a lovely song.

Will this one survive the winters up there?

[Piano*Dad]

Probably not. They're not particularly cold hardy.

[AndyD]

Yeah. Like any of these exciting birdy anomalies there'll be a lonely end. I'll never be a twitcher making a list.
Birds are so fragile even in their usual ideal environment, always living near the edge.

[Mik]

I heard that story on NPR the other day. Well traveled bird!

[AndyD]

This short video brought a smile
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DE9uX2PnD/

I'd love to see a red in our garden, we're on the border of grey/red populations and have neither.
What squirrels are local to you?

[dolmansaxlil]

We have grey squirrels here (many of which are black in colour, but still grey squirrels). We do apparently have American Red Squirrels here, though they aren’t as common in residential/urban areas and I rarely see them. Our red squirrels don’t look like the UK version though - they just look like smaller, reddish versions of the grey ones.

[AndyD]

Reds here are cute with their ear tufts.
Bit of a generalisation but our Greys are pests

[dolmansaxlil]

I wish we had chipmunks in our residential neighbourhoods here. They do live in forested areas here, and a few hours north (where my parents have a very modest cottage) they are everywhere! They are ridiculously cute - way better than squirrels!

[wtg]

@dolmansaxlil I first encountered chipmunks when I was a kid and we would vacation in the north woods of Wisconsin. I'm guessing the habitat is similar to where your parents' cottage is. So cute!

My mom's best friend at Lake Nipissing in Canada, with a chippy:

Have to say, though, that I'm not quite as enchanted with them these days as I was when I saw them in a more rural habitat. We have a ton of the little guys in our yards and they climb into my garden beds and steal fruits and veggies like crazy. It's a constant battle.

The only thing more destructive (and more numerous) are the squirrels. We used to see a mix of fox squirrels and grey/black squirrels, but the fox squirrels have disappeared; not sure what happened to them.

[dolmansaxlil]

@wtg My parents cottage isn’t too far from Lake Nipissing! Their cottage was at Lost Channel (see arrow on map). Now they are about 5 miles down the road from there.

And this is a picture of the kid, circa 2009, feeing the chipmunks at said Lost Channel cottage.

[wtg]

@dolmansaxlil

Children and chipmunks, a popular photo combo! My childhood friend's father was an avid photographer.

My friends stayed at a place called Samoset Lodge. The German owners. Photo is dated 1964.

The cabins look just like the places we stayed in Wisconsin for our family vacations. So very 1950s/1960s. I'm sure these places are all long lost to the past.

[wtg]

Oh, and I'm glad to hear that Canadian businesses are actually seeing some benefits from what's gone on with tariffs. Bit of a silver lining.

Costco stores in the US carry a number of products made or grown in Canada. Indian food products and some vegetables come to mind immediately. We try to buy Canadian when we can!

Oh, and sorry (once again) for the orange man....