Friday, May 4, 2012

It's Show Time!



This morning I heard a sound that sent me flying out the front door with the camera. Overhead I saw (and heard) a CF-18 Fighter Jet and the large yellow and red DHC CC-115 Buffalo Search and Rescue plane. I do have video footage from April of the Buffalo SAR plane flying overhead. I’ll see if I can upload it in another post. Strangely enough, Flighty recently made mention of, and linked to, a Typhoon fighter jet in his recent post about peace and quiet... I guess that means it's more than just Spring in the air ;)






Well, that wasn’t the only excitement here at home. Quigley lived up to his name by presenting his own show of incredible acrobatic finesse, while ‘chowing down’ at the same time. Once he finished off one birdfeeder, he was on to the next! He shared the tree at various times with a hummingbird and nuthatch, who also likes the upside down approach. Quigley lowered his body and took off when a shadow of a large bird passed over the tree. Smart move, Quigley!







Once down, Quigley headed for the bush and started scratching in the soil; he seemed to give himself a dust bath! What with all this rain, maybe he was just drying off!  I'll show that next time. Part of the Quigley sequence can be seen on my Youtube video.





Quigley seems to me to be an Eastern Grey Squirrel. They are usually found in the eastern Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, but were introduced to Vancouver and Vancouver Island, according to this site which is quite informative, and includes the information that they consume 400 to 900g of food a week. More information here, such as this
There are a total of 22 teeth in the adults ... The total length of these squirrels ranges from 380 to 525 mm (15 to 20 in.), tail length ranges from 150 to 250 mm (6 to 10 in.)...
 They are referred to as medium sized squirrels --- please don't introduce any large ones!!

Our two neighbourhood Collared Doves appreciated Quigley’s leftovers that made easy pickings from the grass.


I don't need to leave home to experience Show Time!

10 comments:

  1. Lucky you seeing an unusual pairing like that, and thanks for the mention. I heard a couple of Typhoons taking off earlier but couldn't see them as it's overcast.
    Quigley is sure keeping you entertained. The information and link are interesting. The doves are pretty birds which I don't often see here.
    Flighty xx

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    1. Hi Flighty ~ Yes, I was pleased to get a photo of the two aircraft together. Each of them is quite awe-inspiring, but together ... amazing. I'm much more of a peace person (like the doves symbolize) but it is thrilling to see and hear those powerful aircraft in flight.

      Oh, that Quigley! If he finishes off the bird feeders, that will be it until the fall, as I don't want to encourage raccoons as well!

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  2. Brilliant video of Quigley the Quintessential Acrobat.

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    1. I happy to know you enjoyed it, John!

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  3. How can he swallow upside down! and why does he not to to clay when he has a dust bath??

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    1. Maybe he has bat-like tendencies ;) Soon I'll put up the video of him swooshing around in the dirt and perhaps someone will know what he's doing...interesting to observe though.

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  4. Boy, you're not kidding about "medium squirrels"! Twenty inches is medium?! I'm really enjoying your Quigley shots -- what a ham he is.

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  5. Hi Nikki - Yes! Now you know why he's referred to as a giant around here ;) Glad you enjoy Quigley. Today I was able to sit quietly outside in a chair, and sure enough, along he came. A ham is a good description!

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  6. Love the video of Quigley. You timed that first drop to a hang perfectly with the music. He is indeed and Eastern Grey.. they're a dime a dozen around here (many of them are black.. but they're still Eastern Greys) and all cute as can be. I'm a Quigley fan. Yesterday and today, we had a sweet raccoon raiding the feeder.

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