Not Just 'Ani' Old Bird.

 The last week has certainly been an interesting one here in Perth county.  I never intended for this blog to totally die, but after this long I expected it would take something significant to upload again. 

That's what happened last Monday on a drizzly afternoon when I got a text from my sister wondering if I had heard about the rare bird visiting the home of a friend of hers.  This was the first I had heard of it and she sent me further details about the Groove-billed Ani. To say I was intrigued would be an understatement.  Through my sister I obtained landowner permission to visit that afternoon and ten minutes later I was squinting at a dark mass hunkered down deep in a spruce tree to keep out of the rain.

From the right angle through binoculars, I was able to get a decent look at this lost little fellow, but my photos leave a lot to be desired.

A bunch looked like this.

Or this.

This was the clearest that I ended up with.

None of my shots are going to be in demand by National Geographic, but I made this posting more to share the excitement in a find like this minutes from home.  Over the two days of visitor access it seems that the Ani was often quite cooperative and much better photos can be seen on various online platforms.  It was apparently last seen the previous Tuesday so who knows where it could potentially end up.