A Winter Visitor

We all know that birds migrate - or at least they are supposed to migrate. Canada geese seem a little forgetful of this fact and tend to linger until all the corn is eaten on the farmers' fields and the lakes totally are frozen over, but most other birds get the message and get themselves on the migration trail in due course.

This little fellow in the above picture somehow missed the call. He's a white crowned sparrow and, needless to say, ought to many miles away from my front yard. Instead, he has hung around since December and is still acting like this was his normal abode. We've become quite fond of him and daily check into his whereabouts. With the temperatures dropping down into the low -20°C at night, we've decided to leave up the Christmas lights so he can warm up if the need arises. When a heated bird bath was suggested, I put my foot down. He'll have to take his bath in the spring like all the other feathered winter residents.