Mountain Bluebird and an "Oregon" Junco too?

Mountain Bluebird near Shetland, Ontario. Photo by Marianne Reid-Balkwill.

After viewing Blake Mann's successful post on seeing the Shetland Mountain Bluebird, I decided to go up this morning for a look as well. The only problem was that I had to be at work today by 11:30am to open. I guess I could have gotten up early, but Aaron suggested we give his new tonneau bakflip cover on his pickup a try to see how it holds up for camping on road-trips. I guess what better way to try this new feature out than in -15 degree weather....................right?

We headed out on the 401 after my aunt's surprise 40th birthday party late Saturday night and eventually got to Kerry Road near Shetland where the Mountain Bluebird was spotted earlier. We pulled into a farmer's lane way, turned off the truck, then got into the back and buried ourselves underneath a sleeping bag, several fleece comforters, and lastly pulled the cover over ourselves. Though I had cold toes to start, I was actually quite warm all night and slept incredibly well without the feeling of claustrophobia.

The next day, after an hour of searching, we relocated the Mountain Bluebird, with the Eastern Bluebird in tow, right where Blake and Dwayne had it yesterday. LIFER!!

On our way home, we stopped off into Mom and Dad's to show them the photos of the bluebird and how we survived the night okay. While talking with Mom I looked out at her feeders that included what appeared to be an "Oregon" Junco!! I quickly grabbed my camera and got a few photos. I have never seen an "Oregon" Junco before, and the black hood and brown back and sides stuck out a lot! I took a few photos, but I was already running late for work so this is all I have. I'm pretty confident this is an "Oregon" Junco, at least I think I am...... Tomorrow I'm going to go back to take more photos. I hope it is still around!

An "Oregon" looking junco. Any comments would be appreciated! Photo by Marianne Reid-Balkwill.

All in all an exciting 12 hours of road-tripping, camping, and a lifebird to boot!!