...and a Partridge in an Apple Tree

Last Monday morning, after a night so windy I checked to see if the greenhouse was still there, there was a strange bird on my deck railing in the twilight. At first I thought one of our hens had escaped. Then, realizing it was too small and the wrong colour, I thought perhaps it was a wild Mexican chicken that was sucked up in the jet stream during the storm - like the pelican that ended up in the West Bay marshes one summer.

Pollo Mexicano?

If you need to know something, ask on Facebook. Within minutes of posting the above photo on my Facebook page, he/she was identified as a Ruffed Grouse. That triggered my memory of hearing a startled-partridge-like sound in the forest beside our house the day before as I hunted for Sammy who had wandered in there tracking small woodland animals ... perhaps R.G. himself.

This afternoon, since the barely above zero temperatures had melted the outdoor compost bin cover enough that I could open it, I went down to empty the overflowing kitchen compost bin and, to my surprise, saw R.G. in the tree above. 

R.G. in the apple tree

Looking around in the treetops, I saw 2 more - the entire Partridge Family - eating little somethings in the apple trees (which hopefully will not affect apple production next season). They did not seem concerned about my presence, so I went back in the house to get my iPhone for some footage. Unfortunately, my battery was nearly dead, so this is all I managed:

Now if at least one of these birds is female, we might have some little r.g. chicks in the spring as long as Ms. Fox stays away. Maybe next yuletide we'll have a real partridge in the pear tree! And I hope to get some drumming spectacles in the near future:

Or, if Daniel repairs his slingshot, I happen to know of some bacon that could be put to good use:

Roasted Ruffed Grouse