Got to be birds flying higher

Hubs just has the WORST post-vacation cold. I feel so badly for him because it was settling in the last couple days we were in Ontario.

My guess is that he picked up something on the plane and just couldn't fight it off. I tagged this post aging because our immune systems aren't as robust sometimes, plus hubs is asthmatic. It's been horrible to watch him gasp for air :-(

My free advice for today is to mask up on planes. I was the only person masking at the airport and on the plane. On the return trip, I was one of a few people masking at the airport and at least one of two people masking on the plane.

There were so many people with nasty ass coughs, and, not to channel my germophobe Dad, but being trapped in a metal and plastic tube for hours with 100 other people is not going to end well ;-D I always resist wiping things down, yet...Dad is not entirely wrong either. On the return flight, there was a family with two little girls who crushed crackers and put their bare feet everywhere o.O People just trash the area around their seats, and it's like, ugggggghhhhhh...

Anyway, our trip had a grim beginning as a sick passenger was actually taken off the plane. The flight crew asked for any medical personnel to identify themselves, and two men did. The passenger sat at the back and was carried out by the volunteers. He coughed up blood on himself. I hope he's all right--we checked local news, but there was no mention of him. One of the volunteers sat near us, and he received gold-star service from the crew--their profuse thanks, a whole can of pop, and a free meal.

We arrived back from a week in Perth, Ontario on Friday and my birdwatching this year was much more successful. You would think Merlin would detect and prompt you to download the bird pack for your location--which is kinda does--but not when you visit a completely new location.

Here are the birds I mostly heard, thanks to Merlin. I wanted to sight the last two on the list, but we were in a rural area and the deerflies were fierce! One got trapped in my hair, ugh! Just as well anyway--I didn't bring the binoculars or camera.

House sparrows
Rock doves
European starlings
American robins
Canada geese
Grackles (Uncle Mike is feeding them)
Ravens
Blue jay
Song sparrows
Chipping sparrows
Chimney swifts
House finches
American goldfinches
Yellow warblers
Red-winged blackbirds
Ring-billed gulls (Merlin ID for sure! They were flocking at the railway museum)
Black-capped chickadees
Cedar waxwing
Osprey (by the side of the highway--saw the giant nest first!)
Red-eyed vireos
Eastern phoebes