Joined: Sept 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,733 Location: Chilliwack
My Christmas Baking Tip for 2009 « Result #4 Yesterday at 11:33pm »
It does not take a genius to cook simple Christmas treats. This fact makes me a perfect choice to share some simple yet important insights I have recently learned.
Last year I tried my hand at rice crispy squares. Crispy is right. When I was done and they were cooled I think I could put a square right through the kitchen window. The only way I could eat them is after they were warmed up in the microwave. Otherwise, they were HARD! I sort of pictured them to be akin to those blocks pet rabbits gnaw on to keep their teeth from growing too quickly. My wife, knowing all too well my legendary cheapness, accused me of not using enough marshmallows. However, this was not true as I dearly love chewy rice crispy squares and actually splurged and threw in a few extra over what the recipe asked for. It was not a proud moment for my culinary efforts.
Move forward to this year.
I tried my hand again a few days ago thinking I would redeem myself from last year and also have some nice treats for the upcoming bird count. Would you believe that the rotten things turned out the exact same way!? They went in to the pan to cool seeming soft enough that my hopes soared, causing me to cast a sly smile in my wife's direction. All the same they rapidly dried to a heartbreaking concrete hardness. To add insult to injury, I somehow melted my wife's new rubber spatula in to a grotesque mess during the process. Im not one to waste food, so brought along a couple of the squares on Saturday's bird count thinking perhaps I could warm them enough on the dash of the car. I explained to Chris that I would like to share one with him, but was not sure which would be more insulting. Me eating both squares or just eating one and making him be polite and possibly chipping a tooth or something on his. Turns out it was good that I didnt share. Near the end of the day I was hungry enough to tackle the second square while we listened for perhaps a Lapland Longspur to fly over Banford Road (a challenge to hear much over the "crunch, crunch" of the squares I was eating). Half way though, I idly thought "Ohh! Finally, a nice chewy part of this rice crispy square!". After too many following chews I realized something was not right. Turns out the 'chewy part' was simply part of that rubber spatula that came off during the cooking process!!!
Anyway, I have learned what the problem is. I am cooking the marshmallows too hot and leaving things on the burner for too long. I suppose the nature of the marshmallow alters when it gets too hot. Yesterday I tried again, using a wooden spoon (after ignoring a good natured jab from my wife suggesting I cut a branch off the apple tree) and started to stir in the rice crispies even before the marshmallows were completely melted (Id say 80% melted). MMMMMmmmmm they are perfect!!!
Not sure if this has been or could possibly ever be a problem for someone in the future. But I thought I spare your teeth and emotional wellness all the same!
Joined: Sept 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,733 Location: Chilliwack
Chilliwack Christmas Bird Count 2009 pt 2 « Result #5 Yesterday at 11:07pm »
Just so the thread does not get too long, Ill start a new CBC post.
Bundy and I met in the morning drizzle at 5:30 to prowl around for an owl. We played some owl calls and got nothing for our efforts beyond the cheer of seeing the drizzle dry up. We headed off the hills to the 'starting point' on Banford Road in the gray dawn. Near our destination a buffy bird flew across the road in the headlights. Wilson's Snipe? Who knows but we liked the idea and hoped we'd get a definitive look at one later.
At Banford Road as we were parking a large bird disappeared into the fog. We suspected Short-eared Owl and were rewarded to see it again as it flew in its buoyant flight over the fields. Seems we could have slept in and still saw an owl!! As we watched the owl, the expected American Pipit could be heard flying overhead. Among their calls were some Horned Lark as well. Lots of ducks were flying about and not soon after Trumpeter Swans arrived on the scene.
We headed off and soon found this hawk that we decided was a young Red-tailed Hawk. Lots of pale feathering on it. The photo of it did not turn out too well but gives the idea of this less than typical specimen.
Not far from here was a nice adult Peregrine Falcon perched on a telephone pole. As we were looking at the falcon, we caught a glimpse of a small hawk (or small falcon?) flying behind a barn. We sadly did not catch up to it.
As we went on, it became apparent things were a little on the slow side for birds despite not a bad start. Dark-eyed Juncos were in good numbers but aside from Song Sparrows and a few Spotted Towhees, it took a bit of doing to get other sparrow species. We would finally get all we hoped to get including a bit of a surprise in three Lincoln's Sparrows and six Savannah Sparrows.
At one point we swung back on Banford Road and were treated to nice views of a flock of over 30 American Pipits feeding on the ground near the road. Soon we heard and then saw Horned Larks. When the flock flew a short distance we were able to count 16 of them! Beautiful birds and they really blend in.
As we were looking at the pipits and larks, we turned around almost at the same time saw about 20 Western Meadowlarks and a few starlings land in the field on the other side of the road. Nice!! I tried for a photo as they hopped up to fly to a new part of the field but out of focus. The blurry light brown birds with white edged tails are the meadowlarks. The blurry black things are the starlings.
Typically around a dozen Bald Eagles are seen in my count area. Today we would get six of them including this young one.
Red-tailed Hawks were in good numbers though. There were also lots of swans but every one of the 161 we were able to see was a Trumpeter Swan! We were not complaining as they are beautiful to see.
Eurasian Collared-Doves continue to be more regular. We found a flock of five which is a new record over last year's two.
Another treat was a Townsend's Solitaire. I had just told Chris that I had found one in this area a couple years ago and soon after we spotted this guy!
We checked Elk Creek carefully for an American Dipper but had no luck. As we were walking back to the car we both heard one call twice. We went back but do you think we could find it? Nope! Maybe a couple naughty boys, whom I scolded earlier for throwing stones at the spawning coho, were walking back up the creek on the other side had scared it off. Candidates for a lump of coal in the stockings if there ever were ones! (not because they might have inadvertently scared the dipper!)
We saw lots of gulls flying around but it was hard to get a good look as the few that landed in our count area were way out in a field bordered by busy roads with nowhere to pull off. Happily, some were closer to the road near a great place to park and we greedily looked them over. The highlight asides from two Thayer's Gull was a California Gull which is a little unexpected for us in the winter. A nice adult specimen.
Near the end of the day, minus Winter Wren, Varied Thrush and about a dozen other 'common' species we took OneJay's generous offer to bird her yard and feeders. In a couple of minutes we had two Varied Thrushes and a Winter Wren. The wren was funny. The habitat was perfect. My 'pishing' sounds to attract one was flawless. But none called back and I grumbled to Chris "Why isnt there one!?" only to add in the same sentence "Because it is about 5 feet away from us!" A cute little one popped up silently right at our feet.
We headed back, feeling tired but happy with the day. We were able to get blackbirds right at the end with a small flock of Brewer's Blackbirds perched in a tree.
We finished the day with 43 species and a great day out. Thanks Chris for a good birding day!
Bewick's Wren « Result #7 on Dec 20, 2009, 12:19pm »
Had a Bewick's Wren at our place on Saturday afternoon. Tried for a photo but I couldn't relocate after I went inside for the camera. 2 days past week bird deadline for the cbc.
Re: Chilliwack Christmas Bird Count 2009 « Result #8 on Dec 19, 2009, 7:04pm »
Greetings Birders! Slow is right! Between the damp, cold and the fog areas 18 and 19 were very slow! It was hard to get many birds at all! Our highlight was a Common Redpoll with 4 Pine Siskins. Out of place birds were flying over Trumpeter Swans and 1 Common Merganser!
Trumpeter Swan 5 American Widgeon 1 Mallard 32 Common Merganser 1 Bald Eagle (adults) 6 Bald Eagle (Immature) 4 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 5 Herring Gull 4 Thayer’s Gull 2 Western Gull 2 Glaucous-winged Gull 1200 Rock Pigeon 12 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 15 Steller’s Jay 23 Northwestern Crow 33 Common Raven 36 Black-capped Chickadee 42 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 32 Red-breasted Nuthatch 8 Brown Creeper 2 Winter Wren 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 32 American Robin 18 European Starling 300 Spotted Towhee 14 Song Sparrow 15 White-crown Sparrow 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow 12 Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco 300 Dark-eyed (Slate –colored) Junco 1 Red-winged Blackbird 145 Brewer’s Blackbird 166 House Finch 2 Common Redpoll 1 Pine Siskin 4 House Sparrow 1
40 species
I wish we could have had Crossbills and Grosbeaks today but that is how the day went. Better luck next year! Happy Birding!
Joined: Oct 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 623 Location: Home base: Chilliwack
Chilliwack Christmas Bird Count 2009 « Result #9 on Dec 19, 2009, 5:26pm »
Greetings from Area 5, 8 and 9.
A nice day to be out birding, although it did appear "slow" at times.
Here is the list:
Location: Chilliwack, BC, CA Observation date: 19/12/09 Notes: Area 6,8and9 for the Chilliwack Christmas Bird Count Weather: Foggy in the morning, then Overcast the rest of the day. Number of species: 54
Cackling Goose 600 Canada Goose 304 Trumpeter Swan 93 Tundra Swan 2 Wood Duck 57 Gadwall 2 American Wigeon 45 Mallard 483 Northern Pintail 1 Ring-necked Duck 44 Bufflehead 67 Common Goldeneye 14 Hooded Merganser 33 Common Merganser 15 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Great Blue Heron 24 Bald Eagle 27 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Cooper's Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 15 Merlin 1 Peregrine Falcon 2 American Coot 2 Killdeer 2 Herring Gull 3 Glaucous-winged Gull 202 Rock Pigeon 68 Eurasian Collared-Dove 21 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Belted Kingfisher 2 Downy Woodpecker 8 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 27 Northern Shrike 1 Steller's Jay 30 Northwestern Crow 126 Common Raven 5 Black-capped Chickadee 108 Bushtit 12 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 20 American Robin 49 European Starling 550 Spotted Towhee 24 Fox Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 44 White-crowned Sparrow 32 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 201 Red-winged Blackbird 10 Brewer's Blackbird 29 Brown-headed Cowbird 5 House Finch 22 House Sparrow 30
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
i Stopped at a member of this forum at lunch and she graciously allowed me on her property for looks at the Anna's Hummingbird. While there a Cooper's Hawk and a Merlin made appearances. Dozens and dozens of LBJ's as well.
Not the nicest day for pictures when you just own a point-and-shoot camera, but here are a few shots.
The Anna's Hummingbird
Merlin from the same property
Some of the Eurasian Collared Doves. There were 13 just in this flock near Gibson/Railroad Tracks.
Siskin's and Redpoll's « Result #11 on Dec 18, 2009, 4:25pm »
I thought I would take a drive up toward Hope this morning looking for the elusive, Common Redpoll ( I guess they're common enough up north.) At the Jones Lake turnoff, I traveled slowly along Laidlaw Rd. which parallels Hwy. 1 until reached the bridge at Fancher Rd. Off to my right along the creek, were a series of big, old birch trees, many with their tops broken off.
As Watchmen recently stated, winter birch and alders are favourite feeding trees for these little seed-eaters and frankly, every one I've seen has been in one of these.
Sure enough, up near the top were at least three redpoll's and about four siskin's. further searching around that area failed to produce any more of either species.
I have gone into detail in case someone is looking for these birds for the CBC and can't find them elsewhere.
Re: Northern Shrike « Result #12 on Dec 18, 2009, 3:07pm »
I agree with the others, that's a great capture of nature at it's most ferocious! Those are very sharp and clear pictures. Hate to see a Song Sparrow as the victim. If only it had been a House Sparrow or Starling.
Re: Snowshoe Hare - Harrison Mills « Result #13 on Dec 18, 2009, 8:34am »
Like you Gord, I haven't seen enough of these animals to distinguish them in the field. The ones I have seen have been in the Fraser Valley, Hick's Lake, Sumallo Grove, and the southern Cariboo. To me, they all looked very similar in size and colour. As you say it's something to keep our eyes open for.
Joined: Sept 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,733 Location: Chilliwack
Re: Snowshe Hare - Harrison Mills « Result #15 on Dec 17, 2009, 10:18pm »
Hi Murray
It would be worth looking for this hare again to see if it is this very rare sub-species (washingtonii) also known as the Pygmy Snowshoe Hare. They are red listed in the Fraser Valley. At the view I had of this guy, it appeared to be like any other I have seen but I am by no means familiar with what to look for.
Joined: Sept 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,733 Location: Chilliwack
Re: Northern Shrike « Result #16 on Dec 17, 2009, 10:08pm »
That's unreal! I also feel sorry for the sparrow. On the other hand, that young shrike has done well for itself. The first winter is always the toughest but if it can hunt that well, it should do fine and be ready to find a mate and nest in the summer.
Joined: Sept 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,733 Location: Chilliwack
Re: Christmas Bird Counts « Result #17 on Dec 17, 2009, 5:23pm »
Thanks, Stan. Look forward to seeing you on Saturday. Weather is shaping up nicely!
Stan can be emailed by clicking on the little white envelope in his information to the left of his posts. In closer detail, it is located right above where it says 'Joined: Oct 2005'.
Also a reminder that the 'Count Week' for the Chilliwack Christmas Bird count started yesterday and ends midnight on the 23rd. Any birds we dont see on the Count on the 19th can be put as count week birds. Post your sightings and where you saw them here and Denis will get them and add them in.
Re: Interesting Chilliwack Sightings « Result #18 on Dec 16, 2009, 9:48pm »
Dave and All, I definitely had this group a couple of weeks ago. Some birds were singing which was very nice to hear! Hope they are easily seen on count day. I looked today but didn`t see them. It is always nice to hear about Meadowlarks being around! Happy Birding!
Re: Hoary Redpolls outside Winfield, Okanagon « Result #19 on Dec 16, 2009, 9:44pm »
Greetings Bundy, Good idea! I think if anyone bumps into any flocks of Redpolls this winter anywhere keep an eye open for a white snowball redpoll as the adult males are very obvious! Manning would be good, Kilby area looked good as did the Ryder Lake area today! Basically anywhere there are Birch Trees with heavy Catkins or Alder Trees with heavy Catkins could produce them. They would most likely be with Common Redpolls if they were to show up around here but I would also check Goldfinch and Siskin flocks as you never know! With the outflow winds we have been having the past 2 weeks it is the time to capitalize. Lets hope someone gets lucky in the coming days. Hoary Redpoll and Common Redpoll are beautiful birds!! Happy Birding!
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As we watched the owl, the expected American Pipit could be heard flying overhead. Among their calls were some Horned Lark as well. Lots of ducks were flying about and not soon after Trumpeter Swans arrived on the scene. ![[image]](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/LaForge_/_24o8242.jpg)
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(not because they might have inadvertently scared the dipper!)![[avatar]](http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc224/kevinrobertjones/opus.gif){kind=small}
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