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Post by Harrier on Feb 27, 2011 12:05:55 GMT -8
Confirmed.
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Post by Harrier on Feb 27, 2011 11:38:59 GMT -8
My friend is a new birder who woke up to an unexpected visitor in his yard this morning. He noticed an unfamiliar bird and after a bit of research he determined that he had a Pine Grosbeak. He emailed me to tell me about it and I was skeptical, but after he described it and then sent me a pic I was convinced. I guess with this weather, life in the sub-alpine must not be very pleasant, so this gal decided to come down into the valley floor to feast on Japanese Plum buds. According to the season status list for the valley, this species is not seen every year, so my friend was pretty excited about this find. The bird has been there all day so far.
He lives in the vicinity of Prince Charles elementary. He didn't want to give his address because he and his wife are expecting a baby in a few days and they need their privacy.
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Post by Harrier on Feb 23, 2011 17:50:28 GMT -8
Now don't get too excited about this, but I just wanted to let people know that I saw a bird as I was driving home on the freeway that looked very much like a Short-Eared Owl in flight. It was very light below and rusty red above, which normally wouldn't make me look twice (RT Hawk) but the wingbeats were very unhawk-like. Anyone who has seen a Short-Eared owl in flight will have noticed the very powerful and deep wing strokes. This, paired with the long wings and short body, make it worth a second look to me. I was hurrying home to my family after work so I didn't have time to stop, but if anyone is in the area of the Chilliwack airport it might be worth checking out. I saw the bird between the freeway and the airport. Like I said, I was driving so I only got a very quick look and I know that this would be a very unusual sighting, so don't put too much stock in it.
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Post by Harrier on Feb 19, 2011 8:20:18 GMT -8
I most often see Merlins on the wing. Look for a small, very dark falcon flying straight and fast. These birds have a habit of sticking to the flight plan and getting where they want to be in a hurry.
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Post by Harrier on Feb 18, 2011 18:03:17 GMT -8
I just noticed that the Shovelers weren't on the monthly list yet. There were lots of them at the pond today. (Well, at least a dozen)
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Post by Harrier on Feb 18, 2011 17:55:54 GMT -8
Funny, I've lived in Sardis for two years and I had never been there, so I took the family for a quick walk this afternoon.
Among the multitudes of Mallards, Canada Geese, and Coots, I noticed:
-Greater White Fronted Geese (8) -Northern Shovelers -Pied-Billed Grebes -Cackling Geese -Greater Scaup -American Widgeon -Common Mergansers
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Post by Harrier on Feb 13, 2011 20:43:41 GMT -8
When I saw the first pic I thought Prairie Falcon as well. I just took a look at a number of google image examples as a reference and it seems like a match to me. For those that would like to see a Pacific Wren, when you locate one by sound try "pssshh"ing at it. They are very curious little guys and they'll usually pop up momentarily to see what the noise is. Look for something that looks like a brown golf ball with a tail.
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Post by Harrier on Feb 8, 2011 19:06:09 GMT -8
I was as surprised as anyone and had to take a good look to make sure that I wasn't just seeing the dark/light combination of an immature Bald Eagle, but nope, it was the real thing.
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Post by Harrier on Feb 8, 2011 17:27:37 GMT -8
Hi all,
My name is Christian and I moved to Chilliwack about two years ago from Vancouver. I'm 33 and I started birding about 25 years ago. I grew up in Vernon and honed my IDing skills on the feathered denizens of the North Okanagan until I moved to the Lower Mainland in 1996. In the last few years birding has gone on the back burner due to university, a new career (teaching), a new home, a new baby, and a ravenous appetite for flyfishing. A good friend's new interest in birding and a few interesting sightings have recently gotten me excited in the pursuit again, so I thought I'd sign up here.
The report: I had an interesting drive down the freeway on Sunday on my way home from a morning fishing trip: I was heading westbound and between Annis Rd. and the Gibson Rd. overpass I could very clearly see a Northern Shrike perched in a small bush about 50 feet from the side of the road watching for its next victim. A few minutes later, just west of the Prest Rd. exit, I saw a female Northern Harrier relaxing on the ground in a field.
In an interesting, but very late, report, I saw an Osprey while fishing for cutthroat trout at Morris Lake in mid January! This lake rarely freezes due to the flushing by Weaver Creek, and the nearby spawning channel ensures that there are fish around year-round. I would never expect to see an Osprey in the dead of winter, but this location does seem like one that would reward a bird that didn't feel like making the journey to warmer climes.
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