13 days in!

Well we're almost two weeks into migration.  Things have been relatively slow still although we did have over 50 birds on Sunday.

Here is the board as of Friday, July 31:

Some of the new species this week include Audubon's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Savannah Sparrow, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow and a Dark-eyed Junco. Oh and I almost forgot...our first Sharp-shinned Hawk!

Olive-sided Flycatcher - July 31

Townsend's Warbler - August 1

And finally some Sharp-shinned Hawk pictures. It was near the end of the day and we hadn't had many birds. As I was coming back from the front nets I saw this gal fly into net 5. I basically ran while grabbing my radio yelling for Brian to get to net 5. It was a nice end to a slow day.

And I also got a video of the release. You should probably ignore the part when I mention it being a Cooper's Hawk...

On a sadder note, we also got a White-crowned Sparrow that either had several tumors on it's head or some type of pox. As well we had our first mortality when one of our volunteers came upon a headless warbler in net 7. We think it was actually a river otter that got to it as we saw it slinking away a short time later.

Many thanks to Ann for hosting the beginning of season party on Saturday. It was nice to see everyone all in one place and meet some new faces. Thanks to everyone who brought food!

A few people also asked me for the recipe for the shrimp pancakes so here it is:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups chopped, peeled shrimp (I just used the pre-cooked ones but you can use raw shrimp)
4 green onions, chopped

Whisk together flour, cornstarch and salt, stir in 2 cups of ice water until smooth. Beat in eggs just until blended. Stir in shrimp and green onions. I also throw in a dash of chili flakes. Use a bit of oil (I use a spray) in the pan and a large tbsp of batter per pancake. Cook just like pancakes (golden on both sides).
For the sauce mix together 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 4 tsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp sesame oil and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Good hot or cold! Oh and supposedly each pancake is only 39 calories.

Have a good week everyone!

Jessie