Thousands of Crows Migrating!

 

I have always wondered about how many crows are there in Vancouver area.  Thousands?  Millions?

Yesterday, after raining, the sun came out before sunset.  I started seeing waves and waves of crows flying eastward.  Hundreds and thousands of them.  They came in 3 waves:  5 minutes a wave with 10 minutes of break in between.  

Here are the pics, the crows are the dots in the sky:

It is hard to see in these pictures, but there are sooooooooo many....thousands.

the sky is filled with small dots.  I wondered where they are heading.  (or if they are sleeping in Burnaby Lake Regional Park.)

Salmon Fishing: Late Pink?

 I think the pink salmon, which comes every 2 years, are lingering around longer this year.

I went to Chilliwack looking for some King (Spring) salmon and Coho salmon, but instead, I got this late pink salmon.  (I wished that I got other fish...but oh well)

Here it is:

Late Pink Salmon

We fried it and it was delicious!  It was a female, so we kept the eggs for sashimi.

Two Young Finch Males Eating

It is rare to see hummingbirds share space to eat in Canada.  Humminbird males don't really share space.  They chase each other off.

However, Finch is different.  They share space with family members. (and maybe strangers?)

Here is a pic of two young finch males being close together:

It is nice to see people sharing peacefully. lol

Northern Flicker is here (Not like I want it here...)

 Today, Northern Flicker (a type of woodpecker) showed up on my balcony today.

(Looking for food?)  However, it kind of scared off other birds, so I had to approach it.

It went away when it sensed my presence.  I like nature and animals, but a large bird will scare most birds off.

Northern Flicker (woodpecker)

It lives in dead wood and live wood.  I hope he won't dig halls in high rise building because we already have a lot of unwanted European starling living here.  (non-native species)

It usually eats fruits and ants, and I hope they don't attack other birds...

Starbucks You Are Here Collection: Canada Edition: Stainless Steel Mug

 I needed a winter stainless steel mug, so I went to Starbucks to look for one.

I bought the Canada edition of the |"You Are Here Collection" mug.

It is well made, and the lid is very tight.

It has "Canada" and all the symbols of the Canadian culture; it has beaver, hockey stick, beanie hat.

It also has grizzlies (brown bear), Moose, maple leaves, maple tree, Parliament building on it.

It is a cool mug to own if you are ever here in Canada.

Restaurant Review: Ryu Japanese Kitchen - Richmond Outlet

 I went to the outlet mall in Richmond the other weekend, and I wanted to eat ramen, so I dropped by Ryu Japanese Kitchen to try it.

I ordered "Tonkotsu Ramen", and it looks like below.  I will provide details at the bottom:

Ramen Ryu Japanese Kitchen Richmond

Overall taste:  4/10 - edible but not great.  (If you are a ramen fan...)

Soup - They say it is Tonkotsu, but it does not taste like it.  The taste is very faint, and I don't even know what it tastes like.  Perhaps, it tastes like some Chinese noodles?  It is not tonkotsu soup or pork broth.

Menma (bamboo shoot) - It does not taste good.  It is not a Japanese one.  I can tell that it is a Chinese one.  Not authentic.

Wood Ear (Black Fungus) - Who puts that in Ramen?  Not authentic.

Chashu (Pork) - It is okay.

Ramen - noodle itself kind of taste like other asian noodle, but okay.  Maybe 5/10.

I will probably not go back again.

Morning Buffet: Big Bird Party

 More and more birds are coming for breakfast in the morning.  

Sometimes, there are up to 10 birds at the same time in my tiny tiny balcony.

4 chickadees, 2 or more finches and hummingbirds...free all you can eat buffet?

Finches, chickadees and hummingbird

Can you spot the hummingbird in this picture?

lots of birds...and lots of poo....lol

Hummingbirds Love Our Decorated Branch

We picked up branches from the park and my wife put decorations on the branches.

They look like real walnuts and cranberries, and the birds love them.

Hummingbirds love them and chickadees and finches love them, too.

Bright Pink Anna's Hummingbird

 My wife got a couple of nice shots of Anna's Hummingbird.

It is so cute!!  Bright pink!!

Pink Anna's Hummingbird

It likes to stand on guard to defend its territory.

I am wondering why they don't share....

Queen Bee?

 Couple of days ago, we caught this strange looking yellow jacket.  

It is considerably bigger than the usual wasp.

Is it a queen bee?

Its needle can actually go in and out when it wants.  Very interesting.

An Hour Wait for Medical Card BC Government Customer Service

 I thought the days of waiting on the phone for a customer representative for hours is over, but it is not.

The other day, I received a letter from the BC government, saying that I should call to confirm my address so my family can get the medical service plan card renewed.

Well, the music went on and on for an hour, with "the next customer representative will be with you in a moment" phrase.

With major corporations improving their wait times, I think the government should, too.

I used to wait on the phone for all kinds of customer service such as for cable company or even choosing my university courses.  Before, one or two hour is pretty normal.  Now, people should not have to wait more than 30 minutes for it.

Dark-eyed Junco is so cute!

 During the thanksgiving weekend, we were at my parents' place.  I noticed a cute, small black-headed bird, but wasn't sure what it was.  We took pictures and went back home to research.

It turns out to be a Dark-eyed Junco.

Its eyes are soooooo round and cute!

Look at its round big eyes! Who can resist it?

Depends on the angle, the body will look black rather than brown.

I tried to get close to it, but I think 5 meters is probably its comfort zone, right now.

I am sure I'll see it again.  I heard that they are always pecking around on a sunny day in their backyard

Honest Advice About Pet Insurance

 From my experience of owning dogs, I would like to offer honest advice about pet insurance.

For a long time, I have wondered, is the insurance worth it?  Why am I paying a monthly fee for something I will not use?

However, I can say, at the end, it was worth it in my case.  Here are my calculations:

(You will have to do your as now, the insurance fee will be different than 15 years ago.)

My basic insurance fee started at 22 dollars a month that covers accidents and illnesses.  (at the end, it became 26 dollars.)  For simplicity, we will put it as 25 dollars a month.

25 dollars x 12 months x 13 years = 3000 dollars life time.

When dogs are young, they are healthy.  I did not use insurance for the first 10 years:  0 x 10 years = 0 dollars.

However, the last 3 years, my medical bill including 4 kinds of medicines for heart disease, all the diagnoses and blood work and surgery fees.

The total bill is more than 10k.  My insurance covers more than half of that, minus the 500 dollars a year deductible.  I still covered more than what I paid.

So...if you love your dogs, and if you are not super rich, I would suggest looking into some coverage.  

However, if the monthly fee is way more than you can afford, then maybe you can think about it.

Beautiful Flying Hummingbird

 

Sometimes, it is hard to get a good shot of hummingbirds because they fly so fast!

However, this morning, we got a beautiful picture of a hummingbird!

The fact that hummingbirds can flap their wings so fast is amazing!!

Hummingbird on a Rainy Day - Perching

 

Birds like to perch...

On a rainy day, I find hummingbirds like to perch on my balcony branches for a rest so they can stay dry for 10 minutes.

Hummingbirds would perch, looking around and make the "tz tz..." sounds.  I guess it is warning people to not get close to the territory.  I find that males are usually more territorial.

Female Hummingbird on green wire

The above picture shows a female hummingbird perching on a garden wire.  

First, I thought the wire was too thin, but it was just enough for a hummingbird to perch.

Getting Close to Chickadees and Offering Food...and Reactions

 I find chickadees very friendly and curious, and I have always wondered if I can get them onto my hand.

Today, I was on the balcony cleaning up, and a friendly chickadee came in and started eating seeds.

I came within 1 feet and offered some food on my hand.  See its face:

The chickadee was curious and hesitating.  It kept looking at me left and right for 60 seconds.  It was wondering what I was doing and whether it should take it.  It did not at the end.

My trial for taming a chickadee continues....

Lots of Chickadees On My Balcony...Chickadee dee dee!

Lots of chickadees now come visit in the morning.  Sometimes, I feel maybe the flock is about 10 or more, and they visit my place non-stop.

chiu chiu chickadee dee dee~~~

Here is a picture of triple chickadees:

Triple chickadees

They stayed on the branches my wife set.

 

They really like to perch and play and hop, so we put up small branches and houses for them to use.

Multiple Bird Species Share the Same Space (3 or more species)

I have always wondered:  Do birds of different species share space?  If yes, how many kinds?

What happens when they all want to eat the same food?

It turns out they can share in a very peaceful, non-interruptive manner.  See the pics below:

Finch on the left, hummingbird on the left:

Might be hard to see...Finch on the left...Chickadee on the right:

The example below is perfect:

Hummingbird on the left, Finch in the middle, and chickadee on the right (bottom).

2 finches on the left (male and female) and one chickadee on the bottom:

This one might be hard to see, but flying green hummingbird on the left (arrow), and Finches on the right:

Finch on the left and hummingbird on the right (door hanging feeder):

See arrows below:  2 finches on the top and one chickadee below them on the flower.

The chickadees like to hop fast everywhere.  The other birds will have to pick their places.

Chickadees on the left and right, finch on the tree branch above:

Sometimes, I find they will actually sit and observe each other in order to make the next moves.

Hummingbirds are quite curious and they will fly around the other birds to observe.

 Hummingbirds, finches, and chickadees are all cute and lovely.  I kind of wish that they wouldn't poo so much on my railing then.  LOL.  (I will have to clean up.)

Hummingbird: Boy and Girl Meet!

 

Hummingbird males are very territorial, and males always chase each other away.

However, when girls are here, things are very different:

boy and girl hummingbirds say hello

They actually say hello to each other.  

In the next picture, the young male (head not completely pink yet) is saying hello on purpose to the female.

So funny.  Opposites attract.  Law of nature.

Female Hummingbirds

 

We have quite a few Anna's Hummingbirds coming to our place everyday.

I got a couple of cute shots of the female hummingbirds.

This one is a baby who likes to perch on my branches:

Baby female hummingbird

This one is older I think:

Female Hummingbird on feeder

Chickadees on Lights and Branches

 More and more chickadees are showing up in the morning.

At any given time, there are 4 chickadees coming in and out of the balcony.

There must be at least 10 of them around because I know that they live in big flocks.

One of them likes my light box:

Chickadee on light

There are more and more chickadees coming everyday.

(flocks of 10 plus is too much...I do not want to cause troubles for my neighbors...lol)

Chickadee on Branch

My Balcony is a Chickadee Playground

 We are making our balcony into a chickadee playground.

We have set up branches for the birds to perch, so birds can always rest and even hide when there is a storm.

Chickadees like to play with everything and hop onto every object.  They will even shine their beaks on a metal post as I was observing.

Acorn Nest:

Chickadee on Acorn Nest

Hide and seek on planters:

Chickadees on branches:

They will actually rest on the branches for a short period when the wind is strong or when their is a rain storm.

Chickadees on my metal post:

They like to "shine their beaks" on the metal post because my wife made a section for them to grab onto.

They are soooooo cute....chicka-dee-dee-deeeee~

Baby Finch Growing up

 All the finches of the finch family are growing up bit by bit.

This baby must be the youngest one of the family, but even it is getting independent.

He flies by few times a day to eat big meals. 

Baby Finch

This baby is funny because it often comes alone and stay for 30 minutes, taking his time eating.

(Before, he used to come with the whole family.)

Cute Bright Red Daddy Finch

For weeks, the father finch has been taking care of his family, feeding them.

Sometimes, he does come alone to eat himself.  I guess just like humans, he needs his own time, too? 

Red Father Finch

I have noticed that one of the feet is big and red.  I wonder if that is a wound or some kind of infection.

I hope he will be ok.

Daddy Finch eating seeds

The Finches love sunflower seeds.  He came today to enjoy the seeds without kids today.

When the kids were little, he will take his time to care for the whole family of 5 or 6.

Halloween Decorations 2021

 We have a small place, but we try to decorate our place every season for every occasion.

Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Japanese New Year, Japanese Kids Day, etc.

Here are my decorations this year: 

Pear shaped Pumpkin and scarecrow

Here is another section on a cabinet:

Snoopy and sloth halloween

I have a bunch of Halloween plush toys that I put out every year.  

However, this year, we bought Snoopy in Halloween costume and sloth, so we will not put all of them out.