The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

[XemaSab]

So today was the Fall River Mills Christmas Bird Count.

On a Christmas Bird Count, you go out with a group of people and count every bird you see. Good times. Good times.

Now Fall River Mills is about an hour and a half up in the hills from here. The drive involves some very very windy roads and around a 3,500 foot elevational climb. There's also a lot of very high drop-offs and cliffs with no guard rails that would send you and your car on a thousand-foot plunge into the icy Pit River.

So I left my house this morning at 5, and the roads were a bit icy around the edges going up, but it hadn't rained or snowed in over a week, so it was a pretty good drive through the pre-dawn hours.

So we birded and birded and birded some more. Everything was frozen solid, except for some of the big lakes, but we saw some good stuff, including Hooded Merganser, Wilson's Snipe, and Barn Swallow.

Around 1 we saw the first few snow flurries, but they were tiny and didn't stick. Around 2:30 we realized that we couldn't see the mountains because of the snow, but the snow wasn't sticking yet where we were. I decided that I was done for the day, and I needed to get back to Redding before the weather got serious.

We went back to the meeting spot, and there were two other birders getting into their truck. I asked if I could follow them to Redding, and they agreed. As soon as we got out of town, the snow got pretty hardcore.

It was a VERY HARROWING DRIVE up and down thousand foot mountains across inch-thick sheets of ice. Every time I hit the brakes, I skidded. Every time I turned the wheel, I skidded. I was all over the road. I saw a car that had almost gone over the aforementioned thousand foot drop-- ONE WHEEL WAS OFF THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF!!!!!!

When we got into the town of Burney (about 15 miles down the road) I flagged them down and asked if I could ride with them. I abandoned my car in Burney and we made it down the mountain without incident.

At the end of the day, everyone meets and compiles the totals. Like a dumbass, I left the tally sheet in my car in Burney... OOPS!!!!

But at compilation, I WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO SAW A BARN SWALLOW!!!!!! And what's more, it was a new bird for the count!

:woohoo:

Now how do I get my car back??

[GOPisEvil]

1. You could walk back and get it in the spring.

;)

I don't do ice and snow in my vehicle, much less in the mountains. :scared:

[XemaSab]

2. That's a great idea!

Burney's only about 50 miles from here! i could do it in three days! :-)

[neweurope]

3. Sounds very dangerous. Glad to hear you're safe and sound!

This Bird Count sounds great. If I weren't handicapped - cannot walk far at all - I'd love to do this!

-------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[XemaSab]

4. Thanks!

The Fat Birder (www.fatbirder.com) has info on his website about accessible birding.

Say hi to the rest of Old Europe from two American fans! :D

[neweurope]

5. I sure will, and thanks for the link!

:hi:

-------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!