Revenge (of the non-violent kind) - Part 1

It was happening again. Tim was heading out west and needed a companion in arms. The prairies, he said, epic back country hiking in the rockies, he said, Grizzly in the back country, the North Cascades, and lots of beers. I was sold! 

First order of business on the trip, revenge. Last April we battled blizzards, indigestion (from all the beer and doughnuts), inaccurate directions and fatigue to find both McCown's Longspur and Chesnut-collared Longspur in full stunning breeding garb. However, we missed one of them, the Smith's Longspur! Well that wouldn't do, so naturally our quest was to catch those buggers coming back from the tundra as they passed through the mid-west to the grasslands of Texas for the winter. The problem, they aren't easy to find! Rolling into Neal Smith NWR in Iowa late at night we decided to sleep in the car and wake up to prowl the grass the next morning with high hopes.  Two things I discovered about Iowa, they like to put lots of cheese on their pizza (We actually ate a pizza from the gas station that had too much cheese! When does that ever happen?!) and they have birds! Who would have thought that a crummy mid-west state was interesting. Regardless I digress. The morning came and the grasslands were alive! Sparrows and blackbirds were everywhere! However, after a whole morning of searching we still hadn't found any Longspurs. Getting distracted by a cute naturalist for a time at the visitor's center, we remembered our real quest and were at it again. No luck! Despair was setting in. We were losing the battle and the black hills and the Rockies were calling our name. We didn't have much time! Okay new plan. With a hot tip from a different naturalist we left the refuge. A Wildlife Management Area nearby had a few there, or so we hoped. Without getting lost, we made it only to find a man pulling up with two dogs at the exact field we were supposed to look. Running wild, I watched as Meadowlark and Savannah Sparrow flushed before the dogs and slightly cursed our luck. Thankfully, the guy seeing us with binoculars and prowling the field decided to take the dogs elsewhere. So we worked it. Up and down we trod. Sprague's Pipits flushed beneath. Beauties!

 

Western Meadowlark

 After a false alarm, they flushed, two Longspurs, calling with an un assuming rattle, sweet music to our ears. Landing, we apporach but flush them again. And again! More carefully we crept on where we had seen them land for a third time. Its got to be right in front of us, we thought. Shit! Flushed again! One takes off and lands nearby. Okay we've got it now, we will creep up and not move any closer until we see it! So creep we did, and crept some more. Finally we were within 7 meters of where it landed. Nothing... or wait! Creeping in the grass it was there! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We soaked up the bird for a good 10 minutes as it fed in the grass sometimes as close as 5 meters away. Finally I decided to get on my belly and see how close I could get. Crawling, I got within 3 meters. Then it was just me, the bird, and the grasslands! The spur war was won, and joy and elation went to the victors! 

Victory!

Yellowstone National Park

I'll pick up the narrative of our Wild America adventure this past April at Yellowstone National Park. From the Cascades of Washington we birded, drove, cursed, cheered, drank beer and talked about women to the west side of the park. If you care to know more details of the few days leading up, check out Tim's blog in particular his post Sound of the Sage. If not, continue reading here.

The plan was simple, spend half a day doing obligatory visit of the hot springs and old faithful, then spend two days in the fabled Lamar Valley where wolf, bison and grizzly roam!

So we set off. Bison on road? Check! Old Faithful? Check! Hippies singing to the geyser? Check! Elk? Check! Mountain Goat? Check! Clark's Nutcracker? Check! As the day drew to a close we had made it to Mammoth junction. Earlier in the evening we somehow spotted a Grizzly exactly 5.12 kms away. Not really, but somehow Tim saw a spec literally across the whole park and we scoped it at 60X zoom to determine it was a Grizzly. However this would not suffice. We need a real look. That evening the plan was set for the Lamar Valley in the morning.

Wolf Watchers

Dawn came early and we packed up and headed out. It wasn't long before we had them. High on a ridge a mum Grizzly with her cub were rummaging in the earth. Incredible! We scoped them for a while, just the two of us and the Grizzlies, without any other humans in sight. This is the way to do it I said. Not In the Lamar with 100 people, most of them nincompoops from the city, who inevitably utter at some point something horribly stupid and wrong concerning nature and wildlife. Grizzlies? Check! On to the valley. As we get there we know something's up. People are lined up along the road scoping the valley with a collection of Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski scopes and bins worth more then I've earned in my whole life! Apparently birders aren't the only ones to buy ridiculously expensive optics, so do wolf watchers! A strange breed of human, the wolf watcher comes to Yellowstone and follows the wolf packs around, sometimes for months, giving them names and talking as if they were their pets. Nevertheless they had wolves. A pack had just made a kill and were still frolicking near the river. We spent the next 2 hours watching wolves and talking to the folks until at one point we were alone. Sitting in a nice grassy spot slightly above the valley we cracked open some Pako's IPA and talked of life, love, ambition, friendship and the beauty and inspiration of the wild creatures and places. As the day was coming to a close ,we got a close up view of a young wolf prowling the valley. A mighty grand adventure indeed!

Old Faithful blowing off some steam

Lamar Valley

A lone wolf

Wings on the Water

When a birder is asked about their favorite bird, the typical response usually follows as, "I don't have one/I have many favorites/it would be impossible to single one out from the many beautiful and amazing ones that I have seen". A perfect answer, and if you had asked me that question I would have said something very similar....... that is until February 14, 2012. Even as of 8:30 that morning, I still would have said the same thing. Four hours later, I was singing a different tune. Here is a tale from the southern oceans off the coast of New Zealand and of how I came to have a favorite bird.

Kaikoura is situated off the east coast of the south island of New Zealand. From here it is only a 15 minute boat ride into the Pacific Ocean to the edge of the continental shelf. As the underwater terrain plunges into the dark abyss, the water teems with life as nutrient-rich cold water is brought to the surface to mix with warm water. Plankton flourishes and with it, the rest of the marine food chain, including our feathered friends. Fourteen different species of albatross occur in these waters throughout different parts of the year, as well as a host of petrels, shearwaters and other seabirds. With its incredible diversity and accessibility, Kaikoura is dubbed the 'Albatross and Seabird Capital of the World.' It is also the reason three road-weary friends found themselves in this small coastal community halfway across the world from their home.

Nicole, Francois, and I were 13 days into a 24-day worldwind road trip of New Zealand. With the North Island traversed, we were starting our South Island tour with a bang - a pelagic bird trip with Albatross Encounters! Our excitement was running high as we prepared to head out to the shelf edge, 7 eager souls set on tubenose glory.

With the mountains fading behind and the ocean rushing up to meet us, I took a deep breath and soaked it all in. The sun piercing the grey clouds in small rays, the smell of salt in the air, and the lapping of the water on the hull. It was perfect. 

Kaikoura Mountains from the boat

Within minutes, Cape Petrel appeared. These black and white beauties roam all the oceans of the southern hemisphere, and would be our constant on this trip.  While still trying to process these new life birds, it happened. Looking behind the boat, there it was. With a fourteen foot wingspan and a penchant for frozen fish liver, it was on to us like a Texan at a steak buffet. The Wandering Albatross. Quite honestly, it took my breath away. When you're younger, and reading about birds from far off places, you may picture them in your head, but you never really appreciating that you may see they in real life. Yet there we were. Me, enraptured and elated, and the bird, elegant, curious, and hauntingly beautiful.  

Gibson's Albatross

Cape Petrel

As the trip progressed, the action kept coming. Not to be outdone by their giant cousin, the other tubenoses made quite the spectacle. Buller's Shearwater, Hutton's Shearwater... then Salvin's Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross, and Buller's Albatross! For those who bird with me and know my sayings, this was a 'Holy S@!*' moment. And it continued, White-chinned Petrel, Westland Petrel, Northern Giant Petrel and Flesh-footed Shearwater. The southern seas were simply teeming with birdlife.

Northern Giant-Petrel

Buller's Shearwater

Salvin's Albatross

White-chinned Petrel

Shuffling and fighting

Our friends following the boat

Huge wingspan

At the center of it all was the Wandering (Gibson's) Albatross. One in particular stole the show. A female, banded on the Chatham Islands 800 km away, was as interested in us as we were her. Staring up at us with those eyes I could not help but be moved beyond words. I felt an almost personal connection, something I had never experienced before with an individual bird. I later got the story on this particular bird which made things feel even more special. A year ago, the boat crew had found her in the water struggling. She was entwined in fishing line and exhausted. Springing into action, they grabbed her and went to work, eventually working her free. Now she plys the ocean on those giant wings, soaring effortlessly, a captain of her domain.

Captain of her domain!

With the trip coming to an end, and the choppy waters taking their told on even the most sea-worthy of us, we headed toward shore. The birds had stayed with us most of the ride but stopped at the unseen barrier of the continental shelf as we headed back. 

Chasing after the boat

Stopped at the continental shelf

When will I have this experience again I thought. As always, I turned to my friends and remarked, "I'm doing this again next time I'm back!" With that said, we had one last bit of excitement. In the nearshore waters, Hector's Dolphin, one of the rarest cetaceans in the world, checked out our boat. These tiny dolphins with their little round fins capped off the trip in style.

Safely on land, and sipping a cup of hot chocolate (it was Valetine's Day after all), we tried to digest the spectacle we had witnessed. Most people aren't fortunate to see a single albatross in their life. We had been treated to six different species in one 3-hour boat ride! Thinking about it now as I write this story, I'm not sure it dawned on me then that I now had a favorite bird, but I did know that I had been profoundly moved by these creatures. Nevertheless, it had happened. I finally had a favorite bird, the Wandering Albatross!

The Chase

There are no pictures and no recordings. No corroborators of my story or hard evidence to present. There are only the vivid memories etched into my brain, the memory of the rush and these words to remind me of one of the most incredible wildlife experiences of my life!

It starts out like most of my mornings this summer. I'm up before dawn to do breeding bird surveys under the employment of AMEC. This particular week, I'm at a site up in the Rainy River area of Ontario (the westernmost corner of the province).

The day is clear and warm, and I'm walking an old forest road for the second round of bird surveys. The first time around my highlight was a pair of Golden-winged Warblers foraging together oblivious to my presence. This morning I hoped for the same. Little did I know, I'd get much much much more.

Half-way through a ten minute point count, my reverie and the bird songs are interrupted by a noise coming from up the road. I turn my head in curiosity. Moments later, a buck white-tailed deer is charging down the path straight at me.  Quickly I try to think, what is it doing?! I wave my arms and clipboard in the air and call out to the deer. About ten meters away it finally catches sight of me and tears off into the woods to my right. That was weird I think to myself.

With the adrenaline running high and the sounds of the buck fading into the woods I finally understand why he was running. A wolf, yellow eyes ablaze and ears pricked, is sprinting down the path straight at me. Every hair on my body raises. Two thoughts compete in my brain; is this really happening and there are no records of wolves attacking people right? In the blink of an eye, the wolf is 15 meters away. It catches sight of me standing in its way. With a look of annoyance, it darts to the right and it follows the buck's path into the forest.

At this point the rush is incredible and would only get better. Out of nowhere from my right, a doe comes charging out of the woods almost straight at me. I could taste its fear. Never before in my life have I seen terror written so plain on any being's face. Her eyes were practically rolling into the back of her head while saliva flicked from her face. Cutting right in front of me the doe crashes through the woods to my left. With thoughts barely formed in my head, and trying to take in what was happening, the chase is joined. Two wolves materialize out of thin air! One on the path in front of me and one slightly to my left. Completely rooted to my spot along the forest path, and utterly transfixed by what is happening around me, I watch in complete amazement as the one wolf gets 5 meters from me before it realizes I'm blocking its way. With a look like 'who the hell are you', it stops, takes a little jump back and peels off to the left with its partner in pursuit of the doe. Eyes following and ears listening, the chase swings to my left and in behind me. I hear the doe putting distance on the wolves, and they let up a bit, grey shadows weaving their way through the green understory.

Thinking perhaps that was the end of it, I once again try to collect my thoughts. However, in a flash I am transported right back to the chase. A fawn, hidden in the forest undergrowth, can take it no longer. With two wolves set on blood, the terrified beast comes bolting out of the woods straight at me. As it lands its feet on the path, it swerves behind me and back into the woods. Being between the fawn and the wolves, they do not pursue. At that same moment, something up the road catches my eye. I look up and see a new wolf, bigger then the others staring at me. What it was thinking I'll never know, but as quick as it had appeared, it disappeared. Turning back around to see where the other two had gotten, I see nothing. The woods are silent and still once again.

Only at this point do I become fully aware of the adrenaline and blood pumping through my body. Thoughts of utter disbelieve and exhilaration float into my head and my spirit is lifted to an incredible height. Hands shaking, birds forgotten I try to collect my wits. I check my watch. Still 2 minutes left on my point count. Could that have only been a little more than a minute? It seemed like an eternity. As water flows around a rock in the midst of river, so too did the chase flow around me. In all my years of tramping through woods and meadow, beach and mountain, I've never had an experience like this one. To observe a chase is one thing, but to be a part of it is another. To see the look on each animal's face and to feel their fear and excitement is incredible.

As I walk off along the road, all I can think of is how very lucky I am!

Where are you Red-breasted Sapsucker?

After successfully seeing the Emperor Geese, me and Tim knocked off the following birds in quick succession; Anna's Hummingbird, California Quail, Pacific Wren, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Marbled Murrelet, Rhinocerous Aucklet, Black Turnstone, Pelagic Cormorant and Northwestern Crow. With exhaustion competing with excitement, we left the coast and headed through the Cascade Mountains. Our target birds were Varied Thrush, American Dipper and Red-breasted Sapsucker. We had already tried numerous times that day for the sapsucker and we were starting to wonder if it actually existed. At one stop called silver forks, instead of birds, we were greeted by a Washington State Trooper. Thankfully, he was nice and let us off with a warning! To be fair we were only going 60 km/h but it was a 40 zone unbeknownst to the driver Tim! The day continued without the birds though driving into the Cascades was quite spectacular. The peaks were still snow capped and one could not help but feel at peace up in the mountains.

With the afternoon waning, we pulled down a mountain road which would be our last chance for the sapsuckers. As we were driving down the road I see two geese in a small pond and tell Tim to pull over. They were only Canada Geese, but as is often the case when birding, when you stop for one thing, you're rewarded with another. Sure enough, out of nowhere a male Red-breasted Sapsucker flies across the road and lands on a favorite tree of his to drink sap to his heart's content, and leaves me to enjoy its beauty to my heart's content.

 With our spirits raised we drive to the end of the road to turn around but spy a pristine mountain stream and think perhaps a dipper could be about. Sure enough we were not mistaken, as Tim quickly spies an American Dipper up the stream. For those of you who do not know what a dipper is, I'll explain. They are passerine birds (small feathered types) which dive in the water like a duck or seabird. In the case of the American Dipper, they eat aquatic larvae and salmon eggs in the rushing mountain streams with ease and grace. This particular individual did not disappoint.  With daylight going and a spectacular day behind us we made our way into the Mountains north of Cle Elum to attempt some owling (and no not that weak sauce trend of perching on man-made structures and taking a picture of yourself). Our primary target was the endangered Spotted Owl but any owl would do. To sum up our evening and early morning in the words of Tim, "It was an abysmal failure!".

Beautiful male California Quail

Of Emperor Geese

My flight arrived at 10:30pm in Seattle on April 21st. As I exit the departures area I spy Tim at the baggage claim. He looks deep in thought. Dom he says, there are 2 Emperor Geese at Dungeness Bay, we have to go. Clearly we did! The Emperor Goose is usually only found in Westren Alaska and across the Berring straight in far east Russia. Lucky for us two had overwintered in coastal Washington and were still being seen as of a week prior. With my bag in tow, we were rushing off to try and catch a ferry to Puget Sound and on to the Bay where we hoped to car camp and rise with the sun and the geese. 
           
Slipping through Seattle, we got the last evening ferry just in the nick of time and enjoyed a cup of tea thanks to Tim's jet boil on the deck of the ferry as we crossed. We eventually arrived at the bay at 2 am. We promptly enjoyed a candlelight bean dinner in the car (super fancy I know!) and fell asleep. In the morning the bay was there to great us and I had my first taste of the pacific northwest.

Dungeness Bay in the morning

 

Olympic Mountains rising up to greet us

Out on the bay there thousands of Brant but we could not see any sign of the alaskan visitors. Having never been to the Pacific Northwest before I was delighted to get a number of lifers first thing in the morning including Pigeon Guillimot, Black Oystercatcher and Glaucous-winged Gull. With the Bramt still swirling around the bay by the thousands we decide to drive further along to another lookout in hopes that the Emperors would be there. As we start scanning around, Tim says hey Dom, look in my scope. Intrigued, I peer through and behold two beautiful geese. We had found them! With the Olympic Mountains rising up behind us we enjoyed the geese, as well as lots of shorebirds, a male Eurasian Wigeon and the joy of two old friends birding together after more than a year!

 

Emperor Goose magic!

There are two Emperor Geese in the middle of this photo, can you spot them with their white heads?

Across the American West

It happened in a flash. One minute I'm wallowing around in GTA waiting for my job at AMEC to start, and the next instant, I'm on the greyhound bus headed to the Detroit airport for a flight to Seattle. The reason? My old swashbuckling companion Tim Sneider was embarking on a road trip from Victoria to Ontario and in need of a partner in crime to explore the coast and mountains of Washington, the sage country of Idaho, Yellowstone National Park, the grasslands of Wyoming, the Black Hills and the Badlands of South Dakota, the prairies and then of course the shitty states in between there and Ontario. Our targets were birds, mammals, open country, and the open road. Our fuel was beans, beer, quesadillas! What we had was our own little Wild America adventure!