Post by murraybrown on Jul 12, 2008 12:20:21 GMT -8
The trip up through the Chilkat Pass into the B.C. portion of the highway is, to be conservative, spectacular!
but it was birds I had my mind on and I wasn't disappointed. As we ate lunch in the camper at a pull-off I could hear a thrush-like song nearby in the low willows. I bolted outside, sandwich in hand, and there it was, my lifer Grey cheeked Thrush.
Twenty minutes later I almost stepped on a resplendent, male Willow Ptarmigan, another target bird. They are extremely tame as most grouse species can be.
Later along the highway were alpine ponds or small lakes that invariably hosted a pair, or several Arctic Terns, a bird we had been seeing since arriving in the Yukon.
I wasn't able to get my final Chilkat Pass bird which was the Smith's Longspur which nests near Kelsall Lake in small numbers.
Near the trail which leads to the breeding area we had seen a Grizzly, one of five we saw altogether. And either he or other bears had been digging out the Arctic Ground Squirrels along the trail and I basically "chickened out" as the sign was very fresh.
My final target bird was in Alaska along the Denali Hwy. where the Arctic Warbler is known to nest. I took only about 15 minutes to lure one out with the taped call. This too is an amazing spot with views that seem to go on forever. Also lots of other nesting birds like Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, etc, etc.
Stone Sheep, Dall Sheep, Mountain Caribou, Red Fox, Coyote, Wood Bison, Moose, Arctic Hare, Arctic Ground Squirrel, Columbia Ground Squirrel, and even a number of Woodchucks or Groundhogs.
I can't wait to go back!
Murray
but it was birds I had my mind on and I wasn't disappointed. As we ate lunch in the camper at a pull-off I could hear a thrush-like song nearby in the low willows. I bolted outside, sandwich in hand, and there it was, my lifer Grey cheeked Thrush.
Twenty minutes later I almost stepped on a resplendent, male Willow Ptarmigan, another target bird. They are extremely tame as most grouse species can be.
Later along the highway were alpine ponds or small lakes that invariably hosted a pair, or several Arctic Terns, a bird we had been seeing since arriving in the Yukon.
I wasn't able to get my final Chilkat Pass bird which was the Smith's Longspur which nests near Kelsall Lake in small numbers.
Near the trail which leads to the breeding area we had seen a Grizzly, one of five we saw altogether. And either he or other bears had been digging out the Arctic Ground Squirrels along the trail and I basically "chickened out" as the sign was very fresh.
My final target bird was in Alaska along the Denali Hwy. where the Arctic Warbler is known to nest. I took only about 15 minutes to lure one out with the taped call. This too is an amazing spot with views that seem to go on forever. Also lots of other nesting birds like Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, etc, etc.
Stone Sheep, Dall Sheep, Mountain Caribou, Red Fox, Coyote, Wood Bison, Moose, Arctic Hare, Arctic Ground Squirrel, Columbia Ground Squirrel, and even a number of Woodchucks or Groundhogs.
I can't wait to go back!
Murray
