Small Triumphs and Near Tragedies
Part 6 - Alaska, A Journey not a Destination
Check out the previous blogs in this series.
Hello Canada!
Lewis’s Woodpecker, “Oh Canada”, what a great first bird to identify. This bird, which I had only seen a couple of times in Idaho a few days earlier was sitting on the telephone pole pecking away at something.
All this was happening while I was supposed to be giving full attention to the border guard. What a distraction! Luckily, the guard did not assume that my distracted nature meant I was trying to hide something.
We confessed to having one apple and surrendered it. Something about apples, it was not the first time apples caused delay at a border. The first was at an airport and involved a sniffing customs dog and resulted in several hours of delay, but that’s another story.
In all fairness, British Columbia was meant to be a pass through with a stop at a friend’s place in Burns Lake. There were no real birding British Columbia targets to chase down.
Kamloops
We spent a day or two around Kamloops, sampling some of the local brews and plotting a path north. The Pineview Ponds looked to be a good urban birding location so I could scratch my itch.
Like many urban birding water habitats, Pineview Ponds are in fact settling ponds for the treated sewage of the surrounding neighborhoods. It is an oasis of nature in an otherwise congested, barren, and lifeless concrete jungle.
We arrived later than I would have liked. It seems that I possess the overwhelming majority of the enthusiasm for early morning birding adventures in our family unit. Still the birding was quite good, knocking off 22 different species at the ponds.
Most adorable were the male Ruddy Ducks in full breeding plumage and the female Barrow’s Goldeneyes with ducklings in tow. I also get openly excited when I hear the agitated calls of Marsh Wrens. Unfortunately, a brief glance is all I could get on this elusive wren.
A Lesson on Empidonax
In abundance were Willow Flycatchers, you guessed it, in the willows surrounding the pond. They were a bit more cooperative during their photo sessions than the Marsh Wrens.
The Willow Flycatcher is one of 14 species in the genera, Empidonax. Nine of them are widespread in North America. They are notoriously hard to ID by simply looking at them.
One must see them, hear them and consider the habitat and behaviors to ensure proper ID. In the case of the Willow Flycatchers at Pineview Ponds, they were identified by call and response to call as well as the habitat (willows) they were found in.
Check out these four empidonax flycatchers from the American West. Without more info, like location, time of year, habitat, vocalization and behavior even an expert ornithologist would struggle.
Birding British Columbia in Cottonwood River Provencial Park
Continuing north towards Burns Lake, we found an amazing boondocking spot in the Cottonwood River Provincial Park near Quesnel. We were right on the banks of the river and there was not a sole around.
More importantly, the air was full of the sounds of spring. Bird-song could be heard all day long. Walking along the gravel road proved to be very productive. Red-eyed Vireos were busy with their simple repetitive call. Warbling Vireos were busy singing their melodious warbler like song. Magnolia Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, MacGillivray’s Warblers and American Redstarts were singing like they were in a free-for-all version of The Voice. This is surely birding British Columbia at its best.
After seeing the American Redstart in Panama and a rare sighting one spring morning at my Oklahoma home, I finally was able to get a decent photograph of this beautiful bird. I consider this a small triumph.
Meanwhile, the next morning at camp, my sound ID was on while drinking coffee and up popped a Veery. The sound ID is not always right. This was a bird that was not on my radar at all, so I needed to take it seriously.
I sorted which call was the possible Veery. It was coming from that bush over there. The call was consistently being repeated and identified by sound ID. Going to my Sibley’s app, I listened to the Veery call and sure enough, I was now confident. A look was all I really wanted to put it on my list. I called him and in a matter of seconds, here he comes. Sitting up in a tree I did my best to photograph in the few seconds that he gave me. All the field marks were there in the photo. A new lifer on my list and another small triumph while birding British Columbia.
Catharus Thrushes
The Veery is one of 5 North American species in the genera Catharus. It is a thrush. This group of thrushes are generally reclusive and difficult to get good looks at, especially outside the breeding season. Unlike the Empidonax Flycatchers, these birds each have subtle features that can be used to make a positive ID, if you get a good look.
In the case of the Veery, it has a reddish overall color on the head and back. Compare this to the Hermit Thrush which has a change in color from drab olive-gray on the back to rufous on the top of the tail feathers. Swainson’s Thrush is olive-gray all the way from head to tail.
The Gray-cheeked Thrush lacks any buffy color on the cheek and is uniform color from head to tail on its back. The last of the North American Catharus thrushes is Bricknell’s Thrush, which is geographically limited to the extreme northeast. It has a gray eye-ring but otherwise looks like a hermit thrush.
Can you see the above described field marks in the catharus thrushes below?
In all, there were 36 different species identified at this location including 6 warblers, 2 Catharus thrushes and 2 Empidonax flycatchers. One rarity was reported, the Gray Flycatcher (Empidonax) which has a unique among North American Empidonax flycatchers habit of constantly wagging his tail up and down when perched.
Visiting Friends might be Better than Birding British Columbia
After taking the ferry across a lake we arrived at our friend’s home on Francois Lake. We stayed and visited for a couple of days. It was great catching up on each other’s lives and recounting memories of our times working in Vietnam a couple of years ago.
Lorraine put out a hummingbird feeder to show me her birds. The Rufous Hummingbirds were happy to take advantage of the offering, and I was happy to get some of my best photos to date of this bird.
In total I reported 23 species at their home.
A Slap on the Wrist Learning Experience
I got the attention of the eBird reviewer for the area when I conflated Common Merganser and Red-breasted Merganser. Females/non-breeding males are actually very similar and as I learned the best ID is to look at the shape of the bill. Look for yourself.
Can you see the difference in the bills? The Red-breasted is longer and thinner than the Common.
If you have never heard the mournful “wail” call of a loon, you would not believe it came from this bird. I heard it for the first time at Francois Lake. It is as beautiful as it is surreal.
Catching up with friends while birding British Columbia is always a triumph!
National Birds
Not all nations place the same symbolism on their national birds that the USA does. The Bald Eagle symbolizes strength and freedom. Every American knows what our national bird is and what it means. Not so, everywhere. For example, do you know the national flower of the United States? There is one, but most cannot name it. So it goes in Canada with the national bird. The Canada Jay is not as integrated with Canadian culture as the Bald Eagle is with American culture.
In fact, Canada did not have an official national bird until 2018. In order to promote (literally) this bird to this status, the powers to be pushed an official name change through in 2016. The bird was previously known as Gray Jay. Another common name for this bird is Whisky Jack.
Stewart and Hyder
We decided to make a little side trip to Stewart. This turned out to be a great decision. The scenery on this road was fantastic. We also found a great boondocking site a few miles outside of Stewart.
We were greeted by a family of Red-breasted Sapsuckers, a lifer for me. To watch how these birds worked the trees that they prepared for sap sucking, was a real treat. All within a few yards of our rig. The Rufous Hummingbirds also capitalized on the feast of sap prepared by the sapsuckers. There were many more of the photogenic American Redstarts at this location as well. Another small triumph while birding British Columbia.
A quick trip into the Happiest Ghost Town in Alaska (Hyder) near Stewart marked our first, albeit brief, stop in Alaska for the trip. The first of many Arctic Terns to be seen were photographed here.
We continued our travels north on the Cassiar-Stewart Highway and eventually hit the Alaskan Highway where we continued through the Yukon towards Alaska.
A Hard Lesson Learned
I am not sure how to categorize this next section. Is it near tragedy, is it a small triumph or is it just dumb inexperience?
Near the end of the Cassiar Highway, I decided to load my 10 gallons of reserve fuel into my tank and blow past the next fueling station which was 5 km away and target to fill at the one after that. I would arrive at the next station with 70 km left in my tank.
My heart sank when the lady said they were out of diesel. I could go 130 km in the direction we were heading, or 105 km backtrack to the station I drove past 1.5 hours ago. Considering that my tank said 70 km to empty, there was no choice. Backtracking was the only option.
I was too busy doing math in my head to feel stupid. Disconnecting and leaving the trailer behind and driving in an extremely conservative manner was my only hope. We coasted in neutral down every hill. I never touched the brake except to avert tragedy. Stepping ever so lightly on the pedal while ascending hills, I topped most hills at 20-30 km/hr much to the chagrin of the people behind me. Watching the “km to empty” tick down and doing math to see if I was going to make it kept my mind off what would happen if I didn’t make it. Of course, someone would give us a ride, but oh the embarrassment.
Of greater concern was the fact that diesel engines do not like to run out of fuel. Air in the high-pressure fuel pump is not good and may even be bad enough to render the engine inoperable until you perform an air purging procedure. This was also in my mind.
When the fuel station came in sight, there was celebration in the truck. We were going to make it. I arrived at the pump and killed the engine with 2 km left to empty. She had diesel!
Small Triumph turned Minor Tragedy
Fast forward a couple of months and we have left Alaska for the final time to begin our return through Canada. To date, we have probably driven 500 miles on gravel roads, some of them with heavy commercial truck traffic with not a single rock doing any damage to the windshield.
There is a saying that when you drive to Alaska you should expect to replace your windshield when you return. I think this is a dated saying as most of the Alaska Highway and most major roads are now paved although they all have sections under repair where there may be a few miles of gravel.
You guessed it, while driving on the last gravel section of the Alaskan Highway, just up from Dawson Creek, bam! There it is!
The Real Near Tragedy
The night before my issue with fuel in the truck, we were driving up the two lane, no shoulder Cassiar Highway at around 6 pm. In front of me I was looking at a U-haul trailer half blocking the roadway on its side, disconnected from the car that was towing it. The car was upright and, on the road, but had clearly been rolled. Two young ladies were walking around picking things up, looking a bit dazed.
It seems we were the second on the scene. The first was an 18-wheeler who pushed the U-haul out of the lane and carried on.
We stopped, of course, and checked to make sure no one had injuries that needed immediate attention. Thank God, this was not the case.
The next vehicle to come along was a 5th wheel RV. They also stopped and helped organize a plan for getting a tow truck.
Naturally, there was no cell service. We both whipped out our Starlinks and were able to make some phone calls to get help on the way. In the meantime, there was a cat missing and belongings were strown all over the road and ditches, broken glass too.
Pat, the RV owner, is also a drone instructor and flew a drone up to look for the cat.
We all searched for the missing cat and cleaned the roadway. Sadly, the cat was never found.
The young couple were travelling with multiple dogs and cats. Fortunately, none of the animals seemed to be injured.
After about 5 hours the tow truck arrived, and we got our first good humor in a while watching how creative this driver was in getting the car and the U-haul (which first had to be righted) up on the trailer.
All that could be done was done by 2am and we parted ways. We kept contact with the young couple, one an animal trainer and the other a Black Hawk Pilot (how bad-ass is that!) in the Army hoping to meet them under less stressful circumstances, but as often happens, life got in the way, and we were not able to do that.
We also befriended the RV owners. On our return through Canada, we enjoyed a fine steak dinner with them in Edmonton.
Conclusion
Western Canada is a massive area with so many vistas that will drop your jaw and so many towns and parks to be explored. We hustled quickly through it to get to Alaska, but we need to spend more time exploring this dramatic part of North America. Oh, and birding British Columbia and The Yukon is damn good too!
You are a great story teller. Love your adventures!
Thanks, Linda!
Joel and Mirka, another great epoc in your life. Birding was great plus the adventures and breath-taking scenery along the way. Enjoy the rest and count your blessings along the way.
As a trivial note, my Merlin was on and suddenly South Lapwing appeared on the screen. We quickly looked in the yard but saw nothing. I suspect it may have been flying overhead. I never saw one in Bocas del Toro before. Did you?
Claid at Hospital Point
I have seen many Southern Lapwings in Panama. None in Bocas. There are many in the mowed grass of the sea side parks in Panama City. Thanks.
Hi Joel and Mirka, I always enjoy seeing and reading about your adventures and birding. Keep them com
Hi Joel and Mirka, I always enjoy seeing and reading about your adventures and birding. Keep them com