Tern Ballet 2, photo by Ken Quong, prize for "Most Money Raised for Conservation" in the 2007 Yukon Birdathon.
YUKON/BC HIGHLIGHTS
We started our BirdYear journey at the Alaska Highway Junction with the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. There were lots of things we weren’t sure about. We weren’t sure if all of our gear would fit in our panniers and our bike trailer. We weren’t sure if our gear would survive the potholes and gravel stretches. Wendy and I weren’t sure if our bodies would hold up. Malkolm had no such doubts.
There was not much traffic on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. It felt like our own personal bike path and we were resentful when a vehicle intruded on our peaceful journey south. We spent the first night by Blue Lakes. A woman from an RV parked nearby walked by as we put up our tents. When we told her we were headed for Florida she spluttered, “but there are mountains between here and there!”
We all can identify some birds by their songs, particularly the ones that sing near our home in Whitehorse. We hadn’t peddled far south, however, before we entered the range of unfamiliar birds such as Tennessee and MacGillvray’s Warblers. It was like traveling to a foreign country, knowing a few of the words but not enough to be completely comfortable. Malkolm picked up the new songs quickly while Wendy and I struggled. One more thing about bird songs. On bicycles, it was obvious when we’d changed habitats. There were no border guards when we entered a new bird’s country, but suddenly the air would be full of the long, shrill trills of Varied Thrushes or the harsh calls of Stellar’s Jays.
The last bird Malkolm identified before we reached the Yellowhead Highway was a Brown-headed Cowbird. These cowbirds however, were riding on brown horses, snapping up flies. We could have used some birds on our backs. Malkolm had so many blackfly bites he looked as if he had smallpox.
We spent a couple of fun days in Hazelton with Ray Sturney and Maureen Sargent. Malkolm spent much of his time photographing warblers, hummingbirds and the unusual juvenile sapsucker, a cross between a Yellow-bellied and Red-breasted Sapsucker. Ray and Maureen led us on a “rest day” hike up a local mountain in search of ptarmigan. We were more ptired after the hike than before (although Malkolm did find several alpine birds including Horned Larks, American Pipits and a Willow Ptarmigan).
We had a more restful rest day in Smithers at Rod Leighton’s house. Rod is an old paddling partner who is known for his adventuresome spirit. As we lounged about we watched a juvenile cowbird following its adopted parent – a Dark-eyed Junco. The baby was twice the size as the busy adult. Malkolm spent time photographing Northern Waterthrushes, American Redstarts and Chipping Sparrows.
When we were setting up our tents in one of our many gravel pit campgrounds, we met Phil Burton, who had stopped to photograph a hillside full of beetle-killed lodgepole pines. He invited us to stay with him in Prince George and looked after us with great home-cooked meals. He also introduced us to Christopher Coxson a young birder of about Malkolm’s age. We went for an evening birding walk and Christopher advised us on where we could find Vaux’s Swifts. We also visited Aaron *** at Manning-Cooper & Associates. They gave us helpful birding advice. While we were in “Prince”, Phil Evanson kindly helped us with some necessary bike maintenance.
Ray Sturney had advised us to stop at the Scout Island Nature Centre in Williams Lake. It is a wetland jewel perched under the sawmills and malls in town. The people who had the drive and energy to make sure it was protected deserve our thanks! Malkolm identified 12 new Bird Year species that day, including American White Pelicans, Gray Catbirds and Bullock’s Orioles.
Our hardest cycling day so far was the trip over the pass between Lillooet and Pemberton. We sweated up 13% grades only to lose the elevation we’d gained on a steep downhill. Getting to the summit was like a game of Snakes and Ladders, laboriously fighting upward only to slide quickly back down. When we finally reached the top, we were met by a three-day rainstorm. Fortunately we were heading for a port in the storm – Rachel Shephard’s house in Brackendale (near Squamish).
We’ve known Rachel for decades and we’ve done lots of fun trips together from sea-kayaking in Baja California to climbing in Yosemite to paddling the Nahanni River. We dried out and re-energized at Rachel’s. We went for a walk with some of Rachel’s birding friends: Chris & Bev Dale, Patrick, and Jim Meyer. We found Red-crossbills and Chris also gave us lots of helpful advice about birding destinations on our way to Washington.
From July 23rd to July 27th we visited with Wendy’s parents, Boots and Margot Boothroyd in West Vancouver. Malkolm had wondered where he would be able to find Black Swifts – David Sibley says they are uncommon and very local. However it seemed we could barely turn around without finding them – after seeing them near both Pemberton and Squamish, we saw half a dozen zooming past the Boothroyd`s back deck. While we were in the Vancouver area, Malkolm added Bush Tit, Glacous-winged Gull, Wood Duck, Mute Swan, House Finch and Double-crested Cormorant to bring his total to 154 species.
YUKON BIRDATHON
For 24 hours from May 25th-26th, we joined other Yukoners in the 21st annual Yukon Birdathon — it is the inspiration for our Bird Day Challenge. Here are some results:
Helmut Grünberg canoed, walked and cycled to Swan Lake and Jackfish Bay and identified 81 species (including a Great Gray Owl on a nest).
Malkolm traveled about 77 km by bike and boot and found 77 species. His highlight was an Eared Grebe — the 5th one ever seen in the Yukon. No mistaking the identification since it was swimming with 2 Horned Grebes.
The Yukon Birdathon is an annual fundraiser for the Yukon Bird Club and the Yukon Conservation Society. This year we highlighted the “Environmental Birdathon.” Here are some fun ways that participants were encouraged to cut down on their use of fossil fuels:
- Carpool with friends.
- Take the bus.
- Stay close to home – see the birds of your neighborhood!
- Walk, run, cycle, paddle…
Prizes! & More Prizes for Fossil-fuel-reduced Birding! Here are the winners:
Most money raised for conservation: Prize: bird photograph by photographer Ken Quong (winner of best fauna photograph in the Canadian Geographic photo contest). Photo shown in above right corner. Winner: Helmut Grünberg.
Most kilometers traveled without fossil fuels: Prize: bicycle tune-up at Philippe's Bicycle Repair (508 Wood Street, Whitehorse) Value $45. Winners: Jim & Adrian Hawkings.
Best use of car-pooling (Gas mileage multiplied by # of Birders): $25 gift certificate from the Chocolate Claim + Yukon Conservation Society posters. Winners: Sarah Davidson & Jeanette Van Esbroeck. Honorable mention to Jeanette McCrie, Heather Thompson & Patti Nash (they each win a copy of Ernie's Earth or a YCS poster).
Two birders in a Toyota Prius narrowly win over a three birders in a Toyota Corolla. Prius: 2 birders X 55 miles per gallon = 110 birder-miles per gallon. Corolla: 3 birders X 32.5 miles per gallon = 97.5 b-mpg.
Best short written description of "your coolest birding experience": Prize: a "thrair" of hand-knitted socks in Yukon Chickadee colors by Ken Madsen. Winner: Jozien Keyzer & her description of an encounter with an American Robin: At 8:00 AM (too late for any real birder) a robin woke me up — not with her beautiful song, but as I stepped out on the porch she sat there. I could even touch her. She seemed unharmed and after I sat with her in my PJ’s for a while she said tuc tuc tuc and left.
Youngest Birder: Prize: Malkolm the Birder Boy DVD. Winner: Rory Eckert
Oldest Birder: Prize: Yukon Conservation Society T-shirt. Winner: Heather Thompson.
Most Birds Seen: Prize: Swan photograph by talented Yukon photographer Peter Mather. Photo shown to the left. Winner: Malkolm Boothroyd (Helmut saw more species, but he received the prize for most money raised!)
Best short written description of a bird seen that could be migrating to the Arctic Refuge: Prize: Vase by Larry Duguay (Ptarmigan Pottery) see upper left. Winner: Paul Davis.
Two other Yukon/BC cycling-based projects coming up:
Ramesh Ferris is using a hand and arm powered cycle to travel across the continent. He is engaged on a couragous project to raise money in an effort to eradicate polio around the world.
Wheels for Change: People from Southern BC plan to collectively cycle the equivalent of the distance around the Earth to draw attention to climate change.
Home Our Project Protect Birds Sponsor Us Arctic Refuge Blog Contact Us