Our footprints in the snow

One of my favorite parts about birding culture is meeting and birding with other people. It's fun to trade stories and share tips. Plus, added eyes and ears on outings helps detect birds. The best part is sharing the experience and creating new memories. Sharing special moments with friends who appreciate and savor the beauty of birds are among the most treasured memories of mine. So it should be no surprise that, we were excited to join forces with our fellow birding friends and ASI Big Year participants, the Gray-headed Napcatchers, for a morning of birding fun!

First we checked out a location on Chena Ridge for Bohemian Waxwings but came up empty. Still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, fueled by homemade (and warm!) Alaska blueberry muffins, we were ready for action. We tuned in our walkie talkies to channel 8 and set out to another birding Hot Spot.

Normally what happens at the Peat Ponds stays at the Peat Ponds, but our journey there today was quite eventful. We saw two separate Northern Hawk Owl individuals from the road as we travelled along Sheep Creek Road. Both were perched in the crowns of spruce trees; the first was being voraciously mobbed by two Gray Jays, and the second was within feet of the road and generously allowed us to watch it preen in the morning's brilliant sun. On our way back from the Peat Ponds it was still there giving us more great looks!

We ventured on to Creamer's Field to check-in on the Black-backed Woodpecker we've seen throughout the winter. Our interest was particularly piqued by recent reports of a female. It's unusual to find a bird like a Black-backed Woopecker quickly, even when there are recent reports. Finding one by happenstance is usually the best you can hope for. Unusual and quirky luck was on our side today. First two Northern Hawk Owls, and then seemingly with no effort what-so-ever and within half a mile of the parking lot... tap tap tap tap. All four sets of ears honed in. Then our feet followed. And finally our eyes saw it, a Black-backed! We carefully studied the bird excited to determine sex (was it the male we'd seen all winter?) and was a band (could it have been a CFMS bird?)? We answered the latter first; there was a silver USGS band on the right leg! This swayed initial guesses that maybe it was the male. Perhaps the individual that I'd banded during last fall's CFMS season. We didn't leave it up to guess work and continued to watch it forage, preen, and listen to it call. Finally we achieved multiple clean looks at it's crown... A female!!! A banded female!!! We admired her and enjoyed our moments together watching her. We mused if she was banded at CFMS. We have inside knowledge that it couldn't have been last year as only one was captured last year, and it was a male. So when was she banded and by whom? Questions that maybe we'll answer this year if they stick around and CFMS is lucky enough to capture them. Perhaps if they do stick around they'll pair up and add to the Black-backed population at and around Creamer's Field. What a day!!!

#BigYear #birding #Adventure #friends #GrayheadedNapcatchers