It was a Sunday morning, about a week before Maui, and my wife and I had planned to drop the kids of with their grandparents while she joined me on a birding trip. Our destination was about 45 minutes from home to an area in the Mat-Su Valley that is rich in bird life, even in frigid
temperatures. A couple of friends of mine (who happen to be brothers) live there and have seen several of my target birds in the area, so my hopes were high. It was a cold, crisp morning at 5 degrees, so we wrapped ourselves as best we could in several layers and put hand warmers in each of our pockets to keep our hands from freezing. Once we were bundled up, we strapped on our binoculars. I hooked my camera to my shoulder sling and we were ready to head out. Part of the reason for hand warmers in our pockets was to keep my phone warm. My phone battery is notorious for getting cold and dying quickly, and I wanted to prolong that as long as possible.
We quickly found the trail from the map that one of the brothers had provided me, which was very detailed, and before long we were in the thick woods, crunching our way on snowmachine packed trail. The air was sharp and each breath produced a thick cloud on exhale. We kept a brisk pace to keep warm, stopping often to listen. We immediately heard Hairy Woodpeckers pecking away nearby in the frozen trees. We had heard there were American Three-toed Woodpeckers in the area as well, and I was familiar with their drumming so we kept our ears tuned.
We walked for several miles through the thick woods, seeing many Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees, White-winged Crossbills, Common Redpolls, and Pine Grosbeaks. I did hear the drumming of an American Three-toed Woodpecker but we never got eyes on it. As we continued our trek, the forest opened up into a large clearing which allowed us to see for quite a distance. The sun reflecting on the snow was very bright, making me wish I had brought sun glasses. Based on the map, we were on track to make a large circle, which would bring us back to the trail depositing us back to our car. We continued walking in the cleared area for a while, stopping to look around and listen often. Finally, I stopped and thought I could see a bird on a tree up a hill in front of me a good distance off. I couldn't tell what it was, but I knew it was larger than most other birds. When my wife asked me what I was looking at, I pointed to the speck on the tree and when she finally found what I was pointing to she said "How did you see that?" I replied "I guess I've just trained my eyes to see birds." We put up our binoculars to find out if it was indeed my target bird or if it was something else. Peering through my binos, I got a clear view of the bird that has been my nemesis since I started birding a year and a half ago. Sitting on a frozen limb, high in the tree, was an unmistakable immature Northern Goshawk. Finally, I had found one. The satisfaction I felt was sweet. It was much too far to get a good photo, but I pulled up my camera to snap a few shots anyways. Not that I would have anything worth showing anyone, but more so I had proof I had actually seen one. With our time running out, we continued on our way back to the car. But I was happy. Suddenly, the cold wasn't so bad and the sun had a warming effect. As we neared the car, my wife insisted on a selfie as we looked like Jack and Jill Frost. We then peeled off a few layers after starting the car and buckled up for the drive home. We spent the whole car ride, it seems, just thawing out, but we had a good time.
Just a week later we would be boarding a plane, headed for Maui. Stay tuned for that post, coming soon.
Here's my long distance Northern Goshawk, and my frosty mug for your enjoyment.
As always, keep your eyes peeled and your binoculars handy!
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