O-H-I-O

So, I made it back home in Ohio! I arrived home Sunday afternoon and I have been busy sleeping, visiting friends and family, and editing photos since I got home! I hadn't updated my blog much on the way home because of a lack of internet access!

On the way home we drove through the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and finally Ohio!

A gorgeous Swainson's Hawk!

Through the Yukon and British Columbia, we saw a wide variety of animals, including many black bears, stone sheep, caribou, a herd of bison, a moose and more! In Alberta, we stopped in the Calgary area. I know two people from Calgary and I was able to get a hold of them in advance. Logan Gibson directed me to his Great Gray Owl location where he gets some amazing photos. We spent a few hours searching for the owls but they weren't out the night we tried. The next day the other person I know from the area, Laurie Rutter, took us to some of her local birding hotspots and we saw some great birds! I saw two more life birds, bringing my total for the trip up to 80 new species! The two were Black-necked Stilt and White-faced Ibis!

White-faced Ibis

In Minnesota we stayed for a night in Duluth. I had a chance to meet up with my friend, Erik Bruhnke. We had dinner at a local restaurant and he recommended some spots at Sax-Zim Bog for Margaret and I to look for some more birds! We ended up hearing two Connecticut Warblers, and I saw a Boreal Chickadee and Grey Jay among some other nice birds!

Erik and I in Duluth, Minnesota, of course in nerdy bird shirts :)

I am in the process of putting together an album of some of my favorite pictures/moments from the trip, on the recommendation from a friend! I'll post the link here within a few days probably, so check back!

Also, although I started this blog to record my trip to Alaska, I have had some friends suggest that I keep it up! So I will periodically be updating with interesting birding articles that I find, and reports from other trips that I will most likely be taking in the near future!

Thanks so much to everyone who followed my adventure across the country!! Also, a huge thanks to Margaret Bowman for making the whole trip possible!