The Best Place on Earth

Yesterday we did more driving than birding and ended up in British Columbia. When we crossed the border the sign said "Welcome, The Best Place on Earth" and it didn't take long being in BC to realize that weren't kidding when they put that on the welcome sign! BC is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen (and not even *actually* seen.) It is prettier than anything you see in photos and the movies. See for yourself...

Although we didn't do any major birding, I still saw six new life birds!! The campground we stayed in the night before in Montana had a nice trail down to a river. We hiked that trail in the morning and I saw a Chestnut-backed Chickadee and a Violet-green Swallow! While checking my email outside, I had a Black-chinned Hummingbird hovering about 10 feet in front of my face, just long enough for me to get an amazing look at him!!!

Along Route 3 in BC, we pulled off on the side of the road and there happened to be a trail down to the lake pictured above. We took the trail, mainly because there was snow and I have been wanting to play in the snow since I saw some on the mountain tops a few days ago! It ended up being great birding!! I saw my lifer  Steller's Jays which made me happy because they remind me of one of my favorite birds from Guatemala! I also saw lifer Mountain Chickadees and a Barrow's Goldeneye!

I also saw a mountain goat while driving yesterday! No pictures, but it was pretty cool to see!! The mammals on this trip are just as interesting as the birds, and I have been very lucky to see so many neat mammal species already!! Next I am hoping for bears :)

We are getting ready to leave Catherine Lake, BC to head further north towards Prince George. I can't wait to see what kind of beautiful scenery and birds I will find today!!

Here's a photo I took through the window of the view we had while driving!

Glacier National Park

Today we didn't bird, we just gained some miles to get closer to Alaska! We passed some absolutely beautiful scenery though! We passed through Glacier National Park... breath taking. Even without seriously birding, I still saw a life bird today! The campground where we are staying tonight has a hummingbird feeder out and I saw a pair of Calliope Hummingbirds! Tomorrow we head north into British Columbia.

Mountains and Eagles

The last two nights, Margaret and I stayed in an extremely rustic campground at the top of a mountain! It was beautiful and relaxing and we saw some great birds including roughly 100+ Red Crossbills calling and foraging in the pines! I saw many new life birds but I think my favorite was the Clark's Nutcracker! The other life birds I saw at that campground in the Little Rocky Mountains were Red-naped Sapsucker, Say's Phoebe, Spotted Towhee, Townsend's Solitaire, and an amazing look at a white-throated Swift!

Margaret took a beautiful hike 3 miles up the mountain and the scenery was unforgettable. Last night was also got to enjoy a long thunder and lightening show from our mountain top camp site. The dogs disagreed about it being enjoyable, but I was happy!

The view from our hike through the Little Rocky Mountains in Zortman, Montana

This morning we woke up early and went to the Charles M. Russel National Wildlife Refuge. There was a beautiful 19 mile auto tour but we only made it through about 3 miles before the flooding was too bad to continue. It was disappointing that we didn't get to see the rest, but I still saw two life birds: Lazuli Bunting and Bullock's Oriole! Along the way from there to where we are now (Great Falls, Montana) I got another life bird and one of the most beautiful birds I have seen!! This awesome GOLDEN EAGLE!!!

Tonight we are staying in Great Falls and hoping to head up to Calgary, Alberta tomorrow. I heard from a friend today that the area is flooding badly and roads are closed, so we will see how that goes, but we will be looking for Great Gray Owls within the next few days!!