Delta Jct. Bird Hunting

Yesterday, my human, Ronn and I went to Delta Jct to hunt the migrating birds (with a camera). I finally convinced him to clean out the car and lay the back seat down so that I could enjoy the window in the fantastic spring weather we're having in Fairbanks. It was nice to smell all the smells and feel the wind. It's a rough life being a dog I tell ya.



After we arrived we followed the mapped out route (Thanks Nancy!) where our first creatures encountered were cattle. Not very exciting to me but my human seemed to take a huge interest in them. I heard him tell the lady that stopped to visit with him something about being from Idaho, and that he actually missed these smelly things. I for one had other things on my mind. Flying things!




The local human must have had some good info because when Ronn got back in the car we drove a little ways down a muddy road and stopped for some Elk. Shortly after that we went back to where we had started and took a different turn. "WOOF! WOOF!" I exclaimed trying to get Ronn to stop as I noticed the Canada Geese in a field just out of my reach. he did stop but only briefly and we continued on. He seemed to be about as interested in them as I was his cows. It wasn't long until I discovered why.



Three fields down from the geese were the largest white birds I had ever laid eyes on. And boy did they smell good too! This was obviously what Ronn was interested in finding as he stopped abruptly forgetting momentarily that dogs don't wear seat belts. As I sluggishly pulled my tongue from the heater vents in the dash I think he had a sudden burst of awareness but I shot him a dirty look just in case.

I gathered my wits and went back to the window to see what these things were. Trumpeter Swans as it turns out they are called, were apparently off limits to me too! Once again I was left looking out the window as Ronn got out and started pointing that electronic thing (he calls it a camera) at them. Usually, when he get's that thing out of his pack it's an exciting event as it means I will be free to roam and explore but in the case of animals it usually means I'm stuck in the car staring out the window as if I were merely watching television. At least this time I was able to stick my head into the TV and hear the sound and smell the smells.



My human must have realized I was getting sick of this because after he returned we drove on to another field were he let me out to explore. To my dismay however, there were no birds to chase. I could smell that they were close but try as I may to locate them, he had somehow managed to hide them.



Once I had relieved some internal pressures we were again on our way. We drove for what seemed like an eternity as Ronn kept starring at some white piece of paper. We drove out to a gravel pit where he once again let me out to check things out. There were no birds to be smelled but this time we did play ball. My humans must be weak because they bought this contraption for throwing the ball called a chuckit that allows them to throw much farther and faster. Apparently, they don't like my saliva either... Ronn would throw the ball as far and hard as he could and I would sprint to try and catch it before it hit the ground. I had fun and finally got a bit tired so we loaded up and after a few treats and a well deserved pat on the head, we headed out.

We returned to one of the roads we had been on previously but this time we ventured straight instead of following the curve. The road here was muddy and still had snow and Ronn stopped to adjust some switch before proceeding. Once we stopped there was a beautiful lake and he grabbed up his camera and this time let me come along. We met some nice humans there and they pointed at things and talked to Ronn while I checked things out a bit. A few minutes passed by and I turned around to see the other humans had left and Ronn was now pointing his camera in the direction they had showed him. I decided that while he was distracted I may as well take this opportunity to get in a few practice swimming laps in preparation for the fast approaching summer.

After that we drove down some more gravel roads where we arrived at a set of big buildings that looked like gigantic cans of my food. Ronn got out and played with his camera a bit more and then we continued along another one of these dusty roads. I could start to smell those darn geese again and occasionally could hear them. We started to slow down a bit so I peaked my head back inside to look out the front window and noticed that there were huge flocks of them flying around in front of us. We drove past hundreds of the big white birds (This time I heard him mention Tundra Swans) and turned around so that our windows faced them.









The car stopped and Ronn stayed inside this time too. It was amazing how many there were and while I couldn't help wanting to chase them, I enjoyed watching them with my human. Off in the distance there were beautiful mountains with sunset light starting to turn slightly orange and pink. Ronn would occasionally point his camera at them for a bit until it made a few clicking noises and then just watch with me as he petted my head.

Many of them came and went as we watched and it was a peaceful moment. The kind that can't be had at home. The kind that must be found. The kind that can't be forced but if approached with an open mind will show present itself. Indeed, this was that kind of moment. I knew it and my human knew it and words were not needed as we took in the sights, sounds and smells that surrounded us, letting each component soak in at it's own pace. These are the moments that give life meaning.

More photos from this and our other adventures can be seen on my human's website Ronn Murray Photography

Thanks for checking out our trip and I hope you come back for more.