So soon we’ll be headed north for a bird survey. Though the schedule will be on the birds’ time and the hours long it should be a fun trip. Not many things beat listening to bird songs in the mountains.
Daylight is still increasing at about six minutes every day  (over 20 hours of daylight now) and will help not just for visibility’s sake but also in keeping us alert. Its easy to forget that though you might be ready to head out, the clock on the wall says 9:00 p.m. not a.m.

Here’s how it should go : We’ll take a charter flight north and drive the highway stopping at regular intervals to get out, listen for a few minutes record which birds were seen or heard, jump back in the car drive a mile-ish and do it all over again. Intense, busy, but once there’s a rhythm to the process, very and even happily doable. Few people who enjoy nature especially in the north take things like bird songs, sunlight and warmth for granted. They are precious, and short lived so every moment is savored!

– T.Hill      CYFO BLM Fairbanks, AK