The Missing "Lynx"

Birding can be a difficult hobby, especially when you move to a different area.  In Oregon i could probably  identify a White-crowned Sparrow by sounds without much difficulty but in Alaska they make an entirely different sound. The only obvious connection between them is in the quality of the sound and of course they way they look.  Even their appearance can change a good amount with the further northern populations being a bit larger with stronger contrast in color.

I have also been making large strides in identifying all of the new birds around me, such as the Orange-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hammond's Flycatcher, Lesser Yellowlegs, Yellow Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Fox Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow and Solitary Sandpiper. There are more but those come to mind in particular.  I even heard and saw a few Trumpeter Swans swinging by the bog we were in this morning.  I also saw a Snowshoe Hare bounding through the same area.  I was pretty psyched about that but the people from fairbanks scoffed a bit and told me several stories of how it can be common to see around twenty in the same place all at once. I even heard a story about my boss witnessing a Hare running by him and then close on its heals a Lynx pursuing it.  Oh what I would give to see a Lynx.  I love birds but I have always had a fondness for cats in my heart and probably a Lynx most of all.  My cat Cleo, now living with my mom and dad, reminded me so much of a wildcat with tufted ears and thick fur like a Lynx that i just had to get her from the shelter in florence Oregon.