Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Liard (Jun 29/01) - Rick Yule's notions of becoming famous from bird watching will have to wait a little longer.
He thought his name might go down in the record books as the first person to spot a mockingbird in the NWT. The sighting occurred a few years ago in Fort Liard.
"I was flabbergasted," he recalled.
As luck would have it, a couple of Yellowknife ornithologists were visiting the community to conduct a study on warblers. He quickly sought them out and excitedly told them of his find.
"They said, 'Are you sure it wasn't a grey jay ... or how about a northern shrike?'" he recollected.
He took them to the area where he last saw the mockingbird, and, sure enough, it was sitting there on the fence behind the nursing station.
"We got pictures of it, and they're the ones who said it could very well be the first confirmed sighting of a mockingbird in the Northwest Territories," he said.
After doing some research, one of the ornithologists called Yule and told him there had actually been one other documented mockingbird sighting four years earlier -- by Fort Simpson renewable resources officer Ken Davidge. Yule, who knows Davidge well, shook his head chuckled at the thought.
Bird watching is a hobby he took up at age five when he received a book on birds. Having grown up in Wisconsin, U.S.A., there were many varieties of feathered friends to observe. In the NWT, where Rick and his wife, Gail, have made their home for the past 10 years, there are some types of birds that he'd rarely if ever seen in Wisconsin, such as the western tanager, mountain blue bird and great grey owl.
He counts tree swallows and chickadees among his favourites, and he has respect for the ubiquitous raven too.
He related incidents when he witnessed the intelligent scavengers at play.
Fame or no fame, watching birds brings Yule unadulterated joy.
"When I see that wonderful variety and the beautiful songs and the beautiful colours, it just speaks to me of God," he said, adding that he's fascinated by the birds' nests, eggs and habits as well.
