So far this banding position has been cool and it’s given me some inspiration for some haikus!
Our first big day of rain that delayed banding significantly.
A slow start this week
Water coats the Spanish moss
Migrants drawing close
Whip Whip Hooray: 8/20/21 the day we caught an Eastern Whip-poor-will. I got to band it and extract it!
Some cryptic feathers
Loud shouts in the early morn
Net surprise for us
Louisiana Waterthrush: 8/21/21 the day we caught a Louisiana Waterthrush which likely won’t happen again in the next 11 weeks!
North winds bring Northerns
Amongst them you are bigger
Louisiana
I feel like I’ll come up with more on days I don’t get to post to our banding station blog (like the Whip one) but I want to make sure I have them in more than one place so I don’t loose em to data loss or something!
Moving to Texas for the BCVI Jon was the furthest west I had been but for the birds we go further. Some of us took a trip out to rural SE Arizona (avoiding people) and did some camping among the amazing sky islands of Arizona moving through the various canyons and mountain ranges like the Chiricahua’s, Huachuca’s, and Santa Rita’s (making a special trip to visit the Saguaro National Park). Seeing tons of species (about 189 including 12 different species of hummingbirds)! There’s absolutely too much to do in Arizona for two weeks so I know for certain I’ll be back sooner rather than later. Avian highlights of the trip included; Rufous Capped Warbler, Plain-Capped Starthroat, White-eared Hummingbird, Five-Stripped Sparrow, Yellow-Green Vireo, Elegant Trogon, Botteri’s Sparrow, Thick-Billed Kingbird, and Phainopepla just to name a few! (at Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDH1FPIpD2s/?igshid=ed1rc9ognjcq
BCVI POST This job has been one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ll likely have of my entire career. Working to monitor and protect the Black-Capped vireos in central Texas has been a privilege. Handling these amazing birds, watching their behaviors, and finding their nests (which is likely just as thrilling as any drug). Also working with one of the best crews I could’ve asked for! My housemates have been absolute gems and I cannot wait to meet back up with these dudes! One of my favorite aspects of the job was making names and mapping territories and getting to know the study area intensely! 10 Photos just simply isn’t enough to show how wonderful my time on Fort Hood has been! 1. My guy Pimp 2. Writing notes 3. Blue’s Fledgling 4. Indian Blankets of East Range 5. The Tallest Nest on East Range (Uncle Sam’s) 6. East Range’s Overlook 7. Lord Farquad 8. Yellow-Breasted Chat 9. Painted Bunting ASY Male 10. One of the many amazing insect finds of the season! (at Fort Hood, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDHwksiJHKZ/?igshid=10aep1li4qhbe
An Ostrich Researcher and their field assistant 🎃☺️ #BigBirdEnergy #Struthionidae #Ratite #Halloween https://www.instagram.com/p/B4UywEEhqJ5/?igshid=17on2nzzpoj21
After being home for a few days I wanted to make a post about the job I had been doing for the past 3 months. I along with some new found pals of mine have been monitoring a population of resident King Rails at Mackay Island NWR. It was such a neat summer filled with a lot of laughs and a lot of soggy boggy days. Unfortunately we didn’t get a total crew photo but in the first picture we’ve got myself, Robert, and Jake. In the seventh photo we’ve got our own Kekadile Dundee! Thanks Kristen for the sweet berry sharing pictures and for the sulking KIRA! #BerrySharry (at Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz5yB_qhiRp/?igshid=nusffwzmk7v4
Congratulations Hannah! I am so thankful that I was able to make it to your high school graduation yesterday. This year was especially tough for you and I am beyond proud of you for finishing strong win this chapter of your life. I love you so much sis! ❤️ (at Tryon International Equestrian Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/BydFvVjhf6R/?igshid=vjvo9k074w9w
Not the concept, the notion, the Platonic ideal of a low-cost low-impact high-efficiency dwelling. That’s great. That’s awesome.
What really imagines my dragons is that in practice about 9 times out of 10 tiny house communities are just a way for rich hipsters to finally fulfil their greatest fantasy:
They found a way to fucking gentrify the trailer park
I wasn’t able to be with @sammysoupp today because I’ve been looking for not Easter Eggs but these eggs for the past few days! Me and some other field technicians are working on a project to study King Rail Breeding Ecology and part of that is finding nests and monitoring what happens with the eggs. The King Rail is an illusion bird that rarely shows its face but usually calls from freshwater marshes! Happy Easter everyone! #KingRail #Rallidae (at Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwiZCmmHUzB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=dv2euorbzbxe
Since Hollow Knight 2 has basically been confirmed what better way to celebrate than revamping one of my few HK characters. Say hello to my good boi!
And btw if you want to learn EVEN MORE about him, I’ll leave a link to his toyhouse page in the replies below. Nearly everything there is just self indulgence tho and I have no shame