Hey all!
So, I'm on my way to Saipan with my two bags, a backpack and a purse, stuffed to the brim. Surprisingly, a majority of the space and weight are devoted to food and toiletries! So, if all goes according to plan I’ll be flying back with one bag instead of two! A lot of organic products aren’t available on-island, or will be more expensive, so I brought quite a bit with me =P Luna bars (5 boxes worth!), Organic Quinoa, Organic Oats, Organic PB, Organic Honey, Organic Ghee (It’s delicious! http://www.purityfarms.com/), and a handful of spices and teas (this is just going to save me some money).
I also managed to pack a Yoga mat, a pillow, 7 books, and finally some art supplies : ) I hope to get back into my drawing. I’m bringing almost a backpacks worth of sunscreen and insect repellant (don’t worry, the “natural” kind), all of the shampoo and conditioner I’ll need, a giant bottle of Dr. Brauner’s soap, Aloe Vera (because we all know I’ll get burned at least once) and my favorite Tom’s Toothpaste and Deodorant (x2). So much “stuff” that I ran out of clothes to surround and pad them with!
So, to give you some details re: my living situation. I’ll be living in an apartment near downtown Garapan (swanky, eh?) so I will not need my tent. The temperature will also be between 75 and 95 degrees every day, so my sleeping bag is not necessary, a sheet will do. So sad! The bed and house I have come to know and love over the past 3 years is being left behind!! Sigh. I do look forward to having a full kitchen though…not to mention being able to take a cold shower every day : ) It’s going to be so nice being able to take better care of myself! My hair will not dry or dread! ;)
Banding: We’ll be managing 6 sites, paying particular attention to birds flight feather molt; very little is known about which feathers these birds molt and when. Gaining an understanding of this will eventually allow us to age all of these birds accurately (which is important for population studies, productivity studies, survivorship studies, and population demographic studies). In addition it will give us a better understanding of molt, extent of molt and what life events trigger it, essentially giving us a picture of how each molt strategy evolved.
The idea initially surrounding Tropical residents’ molt was that they would molt their feathers year-round, possibly not even in any particular order, since they can breed year-round and have a plethora of resources available to them year-round, unlike their migratory North American counterparts. What chaos! You wouldn’t be able to age a bird, PERIOD! However, recent studies are finding that birds in the tropics, indeed molt feathers sequentially, at a particular time of the year! More study is needed to determine what other factors are playing a role in this, particularly since many of the species breed multiple times a year and at least one has been known to have overlap in their breeding season and feather molt (this is important because molting and breeding are energy depleting tasks—it is usually the case that there is no overlap or else the bird will get worn out!).
The forecast for this week is hot and wet. High’s of 85, lows of 79, sun, then showers, then thunderstorms, then showers, then sun. Woo hoo! Needless to say, I’m flying in a small dress and hiking sandals. Definitely not arriving in pants! Hah! I will have to wear pants to band though….due to chigger bugs and ticks : ( but luckily field pants are pretty thin. I think I’ll be wearing rain gear pretty often too…and gaiters!
I’ll keep you posted on everything as it develops! This first week is going to be a bit of a whirlwind!
Aloha from Honolulu! ;) (and Guam and Saipan!)
Erin
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