Hey all! It’s been awhile! I got really sleep deprived because Pumpkin loves me so much she can’t keep her paws off me ALL NIGHT LONG! ;) I kind of became a hermit during those days of delirium on and off the web. I have obviously recovered.
Despite my brain being dead, I definitely got more into a routine with work. We’ve now worked 17 days this month with 3 days off - the 4th is tomorrow! Then we work 3 more days, and then get 8 off! Phew! I’m sleepy : )
After watching the end of November fly by, I wanted to make sure that Brent and I got out to see more of the island even on work days. So, I created somewhat of a loose schedule for us to explore some great spots on the island that are close to some of our banding sites! It worked like a charm…we’ve seen so much these past couple of weeks after work and it’s been a lot of fun! Pics of my tourist travels will be in the next post…but to keep you satisfied, here are some pics from work this pulse:
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| Orange-cheeked Waxbill |
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| Golden White-Eye |
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| Golden White-Eye |
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| Collared Kingfisher Juv plumage |
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| AHY Male Collared Kingfisher going through symmetric flight feather molt |
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| View on the way to MTAP |
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| Micronesian Honeyeater |
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| AHY Male |
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| Yes, this is what they choose to fill pot holes with here. Coconuts. Worked like a charm ;) |
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| Another Happy Hour at the Hyatt |
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| KIFI |
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| House of Flying Daggers anyone? |
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| Wish I could have given you more perspective on this one, but I can walk into the little cave on the right ducking just a lil' bit! |
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| Trail to Jeffries Beach |
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| Jeffries Beach! |
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| What looks like Old Man By the Sea...but isn't! |
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| Hey! It's Mr. Burns! Mwahahahaha |
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| Brent exploring |
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| Coral remnants |
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| We get so hot and dirty from work we swim in our clothes! |
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| Pumpkin :) |
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| "PRIVATE" |
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| "YOU" |
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| "WILL" |
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| "BE" |
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| "SHOT" - Thanks for the warning, but this is Public land buddy. My machete has something to say to your gun. |
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| Molt Limit in a MIHO not actively in molt. HY male. |
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| Bridled White-Eye HY with olive-brown iris |
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| Cave near Bird Island |
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| The view up from the cave |
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| Cave Entrance |
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| Bird Island |
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| Paying tribute to my Fall friends who wore their boots in Arcata's Oceans...miss you guys!! |
We did the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on one of our days off, my first EVER, and it was so much fun! The Christmas Bird Count is done every year by thousands of volunteer birders/enthusiasts who actually PAY to participate! The money goes towards compiling and publishing all the data gathered by these incredible volunteers for research and conservation purposes. The CBC is the longest-running wildlife census used to assess the health of bird populations throughout the Americas! You get to go outside and explore your neighborhood, contribute to an international effort in bird conservation and it’s lots of fun for the family! :D https://netapp.audubon.org/cbcregistration/ That is the end of my sell.
This year marks the 112th CBC!! We only participated for half the day but still got a good 4-5 hours of birding in. We also led a school group through American Memorial Park, birding, which was great : ) A few of them were really interested in it! And the rest only got interested once we came across a pair of White Terns mating. The simple joys of the teenage brain…if only we could find more birds getting it on, we’d have quite a following.
My CNMI species list (it’s not a very long list guys, sorry – CBC was my first time actually birding out here and apparently it wasn’t the best year with diversity!)
Pacific Reef Heron
Red-tailed Tropicbird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Yellow Bittern
Common Moorhen
Pacific Golden Plover
Grey-tailed Tattler
Whimbrel
Common Sandpiper
Marsh Sandpiper
Black Noddy
Brown Noddy
White (Fairy) Tern
Mariana Fruit-Dove – banded
Island Collared Dove (Philippine Turtle Dove) - banded
White-throated Ground Dove
Collared Kingfisher - banded
Mariana Swiftlet
Rufous Fantail - banded
Micronesian Starling - banded
Micronesian Honeyeater - banded
Orange-cheeked Waxbill - banded
Eurasion Tree Sparrow
Golden White-eye - banded
Bridled White-eye - banded
Nightengale Reed Warbler (have only heard them singing, have yet to see one!!)
We have befriended a couple of other teachers who have asked us to come and speak to their classes about what we do. I’m stoked! I love kids and I love planting seeds in their supple minds, inspiring them to give back to the world in some way, go beyond their personal borders as they know them and dream big! Our boss has given us the OK to do a demo on campus and we’ll be getting some info on the Relocation Project the DFW is working out here as well. The presentation probably won’t happen until mid January at the very earliest!
Brent and I had an early Xmas dinner with our extremely friendly and generous neighbors, one of which won a free turkey!! Haha! She needed help eating it! Everyone gladly obliged. I even had some! I’ve been a vegetarian now for almost 3 years and didn’t even eat turkey on Thanksgiving, but there was just something different about last night! Maybe it was all the red wine…maybe it was the good company…or maybe it was that I worked up an appetite while baking oatmeal raisin cookies! : )
I’ve been reading quite a bit and started studying for the GRE again since half of our sites have a very low volume of birds. I read the second half of Guns Germs and Steel (FINALLY!), God Grew Tired Of Us (about the Lost Boys of Sudan, one man’s story in particular), Life of Pi (LOVED LOVED LOVED this book!) and am now about a 5th of the way through Say Goodbye To The Cuckoo. Yes, it’s about birds. It’s about extinction. It’s a poetic modern British version of Silent Spring. Thus far, I recommend all of the above.
Common themes from a few of these books include: the necessities of life…from the basics of food, shelter, and water to human connection and love, the kindness and brutality humans are capable of bestowing on one another…the thin line that exists in us between animal and, simply put, more than animal – a sentient being capable of relying on more than instinct…a being that can rely on it’s intelligence to avoid barbarism. A lot of what people have done to each other shocks and appalls me. I could partially rationalize it all with history, politics, financial and natural resource incentives, but frankly, I think that if we’re capable of walking on the moon and beyond, we should be able to come up with more pragmatic solutions to our social and political problems. War and violence should be obsolete.
On a more personal individual level, we should all be grateful for what we have…from drinking water to loved ones we are pretty blessed. Don’t get sucked into the mentality of your glass being half-empty! This I could talk about for a long time, but will stop because I’m sleepy and I tend to ramble when I’m sleepy...
Oh oh! I have an address now!! Yay!! If you want it, email me and ask for it!
Brent and I are going out to Managaha Island tomorrow with a guy studying the Shearwater Colony there. He doubts any chicks are left on the island at this point, but he and his wife have been raising one in their home and it’s ready to be released onto the island!! I’m so excited to meet the chick! :D And explore the island! It’s a great snorkeling spot! : ) So, more pics will come.
Cheers everyone!
Erin
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