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Water lily Pond

2012-01-16T11:02:00.006-06:00

I visited Longwood Gardens in the fall but never got a chance to post a blog about it. My favorite part if this visit was the water lily pond. I think I could have stayed there for an hour or so. And don't tell anyone, but I couldn't resist touching a few of them! (I also had an urge to stand on them, but I refrained from trying that.)

There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The display at Longwood has more than 100 types of day and night-blooming tropical waterlilies, hardy waterlilies, lotuses, giant water-platters and other aquatic and bog plants.

Water lilies improve the quality of lakes and ponds in a few ways. They provide shade, shelter and cooler water temperatures for fish and invertebrates living in the water. And they are able to filter and detoxify the water by removing metals. They are also nutrient rich and can attract local wildlife such as deer, beaver, ducks, porcupines and muskrat to the pond. They feed on the seeds, roots, leaves and flowers of the water lily.

D.C Area Bucket List

2012-01-05T21:36:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! I've been slacking on my blog posts but will try to do better. A new year brings New Year's Resolutions...dun dun dun. Some people love 'em, and some refuse to make them. What are they exactly?

noun

a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usuallyafter voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club,or other group. Compare concurrent resolution, joint resolution.

a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.

the act of resolving or determining upon an action or courseof action, method, procedure, etc.

the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

the act or process of resolving or separating into constituentor elementary parts.

Number two seems to fit best. But I kind of like numbers 3 and 5 because they involve planning and breaking things into parts--which makes success a more likely outcome (or so they say). Personally, I don't think you should save resolutions for January only. I tend to make them throughout the year if I feel myself slipping into habits I don't like. And if I don't stick to them, ah well, life goes on.

I'm not sure how long I'll be living in the DC area, but I want to make the most of it while I'm here. So instead of a list of resolutions for 2012, this is my bucket list for the area--and the best part is that most of these places are free! If I can do it all in a year, that will be great. I've already crossed a few off, and will continue to do so throughout the year. (I like crossing things off lists so much that I tend to add things just to cross them off). Food/restaurants not included--those go on their own list. :-)

~~National Botanic Gardens~~
National Arboretum
Arlington National Cemetery
Air and Space Museum
~~National Zoo~~
American History Museum
Ford’s Theatre Tour and Performance
National Cathedral
Lincoln Memorial
~~Natural History Museum~~
~~Washington Monument~~
American Indian Museum
Jefferson Memorial
~~National Christmas Tree~~
US Capitol
White House
National Aquarium
American Art Museum
Breakfast at Eastern Market
Library of Congress
National Archives
Newseum
National Museum of African Art
Holocaust Museum
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Ice Skate at the National Gallery of Art
~~Great Falls Park~~
The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage
Meridian Hill Park drum circle
~~National Gallery of Art~~
Rock Creek Park
~~Union Station~~
Hike or bike a section of the C&O Canal Towpath
~~National Cherry Blossom Festival~~
Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Shenandoah

2011-11-02T11:53:00.011-05:00

The name Shenandoah is of Native American Algonquin origin and means "spruce stream", "great plains", or "beautiful daughter of the stars".

Shenandoah National Park lies along the Blue Ridge Mountains in north-central Virginia. The park was authorized in 1926 and fully established on December 26, 1935. The park is best known for Skyline Drive, a 105 mile road that runs the entire length of the park along the ridge of the mountains. The drive is particularly popular in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail are also in the park.

It was the first National Park I visited--and it inspired me to make the goal of seeing them all. That was so long ago I took the pictures with a film camera! :-) This fall I went back for the first time in many years, for a backpacking trip with friends. We had a great time--saw a bear in a tree, beautiful mountain views, the start of fall colors, and covered ~15 miles of trail.

We visited Corbin Cabin (photo below) -- a log structure built by George T. Corbin in 1909 in the Nicholson Hollow area.

The views are amazing!

The FUNcercise craze

2011-10-21T21:54:00.002-05:00

What is FUNcercise, you ask? Well, it is exercise that is fun. Simple enough. I did not come up with the idea (it was from a friend of a friend or something like that) or the name (a friend did)—but it’s been very successful among my friends so I wanted to share.

I’ve traveled so much in the past few years that all my friends live in various states. This makes it extremely hard to find an exercise buddy-- so I created a virtual exercise program for me and my friends rather than joining one with strangers. I created a Google Docs spreadsheet to record daily exercise minutes and I asked a group of friends if they wanted to join, and so far it’s been great!

Multiple people can edit the Google Doc at the same time, and its updated automatically which makes it extremely easy and user friendly. There’s even a little bar graph showing each person’s minutes (see photo below). Any kind of exercise counts as long as it gets you moving and gets your heart rate going. The individual goal is to reach 1,000 minutes of exercise per month (easier than it sounds)—but it’s also fun to race each other and see who can get the most minutes. It’s simple enough for anyone to do—no matter what fitness level or what physical activity works for you. And you can make up your own rules for your group--maybe instead of minutes you want to record miles or steps per day.

Our group currently consists of 10 women who reside in 9 different states. And some of us are clearly FUNcercise addicts (which is a good thing!). Good friendly competition! Give it a try with your friends if you need some motivation to get some exercise this winter.

Are you scarier than a 2nd grader?

2011-09-21T07:06:00.000-05:00

“Always do what you are afraid to do.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve done a few things in my life that I never thought I’d do. Go to Africa. Skydive. Drive across the country alone. I was afraid to do all of these things—but I did them anyway and have enjoyed every experience.

It’s time for a new challenge—and I couldn’t think of anything scarier than 12 seven-year-old girls.

I started playing soccer when I was about 8 and continued playing competitively through high school. And I have always wanted to give back—to try coaching and to get the chance to inspire kids to play soccer. And now that I’m finally staying in one place for a while, I decided it was time to cross it off the bucket list. Everyone’s been supportive of this decision, but also wondering if I’ve lost my mind.

You can learn a lot from team sports as a kid—but I had never really thought of how soccer may have influenced who I am today. I played on a team one year—co-ed and I was one of two girls on the team--and oh boy did we suck. We lost every game that season and scored only one goal. (Scored by yours truly, of course). But I never stopped playing.

I originally wanted to be an assistant coach for an older girls team—but got suckered into coaching second grade girls. Our first practice was terrifying. What do I do with a bunch of 2^nd graders while their parents watch from the side lines? How do I show them all the rules in one practice before our first game? How do I keep their attention for longer than 2 minutes? What if they tie me up to the goal post and leave me for dead?

Turns out, 2^nd graders aren’t so bad. No, they didn’t listen to me. Yes, they threw grass on me. No, I couldn’t remember which one was which. Yes, they'd rather chase me than learn how to kick a ball. No, they didn’t want to share. Yes, I had to play tag with them and run under their legs. No, they did not have any clue about the rules of soccer. Yes, I made them crawl around on the ground and act like snakes, frogs, cheetahs, and other animals. And they thought I was saying “out of balance” instead of “out of bounds”.

I survived, but barely.

Our first game was on Sunday—against the fierce green team (we are the yellow team). I was able to be on the field with them as half coach/half referee. Green had two advantages—the field was slanted downhill towards our goal in the first half, and they had more players as subs (fresh legs!). After they scored 3 fairly quick goals my team started to panic. When I told them that it was ok that they were not winning they shrieked back, “How could this possibly be ok?!” One girl looked at me and said, “I feel like a loser!” Nearly broke my heart.

So I knelt down, and asked her, “Are you playing your hardest and doing your best?” “Yes," she assured me. “Then you can never be a loser.”

They started to get the hang of things after that, and scored a goal not very long after (talk about an uphill battle!) -- the smiles and excitement on their faces was priceless.

We still lost the game—but I was proud of them. And left the game no longer terrified of 7 year olds.

Run for your life

2011-09-19T12:00:00.004-05:00

In an attempt to read more and not waste an hour of my day doing nothing while commuting to work and back--I started downloading some audiobooks. Two of them were so good, I had to share.

One of the books I had never heard of, but bought it on a whim because was on sale for really cheap. It was called Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. It basically covers a bunch of research on how exercise effects the brain. I think this caught my attention:
"Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance."

Everyone says we should exercise--but Spark showed me the scientific proof of what it can actually do for the brain (and not just the body). As a researcher, this was perfect for me. It is full of results from scientific studies and inspiring case studies. Some of the topics include how stress, anxiety, depression, hormone changes, and addiction can all be improved by moderate exercise a few times a week. I've listened to some chapters multiple times--especially when I don't feel motivated to run. Beware: If you don't currently exercise on a regular basis, this book could turn you into an addict. But in this case, being an addict is probably a good thing. It has been for me so far.

Spark, along with Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen have created a pretty powerful motivator for me. Born to Run examines why so many of us think of running as a chore and not as something enjoyable that our ancestors did daily to survive. It covers the history of ultra running but also has a background adventure story. The majority of the book revolves around the authors quest to learn the secrets of the Tarahumara Indians who run hundreds of miles without rest and enjoy every minute of it. We were born to run, but have just forgotten how. A fascinating read!

A month ago if you had asked me if I ran I'd say, "Only if I'm being chased." I haven't really run since high school--with the exception of playing soccer for fun. But a week after I started the listening to the books, I bought running shoes. The next day I put them on and ran 2 miles. I'm now training for a 5K. I'm pretty sure it will be the first 5K I've run since high school (uhh 10 years ago). When I ran XC in high school I pretty much hated it. Its not like I've been inactive since then though. I've always loved soccer--but when I play soccer its easy to get in a zone and have fun. Running is harder for me and I have memories of being bad at it. I love hiking and wandering in the woods--I've hiked about 17 miles in one day. But since I just took a job that requires me to sit 99% of the time--I needed the motivation to get moving again. I've been enjoying running so far, especially as something I'm choosing to do and doing it because I want to--not because I feel like I should or have to.

The 5K is September 25th. 3.1 miles isn't very far and I know that I'll finish it. But the question is--how fast can I finish it? I'd love to beat my old (and pathetic) 5K record: 28 minutes. (Most high school girls could run a 5K in 25 minutes). But I'm satisfied with just plain enjoying it so far. We'll see how long I can keep it up.

After reading these two books, I encourage everyone to find something active that you enjoy and can do on a regular basis--and to make exercise a priority in your lives. Not just for your body--but for your brain.

Great Falls Park

2011-09-10T17:06:00.003-05:00

Back in DC but been busy. Started work at USGS a month ago now (hard to believe!). And between earthquakes and hurricanes and waterbird surveys in Virginia, I haven't had much time for sightseeing or blogging. But I'll try to get back to it.

I finally made it out to Great Falls Park in Virginia today. After about a week of rain, you can imagine the falls were quite impressive. I did not make it to the Billy Goat trail like I had originally intended, so I’ll just save that for another day when I have more time. I just hiked along the River Trail—a bit muddy but still fun. Being the first sunny day in a long time (and a Saturday) there were mobs of people taking photos of the falls (or maybe its always like that?) -- so I just kept heading down the trail where it was a bit more secluded. With heightened 9/11 security (I assume) there were also men in black suits wandering around, choppers flying over, and a few police cars.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

2011-06-17T20:37:00.003-05:00

When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold on to them. They are the life boats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely illusive. So the question becomes, or should have been all along…what would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live? What life boat would you grab on to? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write?

~From One Week

Green's Bluff

2011-06-03T19:40:00.005-05:00

Green’s Bluff is a preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy -- its a large wooded riparian habitat with uplands, ravines, steep cliffs, karst features, hemlock forest and floodplain forest. What's a bluff you ask? A very steep and broad hill or small cliff, frequently next to a river or ocean (in this case, river). What the heck are karst features? A karst is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. Many karst regions have distinctive surface features, with sinkholes or depressions. And apparently its fairly common in this area of Southern Indiana. The topography maps for some of our sites look really strange.

Ok, enough geography and geology for one day. Look at the pretty flower!

Feed me!

2011-06-01T07:40:00.001-05:00

Things have been busy around here. For me AND the wood thrushes. But we have nestlings! I banded these guys today--and obviously they were very hungry.

Backwoods Kentukiana

2011-05-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

While looking for Wood Thrush in a small obscure section of Martin State Forest this morning I ran into a nice forester from IDNR. We chatted for a while and he mentioned something about getting to experience “backwoods Kentukiana”. It seemed kind of strange since I had mostly been working in well known human populated forests and state parks around Bloomington (a college town). He gave me a map of the property boundaries and said that he had flagged them. And I went on my way, looking for Wood Thrushes.

When I got back to my car a very old beat up Ford truck came down the road and stopped. Reluctantly, I rolled down my window to chat with the men in the truck. I thought to myself, I’ll just say that I work for IDNR. “Are you one of them IDNR folks counting trees?” the driver asked. (Thinking to myself, scratch that, play dumb!) “No, I’m counting birds.” He asked me what kind, and I told him Wood Thrushes, which of course he had never heard of. Then he proceeded to tell me that the tree counter was on his property because he didn't know how to read a map and he REALLLY didn’t seem to like that. I promised him I would not count birds on his property. Then he told me that he sees a lot of birds that look just like quail but have 6 inch long flat beaks like a duck but they have a ball at the end. They nest on the ground in the woods. Having really no idea what the heck he was talking about, I told him I wasn’t sure what he was seeing. They decided that it must have been what those “science people” call evolution (it look him a while to come up with the word) or something that NSA Crane (nearby Navy Base) had created. Haha, must be, I said…

He finally told me to “be careful”, since I’m a “real long way from home” (I was in my car with DE tags).

Now I know what the nice forester meant by experiencing “backwoods Kentuckiana”. Reminds me of the time I told a guy in Kisatchie National Forest I was counting birds and he asked me if I wanted to come back to his ranch, go horseback riding and see the "peckers" on is property. Hmm...nope, no thanks.

In hindsight, I think the man was talking about seeing an American Woodcock, sometimes referred to as the Timberdoodle. It’s a small chunky bird in the shorebird family found primarily in the eastern half of North America. It’s fairly well known for the male’s elaborate aerial display to attract females in early spring. Woodcock spend most of their time on the ground in brushy, young-forest habitats, where their plumage provides great camouflage. Kind of surprised the man didn’t know what it was though—since it’s also a popular game bird.

But you never know…maybe the folks at Crane ARE creating some strange duck/quail hybrid for the locals to hunt on the base, but several of them escaped. And its only a matter of time before the science people discover this strange new species.

2011-05-02T21:53:00.001-05:00

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts

2011-04-15T20:41:00.004-05:00

I took a solo 7 mile hike around Lums Pond a couple of weeks ago and somehow got to thinking about childhood memories. When I was young my favorite vacation spot was Song Lake near Tully, New York. (Ok, you got me, it still ranks up there pretty high, but I tend to spend my summers with birds now). Our family has a small rustic cabin on the lake—and I spent a lot of time there each summer making wonderful memories. We had big family gatherings every 4th of July complete with great food, boat rides, and often some out of control fireworks. I considered my cousin Theresa my twin—we were practically inseparable and spent every moment we could together. We’d disappear during family gatherings to play and left our older siblings wondering what we were up to.

As typical kids we often played make-believe. I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember pretending to be chipmunks (we often fed the real ones popcorn kernels and clearly admired them for their chubby cheeks) or even bats (by hanging upside down from the bunk beds in the back room of the cabin). We shared a common interest in wildlife—among other things. One time while hunting for crayfish under rocks on the lake shore Theresa was “bitten” by what she thought was a dead crayfish and she shouted “The dead crab bit me! How rude!” And we were forever convinced that we needed to start a children’s book series with the same title.

We used to ride our bikes down the road to Country Flavors for irresistible ice cream. We took the paddle boat out for a spin around the island (albeit, a slow spin). Sometimes we’d get off on the island and go exploring—pretending we were on unfamiliar land. One time we competed in a paddle boat race on the 4th of July—needless to say, we were completely out-paddled by kids who were probably 4 years younger than us. A group of us snuck into an old abandoned house down the road which gave Theresa and I inspiration for a ghost story that we wrote together. Sometimes we would dress in all black and play hide and go seek or bloody murderer—the latter, of course, probably drove the neighbors absolutely nuts.

When Theresa and I got older we’d take the paddle boat out late at night and tell each other about our dreams, goals, and of course, boys. We both wanted to work with wildlife in some way but didn’t exactly know how—we just knew we loved dolphins. We started trying to raise money for national wildlife organizations by selling lemonade at the top of the hill. Of course we never really raised much money but we had fun together regardless -- and we made cute stationary with animals on it.

I have many wonderful memories from my time at the lake house as a child and teenager—but the memories I create there today are quite different. I don’t get the chance to go every year anymore. Now it means more to me to have good conversations with family members and catch up with their lives. Almost every one of my cousins has a picture of the biggest fish they caught at the lake—and now many of them are accumulating pictures of their own kids with big fish grins on their faces. And I notice all of the wildlife, especially the birds that pass through—the cedar waxwings that whistle softly from the tree tops or the nuthatches that visit the feeder. I spend more time relaxing in the sun and reading a good book, going kayaking, or chatting with a friend on the phone.

Some people say we we shouldn't live in the past. But I think looking back to those carefree days as a child can allow us to discover what we’ve always wanted to do and who we’ve always wanted to be -- deep down inside. We should ask ourselves if we are living up to our childhood dreams--and if not, how we can still make it happen. I never could have predicted as a child where I’d be in 10-15 years—but I think the childhood Lisa would be pretty content with the path taken by the adult Lisa so far. We may not ever know what’s ahead of us, but we can at least try to be confident that the journey will get us to wherever we are meant to be. And we can also be reminded that its ok to still act like a child sometimes--and to worry less and have more fun.

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.” - Unknown

This blog entry is dedicated to Theresa Vormwald—wherever you are, I hope you are happy and living life to the fullest. Theresa—if you are reading this, I would love to hear how you are doing and where your journey has taken you thus far. Miss you and love you always. The dead crab bit me, how rude.

Cherry Blossoms at Tidal Basin

2011-04-04T20:02:00.002-05:00

A popular early spring destination in the east is Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. -- a partially human-made reservoir between the Potomac River and the Washington Channel. The reason for all of the fuss is that Tidal Basin is home to ~3,000 Yoshino cherry trees and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival commemorates the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from the Mayor of Tokyo to the city of Washington. They are a symbol of friendship between the U.S. and Japan.

The first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1935 under joint sponsorship by numerous civic groups, and it became an annual event. By this point, the cherry trees had become an established part of the nation's capitol. In fact, in 1938, plans to cut down trees to clear ground for the Jefferson Memorial prompted a group of women to chain themselves together at the site in protest. A compromise was made -- more trees would be planted along the south side of the Basin to frame the Memorial.

Today, close to one million people visit Washington, D.C. each year to admire the blooming cherry trees that signal the beginning of spring.

I visited the trees at Tidal Basin today—probably a little past peak, but still quite impressive. There are actually beautiful blooming trees all over the city right now and Tidal Basin certainly isn't the only place with a display of cherry trees. So there are other places you can go and avoid some of the crowds.

I also visited the Washington Monument -- the most prominent structure in Washington, D.C. Its shaped like an Egyptian obelisk, stands 555’ 5 1/8” tall, and offers views in excess of thirty miles. It was finished on December 6, 1884.

It was a very windy day but it gave me a good opportunity to get the photo below of the flags that encircle the monument--and at times it seemed like it was snowing flower petals.

Cat Lovers for Birds Coalition

2011-03-29T23:54:00.001-05:00

Cats killing wild birds has been all over the news lately. And I feel compelled to comment. First I’d like to point out that I’m a cat lover. I grew up with cats – indoor and outdoor. And I’ve been a part of a fantastic organization in Texas that works extremely hard to get cats off the streets and into loving, safe “forever” homes. While I fostered for this group, I provided a temporary home for 14 wonderful cats and kittens over 2 years. Having said all of that, I love wild birds and have devoted my life and career to studying them in hopes that my research will somehow contribute to their conservation.

My friend Chris gave me the idea for the title of this blog. There are many people who are both cat and bird lovers – even though it seems unlikely. And I feel like this so called “attack against cats” has gotten a bit out of control. There are some people who hate cats—but for the most part this isn’t a cat issue, it’s a people issue. And just as Alley Cat Allies says on their website, “Environmental experts say we must change the way we are impacting our environment.”

You are absolutely right Alley Cat Allies—we have a people problem! More so than I plan to get into in this blog! But what you have obviously completely ignored is the fact that one way that humans are impacting the environment is by releasing non-native predators (such as cats) into the environment. And as humans that allowed this problem to get out of control in the first place, we should be responsible for reducing the number of cats (and other animals) in the environment—we should educate the public and promote spaying/neutering, vaccinating, and keeping them indoors (just as your group does) -- so that they all live safe and happy lives as our companions and pets. An outdoor life is not certainly ideal for any pet—they get killed by coyotes and hawks, hit by cars, they contract diseases, and they deal with the elements. What kind of life is that for a domesticated animal?

Cats kill native wildlife. There is no question about that. And there are tons of stray cats out there. When I was a kid, one of our outdoor cats used to bring home dead or mangled birds, snakes, rabbits – you name it. And she was obviously well fed at home. We have always taken in cats off of the streets as pets and never got any of them from pet stores or breeders--because some stray cat always needed a home. And after seeing too many kitty “gifts” of animal carcasses at the front door and spending too many nights wondering if Fluffy would make it home alive the next morning—we decided to keep all of our cats indoors. Of course the rest of the neighborhood didn’t have the same idea and there were always hungry, cold, and abused/abandoned stray cats and kittens that came to our door for food, water, shelter, and affection.

I think there are ways to compromise on this issue and I know many cat loving groups are already trying to do this to make a difference. I do believe that strong TNR programs with low- or no-cost spay/neuter, aggressive adoption programs, and educational efforts can make a significant difference over time—but we have to be realistic about our current situation. Strong TNR programs do not exist everywhere that there is an overpopulation of outdoor cats—and in cases like islands we simply do not have the time to eliminate cats through TNR—we will lose valuable biodiversity! Non-native species (including cats, but also many other species) are causing declines of native species at alarming rates, especially on islands, and we can’t just sit back and wait for TNR programs to work. In the case of islands, all non-natives are being treated equally. They must be removed to protect the native wildlife that has lived there for thousands of years without these predators in the landscape. They are incapable of adjusting to the rapid changes humans have created. Yes its sad for any cat lover to hear about something like this--but native wildlife has the right to be protected as well.

An overpopulation of any species (including humans) has consequences and leads to a reduced quality of life. The conversation needs to start with coming to an understanding that cats are not under attack, but that an overpopulation of outdoor cats is a serious problem in many places -- and that we need to make changes before it gets worse.

Yes, there are MANY things that contribute to declining bird populations—and yes, they are pretty much all human caused. Conservationists conduct research to better understand what changes need to be made, and they suggest reducing our impact on the environment in as many ways as possible. To me, and many other cat lovers, keeping our beloved cats healthy, spayed/neutered, and indoors is something we can easily do to make a difference for the birds.

The Alchemist

2011-03-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe it’s already March 20th—the first day of spring! The past few weeks have gone by quickly because of my new job—so needless to say I haven’t had much to write about or the time to do it. But I did read a book recently that I thought I’d talk about briefly.

I had never heard of the book The Alchemist until recently when my friend Kristin read it in a day and really liked it. As it turns out, The Alchemist is an allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho, first published in 1988. It was originally written in Portuguese and has been translated into 67 languages, winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author. It has sold more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries, becoming one of the best-selling books in history. But alas, I had never heard of it.

The plot tells the story of a young Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago. Santiago, believing a recurring dream to be prophetic, decides to travel to the pyramids of Egypt to find his treasure. The entire book is about his journey -- who he meets along the way and what he learns from each person and event that happens. Essentially it’s a book about discovering your own personal legend: what you have always wanted to accomplish in your life. It’s a book about following your dreams and understanding that everything that happens along the way is meant to happen.

Personally I think it’s a book that everyone would enjoy—and is a really easy and quick read. Here are several quotes to give you a better idea of some of the lesson’s Santiago learns on his journey:

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

“When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”

“Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.”

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

“I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Murder in Coches Prietos

2011-02-27T18:49:00.000-06:00

It’s fun to go back and see what I wrote while doing different field work over the past several years. The following is an email I sent to friends on May 2, 2007. My apologies to those of you who have already read this. For a quick background -- I helped a graduate student collect data for her PhD--her project involved nest searching and monitoring for orange-crowned warbler nests on Santa Cruz Island. It was an amazing place to live for a couple of months--its part of Channel Islands National Park. Maybe I'll write more about that later. For now, you should know that we named the bird territories after Simpson’s characters—but not any of the main ones. Also, this post contains graphic material that may not be suitable for all audiences.

The day began like any other day really…hiking in the dark, watching the moon set over the mountains, fog rolling into the canyons. I watched my B Canyon birds, Itchy and Scratchy—who were singing, as usual. And then I made my way down to Krusty's territory. Now, I found Krusty's nest about 8 days ago but alas, like the majority of the other nests we've found, it was predated.

So today my task was to watch for Krusty's sneaky female in case she's re-nesting. Instead, I stumbled upon Krusty feeding a fledgling. What?! So, I tracked down the fledgie and saw that it was banded which means it can only be one of Ralph's kids -- who are our only fledglings so far. So I continued to watch Krusty and Ralph's female feeding the brat and our only conclusion was that at some time, the two of them had gotten it on and Krusty felt some obligation to the kids. Helen went down the trail as I started packing things up and I heard her yelling—she found poor Ralph, father of 4, dead in the road. Head cleanly ripped off, color bands fully intact. (Photo below)

So Uncle Krusty, became a hero instead of the bachelor next door who was cheating with Ralph's wife. (Although my guess is that they still hooked up at some point)

But then again, what if Uncle Krusty simply hired the hit man?
Will we ever know who stole Ralph's head…was it an Island Scrub Jay (they get blamed for everything) or a passing accipiter?
Will Ralph's kids survive without their father? Will Krusty continue to help take care of them?

More to come in the next episode of "All my Orange-crowned Warblers"...

This example of what researchers can learn from banded birds is pretty cool. Ok well one probably doesn't learn much from watching bird soap operas -- but you know what I mean. One question researchers have is whether or not the “bachelor” males are indeed failures or actually geniuses—by sneaking copulations with your neighbor’s mate you can pass on your genes to the next generation without any of the parenting responsibilities. What an interesting strategy. Although banded birds help, many researchers are looking into this with new genetic technology -- so that they can prove it!

In this case we also had proof of adult mortality—which is fairly uncommon. But nest predation is the primary factor limiting reproductive success of bird populations. We used nest cameras to determine the cause of nest failure and actually caught a snake in action when going to move one of the cameras. Check out the nestling legs sticking out of the snakes mouth in the photo.

Life is hard when you are a small yellow bird on an island full of things that want to eat you.

I can't wait to see what the graduate students come up with from this research on the Channel Islands.

Good Qualities of a Wildlife Biologist

2011-02-24T09:38:00.000-06:00

I know I complained about how hard it is to find a full-time job in this field. But, I don't have any intention of changing careers. I'd just like to talk about the good, bad, and the ugly so people can make better decsions about joining me and my other sometimes frustrated collegues in our quest for the perfect wildlife career.

So what does it take to be a good wildlife biologist? I have some suggestions. These are qualities I tend to look for when hiring people for field tech positions—and the qualities I strive to personally improve upon all the time. This is certainly not a complete list but a good start.

1. Hard worker. Someone who’s willing to put in that little bit of extra work to get the job done. Especially if it’s the dirty work no one wants to do. Doing it without complaints is even better (I didn't list a positive attitude, but thats always good to have too).

2. Flexibility. Wildlife is unpredictable. So collecting data on wildlife is unpredictable. A lot of what we do as biologists is trial and error. Changes in plans, protocols, and scheduling is common—so if you are not ok with that, you are in the wrong field.

3. Good thinker. Although some jobs are very straight forward—go check these traps—many require some extra thought. If you can’t think on your feet to solve a problem or make a decision in the field you might run into problems in this field. Plus, if you plan to go on to higher degrees, a creative researcher mind is very important—but something that can develop with experience.

4. Passion. You won’t make a ton of money doing this work. So you’d better love the work. And I’m not just talking about how cute and cuddly animals are (even though they are!)—we do this to make a difference in wildlife conservation and management. We do get perks though—we travel to amazing places, get to be outside, meet wonderful people, and get to work up close and personal with wildlife. But the perks shouldn’t be the sole reason for getting into this field.

5. Patience. It could take 10 years for you to find a full-time permanent job. So be prepared for that. Not to mention patience in the field—I’ve sat for 4 hours watching the same bird or nest for a band resight. Some people never even see their study species the entire season. (See also: http://www.ranger146.com/ranger2.html for more on the life of a seasonal wildlife biologist.)

6. Maturity and responsibility. Most people expect that if they ask you to complete three tasks that day that you will be capable of doing that without being reminded. And we also assume that if you don’t understand something you will take it upon yourself to ask questions. You can’t expect a supervisor to do everything for you or tell you when and how to do it each day. Don’t let the fact that you get to play outside all day take away from the fact that it’s still a job and that you have a very important task to do that day (and are being paid to do it!).

7. Communication and social skills. If you don’t understand how to do something—ask. If you don’t know why you are doing something—ask. If you are having trouble with a crew leader or co-worker, talk to them or someone else who can help. Ask how you are doing and how you can improve. You also have to be able to live and work in close quarters with others—peacefully. Not to mention how important it is in our field to be able to explain what we do and why (verbally and written)—to anyone in the scientific community or someone who doesn’t know what a robin looks like. And who you know and the impression you make on them is also important--networking can lead to the perfect job. Oftentimes people in this field prefer wildlife over people--but people are just not avoidable because they are part of the problem, and a huge part of the solution!

8. Physical fitness. The work can be long and demanding and in bad weather conditions. Think about doing 3 mile owl transect surveys in 3ft of snow. You might have to hike over a mountain every day just to get to your field site. Or kayak to work each day. Or lift 50lb deer carcasses. Backpack into the backcountry with a heavy pack. Sounds like fun? Good.

9. No fear (although a sense of caution is important). Venomous snakes, alligators, lions, tigers, and bears—oh my! We work with wild animals—and some can cause some serious damage. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. Hypothermia. Heat exhaustion. Spiders, mosquitoes, and biting flies. Poison oak, poison ivy, and thorny plants. Bot flies. Intestinal parasites. West Nile disease. Lyme disease. Graduate school advisers. Wildlife biologists often take risks.

10. Finally—a good biologist is ok with NOT KNOWING but has enthusiasm for learning and a desire to contribute to scientific knowledge. If you go to graduate school you will probably feel stupid 80% of the time. We conduct research to find answers—but its not that straight forward. We find support for theories, but its usually not proof. And although most people will never argue with a doctor or architect about how they do their job—many people will argue with a scientist, especially wildlife biologists. Take climate change for example... ::rolls eyes::

Job Application Tips for Field Biologists (Part 2)

2011-02-22T11:54:00.002-06:00

Resume and CV tips:

1. I was always told to keep resumes to one page. This is no longer the case, at least not in wildlife biology. Don’t worry about cramming everything into one page, but shoot for two pages, and add references to the end (on a third page). If you have trouble keeping it short get rid of unnecessary words, throw out old (e.g. high school) information, or toss other unrelated experience (aka getting rid of small mammal trapping for a avian nest searching position if you need to). Keep what’s most important to the position you are applying to. Its usually ok if its long unless it filled with a bunch of useless information. A CV can be much longer (see #3).

2. If you don’t have a ton of experience, listing activities and involvements from college/highschool is fine, but make sure it’s still relevant. For example, if you list courses taken only list those that apply to the position, such as ornithology or mammalogy— not everything from chemistry to basket weaving 101. I usually feel that RELATED (or semi-related) study abroad experiences, volunteer work, and club involvement show commitment and enthusiasm for learning and these things will help, especially for newbies. If you want to list all your non-related jobs do so AFTER the important stuff and give it a title of "Other Work Experience" or something. Don't mix it all together.

3. Don’t send both a CV and a resume, they are different but fulfill the same requirement, so pick one. I prefer a resume, which is usually shorter and more to the point. CV is better for applying to graduate school, longer term positions, etc. Make sure you understand the differences (google it!) and when to use which.

4. Emphasize field experience, but education and undergraduate research are also very important. A degree in a related field and undergraduate research obviously both show your interest in the field—which is particularly important when working for graduate students. We want to know you will take our work seriously.

5. List the most recent job first, and keep things in order so it is easy to follow exactly what you did over time. Include the dates that you conducted the work, the where, who for, etc.

6. Keep job descriptions short and to the point, but with important details (study species, major responsibilities, the techniques you used, etc.). Basically you want to explain exactly what you did in as few words as possible. If you only have one related job and need to stretch it a little bit you can stay what the purpose of the study was. As your resume gets longer you can cut things like that out.

7. I think a summary of skills in the beginning is often helpful—especially if you have had a lot of jobs. Reading through job after job and all the responsibilities can get boring and confusing. If the employer wants someone with supervisory experience and banding experience and you have that--make sure its the first thing they see and emphasize HOW MUCH experience. Usually you can list this by # of seasons, months, hours, or even animals (aka banded +1,000 birds). Sometimes this is called a “statement of purpose” for federal job applications—but I’m not going to get into this right now, there are entire books written on how to apply for federal jobs and write federal resumes.

8. Keep the tense the same throughout—Most people prefer past tense unless you are presently working a job, in which case you should make this clear with dates. Some say just use past tense throughout.

9. Keep the formatting basic, clean, and easy to read and work with. Emphasize important things using bold, italics, etc., but don’t go overboard. If it’s too complicated it often gets messed up in translation somewhere, and then it just looks bad. I especially hate columns and tables and stuff like that.

10. I prefer word documents over PDFs because I think they are easier to work with, you can make track changes, insert comments, etc. but this may just be my preference. (This goes for cover letters too) PDFs are very clean and neat so they are my second choice. Just make sure you don’t attach some funky new word file that mac users or people with old versions can’t access yet—you’ll probably be asked to send it again—if you are lucky. And follow directions if someone wants it a certain way.

11. Do NOT add transcripts, reference letters, or any extra attachments unless it is requested. This is just annoying.

12. I think one file is better than 3 separate ones for cover, resume, and references. I hate having to download them all in order to get the whole picture—when someone reads your application they ask one thing—are you qualified or not? And they want to answer this as quickly as possible.

References:

1. List 2-3 people to be contacted, depending on what’s asked for in the job post. If they ask for two, an extra doesn’t hurt, but don’t list everyone you’ve ever worked for.

2. List only the people who will give you a positive reference. I know this sounds obvious—but I’ve seen negative references a lot. Ask references specifically if they will give you a GOOD reference. They might say no. And they could lie—but hopefully they will be honest with you. No one is perfect so a reference wont be either—but most people should at least be able to put a positive spin on some of your weaknesses.

3. List the people that will be able to best answer specific questions about you. If you apply to a telemetry and mammal trapping position, list someone who can tell the employer that you have experience with it. Don’t list all professors who’ve only had you in class. List people who’ve worked directly in the field with you doing the tasks that pertain to the position you want. (I know this isn’t always possible, so do the best you can.)

4. Also list people who have known you for a long time, or know you very well. (But not your best friend or your mom, of course)

5. It’s usually important to list a reference from the most recent job you’ve had, unless it doesn’t apply as well to the job you are applying to (see # 2 above, but also #6 below).

6. Make sure its clear which person is associated with which job you had. And at least include email and phone contact info for each person.

7. Sometimes NOT listing someone looks kind of weird. For example, not listing your most recent nest searching job employer for a nest searching position usually implies they were not listed because they didn’t like you! And here’s a secret: this field is not very big. Everyone knows everyone. It’s not uncommon for someone to contact a reference you didn’t list (especially if it’s a friend)—just to see what they say about you.

8. Make sure you let your references know they will be contacted; keep them up to date with your whereabouts and a current resume so that they will be prepared. Again, ask them if they are willing to give you a GOOD reference first, give them plenty of time. Provide them with information on the positions you are applying to. And don’t forget to thank them! It takes a lot of time to write references—and most likely they are doing it for several people.

Other comments:

1. Do not accept a position and quit several days later because you got a “better” offer or you didn’t really want it or your cat died. This stuff could come back to bite you in the ass eventually. I realize in some cases this is necessary, such as getting the permanent job you’ve always been waiting for or a graduate school opportunity-- so in this case at least explain yourself to the person you just bailed on. Employers put a lot of time and effort into reviewing materials, contacting references, and conducting interviews. Make sure you want the job if you are putting them through all of this, and don’t take it if you are unsure.

2. Basic communication skills are key: don’t leave an employer hanging for days without a response. At least tell them you received the offer and need time to think about it. Thank them for their time and consideration. Make sure they know when and how to contact you. If you are out in the field and unable to respond quickly, tell them. (Hopfully they will communicate well with you too.)

3. It’s ok to ask where (i.e. at what stage) the employer is in the hiring process but don’t be too pushy. If they are taking their sweet old time to get back to you it’s probably because other people are being slow, or funding issues, etc. It happens. Keep in mind that they are often also busy with many other things. And hiring a crew for field work is never as easy and straightforward as it may sound. We all know it sucks to wait around and not hear back from a job—and I think all employers should at least respond to all applicants at least with a yes or no, no matter how far they made it in the application process. It also doesn't hurt to check and make sure they got your application--I had one go to someone's junk mailbox and I waited too long to ask and they had already hired someone.

4. If you know someone in the field with more experience ask to see their resume. Or look up samples online. It really helps to see what other's write--especially people with more experience. Or ask them to review your resume and give feedback. Sometimes having someone read it who hasn't read it 100 times like you have helps a lot. I've gotten a lot of advice from other people and lots of ideas from their resumes on how to make mine better.

Got it?! It is as simple at that. Ha. I’m happy to look over resumes for people and give advice. Email me if you need some help. Seriously!

Good luck!

Job Application Tips for Field Biologists (Part 1)

2011-02-21T13:00:00.000-06:00

I’ve applied for several field jobs but never really got feedback on how my cover letter and resume were viewed by others—that is, if they represented my qualifications well or not. But I got interviews most of the time. And I’ve also been on the hiring end of things and have looked at over 150 field assistant resumes. So while I’m not an expert--I can give some general tips. Especially for young field biologists and newbies in the field.

None of this advice is earth-shattering. But most of these are common mistakes I see people make, and some apply to just about any job. Others are more specific to field work in wildlife biology. These are just my suggestions—so take them or leave them—there’s really no one way to do it, and some people are picky about certain things, including me. But it frustrates me to see qualified field biologists with poor resumes. Hope it helps. Leave a comment if something is missing or you disagree.

General tips:

1. Make sure you proof read it! And have someone else proof read it! Make sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors—and try reading it aloud to be sure it doesn’t sound awkward. If you have a ton of experience, tiny errors probably won’t hurt you too much, but mistakes imply that you don’t take these things seriously—if you don’t take cover letters seriously, will you take our field work seriously? What about recording field observations? We don’t want careless mistakes in the data collection. And make sure you spell the contact person’s name correctly when addressing them. This sounds obvious, but I’ve seen it several times because people simply don’t take the time to proof read.

2. Follow directions! Make sure that if it says “Combine cover letter and resume into one file” or “send email with WIFL job as subject line”, you do it! It is as simple as that, and it ties in with my statements above. But most people don’t do it! If you don’t follow these directions it implies you won’t follow directions and protocols in the field.

3. Don’t stretch the truth, if you don’t have the experience, you just don’t. Employers usually have a way of figuring that stuff out—and it makes you look bad if you obviously stretch things to make yourself look better. Emphasize what you do have, express enthusiasm for learning and improvement in certain areas, and talk about your ability to learn new skills quickly. It may not be enough for certain positions, but it’s better to be truthful in my opinion. Saying that you have "mist-netting experience" from one 30 minute lab in college is not very truthful. Just make sure the employer understands that it's experience from coursework (usually its obvious anyway). Also, listing several qualities in a row such as “hard working, fast learner, reliable etc.” without explanation or “proof” to back it up is somewhat useless—everyone can do that. Give examples if you can. And finally, if you don’t have a lot of pertinent field experience, don’t simply fill the gaps with a long list of random stuff like “pet sitting, face painting, donating canned goods, high school star quarterback”. That’s all nice, but it doesn’t get you much further ahead in most cases. If it doesn’t apply directly to the position, it’s usually overlooked. If you want to put it in, put it at the end.

4. Change and update your cover letters (and often times resumes) for EACH individual job. Don’t send the same thing to every job and just change the person or place to which you are applying. It’s usually easy to tell when people do this. Most positions are very different from each other and one letter will not work for them all. I suggest reading through the job description and making a list of everything they are looking for—then describe how your experience matches it as best you can. And don't forget to change the organization and person each time...and send the right copy to the correct person.

Cover letters:

1. Keep cover letters brief (aka, 1 page) but detailed and to the point, especially when it comes to the experience you have that applies directly to the position. Mention pertinent stuff—not everything – if you have had a lot of jobs.

2. Use the job posting and relate your experience to it. If you have nest searching experience, and are applying to a nest searching job, emphasize that, not the fact that you have tons of survey experience. (I know this seems obvious, but I’ve seen this mistake a lot) If you have what we want, make sure we know that! If you don’t have it—talk about what you do have and how adaptable you are to new learning tasks.

3. Again, simply listing qualities isn’t as important as providing evidence that you have those qualities.
4. Typical format: Introduce yourself and why the position interests you, explain your experience and how it relates to the position, and close with your availability and contact information.

5. Cover letters seem pretty simple and straightforward—but take it seriously, it’s often the first thing employers read, so make a good first impression. If you don’t, they may never even get to your resume. Keep it organized and easy to follow.

To be continued...more on resumes and references to come.

So you want to be a wildlife biologist?

2011-02-19T09:45:00.005-06:00

I wish I could provide some advice on how to become a wildlife biologist. But after almost 10 years of trying to figure it out for myself--I still don't really have an answer. This is more of a rant than useful information--but I know I'm not alone and feel like it couldn't hurt to put these thoughts out there. Maybe someone will tell me about the magic key that unlocks the answers to this frustrating field.

Truckee, CA, 2008

I recently finished my masters in Wildlife Science after working seasonal field work for 2.5 years. I spent 5 seasons working on one project—the willow flycatcher project, which has now ended. I gained avian field skills, leadership experience, and a chance to do my own research—but so far it seems to have opened no obvious doors for me. Sure, my current job may be an open door but it didn’t REQUIRE a masters—a masters was a plus. And while applying for jobs last fall—I applied for at least 15 positions, all of which were within my qualifications and capabilities—I got two interviews. And with my current job, it seems like I will soon come to a fork in the road—take a PhD position, or lose the job.

I chose this field because I wanted to contribute to the field of wildlife conservation. But the ugly truth of it is—someone needs to collect the data and someone needs to analyze the data. And its really hard to find a job that lets you do both. I know a few people who have the in-between jobs—and am jealous! For the rest of us, we have a masters degree and are floating around trying to figure out what to do. More seasonal work? Or move up the ladder again? Go back to school to teach high school biology? Become a pet-sitter? Maybe a trash collector would give me more stability...

Most people say that if you want to be in an upper management position, run your own research group, or teach at a university level, you pretty much need a PhD. But they caution that you might end up doing more administrative and writing than actual data collection/field work, so if you like being in the field, you might want to stop with the B.S. or M.S. I think I knew this as an undergrad—and probably assumed I wanted to do field work, but didn’t realize how extremely hard and unrealistic it is to find consistent work. Its usually low pay. Its always short term. It usually requires moving from state to state. And you feel like a slave—you are the cheap labor that collects the data, NOT the person actually contributing to the field. Other people take the data you collected, put their name on it, and publish it for the world to see. And you MIGHT get into the acknowledgement section if you are lucky. So I got bored of being someone’s slave and did a masters—only to find out I was still someone’s slave.

Santee Coastal, SC, 2007

A BS simply gives you a background in a whole slew of science related topics—depending on the program and how focused it is. A little bit of everything that might be useful in the field but nothing specific. And you usually can’t be a wildlife biologist without an advanced degree. But it seems like a masters prepares you for doing a PhD—its extremely focused on one project and usually one kind of analysis and teaches you the basics of research. And a PhD prepares you to do research but still very narrowly focused. But nothing really prepares you to be a wildlife biologist—someone who needs to incorporate all of their knowledge and skills in order to conserve and manage species and the habitats that they live in.

So now I have my masters and could probably be that wildlife biologist—even though I don’t feel very prepared for it. But most of these jobs are government jobs—National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife, Forest Service, USGS, etc. Oh the joys of applying for a government job! First, it’s the job announcement that is so vague you aren’t sure what they are talking about or what you might be getting yourself into. Then it’s the ridiculously specific and difficult to understand questions they want you to answer with multiple choice answers—as if multiple choice tells them anything about your knowledge, abilities, and skills. Then it’s the waiting—did I pass the public relations machine? Did the machine like my multiple choice answers that are the same as everyone else’s? And then it’s the rejection letter that may come immediately for some jobs that you are OVERQUALIFIED for or maybe it comes 6 months later when you’ve already taken another job or given up all hope of ever finding one. No explanation as to why you weren’t even CONSIDERED for a job you were perfectly qualified for—and it could be because they ALREADY HAD SOMEONE IN MIND for the position 6 months ago and just had to advertise anyway.

Truckee, CA, 2008

Ok—so I’ve talked to people in the field. And mostly they say its who you know and working your way up the ladder. Maybe it is—but it’s also gotta be pure luck or perfect timing. I’ve worked many field jobs and have never made a connection that helped me get a job as a wildlife biologist. And I have heard friends say the same thing. Yet I know others who have done basically no field work and have walked right into a perfect job because of someone they knew.

As I said earlier, someone needs to collect the data and someone needs to analyze and publish the data. Well, I’m tired of just collecting the data. And summarizing the data is not the same as analyzing the data. I want to DO SOMETHING--to make that contribution that I got into this field for. But most people don’t let someone with only a masters touch the data—they let them run the field crews or hire the techs or collect and enter the data. Or someone with a masters might work for organizations that collect and summarize data but don’t really do much with it afterwards. So right now I’m thinking the PhD route may be something to seriously consider. Will it make me overqualified for the things I want to do? Maybe—but right now I can’t even get interviews for the jobs I’m UNDERQUALIFIED to do. Slaving away for 4-5 more years in school for little pay doesn't sound all that appealing--but getting to do more research for a stable 4-5 more years does. Will it lead me to a good job? I have no idea.

Santa Cruz Island, CA, 2007

So with so many people in this field -- how does one gain a completive edge without moving up the ladder? More nomadic seasonal work? Don’t think so—I’ve seen that plan fail. Finding the right person or organization connection to push you ahead? Maybe—but I won’t hold my breath. Self teach myself how to analyze data in various programs? Someone give me your data!

What’s the best path to take in order to obtain that perfect middle-of-the-road fulltime permanent wildlife biologist position where you can still enjoy some time being outside in the field with your study species but also making a contribution that will help the species? I truly wish I had the answer.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T22:40:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day. Even though I pretty much despise this holiday...I thought this video was too cute to pass up. I just don't understand why people need a special day to remind them to tell their special somone that they care about them. Seems like that should happen more than once a year and without expensive gifts. I just hate how comercialized it is. I passed a mechanic's today that had a sign that said "Valentine's Special on Wipers"--wow, that's romantic! Anything to make money I guess. Ok, enough of my rant. Look at the cute otters holding hands!

Longwood Gardens

2011-02-11T21:39:00.001-06:00

Here I will share some photos from a trip to Longwood Gardens that I took with my good friend Kiri. For those of you not familiar --it is located in Kennett Square, PA and includes1,050 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows. It was a bit cold when we went so we stayed in the warm greenhouses, but still had a great time. First...a quick history lesson...

Pierre du Pont was the great-grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, who arrived from France in 1800 and founded the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company gunpowder works. Pierre turned the family business into a corporate empire in the early 20th century and used his resulting fortune to develop the Longwood property. He is described on Longwood's website as an "industrialist, conservationist, farmer, designer, impresario, and philanthropist". I'm not really sure how indusrialist and coservationaist go together...and aside from him purchasing the land in 1906 "so he could preserve the trees", I couldn't find much on him as a conservationist. And DuPont is certainly not the best role model of conservation. In fact, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst ranked DuPont as the largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States.

HOWEVER.... In 2005, BusinessWeek magazine, in conjunction with the Climate Group, ranked DuPont as the best-practice leader in cutting their carbon gas emissions -- DuPont reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 65% from the 1990 levels while using 7% less energy and producing 30% more product. AND...in defense of Longwood Gardens--which seems a bit extravagent in is energy and water use--they do have many sustainable practices such as recycling, composting, and using many kinds of eco-friendly materials and products. So I guess I can't complain too much.

Anyway, its hard to find anything green right now let alone anything blooming--so this is the place to go! Longwood Gardens is currently having an Orchid Extravaganza!

The orchid family is currently believed to be the second largest family of flowering plants and the number of orchid species equals more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. That's a lot!

FYI: Some Orchids of the genus Ophrys (called bee Orchids) bear flowers resembling female insects in appearance and smell. Male insects are attracted to the flowers and attempt to mate with them, thus pollinating the flowers. Sneaky lil flowers!

Spring Ahead??

2011-02-07T14:53:00.001-06:00

Don't you wish sometimes that we could spring ahead to spring? In Texas I could do that a little easier--winter was shorter! I know what you are thinking--when I was in Texas I complained about not having seasons. Well, if I had it my way I'd go back and forth bewteen a long spring and a long fall. With very short summers and short winters. And lots of sunlight and blue skies all the time.

Colors of fall are amazing...but so are the colors of spring. And the sounds of spring! To many people the sound of the first mockingbird singing is an annoyance...but not to me. Today I saw a male Eastern Bluebird singing--a good sign that spring is near! Plus, the groundhog did not see it's shadow which means spring is on it's way! (According to Punxsutawney Phil anyway.)

We have 40 days before the beginning of spring on March 20th...so I thought I'd provide a little bit of spring here. I took most of these a few years ago in several different places.

The 2011 Push Up Challenge

2011-02-04T13:38:00.000-06:00

Last year when I was slogging through my thesis it seemed to help me to exercise between periods of writing. I found the 100 pushup challenge online: http://hundredpushups.com/ Basically it shows you how to go from whatever pushup fitness level you are currently at to 100 consecutive pushups in 6 weeks.

I don’t know about you, but my upper body strength has always been poor. I played soccer for 10 years and that certainly didn't help. So pushups have been something I avoided like the plague (along with pull ups, and chin ups and rope climbing, etc.). BUT think about the benefits and advantages to pushups:

• Pushups are very basic. No expensive equipment required, you can do them anywhere at any time.

• They are not only great for your chest, but your abs, triceps, shoulders and torso. It’s really a great core exercise.

• It’s very easy to add variations to the basic pushup to make them easier, harder, or to focus on certain muscles.

When I did the program last year I did the knee pushup variation so that I wouldn’t give up right away. I started out only being able to do 8 before I collapsed on the floor. And I made my way up to 40 consecutive pushups after a few weeks. But then I hit a plateau and when I wasn’t making more progress I gave up and didn’t complete the challenge.

So, I’m giving it another go. My initial test this time was 20 consecutive pushups (still knees, but if I get brave I’ll switch to the real ones later). I’m posting this online in hopes that it will help me stick to the plan and be more successful this time around—and to encourage others to try it too. The program is very simple to follow and only takes about 30 minutes a week.

A quick note about pushups—while they have a lot of benefits, its best to do pushups with other strength training exercises to even everything out. Basically with only pushups you don’t work the muscles involved in pulling, which isn’t ideal. But pushups are still a simple way get started.

Good luck!

Hiking

2011-02-02T14:00:00.002-06:00

Hike v. intr 1. To go on an extended walk for pleasure or exercise, especially in the country.

In New Zealand it’s called tramping.
In India or Nepal it’s likely trekking.
In Australia it might be called bushwalking.
In the United Kingdom it’s usually called rambling or hillwalking.
Hill or mountain walks in northern Great Britain--fellwalking.

Walk. March. Traipse. Journey on foot. Hoof it. Trudge. Scramble. Slog. Bushwack. Saunter. Tromp. Stroll. Tread. Traverse. Perambulate. Amble.

Dayhiking. Thru-hiking. Backpacking.

En Espanol: caminata, excursion, paseo de ejercicio, dar largos paseos, excursionar.

Auf Deutsch: wanderung.

Call it whatever you want. But hiking is certainly one of my favorite pastimes. And I’m extremely eager to get back to it in warmer weather. Is it spring yet?!

"My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing." ~Aldous Huxley

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." ~John Muir

"The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly more than that - sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements." ~Henry David Thoreau

"Walking takes longer than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed." ~Edward Abbey

"My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-three today and we don't know where the hell she is." ~Ellen DeGeneres

The Way of the White Clouds

2011-01-31T16:00:00.001-06:00

Born and raised in the flat state of Delaware, I dreamt of seeing snow capped mountains for a long time before I actually did. I then fell in love with the Sierras—and I bet if I had the chance to spend more time in the Rockies it’d be the same story. I’m not convinced I’d love 9 months of snow that usually comes along with the mountains that I love gazing up at—so I’m pretty content to visit, trek, and explore them as much as I can.

I’m not a peak bagger. Getting to the top of the highest peak is not usually my goal. I just like to look at them and feel like they are looking down at me. So when I saw pictures of the Himalayas—a new longing began to develop. I decided that someday I will see them in person.

Himalaya literally means "abode of snow". This mountain range is in Asia and is home to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders (8000 m or 26,247 ft), which include Mount Everest and K2. In search of possible trips to this area—particularly Nepal—I came across a book called, “The Snow Leopard” which I have just started reading. It is Peter Matthiessen’s account of a trip he took with a field biologist to study the Himalayan blue sheep—and their quest to see an elusive snow leopard. Its also about his spiritual journey—afterall, he is in the land of the Buddha.

I haven’t read very much of it yet, but right away I found a quote that I really liked and wanted to share. I find Buddhism and other eastern religions (or ways life, whatever is the correct term) very appealing and fascinating.

“Just as a white summer-cloud, in harmony with heaven and earth, freely floats in the blue sky from horizon to horizon, following the breath of the atmosphere—in the same way the pilgrim abandons himself to the breath of the greater life that wells up from the depth of his being and leads him beyond the farthest horizons to an aim which is already present within him, though yet hidden from his sight."

—Lama Govinda, The Way of the White Clouds

I will let you know how the book is -- and when my trip to Nepal is officially on the calendar.

Bombay Hook

2011-01-30T21:14:00.003-06:00

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge is located in Smyrna, Delaware. Its a great place to see birds year round-- but especially great for migrating ducks, geese, shorebirds, and neotropical songbirds. Its 16,000 acres include freshwater pools, swamps, upland forests, agricultural fields, and one of the largest unaltered tidal salt marshes in the Mid-Atlantic region.

I visited with my parents today. Not as many birds as usual but still some waterfowl. We saw Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, Northern Shovelers, Buffleheads, Northern Pintails, Mallards, Snow Geese, a Red-tailed Hawk fluffed up in a tree, several Northern Harriers hovering over the marshes, gulls, and LBJs (sparrows). I also spotted a couple of raccoons foraging along the shoreline. And a fox crossed the road in front of our car, chased a couple Canada Geese, and went on its merry way.

Its been cloudy and snowy for days so the sunset was a bit of a nice surprise at the end of the trip.

Serengeti National Park

2011-01-28T16:00:00.028-06:00

Serengeti National Park is famous for its annual migration of over 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra. I'm not sure I can find the words to describe what it was like to be there and see such a vast expanse of land--but it was an amazing experience. The word Serengeti, originally a Maasai word, has been changed in English and Swahili; "Serengit" in Maasai means "endless plains" while "Siringitu" in Swahili means “the place where the land moves on forever.”

Africa is believed to be the birthplace of humanity--which brings up the debate about evolution. Although many people like myself believe there should be no debate...it still exisits. But I like how this quote brings the most important lesson to the forefront:

"I do not want to discuss evolution in such depth, however, only touch on it from my own perspective: from the moment when I stood on the Serengeti plains holding the fossilized bones of ancient creatures in my hands to the moment when, staring into the eyes of a chimpanzee, I saw a thinking, reasoning personality looking back. You may not believe in evolution, and that is all right. How we humans came to be the way we are is far less important than how we should act now to get out of the mess we have made for ourselves."

Jane Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. The mess she speaks of is the state of the world we currently live in--overpopulation, habitat destruction, human consumption, deforestation, rapid extinction of species, loss of biodiversity, pollution, water availabilty/quality, climate change, etc. Depressing? Yes. But sadly its a very real concern that every human should be aware of.

Tanzania as a country has been a world leader in wildlife conservation--they have found ways to protect wildlife and allow for human use while creating jobs for the local people. The charismatic wildlife and amazing scenery attract more than 90,000 tourists to the Serengeti each year. However, not long ago in September there was a push to build a major highway through the middle of the park--something that would obviously disrupt the Great Migration that occurs here. I'm not sure where that issue stands today but I certainly hope it doesn't happen and that they are able to come up with an alternative.

Ngorongoro Crater

2011-01-24T14:20:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). Approximately 25,000 large animals, mostly ungulates and reputedly the highest density of mammalian predators in Africa, live here. These large animals include the endangered black rhinoceros and the hippopotamus, which is very uncommon in the area. There also are many ungulates including wildebeest, zebra, eland, and Grant's and Thompson's gazelles. The crater has the densest known population of lions. You can get great views of the wildlife here because they are habituated to tourists passing through.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a large, unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera which formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself 2-3 million years ago. It is 610 m (2,000 ft) deep and its floor covers 100 sq mi.

The conservation area also protects Oldupai Gorge--one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world . At Laetoli, west of Ngorongoro Crater, hominid footprints are preserved in volcanic rock 3.6 millions years old and represent some of the earliest signs of mankind in the world. Research mainly by Louis and Mary Leakey has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution. Their work yielded four different kinds of hominid, showing a gradual increases in brain size and in the complexity of their stone tools.

NCA is a unique protected area in Africa because conservation is integrated with human use. Today there are some 42,200 Maasai pastoralists living in the NCA with their livestock. During the rains they move out on to the open plains; in the dry season they move into the adjacent woodlands and mountain slopes. The Maasai are allowed to take their animals into the Crater for water and grazing, but not to live or cultivate there.

Our visit to the Crater was amazing--although it brought up many group discussions on whether or not what we were participating in was "natural" because the animals didn't care that we were there. It gave many of us a zoo or drive-thru wildlife park feeling--yet the animals were in their natural habitat doing natural things (hunting, mating, etc.).

More from Tanzania to come...

**Info from Wiki and http://www.ngorongorocrater.org/

Myths of Wild Africa

2011-01-20T15:23:00.000-06:00

In January 2004 I went on a 3-week safari in Tanzania during winter session. I just recently found the journal that I kept while I was there. As part of my coursework we read a book called, “The Myth of Wild Africa: Conservation without Illusion”. The myth was that among Western conservationists “Africa and wildlife conservation do not belong together” despite the fact that “Africans have more than demonstrated their genuine interest in and understanding of the importance of conservation--aesthetically, practically, culturally.'' The authors note that, since independence, African governments have set aside over 48 million hectares of land for animals, they spend over $115 million a year managing this land and that--in contrast to the US, which has set aside only 8% of its land--Tanzania has given up 13% of its territory for game parks. The take home message for me was that instead of telling Africans what to conserve, or trying to do it for them, we need to teach them how to do it themselves—and they would be happy to do so.

Other myths were also refuted for me on this trip. Before I went to Tanzania I don’t think I had any specific idea of what the people would be like—but everyone I talked to prior to my trip would caution me against savages, head hunters, and cannibals. It’s interesting how people form opinions about things they know nothing or very little about. I spent time with both the Maasai and Hadza—native peoples who lived off the land—but they were not so different from you and I. We had a bonfire with the Hadza –-we shared stories, songs, and dances with them. It was a lot of fun. I also remember our group trying to explain what a bear looked like to them—they have many animals they we think are amazing and unique, but no bear-like animals. And they really wanted to see one. They also thought we were magical because we could take their pictures and show it to them on our digital cameras.

One of the “problems” westerners think Africa has is population growth--because they don’t have the same technologies available to them that we do. But one of the memories from this trip that has stayed with me was a when we got the chance to speak with a Maasai man, who told us that in general the men wanted to use contraception methods but the women did not. It was because in their society it was a woman’s almost sole purpose in life—to raise many children. And it was a status symbol to have many children. So if that was taken away from them, they would not feel important in their communities anymore. As Americans we can’t possibly understand their culture – especially if we are ignorant or close-minded about who they are. And we can’t expect them to just change.

I had an amazing time in Tanzania and would love to go back to see more of Africa. One of the first places we visited was Tarangire National Park, which is famous for its large numbers of elephants and baobab trees--the photos above are from our time there.

To be continued...

Trochilidae

2011-01-17T16:10:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to share this amazing photo.

I came across this because of StumbleUpon but you can look at more of David's amazing bird photography here: http://www.davidhemmingsbirdphotography.com/

There are more than 325 hummingbird species in the world. Only 8 species regularly breed in the United States.
The average ruby-throated hummingbird weighs 3 grams. In comparison, a nickel weighs 4.5 grams.
A hummingbird’s maximum forward flight speed is 30 miles per hour, though the birds can reach up to 60 miles per hour in a dive.
An average hummingbird’s heart rate is more than 1,200 beats per minute.
The rufous hummingbird has the longest migration of any hummingbird species: +3,000 miles from its nesting grounds in Alaska and Canada to its winter habitat in Mexico.
Despite their small size, hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive bird species and will regularly attack jays, crows and hawks that infringe on their territory.

Sounds of Nature

2011-01-11T11:14:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine just posted on Facebook that she had witnessed the sound of ice for the first time. Or more specifically, the dispersion of sound waves in ice sheets. If you go to this link you can hear what she heard: http://silentlistening.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/dispersion-of-sound-waves-in-ice-sheets/
It’s pretty amazing!

The author of the blog above has a description that says “Andreas Bick, composer and sound artist based in Berlin, Germany, writes about sound related things (forgive wrong spellings and twisted grammar). Silent listening is about the fringes of music, the periphery where music turns into sheer sound - concrete, wild, sometimes stunningly beautiful.”

“The fringes of music, the periphery where music turns into sheer sound - concrete, wild, sometimes stunningly beautiful” – love it!

As you probably know, being a birder requires very good hearing. In fact even the tiniest sounds can drive me nuts—or bring me peace. A few years ago I read a book by Donald Kroodsma that was all about bird song and communication. His work has showed that even chickadees can have local dialects, that flycatchers are born with their ability to produce sounds, and that mockingbirds mimic all the other birds in the area to build a large repertoire that will impress the ladies.

“Many people can identify a Wood Thrush when they hear it, it's one of the most beautiful songs in the world. Little do they realize they could hear the things that Wood Thrush is communicating if they just knew how to listen." – Donald Kroodsma

Most of us overlook the sounds of nature. Or they are often blocked out by sounds of industry and civilization. But we also tend to seek out nature sounds for peace of mind—you can even buy them on a CD to help you sleep at night.

Imagining my life without being able to hear birds sing, raindrops fall on a tin roof, wind blowing through aspen leaves, coyotes howling, the rumble of distant thunder, or the crashing of waves onto the beach (I could go on forever)—it just might be unbearable. I listen to man-made music often—and sometimes loudly so I can sing along like a crazy person. But nature, to me, is the true musician. You just have to listen more carefully to hear her songs.

What’s your favorite nature sound?

Santa Elena Canyon

2011-01-07T12:46:00.000-06:00

After our backpacking excursion we wanted to see the rest of Big Bend NP. So we took the 30 mile Ross Mawell Scenic Drive to Santa Elena Canyon. The canyon is visible over 10 miles away. The trail initially crosses Terlingua Creek, a minor Rio Grande tributary, which is dry for much of the year but several feet deep during rainy periods. Then there is a somewhat steep ascent with switchbacks to pass over a cliff at the start of the canyon. Then the trail has a more gradual descent back to water level and a flat section of several hundred meters through tall vegeation to a small beach, beyond which the water covers the gorge from wall to wall. The cliffs above rise vertically for over 1,000 feet.

Kristin spotted an adorable black phoebe in the middle of the river--flycatching from a stick. There were several ravens active in the canyon--one flew up the middle of the canyon and you could hear its wing beats echoing off the walls. We also got some good looks at a canyon wren up close.

2010: Reflections

2011-01-05T21:21:00.003-06:00

What a year. 2010 was a year of struggle in many ways—and I’m glad I made it through in once piece. Between trying to finish my thesis and trying to find a permanent job I found myself in a place of uncertainty again—no place to call home, needing a mental and emotional break, but desperately wanting to move on to the next thing. At times it seemed like everything had fallen apart, but it is now slowly coming back together.

And in the meantime, my restless self visited 36 states and spent time with so many awesome people. I had fun in San Diego with Tara and Melissa, spent the summer in the Sierras, went backpacking in Isle Royale and Big Bend, spent a lot of time with family, experienced a taste of autumn in New England, and spent a month hiking in Southeast Arizona.

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
— Chris McCandless (Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer)

Chris McCandless may not be a very good role model, but I think he still makes a good point in this quote. A secure future can be nice—but it can also be boring. Life changes so quickly as it is, we really have no idea what’s going to come our way next. So it’s good to remember that even if our future isn’t exactly set in stone--we can always enjoy the new experiences along the way.

I think 2011 begins a new chapter for me—one that I’m very eager to read.

(Side note: I finished reading the book, “Into the Wild” on the floor of my empty apartment in College Station, TX in early Jan. 2008—almost exactly three years ago. The movers moved my stuff in the next day.)

Ringing in the New Year from Big Bend

2011-01-01T20:16:00.005-06:00

Big Bend National Park is located in southwest Texas on the border of Mexico. Despite the harsh environment in the Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend has an amazing plant and animal diversity. It has more than 1200 species of plants (including 60 different cacti species), more than 600 animal species (~450 bird species). The diversity is largely due to the diverse ecology and changes in elevation, ranging from the dry, hot desert to the cool mountains to the river valley.

Last year for New Year’s my friend Kristen and I went to Philadelphia for a traditional celebration—beer, bars, and fireworks at Penn’s Landing. We had a great time, but this year I wanted to do something different. So I asked my backpacking buddy Kristin (note the I, not E) if she wanted to hit up Big Bend for the New Year. She did!

Big Bend is a bit out of the way, making it a park that is generally less visited than others. But one of the rangers told us that New Years is fairly popular and that Spring Break is their most popular time of year. We arrived at the park in the late afternoon, got our backcountry permit, headed to the Chisos Basin, and hiked a quick 1.5 miles up the Pinnacles trail to our first campsite--it was a race against the sun. The weather wasn’t great—40mph wind gusts. And once the sun sets the temperatures drop like crazy! Plus, the elevation in the basin is 5,400ft—so the overnight lows were in the low 30s. (Photo left of me on right from the first morning--windy and cold! But warmed up quickly.)

We hiked up the rest of the Pinnacles trail and the Colima trail on New Years Eve—we had a campsite not far from the Southwest rim. (As a side note, many birders come up to the Colima trail in spring to see the Colima Warbler--it breeds only in the Chisos Mountains of western Texas and the Sierra Madre Oriental of northeastern Mexico.) We set up camp and then headed out to explore the South Rim without our packs.

The South Rim is located at the extreme southern edge of the Chisos Mountains. At the rim, the desert floor is 2,500 feet below you and the panoramic view of rugged desert and mountains reach far into Mexico. This is a photo of Kristin comminicating with the sun gods--hoping to warm up!

After a quick dinner we watched the last sunset of 2010 and then crawled into our tents for warmth.

In the morning we headed down the Laguna meadows trail back to the Chisos lodge area and switched to car camping mode for the remainder of the trip.

To be continued...

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T14:57:00.002-06:00

Back home in Delaware for the holidays. I am now Noah's Godmother (check out the shnazzy white suit in the first pic from his Baptism) and was there to see him open presents on his first Christmas. I'll also be around for his first birthday on Jan. 5th. Hes a very active little man. He laughs hysterically and curls into a ball on the floor when you say "I'm gonna get you!" and crawl after him. He likes it when I share my banana with him--and makes yumm sounds when he likes any food. And walking seems to be his main mode of transportation now.

My parents and I went for a hike in White Clay Creek (sort of a tradition) -- it was snowing but not really sticking to the ground. Here are our Christmas Bird Count results:

Chickadee (11), Tufted Titmouse (5), N. Cardinal (4), Am. Crow (2), Turkey Vulture (2), Belted Kingfisher (1), E. Bluebird (12), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Mallard (10), Great Blue Heron (1), Canada Goose (4), Am. Goldfinch (4), Golden-crowned Kinglet (1), Carolina Wren (1), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1), Downy Woo...dpecker (1), White-breasted Nuthatch (2), White-throated Sparrow (5), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Joshua Tree

2010-12-24T12:32:00.004-06:00

Joshua Tree National Park is located in southern California. It was declared a National Park in 1994 after being a National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia; right photo) forests native to the park. It covers an area that is slightly smaller than Rhode Island. The park includes parts of two deserts: the higher Mojave Desert and lower Colorado Desert.

I visited the park on my road trip to Truckee in May of 2006 and took these photos. I recently found some cool facts about the park and the trees that I wanted to share.

The higher, drier, and slightly cooler Mojave Desert is where you can find the Joshua trees. The name Joshua tree was given by a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The tree's unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer.

Like most desert plants, Joshua tree blooming is dependent on rainfall. They also need a winter freeze before they will bloom. Once they bloom, the trees are pollinated by the yucca moth, which spreads pollen while laying eggs inside the flower. The moth larvae feed on the seeds of the tree, but enough seeds are left behind to produce more trees. The Joshua tree is also able to actively abort ovaries in which too many eggs have been laid.

There is some concern that climate change will eliminate Joshua trees from the park; which will damage and fundamentally transform the ecosystem of the park. The giant Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastensi) went extinct 13,000 years ago; but their dung has been found to contain Joshua tree leaves, fruits, and seeds, suggesting that the sloths might have been key to the tree's dispersal. Therefore, is concern about the ability of the trees to migrate to favorable climates.

The western part of the park also includes hills of bare rock, usually broken up into loose boulders like you see in some of the photos. I took a hike and found water and birds (of course).

Smoky Mountain National Park

2010-12-21T17:35:00.001-06:00

These photos have been held captive on my phone so I thought I'd share them now that they are free. They are from my visit to Smoky Mountain National Park back in early November with Chris, Melissa, and Tara. A nice mix of fall and winter. Its the most visited national park in the U.S and also one of the largest protected areas in the eastern U.S.

This was not my first visit to the park because Amber and I camped here in August '09 for a couple days before Jill's wedding in Nashville. We hiked to a waterfall, tried to avoid people, saw a black bear, found an old cemetery, and followed a few cute black-throated blue warblers. So here are a couple photos from my first visit...

The Best of the Best

2010-12-15T12:00:00.006-06:00

I’m feeling nostalgic. I’ve decided I need to give awards to some of the places I’ve been in my travels. This list is completely random, but it will help me remember the small things that have made life easier as a nomad over the past several years. And maybe it will be life changing for someone who reads this blog--someone who's never sang karaoke at the T-Club in Tuckee, CA is certainly not living life to the fullest! Let me know if you think of one I’m missing.

*Best Diner* - The 101 Diner in Encinitas, CA just north of San Diego. We went twice in like three days. Big portions. It was awesome.

*Best Cafe* - The Round Up Cafe in Sierraville, CA is a great place to stop for breakfast--the biscuits and gravy are superb! This place was on the way to one of our field sites--who could resist stopping on the way back? Not me. (And yes, I have sneaky ways of giving awards to places that are basically in the same category)

*Best Milkshakes* - The Truckee Dinner, Truckee, CA. This places had huge shakes, horrible staff, and was located in an old fashioned diner that was actually MOVED from Pennsylvania (Unfortunately some rich dude took it over and now you can get burgers for $20 and no milkshakes)

*Best Milkshakes—Runner Up* - The Frosty Pine Shack. Pine Shack Frosty. Shack Frosty Pine. Whatever that place was called. Chester, CA. Many choices! I guess its runner up because I can’t ever remember the correct name. I assume its still there...

*Best Burger* - I don’t remember the name if this place but I swear I ate the world’s best burger in it a couple of years ago. It was located on the Bolivar Peninsula just north east of Galveston, TX. (Unfortunately, I’m afraid a hurricane Ike took this place out a couple of years ago.)

*Best Omelets* - Hands down, the Squeeze In, Truckee CA. There’s a another one in Reno, but I doubt it’s the same atmosphere. Your choice of over 50 omelets with anything you wanted in them—including PBJ and banana. And, the names of the omelets were named things like Dirty Dick (my personal favorite), Hot Sweaty Bus Boy, and Your Mom. http://www.squeezein.com/menu/omelettes.html

*Best Bar* - You can’t get any better than The T-Club (Tourist Club) in Truckee, CA on Karaoke night. You could get PBR for a quarter on some nights, and the pool table was always broken (free pool). There was always Free Beer tomorrow, and at one point our bare asses were framed on the wall. It’s changed a lot since ’06, but still holds a special place in my heart.

*Best Tavern* - Deer Park Tavern, Newark, DE. You can’t beat the cheap Yuengling and good live music. Not to mention the food is pretty good. Favorite bar in Newark--and its been around for a really long time. It was built in 1851 on the land where the remains of the burned down St. Patrick's Inn had resided since 1747. The St. Patrick’s Inn was said to house famous historical figures such as George Washington and in 1843 Edgar Allan Poe stayed a night here.

*Best Birding Hot Spot* - High Island, Texas. You can’t beat 12-18 warbler species in a few hours. I swear I could spend weeks there during spring migration.

*Best Tiny Town* - Adin, CA. In the middle of pretty much nowhere in Northeastern California—but a good place for birds, burgers & fries, cheap ice cream cones, free internet at the library, and a nice park with trees to relax under. Wiki says its actually a “unincorporated community” whatever that is.

*Best place to jump out of a plane and eat fish and chips* - Nelson, New Zealand. Need I say more?? (I wouldn't recommend doing these things at the same time)

*Best Fall Color* - White Mountains, New Hampshire. Although I do love fall colors just about anywhere.

*Best Airport* - Reno/Tahoe, NV. Small, speedy lines, never lose your bags, and slot machines. Not bad.

*Best Gated Community (aka Trailer Park)* - Sanibel Island, Florida. I spent a great 6 months here. We took a lot of jello-shots here.

*Best Beach* - St. Joseph, MI, where Kristen and Jason got married. I never expected to like a beach on a lake so much. But whats not to like? You get the beach without wicked waves (they were just the right size), jellyfish, and salt in your mouth. I’ve never been a beach person though—if you couldn’t tell. But seriously, the Great Lakes are pretty awesome.

*Best Place for a Dock Party* - Donner Lake. Yes, where the Donner Party traveled through. But dock #13 was the place to be in summers. The water was freezing, but it was well worth it.

*Best Haunted Mansion* - Santee Coastal, South Carolina. Could also say coolest field house. This place was an amazing old hunting lodge. And most certainly haunted. I’m glad I wasn’t ever there alone. It was also surrounded by huge beautiful live oaks and was not far from the marshes with tons of wildlife.

Madera Canyon

2010-12-09T18:16:00.003-06:00

The last stop on my S. Arizona tour was Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson. I took a 6.2 mile loop near Mt. Wrightson. It was a fairly easy trail that went up a bunch of switchbacks to Josephine Saddle and then back down--but what a view! It was a nice quiet hike for the most part too. I saw Mexican Jays, Bridled Titmice, a Hermit Thrush, Woodpeckers, a Canyon Wren, and a Ruby Crowed Kinglet up close and personal. Kinglets are one of my favorites because they are so tiny, fast, and drably colored, except when they flash their crowns—which is exactly what this guy did. I also love their cute song, but probably won’t hear that until spring. The photo in the upper left is where I had lunch by a small waterfall at the very beginning of the hike. The rest of the photos are views from the trail--you can see the sun began to set behind the canyon walls for the last photo on the way back down.

Pima Canyon

2010-12-07T22:09:00.004-06:00

I took an afternoon hike into Pima Canyon about 2 hours before sunset. Usually I bring binoculars but this time I decided that I just needed to hike and not stop for birds constantly. But I managed to stir up a pair of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers while on the trail and they got so close to me that I could see all of their field marks. Adorable little guys. I had been looking for them on other trails without much luck, and here they presented themselves to me. I’m pretty sure that the sound of tiny fluttering wings is one of my all time favorite sounds.

I didn’t get very far into the canyon before the sun started setting behind the canyon walls so I hung out, scrambled up on top of some rocks, and messed around with my camera for a while. I love sunsets and silhouettes so I took a bunch of photos as I headed slowly back out of the canyon. I didn’t have a tripod so I had to be creative. Once I got back out of the canyon I could see all the lights of Tucson—without thinking about horrible city sprawl it was quite beautiful. I needed to use my headlamp for the last part of the hike and the Great-horned Owls were calling.

Source-sink Dynamics

2010-12-06T21:00:00.001-06:00

I’m trading in my insulated hip waders and freezing morning temperatures for humidity and endless spider webs. I accepted a position as field supervisor for the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. My new study species will be my first study species—wood thrushes. I’ll be moving to Bedford, Indiana in a couple of months (I think).

The project is interested in looking at source-sink dynamics of a species of special concern on military lands (Wood Thrush). Source-sink dynamics is a theoretical model used by ecologists to describe how variation in habitat quality may affect population growth or decline of a species. Let’s say some species of bird occupies two patches of habitat. One patch, the source, is high quality habitat that on average allows the population to increase (has more births than deaths)--there are many successful nests and lots of little fledglings at the end of the season. The second patch, the sink, is very low quality habitat that, on its own, would not be able to support a population (has more deaths than births). However, if the excess individuals from in the source frequently move to the sink, the sink population can persist indefinitely. Birds (and other organisms) are generally assumed to be able to distinguish between high and low quality habitat, and to prefer high quality. It’s also typically believed that sources have older birds that are better able to win better territories, etc. That’s the gist anyway—but it gets more complicated than that.

For willow flycatchers, it was believed that the meadows along the south end of Lake Tahoe were a huge source for the central Sierra population, and when they turned those meadows into the Tahoe Keys Marina only small nearby sinks were left and it contributed to the decline of the species. There are only a few pairs still breeding in the South Lake area.

So, I’m excited to get to work to a new project—especially one that has the potential that this one does (for a bunch of reasons I won’t get into). I’ll be supervising about 18 people from May-August on the intensive demography part of the study. And I miss wood thrushes—since they were the first birds I studied they have a special place in my heart. They have a beautiful song. And I think it’s about time to get back to those eastern migrants that I loved so much. More on the project here: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/research/marra/wood-thrush.cfm

One step at a time

2010-12-05T11:41:00.000-06:00

My nephew, Noah, is almost a year old. I met him briefly the day he was born and then didn’t see him for like 5 months. When I got home he couldn’t sit up on his own. He would just topple over and cry. But in the time that I was home for about 3 months he learned to sit up, crawl, and now he’s starting to walk. Just watching the video of him trying to walk made me think about a couple of things.

First, I thought about how amazing it is that babies just do what they need to do—how innate it is. No one really tells him he’s supposed to walk now. He could still crawl to get from point A to point B. But now, he stands, takes a few steps, and isn’t afraid to fall. And he does fall. A lot. But he’s not afraid to fail—and doesn’t even know what failure is. And he just keeps doing it until he gets it right, and moves on to the next thing.

Second, it’s funny to see how hard it is for him to walk. To think about how long I’ve been walking—I’m pretty good at it now. But at some point it was hard for me too—arms flailing about, not sure how to get one foot in front of the other, then a crash landing. We walk all the time without even thinking about it. Everything is hard before it is easy.

Somewhere along the line, we learn fear of failure and that we don’t really have to do things if they just seem too hard. I guess it’s a good thing as babies we didn’t know these things because we never would have taken our first steps.

From Loneliness to Solitude

2010-12-03T22:41:00.000-06:00

I grew up fairly sheltered in Delaware. I stayed at home for college, was a good student, and didn’t really cause any trouble. When I was growing up we traveled from NY to Florida to visit family but that was about it. My first real travel experience was a 3-week safari in Tanzania, Africa for a study abroad—and I was hooked. The following year I went on a 3-week trip to Costa Rica. I also had a desire to someday go to California and I got to make that dream a reality after I graduated. The plane ride to Reno was the first time I had ever traveled alone, and I had just graduated from college. It was a new chapter in my life – and I cried as I read a letter my mom had written to me in a book of quotes she gave me before I left (I know, what a baby). If you hadn’t noticed—I love quotes. I’m not the best with words so I steal other people’s words. As a graduation present to my parents I gave them a book of my photographs with all of my favorite quotes—and I try to live by many of them.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

I recently posted this quote and a friend mentioned that I am a good role model of this. That’s flattering, and while it’s fair to say that I enjoy doing what I’m doing right now and am trying to intentionally live life to fullest—it’s not completely honest.

The path to becoming a wildlife biologist is a difficult path to find. It’s not set in stone. You get the education and then find out that most of the work is seasonal and extremely competitive. And while all you want to do is make a difference in the world, you have to jump through a lot of hoops first. Don’t get me wrong, I love my career choice, but it’s not easy. Some people can stick it out, and others just don’t want to bother anymore.

After Truckee I moved a lot from job to job, met amazing people with new life views, and saw the most beautiful places in the US. I drove alone from Louisiana to Truckee in 2006. Everyone told me I was crazy, because a road trip alone would be boring. But it was the best road trip of my life. I had discovered solitude. It was the first time I could do anything that I wanted—and I wanted to see birds. Most people can’t look at birds for 12 hours straight and be completely content. At that time, I could. I stopped when I wanted to and I did what I wanted to. It was an adventure of sorts. And afterwards I decided that I wanted to make it a goal to see as many places as possible. So my travels didn’t stop there and over time I traveled throughout the west—sometimes with a friend. But most of the time I was alone—and completely at peace with that.

Everyone thinks it’s so wonderful that I can drop everything and just go. No permanent job, no significant other, no house, no pets, etc. And that I am lucky. Maybe I am. Or maybe I’ve just made different choices in life. Or maybe this is just the path I was meant to lead. I do not regret anything that I have done and there will be very few things that I will wish I had done but didn’t. But, I will be honest—that solitude has slowly shifted to loneliness, as all of my friends have started to settle down and I’m still moving. I have moved about 16 times in the past 5 years--which makes forming relationships difficult. Even when I was in Texas my summers were in California (thank God, ha). And now I move to keep myself occupied because my friends are spread across the country and I don’t have a place to call home anymore.

I still want to travel. I want to see the world. But it sure would be nice to share those experiences with someone else. I recently accepted a position in Indiana—and I’m going to do my best to settle for a little while. But regardless of where I am, I’ll be working on turning loneliness back into solitude.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” - Henry David Thoreau

Mt. Lemmon

2010-12-02T21:42:00.001-06:00

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." - Edward Abbey

I thought people were kind of strange for suggesting to go to the top of Mt. Lemmon. What's the big deal? It's a barren mountain in the middle of the desert.

Uh...I was wrong. The only paved road that leads to Mt. Lemmon and the Santa Catalina Range is one of the most scenic highways in the southwest. It had amazing views and because the road starts in the Lower Sonoran vegetative life zone and climbs to the high forests of the Canadian zone, it offers the biological equivalent of driving from the deserts of Mexico to the forests of Canada in a short stretch of 27 miles.

Sabino Canyon

2010-12-01T17:38:00.000-06:00

Kristen and I went for a full moon night hike in Sabino Canyon over a week ago. It was a beautiful night and we got to watch the full moon rise over the canyon walls. We saw a couple of skunks (or the same one twice?) and heard a Great-horned Owl hooting over the canyon. It was awesome, and I knew I needed to come back during the day.

So that’s what I did today. Who goes on desert hike in the middle of the day, wearing black, with 16 ounces of water? The kid from Delaware of course. I took a few different trails and wandered around—-mostly along the creek. The Saguaros are very cool—but I was pretty excited to find some real trees and water. And where there are real trees and water…there are usually birds! I watched a Red-tailed Hawk soar above the canyon, a coyote followed me down a trail, and overall it was just a beautiful day. Blue skies always make me happy.

Sabino Canyon is a Recreation area so there were a good amount of people around—but I really didn’t run into many on my hike. Most people walk up the tram road. Yes, there is a tram…when the tram went by I got an idea of what it would be like to be an animal in a zoo.

Saguaro National Park East

2010-11-18T20:12:00.004-06:00

I finally made it to Saguaro today. I went in search of one of those classic saguaro cactus with sunset shots. I managed to find a few. I haven't used my digital SLR camera in a while so I was a little rusty. But there will be more opportunities.

Saguaros have a relatively long life span. They can take up to 75 years to develop a side arm! An adult saguaro is generally considered to be about 125 years old. It may weigh 6 tons or more and be as tall as 50 feet. The average life span of a saguaro is probably 150 - 175 years.

Saguaro cacti are important to many species. Gilded flickers and Gila woodpeckers excavate nest cavities in them. When woodpeckers abandon a cavity elf owls, screech owls, purple martins, finches and sparrows may move in. Harris’s, red-tailed hawks, ravens, and great horned owls also use saguaros for nesting and/or hunting.

White Sands

2010-11-12T21:12:00.020-06:00

“One final a paragraph of advice. Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am—a reluctant enthusiast…a part time crusader, a half hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for natural land and the west; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still there. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizzly, climb the mountain, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over your enemies, over those deskbound men with their hearts in a safely deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculations. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards." - Edward Abbey

I may not be in Edward Abbey land (Moab, Utah) but I love this quote. If you haven't read Desert Solitare you should.

I visited White Sands National Monument in New Mexico on my way to Tucson. The dunes were pretty awesome. I've been to Great Sand Dunes NP in CO, but this was a little different. For one thing, unlike dunes made of quartz-based sand crystals, these dunes are made of gypsum which does not readily convert the sun's energy into heat and so you can walk on it in bare feet, even in the hottest summer months. Of course I didn't know this at first and I was later amazed that the sand was actually cool to the touch. It was the first place I had ever seen people sledding on sand.

The dunes constantly change shape and slowly move downwind, covering the plants in their path. Its pretty cool to look out at the shape of the dunes and know it was completely created by wind and is always changing.

I love the textures that the winds create on the surface of the sand too. Just really beautiful.

I saw some cute little footprints--possibly from a kit fox.

Snow and Caves

2010-11-08T19:28:00.005-06:00

I met up with a few friends (former labmates) in Knoxville, TN this past weekend. We took a quick trip to the Smokies and were lucky enough to catch the first snowfall of the season and fall color at the same time. So purdy! We took a short hike in the snow with beautiful blue skies and warm sun. (I won't go into detail about how pathetically hungover I was from the night before -- but this hike was the perfect cure).

Here are two of Tara's (hope you don't mind I stole them) photos from the hike...me, Melissa and Tara. Followed by one of Melissa, Chris, and myself on a log bridge.

After Knoxville, Melissa and I visited Mammoth Cave National Park for a quick tour. It was pretty awesome, although I think I liked Carlsbad better. I'm not sure if it was the goofy guide or the 30 people on the tour that turned me off a bit. The path we took was pretty cool though--very tight in spots and very low in spots. But not a lot of formations. I'm sure there are other parts of the cave that are more impressive. Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system known in the world and it was National Park #35 on my list. The best part about caves is when you turn off all the lights and sit in darkness and utter silence except for maybe a drip of water. Its awesome!

Yellowstone National Park

2010-11-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

I've thought about changing the title of my blog to something that doesn't involve flycatchers--because I don't study them anymore. But, flycatchers really have had a significant impact on my life and career...so I will continue to involve them in my entries. What does the willow flycatcher have to do with Yellowstone you ask? You'll see.

I went to Yellowstone National Park back in 2006. It's a very well known park for several reasons. It's one of the best parks to see an abundance of wildlife up close (7 species of native ungulates, 2 bear species, 50 other mammals, and over 300 birds have been recorded there)--but it also tends to be quite crowded with humans. It was actually the world's first National Park (1872) and it is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. It is also well known for its geology: it experiences about 2,000 earthquakes a year and has more than 10,000 thermal features and 300 active geysers. Pretty cool, eh?

When Yellowstone National Park was created in 1872, gray wolf populations were already in decline in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The creation of the national park did not provide protection for wolves or other predators, and government predator control programs in the early 1900s essentially helped eliminate the gray wolf from Yellowstone. The last wolves were killed in Yellowstone in 1926. I won't go into all the details, but wolves were successfully re-introduced to the park in 1995 and it has changed the entire ecosystem.

In simple terms, wolves meant fewer elk, and fewer elk resulted in re-growth of riparian systems--more willow! And willow is obviously good for willow flycatchers and other birds. Beavers are also doing very well in the park. Scavengers like ravens, eagles, wolverines, and bears have also benefited. Coyotes have declined, so pronghorn numbers are up. With less competition from elk for grass, the bison in the park are doing better, too.

"Tug on anything at all and you'll find it connected to everything else in the universe." - John Muir

Someday I will return to Yellowstone to see wolves and a grizzly.

Natural Order

2010-11-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica, 2005

Oh all the little birdies in the tree, they wake up singing happy songs.
The squirrels go up and down their so busy running around, seem to know that they belong.

All the veggies in the garden and the trees in the yard, they all grow in the same direction. And I never met a flower who denied the higher power, that was going to shine on everyone.

Me, I ain't been no morning glory, I have lived another story. I’ve been afraid to get out of my bed. When the daylight rolled around, you’d find me hiding underground, paralyzed by fear and dread.

Why would I wake up and try to resist the morning that can only totally inevitably be? I want to open my eyes and give thanks to the dawning singing “bring it on”! I believe, I am home, I’m getting over to my place in the natural order of things.

I was talking to my brother about the things that give us trouble, oh, you know we both get awful blue. The thing I saw we had in common was this kind of faith, this belonging, had us running round wondering what we’re here to do.

Oh trying to go this thing alone is like trying to eat a mountain, its like trying to swallow the sea. Its like waking in the morning not believing you belong here. You’ve got nothing to give or to receive.

Hey, bring back my faith! It is a roof and a structure -- to this tree of life upon which we all thrive. I see spirit as to the land as is to the left or the right hand. The same body different sites. Why would we make it up that we don’t belong here when we can only totally inseparably be?

I want to open my eyes and giving thanks to the dawning singing “bring it on”! I believe I am home, I’m getting over to my place in the natural order of things.
I’m getting over to my place in the natural order of things.

Lyrics from "Natural Order" by Mamuse

Colors of Autumn

2010-10-30T23:12:00.000-05:00

I took these photos back in fall of 2003 right before my trip to Africa. I had just bought my first REAL camera and was trying it out. They were taken at Lums Pond State Park in Delaware. They were not altered in any way--in fact I have them as slides too. It took spending a fall in Texas to make me realize how much I loved this season.

Keep it light enough to travel

2010-10-28T21:27:00.005-05:00

Well, here I am. In the dreaded limbo between the end of a masters degree and a full time permanent job. I went to graduate school because I wanted to do more—I didn’t want to be a technician slaving away to collect someone else’s data so they could do something important with it. I want to do something important too.

I suppose I was warned about this space--but maybe it never quite sank in. I’m overqualified and unchallenged by seasonal positions, yet not quite experienced enough to analyze and publish a bunch of data without supervision—so I can’t get those permanent jobs that a PhD can. And if I went on for the PhD--which would be another 5 years of my life in competitive academia that’s just not my style—I’d probably end up at a desk in an office somewhere and never see my study species. I think it’s a fairly typical situation for my field, but also for a bad economy.

It could be traveling on this road for a long time before the near perfect job comes my way. (I’ve got 8 applications floating around at the moment.) In the meantime, I’m trying to make the best of it by seeing beautiful places that most people who work all the time never get to see. I need to do something so I don’t continue to feel as if my life has been put on hold.

I’m off to Tucson, AZ in a week for a fresh (although temporary) start. Arizona has 6 National Forests to play in and one National Park that’s not yet officially on my list--Saguaro. I will keep everyone posted on my whereabouts as usual.

Here's a few photos of the Grand Canyon from my first visit to it in 2004:

Race to see all the states

2010-10-16T11:20:00.004-05:00

Here is the update on my travels. I have 6 states left to visit before being able to say that I've been to them all. I missed Rhode Island because of bad weather and lack of time during my New England trip. Its kinda easy to miss anyway.

Not too worried about Iowa because Amber is there--so I will likely get my butt out there to see her soon. Kentucky is home to Mammoth Caves National Park which I will likely visit in early November. Nebraska. Hmm Nebraska. Well...there is a AFO/COS/WOS meeting (for bird nerds) in Kearney, Nebraska this March. I have no idea where I'll be at that time, but it would be a pretty cool opportunity to go and see the spring migration of Sandhill Cranes, geese and ducks in the Platte River and Rainwater Basin while I'm there. Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota would be a check for me on my mission to visit all of the parks (and while I'm that far north I could also check out Voyageurs in Minnesota). And finally...Hawaii. Determined to get there someday and see as much of it as possible. Where there's a will, there's a way.

While I have the opportunity--I'd like to rant about something. Everyone always likes to ask the trivia question, "What's the only state that doesn't have a National Park?" And the answer is Delaware. First of all, just so everyone knows, there are 57 National Parks (the big ones) and many states do not have one (especially in the east). So places like Rhode Island and Vermont get credit for National Corridors, Memorials, Seashores, Historic Sites, Scenic Trails, etc. -- even though they are not all that impressive. I'm not sure why Delaware doesn't SOMETHING that would fall under one of those categories--in fact I think they could pull off a National Seashore or National Park (White Clay Creek would be on par with Ohio's scattered, fragmented Cuyahoga Valley that runs along a MAJOR highway and a polluted river). But it just hasn't happened yet. Finally, I'd like to mention that Delaware does have two National Wildlife Refuges (they fall under U.S. FWS, not NPS) and 17 state parks.

There. I defended Delaware even though I'd really rather not live here anymore (I'm sorry Delaware, you just don't have enough mountains or jobs).

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread...

2010-10-08T15:18:00.004-05:00

...places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul. - John Muir

Ahhh…Maine. What’s in Maine anyway? People that like to eat lobster I guess…

I drove out of NH, through Bangor and southeast to Bar Harbor. Destination: Acadia National Park. I was lucky to arrive with sunny blue skies.

Acadia is well known, I suppose, for Cadillac Mountain. With an elevation of 1,528 feet, its summit is the highest within 25 miles of the coastline of the Eastern United States. In fact, I had read that Cadillac Mountain is the first location in the United States to be struck by the sun's rays each morning. But according to Wiki, this is only true in fall and winter. Regardless, I took a drive up to the top of the mountain this afternoon and it was a zoo. No—not zebras and elephants. It seemed as if nearly all of the retired folks in the entire US were on top of that mountain. With cameras. Yikes! I’m not so sure it would be worth the drive again just to see the sun rise.

The secret to enjoying National Parks, in my opinion, is to get away from the main
attractions and people, and out of your car. If you must see the main stuff, fine. But at least take a hike—to something. Today I decided to check out Acadia’s old carriage roads. And I was pretty happy with the results…

This waterfall was all by its lonesome so I spent some quality time getting to know it. I saw maybe 4 people the entire time I was hiking.

I gave in before I left and hit the high points of the park—Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, etc. It was quite beautiful, but the weather was not cooperating. Cold, cloudy, and windy—which I wasn’t quite prepared for. So just before lunch I decided to head south, all the way to NJ to see my friend Kristin as my last destination on the New England tour. Walden Pond in Mass. and Rhode Island will have to wait…

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings...

2010-10-06T15:15:00.002-05:00

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. – John Muir

I could certainly use some freshness, energy, and a loss of worries…let’s hope this works.

I now know why everyone makes such a big deal about the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I hiked the short (1.6 mi one way) Mount Pemigewasset trail to an incredible view of the Franconia Notch area. The fall colors were amazing and my camera really didn’t do a very good job of capturing the moment. But here is a picture at the top anyway…

I also visited one of Robert Frost's houses. Believe me...if my house had view like that I would be a great writer as well. Hehe.

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. - Lao Tzu

2010-10-04T15:13:00.003-05:00

Things in Delaware have gotten a little bit…stale. The job hunt is endless and frustrating. Most of my friends are far far away. I miss having my own apartment. My stuff is in Texas. Blah blah blah…

So I decided to take a road trip. Just me, my faithful companion the Honda Fit, and a box of cheerios. Honey nut.

I’ve been planning on a New England trip for a while—and fall is the best time to do it. So I headed out (after a nice visit with Kiri in Newark) early on Sunday and headed straight for Vermont.

The green mountains were quite nice. I stopped in a nice little area with a pond, hiked around a little, and slept in my car in a free (FREE!) campground. Maybe I was in the wrong area…but the Southern Green Mountains were not exactly full of recreational hot spots. No signs for trailheads and even campgrounds were rare. Probably poor planning on my part. But oh well, it was still pretty, and on to New Hampshire!

Noah

2010-08-28T20:38:00.002-05:00

Have you seen how cute my nephew is these days??

Isle Royale

2010-08-15T17:54:00.005-05:00

After going to a wedding in St. Joseph, MI, I picked up Kristin in Chicago and we made the 7 hour drive to the Upper Peninsula for an overdue backpacking reunion trip (we did the Maryland section of the AT 5 years ago). Our destination...Isle Royale National Park!

There were a few reasons for choosing Isle Royale...one being my mission to see all 57 National Parks of the US (this made #33), and two...wolves and moose! Of course we didn't really expect to see wolves. But the island is rather famous if you are an ecologist.

Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior, and part of the state of Michigan (but not far from Canada). The island and the 400 surrounding smaller islands make up Isle Royale National Park. Obviously the only way to get there is by boat (or seaplane)--and ours took 9 hours because a draw bridge was broken. But, it was a nice ride anyway. The remoteness of Isle Royale leads to it having fewer visitors in one year than Great Smoky Mountains National Park has in just one day!

The island is well known among ecologists as the site of a long-term study of a predator-prey system between moose and eastern timber wolves. In general, as the moose increase in population, the wolves increase. (And the island creates an opportunity with a closed system to study this.) Eventually, the wolves kill too many moose and begin to starve/lower reproductive rates and the moose increase again.

After we got off the boat at Rock Harbor, Kristin and I hiked 3 miles to a campground along the coast. We were attacked by caterpillars of some kind (they just covered our tent) and it rained overnight. But we did awake just before dawn to moose munching right outside the tent, which was pretty awesome.

On Day 2 we hiked 11 miles by going further down the coast and then up over Mt. Ojibway to a nice ridge trail with great views of the island. Then finally we went back down to the other side of the island to Lane Cove. On Day 3 we hiked another 7 or so miles back to Rock Harbor and hung out until the boat picked us up again. At Lane Cove we both heard howling in the night.

The island was beautiful and it was nice to get out on the trail again -- it felt good to hike all day until I was dead tired and fall asleep by 9pm. And of course it was great to spend time with Kristin!

Full Circle

2010-07-14T22:22:00.004-05:00

I surveyed Stampede as my last meadow of the season, and most likely my last field season in the Sierras. The first meadow I ever visited was Stampede back in 2005 . If that’s not coming around full circle, I dunno what is. Especially since Stampede isn’t a meadow I went to often in the past 6 years. It was certainly not planned that way. Well, not by me.

At the end of the week I’m headed for the coast to see Stef and Ivan in San Francisco for a couple days, then home to Delaware (exact route TBD). After that I have a trip to Michigan for a wedding and a backpacking trip with Kristin in Isle Royale. Then it’s off to spend time at Song Lake in Tully, NY with my family. I haven’t seen my nephew since the day he was born 6 months ago so I’m pretty excited about that. And its been a couple years since I’ve been to the lake house.
That’s all that I have marked on the calendar for now. But who knows what will happen. I’m applying for jobs and thinking about spending some time in the southwest in the meantime.

I’m going to miss the Sierras, but I think it’s time to move on. I’m glad I had an extra season to end everything on a positive note. I thought we’d never make it to all of our sites because of the snow, but in the end we covered just about everything we needed to. And I got to see parts of the Sierras all the way from Seki NP to Modoc NF, which is pretty impressive.

I can always come back and visit. The Sierra's will always have part of my heart.

Lava Beds National Monument

2010-07-14T00:01:00.004-05:00

I went to the Lassen/Modoc county area for my last stint of meadow surveys this week. Most of the sites were not very impressive although some did produce some different bird species that I hadn’t seen all summer, like Lazuli buntings. I also got great looks at Virginia rails, which didn’t respond to our play back (ha). We had a lot of storms...but also rainbows.

It was really hot in the afternoons and kept storming so we escaped the heat by getting ice cream and playing on the computer in the Adin Library. But when the library was closed we headed for Lava Beds National Monument (almost to Oregon) to check out some caves and do some birding. What better place to escape the heat than hiding in caves that are on average 57 degrees?

Lava Beds National Monument is geologically outstanding because of its great variety of volcanic formations including: lava tube caves. Lava flows dated to about 30,000-40,000 years ago formed most of the lava tube caves in the monument.

Next, we went to Tule Lake to look for birds in the marshes. Grebes, ducks, geese, black-necked stilts, sandpipers, and many common yellow-throats singing like crazy. We ended the trip with a visit to Petroglyph Point (below) which had some awesome birds like a peregrine falcon, prairie falcon, and rock wrens running up the walls. I also found what appeared to be an owl’s messy kitchen (or trash can?)—hundreds of owl pellets and bones of various critters under a rock ledge. Woulda been awesome to see the owl! Overall it was a good trip and a nice afternoon activity between survey sites.

Attack of the pikas!

2010-07-05T23:55:00.002-05:00

I went up to Truckee for part of 4th of July weekend to hang out with my good friends Jill and Melissa. We went for a hike up by Barker Pass and were actually able to get away from the crowds. It was a nice hike and we found a pika at the top! They are super cute. Someday maybe they will take over the world, and everyone will let them because they are so cute.

Still a bunch of snow on the trail and in the mountains. I apologize for the wacky blue-ness of the first photo…my camera (phone actually) was set to some weird blue mode and I didn’t realize it until later. But, Tahoe is quite blue as it is, and so is the sky, so it may not be too much of a stretch…of course my friends are not smurfs.

I spent the rest of the weekend in South Lake with my crew we packed some Lake Tahoe time, a BBQ with excellent food, and fireworks with mobs of people into the 4th. Good times. Gonna miss that beautiful lake. Only a week left of work here.

Jill's photos are always better... :-)

8 Bears in 24 Hours

2010-06-26T15:05:00.005-05:00

Black Bears...

1. eat mostly berries, nuts, grasses, carrion, and insect larvae

2. have color vision and a keen sense of smell

3. are good tree climbers and swimmers

4. are very intelligent and curious

5. can run up to 35 miles per hour

6. weigh an average of 125 to 600 pounds

7. go without food for up to 7 months during hibernation in northern ranges

8. usually give birth to 2 to 3 cubs during the mother's sleep every other year

9. can live over 25 years in the wild (average age in the wild is 18)

10. are typically shy and easily frightened

We haven’t had actual snow fall from the sky for a couple of weeks now, but snow continues to cause problems. That’s one problem with studying birds in high elevation wet montane meadows. There are still several sites with closed roads so we can’t get in to survey them. And even if we do get in it rarely looks like spring/summer there. I’m not sure how the birds are able to handle such a small window of opportunity—a breeding season of basically 2 months (in a good year).

We had 4 days of work left (we work a 7 on/3 off) and a bunch of sites that needed to be surveyed. I really wanted to cover the Perazzo area finally—its been really wet so we had put it off. So I sent the rest of the crew to the Truckee area and tried to cover 6 sites on my own in the southern Sierras.

On Sunday I ended up in Sequoia National Park. Home of the giant trees! Surveying in a National Park can make things interesting—because people are always watching you (except maybe at 5am). And National Parks are the only place where people will stop dead in the middle of the road, hop out, and start snapping pictures of deer, bear, etc.

I set up my point locations in the evening and talked to a family who wanted to know where the bears were even though I told them I studied birds. I told them I hadn’t seen any bears. As soon as I left them and crossed the road, there was a bear.

As a side note—I didn't see a bear in a meadow from ’05 through ’08. I had only seen a couple in neighborhoods. And one in Little Perazzo in ’09. But of course this year has been a different story. During my first week in Yosemite for this project I saw a mama bear and three cubs. And shortly after, a sighting of a rather large bear with a possible older cub in our dumpster at the condo. I also had a young bear on a point count near Carmen, and another in Hope Valley—when that one wouldn’t move off my point, I backed up and sat down. He sat down. Finally he or she got bored and left. Anyway—lots of bears this year. I’ve started to accept it as no big deal—but its still really exciting to get to see them.

Back to Sequoia. The next morning when I arrived to do my point counts in the same meadow—a bear, in the same place. A car pulled over immediately after me and a woman hopped out excitedly with a camera and started snapping pictures of a bear 250 meters away. I was in a hurry to finish my points and started putting on my hip waders.

“You aren’t going out there are you!?” the woman said frantically. “I’m not going out there.”

“I am. But I work here, and I’m not going far.” I replied. At least she was smart enough not to go out there. She asked me if it was tagged. I wanted to tell her I didn’t really give a damn about the bear. But that wouldn’t have been very nice.

She proceeded to ask why the bear—which was very far away from the road—didn’t mind us staring at him or why he or she was not bothered by the road at all. Hmm. Maybe because it’s a National Park and there are roads and people everywhere?

It didn’t appear to be a different bear from the night before—very dark (they range from blonde to black with cinnamon being very common). I did my point and looked back at the bear again and it was replaced by a lighter colored bear. Popular bear spot?

Later in the day I spotted another bear far at the end of another meadow near my last point. So I decided to sneak up on it to watch it. This large mama bear had a tiny little cub and they let me watch them from 150 meters while she foraged and the cub ran around climbing trees and falling back down. It was amazing just to sit and watch them for a while.

Long story short, I had a few more bear sightings and left the park about 24 hours after I had arrived the day before. Oh yeah, I also saw some big trees.

So in the end, I probably saw more bears in one 24 hour period than I have in my entire life.

Fear of bears is probably a good thing in a National Park—at least you won’t have people invite the cute cuddly bear into their car for a family picture. But at the same time, fear is silly. The bears I saw didn’t seem to be bothered by me—they were just doing their thing. I know if threatened or startled they can run fast and rip me to shreds—and I respect that. But in general the black bear is not an animal to fear. I’m much more afraid of being secretly stalked and hunted down my a mountain lion in a meadow—even though that’s also unlikely to happen. Honestly, the most dangerous and common thing out there is cold water.

Meat meat chewy chewy!

2010-06-18T12:31:00.000-05:00

I know its June and not January, but I decided to make some resolutions. Well, more like challenge myself to be better in a few different areas.

Last year I decided to eat healthier, and although I’ve slipped up a few times, I’ve made a fairly impressive turn around in the last year or more in terms of what I eat. To add to that, for the last 3 weeks I’ve been eating a vegetarian diet. There are tons of great reasons (health, environmental, etc.) why I wanted to—and I should have done it a long time ago. But habits are heard to break sometimes. I knew if I didn't make it a challenge with an end date and just said oh I'll eat less meat, than I wouldn't. So I survived 3 weeks without it, just to see how it feels. A few people were concerned that I'd faint or become weak--those people are silly and don't know how to eat well. It was very easy to get enough protein. There are plenty of other sources to get what you need without eating meat. In fact, I probably got more than normal because I was paying attention.

I grew up eating a lot of meat (almost with every meal)—and it still seems like it has to be there on my plate sometimes. But it really doesn’t, or at least not as often as I think it does. And I proved to myself that I don't really need it. I will go back to eating meat on occasion (eating out sometimes, holidays, etc.), but for the most part I'll try to stick to no meat. I enjoyed trying new foods like eggplant "meat" balls and learning how to cook tofu. I was much more creative with my meals and had a lot of variety.

More Challenges:

For my next “challenge” I’d like to be a better finisher. While working on my thesis I often felt like I never finished anything. I even had to keep a finishing journal sometimes to prove that I actually can finish things. I’m still working on my FINAL thesis corrections, and that will be a good start to my new finishing rule. If I start reading a book, I will finish it. If I have undergraduate manuscripts that still need publishing so that they don’t haunt me forever, I will finish them. This also leads me to my third challenge…

Pushups. I’ve never had much upper body strength—playing soccer for 10 years doesn’t help that. So, while incorporating more exercise into my life in general is a good plan (at least I hike daily now), I made a specific effort several weeks ago to reach 100 consecutive push ups. And…you guessed it, I didn’t finish! My upper body strength was so poor that I could only do 8 knee pushups without falling over. And in a couple of weeks I had worked up to 40 consecutive knee push ups (stop laughing at me). But I hit a plateau, and gave up. So I’d like to finish this challenge. And it will probably take a some serious effort. But push ups are one of the best exercises you can do—works a bunch of different muscles and is easily done anywhere without any equipment.

Finally, my 4^th challenge is to read more (and finish the books!). Now that I don’t have to read text books and scientific literature as much—I can read for fun again! So I’ve made a list of books I’d like to read over the remainder of the year. Here’s the list…just in case anyone wants to join me. The first one I’ve finished reading already, the second two are ones I started, but never finished—so they are on the top of the list. Otherwise they are in no particular order.

Deep South, Nevada Barr

Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson

Pigs in Heaven, by Barbara Kingsolver

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, by Tom Robbins

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant

Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding

Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier

Animal Dreams, by Barbara Kingsolver

Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

Beavers: good or bad?

2010-06-03T11:14:00.005-05:00

Although beavers play an important role in the ecosystem, they can also cause problems that are sometimes more than a nuisance. Beaver dams can actually cause flooding. This can wipe out land that farmers need for crops or livestock. On the other hand, they create wetlands that absorb large amounts of water, which counteracts the effects of heavy rainfall and can prevent potential floods. In addition, beaver dams act as natural filters that keep sediment and toxins from flowing into streams and on into oceans.

For willow flycatchers, an endangered species that relies fairly heavily on wetlands and riparian systems, it is often thought that beavers are very important. The picture below is from Carmen Valley in Tahoe National Forest in California. This was a picture I took of a willow flycatcher territory in 2007--he never acquired a female but it seemed like a pretty sweet place to hang out.

I returned to the territory in 2008 to resight an unbanded male here, and again no female. I wasn't able to check it out in 2009 and didn't even know if there was a male here again. But just this past week I was in Carmen Valley again and took the following photo of the same territory:

Most of the willow is gone or dead, and at least 3 beavers were seen swimming in the area at the same time. So in this case, it seems the beavers did some damage. Maybe its just too many beavers for one area.

Where's the willow flycatcher you ask? Hes still here--I saw him (or at least someone) flycatching like crazy over his new lake front property and hes taken up residence behind where I stood for the photo where there are a few willows in some kind of drainage ditch. I'm curious to see if he stays--but I have no idea why he would. Carmen Valley, in my opinion, has several other great places with more willow that he could occupy. If he is really the same bird--is he that site faithful that he won't move after these drastic changes?

Montane meadows

2010-06-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! - John Muir

This is a photo from a few weeks ago during our training session. The meadow is Truckee Marsh in South Lake Tahoe--one of the few meadows left in the area that was not turned into housing developments or a marina. We saw lots of yellow-headed blackbirds here along with soras, waterfowl, and many other great birds. Sometimes I forget to be grateful that I get to work in these beautiful areas and take it for granted. I am often reminded when I show newbies the meadows and they are blown away by how beautiful it is out here. Each summer I'm here I have to remind myself that it could be the last one so I should enjoy it. Honestly, I've been thinking of retiring from the area after this summer and starting something brand new so that I don't turn something amazing into something mundane. After all, I can always come back and visit...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2010-05-25T19:18:00.005-05:00

Ok. So I don't actually want it to snow anymore. But maybe if I pretend that I do...it will stop.

Training is over but we haven't really been able to start work because of bad weather. Its been snowing at high elevations failrly often, and temperatures are still in the 20s or even the teens overnight. Doesn't make me a very happy camper. Literally.

The project is getting off to a slow start--lots of meadows, maps, data sheets, points, etc. I hope to really get started this Saturday after the snow storm passes. Its been challenging because there are so many meadows, all at different elevations and also different latitudes. Its hard to determine which sites to hit up first--we want the ones where the birds have started their breeding activities...but there are a lot of factors that fall into play.

In the meantime, I took a few days off to go meet Kristen in Fresno for some bridesmaid dress shopping (ugh!). And we headed out to the Sierra foothills for some camping and beer drinking. We had a sweet tent spot along the river...

The hiking choices were not the best--we saw more cows than birds--but all in all it was a really fun weekend! Most of all I'm glad I got to see Kristen for longer than a few hours.

Finished

2010-05-15T08:27:00.000-05:00

I finally finished and defended my thesis and submitted it to the University. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Well not the defense, the entire process. Seems somewhat silly, but I really struggled with finishing it. The closer I got to the end the more overwhelming it seemed. And I felt like I had hit a wall way back in December. I was burnt out. Tired mentally and emotionally from everything that I went through in the past two years. I made everything harder on myself by procrastinating when I didn't know how to move to the next step. And it wasn't really the writing as much as the atmosphere that I didn't like anymore.

I can look back on everything and learn something from it now. I know what kind of people I want to work for in the future. I know the kind of person I want to strive to be if I'm ever in a situation that calls for leadership of a group of people. And I know this because I mostly learned what not to do.

"Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations."

Bandi Chastain is a professional American soccer player best known for her game-winning penalty against China in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final -- and her celebration afterward (see below). I watched this game--it was an amazing moment for the US women's soccer team. She got a lot of crap for this picture (well it made her famous) but I couldn't think of a better picture to describe how happy I am to actually be finished--and to be moving on to something new and exciting and working for people who appreciate hard work.

Don't worry, I won't run around without a shirt on to celebrate. But you should know, I'm also just as ripped as she is. Haaa. Right. Scary.

Birds.

2010-05-13T16:12:00.005-05:00

All is well in the Sierras. We’ve been training for 1.5 weeks now and have seen 103 bird species between Yosemite and South Lake Tahoe. Some highlights for me have been Great Gray Owl (lifer), Yellow-headed Blackbirds (only seen once before in a parking lot), and Black-throated Gray Warbler (they are just so cute). But I have so many favorites! We have another week to go before we actually start work doing point counts.

Between every two pines...

2010-05-09T00:45:00.004-05:00

...is a doorway to a new world

It’s almost officially over. The defense is done. I passed. I threw most of my stuff in storage, said goodbye to some friends (for now), and hit the road. Destination California. What a crazy week!

We started our training in Yosemite—had a great week. Met the new crew (they are great), got re-acquainted with all my favorite meadow birds (and new ones too), and saw some amazing scenery as usual. Yosemite has so much to offer—especially beyond just the valley were everyone usually congregates. We saw a mama bear with three cubs on our way back from a hike at Hetch Hetchy.

Side note: Hetch Hetchy Valley is currently flooded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The damming of the valley in the 1920s, and the creation of a reservoir were at the time and since, a major environmental controversy in the Western United States. In 1906, after a major earthquake, San Francisco applied to the United States Department of the Interior to gain water rights to Hetch Hetchy. This provoked a seven-year environmental struggle with the environmental group Sierra Club, led by John Muir who observed:

“Dam Hetch Hetchy! May as well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.”

Hanging out in South Lake Tahoe for now—there’s still quite a bit of snow on the ground here and a storm on the way. I saw people ice fishing on my way into town. We’ve got a condo not too far from Tahoe with access to a hot tub and pool. It’s going to be a good summer.

Flycatcher count for the week: Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Dusky Flycatcher, Hammond’s Flycatcher, and Pacific Slope Flycatcher.

Edumacation

2010-04-22T22:48:00.001-05:00

"In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." - Baba Dioum

At what’s likely to be the end of my classroom education--I just wanted to take some time to thank all of the teachers in my life who have not only taught me, but have dedicated their lives to teaching thousands of students. Even when many students don’t want to be taught.

Personally I think I’m a horrible teacher. I love the idea of showing someone something they’ve never seen before—and seeing how excited they can get about it. But somehow the delivery is difficult for me, and just plain awkward and uncomfortable. Maybe it gets easier—but I just don’t think its my thing. But I recently taught a lecture on bird song to a class of college juniors and seniors. Throw up a bunch of pictures and words on PowerPoint and you are good to go right? I spent a lot of time trying to get those words and pictures to really sink in with the students. Its possible that I succeeded because I had a few students relay things back to me on our lab field trip—or maybe I just had the attention of a couple male students in the class (ha!). I also showed them a video from Life of Birds—and if anyone can show a group of Texan hunters how cool non-game birds are, its Sir. David Attenborough! After all, he helped me see the light in my ornithology class.

Science was always one of my strongest subjects in school—with the exception of chemistry. It was usually the natural world that drew my attention. And I had a few great teachers in high school who without knowing it (I didn’t know it either), probably pulled it all together for me. I don’t remember a whole lot from my Earth Science course (sorry Rut) but I know I enjoyed it at the time. But it was outside of the classroom with the same teacher (and others) in a summer class of sorts where I got to learn all kinds of awesome stuff about the Pine Barrens, Delaware Water Gap, and beyond. A beginning to my desire to travel and enjoy the outdoors (I couldn’t ignore Rut’s many beautiful SLIDES of the American west!). I also gained a strong foundation in biology—even in honors biology, which almost drove me to dropping out of a class (looking back, it was a good lesson). The Selfish Gene certainly makes more sense to me now! And finally, a class in wildlife—a subject that’s not often taught in high schools and certainly should be. Yes, the material was important, but more so were the teachers that taught those classes. Thank you.

I've had several great teachers since high school that also contributed to who I am today and my passion for birds and conservation. Even up to my masters degree where a prof challenged me to think about things very differently and every time I left his class I thought I knew less rather than more. They all have a different style. But they also all have enthusiasm for learning and sharing their knowledge—more importantly for challenging others to become better. It has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world.

I hope schools continue to incorporate more courses in the environmental sciences at young ages—more ecology, more hands-on-go-outside-and-see-stuff classes! What if one of the first things we were taught as a young child was how important the living world around us was, and how to take care of it—to make it last? That’d be pretty cool.

And Rut—I’m proud of you for teaching your classes about birds so they know what a robin is! No more “nature-deficit disorder”!

No Child Left Inside: http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=702

Fledglings

2010-04-20T02:22:00.008-05:00

Hey—remember when this blog was about flycatchers? No? It wasn’t ever about flycatchers?! Well fine then. My apologies for letting this slip into more of a diary style blog than anything else. Things just haven’t been all that interesting while in graduate school. I’ll be on the move again soon. But I should probably at least talk about my research once or twice before I move on.

Willow flycatchers are kind of a drab little bird. But they certainly have personality. (And you thought this was a science based blog—ha!) The subspecies I work with is listed as endangered in California, and the southwestern subspecies is federally listed as endangered. Population declines since the 1940s were attributed to loss of habitat and an increase in nest predation rates. I should also mention that these guys nest in wet montane meadows and both the water in the meadow (largely from snow melt) and the riparian shrubs (mostly willow) are extremely important to them, at least in our study sites. When I say “our” I mean me and all the students that have been studying this little bird over the past decade. The project I’ve been working on has been monitoring the Sierra Nevada population from just south of Lake Tahoe, north to Lassen Volcanic National Forest since 1997. This summer will be the last year of the study.

One part of the breeding cycle that hadn’t been looked at in this population yet was the postfledging period. That is, the time between when the young leave the nest and when they migrate. So that’s what I attempted to study at over the past 2 years. To do this, I banded the young so I could tell them apart from each other after they fledged, and I located the little buggers daily to see where they were and how many of them were alive.

If you have never seen fledging birds just out of nest…you are missing out…so cute! They like to huddle together on a branch and make adorable noises. Science. Right. Sorry. Basically I found that between 46% and 76% of the fledglings will survive to the end of the dependence period (after which they don’t depend on their parents for food and protection). So to get better picture of why this is important, think about it this way:

Typically willow flycatcher females have 1-2 nest attempts per season. The chances of a nest surviving to fledge is usually about 50%. So if you have 20 total nests, 10 of them will reach the fledging date. If you had 3 nestlings per nest (which would actually be a little high) you would have 30 fledglings and fecundity (# fledglings/female) would be 3, if you had 10 females (probably low, I’m keeping the math simple). And some say an annual output of 2.23 young/female is the minimum needed to keep most populations of small passerines stable—so we’re good! But wait, say you lose another 50% of those fledglings after they leave the nest. Now you’ve got 15 fledglings/10 females, giving a fecundity estimate of 1.50 which is not going to stabilize the population.

More importantly, fecundity estimates from this study were already estimated to be below 2.23, before my research was done—meaning that we were already showing population declines while overestimating the number of young that make it to migration each year! Bottom line: these birds are simply not producing enough young to keep their populations stable. And a lot of loss occurs during the breeding season.

So…what do we learn after 10 years of studying a declining species? They are still declining! Sigh. What now? More on this later. I don’t want to bore you to death. What a cliff hanger!

Thesis Update

2010-04-09T15:29:00.001-05:00

This is how I have felt for the past few months--like I'm allergic to it! Like there was a force field between me and it sometimes. I'd be frozen and unable to work on it. Mostly because I didn't know how to do something and wasn't sure where to go for help. Sigh.

I finally have a full draft of my thesis turned in. Its not perfect. But its a hell of a lot closer to it than it was even 2 weeks ago. Finally feels like I may actually finish this thing. Of course my defense date is still up in the air. But, I'm ok with that.

The Truth About Graduate School

2010-04-01T15:22:00.000-05:00

Travel Bug

2010-03-16T00:17:00.001-05:00

One of my goals has been to visit every state. Below is a map of the states I've visited--actually spent some time there. I've driven through a bunch more -- so technically I've been to more. But whats the point if all you see is the road and maybe a gas station?

So my plan (now that I'll be free from the clutches of grad school--soon!!!!) is to hit the road again. At least a little bit. I'll be in Cali all summer, and then I've got a wedding to go to in Michigan (Great Lakes, Isle Royale?), and shortly after I should be headed back home which will give me a chance to finally see the North East. Acadia NP is high on the list because of my other travel goal--to see all of the National Parks. But theres a lot to see in New England.

And I also have high hopes for a trip to Iowa--to see Amber. :-)

Steer

2010-03-13T01:17:00.006-06:00

Patrick's Point SP, Eureka, California, 2006

Feel it falling off like clothing
Taste it rolling on your tongue
See the lights above you glowing
Oh and breathe them deep into your lungs

It was always simple, not hidden hard
You've been pulling at the strings playing puppeteer for kings
And you've had enough

But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know that you control where you go
You can steer

So hold this feeling like a newborn
Of freedom surging through your veins
You have opened up a new door
So bring on the wind, fire and rain

It was always simple, not hidden hard
You've been played at a game called remembering your name
And you stuffed it up

But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know that you control where you go
You can steer

Partial lyrics from "Steer" by Missy Higgins

San Diego

2010-02-16T21:44:00.003-06:00

In Feb. we went to San Diego for a bird meeting. Who cares about birds. We got to go to California!

Here's me, Melissa, and Tara hiking at Torrey Pines State Preserve.

A beautiful California sunset....

And Tara and Melissa watching a naked man...I mean birds...

It just made me miss California even more. We also went to the San Diego Zoo. Cuz, well, its the San Diego Zoo. Thats what you do. And we ate the best breakfast food at a little diner in Encinitas! Great hash browns. Wow.

And...I got to see my favorite Amber. Which was the best part.

Yup. It was a good trip. We didn't want to return to Texas.

The mountains are calling and I must go...

2010-01-15T18:04:00.005-06:00

I accepted a position as a supervisory biologist with the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) in the Sierras--I'll be leading a crew of 5 for a restoration project. So I'll be headed back to the meadows at the end of April. I'm pretty excited about it. IBP looks like a great organization to work for. And I get to leave Texas early.

The goal of the project is to gather baseline point count data for ~20 meadows that will be restored to better conditions in the future. We'll also collect data from ~20 control sites for comparison. Sounds like this is the start of a long term project and one that is very much needed! I'll talk more about restoration in a future blog, I promise.

I miss the Sierras and no matter how hard I try to convince myself I could live somewhere else--I get pulled back in. "The mountains are calling and I must go" is a quote by John Muir. According to wiki Muir was: "a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas."

In 1903, Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt visited Yosemite together. "While traveling to the park, Muir told the president about state mismanagement of the valley and rampant exploitation of the valley's resources. Even before they entered the park, he was able to convince Roosevelt that the best way to protect the valley was through federal control and management."

I visited Yosemite for the first time in 2005 with my family. See picture of the valley below. Pretty nice, eh? Although I often wonder what Muir would think of the hoards of people that tramp through the park every summer. You really need to get on the trails to get away from the crowds. Someday I'd love to hike the the 211-mile John Muir Trail through the park.

Here's a picture (thanks to wiki) of Muir and Teddy together at Glacier Point.

Nephews

2010-01-07T13:49:00.001-06:00

Welcome little babies into the world!

My friend Constanza had to move back to Argentina--and I miss her dearly! But she recently gave birth to her first baby, Joaquin. He was born on 12/14 at 1223. He was 3.13 kg (almost 7lbs) and 50 cm. Congrats Constanza and Hernan! I can't wait to meet him in person!

And on Jan. 5th just hours before I left Delaware at the end of Christmas break, I got to meet my adorable little nephew, Noah Riley Benton.

Thesis Update

2009-12-25T15:19:00.000-06:00

Callin' it quits

2009-11-24T01:04:00.004-06:00

I made a decision not to continue work with WIFL in the Sierras again this summer or to switch to work on the Texas projects. It was a hard decision to make--but both my head and my heart said it was time to say no. Actually I could list many reasons why this is the best option for me--even if some part of me still feels like a quitter.

I'm going to miss the project--its hard to let go after 5 years. But its time to move on. And time to start something new--hopefully something that will move me forward in the direction I'd like to go.

This video explains it all. I'm pretty sure she says, "Screw you. I'm leaving."

To the Ozarks

2009-11-10T12:25:00.004-06:00

Fall doesn’t really exist in central Texas—some leaves change to blah yellow, but that’s about it. So Kristin and I decided to take a road trip to Arkansas to see fall. It was the closest place we could drive to. Plus, I’ve always wanted to see the Ozarks.

We left early on Thursday morning and headed towards Texarkana with some canned food, basic camping equipment, an atlas, and the GPS. There wasn’t much planning involved as usual. We arrived in the dark (thanks useless day-light savings time) and headed towards a tent symbol on the atlas. It turned out to be a horse camp, but it was empty which was fine with us. Until the car battery died on us after we set up the tent with the high beams on.

So in a deserted camp with a dead car and thoughts of the movie Deliverance in our heads, we went to sleep. Around 7am we were gently awakened by the sound of flickers, nuthatches, kinglets, and Carolina wrens. Around 8am Kristin scrambled out of the tent to catch a truck that had driven into the camp. Car battery problem solved! So we took a nice hike in the woods and went to see some bluffs. For those of you who are like me and haven’t heard of a bluff, or at least could not define it in terms of a geographical feature…"a steep promontory, bank, or cliff, especially one formed by river erosion on the outside bend of a meander”.

Here we are on a bluff--although you can't really tell. We had to hop out to the rock which made it particularly difficult to take the picture. Luckily Kristin isn't as much of a heights chicken as I am, so she was able to push the button, run, jump over the gap, and not knock me off the bluff in the process. Oh camera timers are great!

We took a scenic drive through the Ozarks…passing through one town called Deer, “Home of the Deer Antlers”. And the next town was called "Nail"--I assumed home of the nail biters. We also drive through the Ouachita mountains which go into Oklahoma (my first time in Oklahoma, and I was actually quite impressed!). We tried to rent a canoe or kayak but got freaked out by some backwoods cabin with barking hound dogs (insert banjo playing here). We spent the last night at another empty camp ground--except for a tent, food, and bunch of gear that looked like it had been left suddenly. When no one showed up by the next morning we decided to check the tent for dead bodies. We found none, but were slightly worried that we might be tracked down later as murder suspects.

Overall it was a great trip. Kristin and I had a lot of fun, and got to catch up on some girl talk. Good to get some fresh air and get out of Texas for a little bit.

Halloween

2009-11-01T10:24:00.003-06:00

For Halloween this year Melissa, Tara, and I did a Cat in the Hat theme...

So I was Thing 1. The blue hair did not work out so well, so I've edited the photo just a little bit for your enjoyment....

Ansel Adams Plays Fetch

2009-09-15T09:52:00.005-05:00

This is Ansel, and rumor has it he is part dog. He loves to play fetch with his mini tennis ball!

Ansel was named after Ansel Adams, who was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black and white photographs of the American West and primarily Yosemite National Park.

End of an Era

2009-09-06T01:29:00.009-05:00

I certainly did not do a great job keeping up with the blogs this summer. I guess I just didn’t feel like writing. Overall it was a great summer. I only ran into a few glitches with uncooperative field assistants, and the other downside was that the WIFL did not do well. This was sad—and it makes it difficult to write a thesis on fledgling survival. But I did get to know some wonderful people and was a bit more laid back for me than it usually is. I usually work every day and wear myself out, but I took my days off like I’m supposed to. My hard working crew made that possible.

Birds aside, the summer was fun of good times. Crew dinners were frequent (and delicious!) and followed by drinking and entertaining conversation. For the 4th of July we went to Tahoe with a bunch of other people to an awesome little area off the rocks just next door to the nudie beach. We floated around in little blow up rafts with beer and then had a BBQ back at the house. We also rafted the Truckee River towards the end of the season which was a lot of fun. It started out very tame, moving along at a nice relaxing pace. I was in a raft that I bought in 2007 and it seemed to be leaking air slowly. After it (we) took a hit from a large rock I had to stop and blow it up again. At the end we hit some rather large rapids and I ended up sitting in a foot of water in a half blown up boat (kinda like a bath tub). I also got to hike to a beautiful lake (what else does one find in Tahoe?), go to some hot springs near Mammoth Lakes and finally visit Webber Falls. A good end to my stint as WIFL queen in the Sierras.

Yup. Season number 5 complete. That’s a long time for me to stick with something. I will miss the Sierras and WIFL—so I’m sure I’ll be back someday (probably even briefly next year to train new folks). Each season was unique and fun, and was the beginning of several life-long friendships. So many great memories. Although the birds were adorable and the field sites were beautiful, it’s the people that will stay with me forever.

A few photos...

This is my favorite broken down old barn on the way to the field sites. I've probably driven past it 800 times. Every year I expect it to have fallen down from the snow. But alas, it still stands. And I intend to see it again in 10 years.

This is Kristen. I grew quite fond of her over the season.

After finding naked old men in a tub and a spring that was going to burn our skin off, we found this nice little hot spring to hang out in. Of course it was 80 degrees outside and I thought for a minute I might pass out.

Webber Falls--great swimming hole at the top of the 60ft waterfalls just south of our main field site (Perazzo). I'm not sure why it took me so long to check it out.

What's next? Who knows...

New Fosters

2009-09-05T11:47:00.000-05:00

This is Ansel (Adams) on the left and Piper (no last name) on the right. My two newest foster kittens. It was hard to get all of our faces into the frame--especially with squirmy kitties.

Beautiful Colorado

2009-08-28T10:55:00.007-05:00

As usual, I used my final drive back to Texas from Truckee to visit National Parks--continuing my quest to see every National Park in the US. Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Mesa Verde were #s 31 and #32. But I'm a moron and I lost my camera battery charger. So I had to use my cell phone for the photos--so the quality is not great.

Black Canyon is named because of its steapness--which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate. As a result, the canyon walls are most often in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black.

It was pretty cool to hear the river roaring from way down into the canyon (picture). And I took a short 2 mile hike just below the rim. Kind of one of those "Hey look a big hole in the ground" National Parks, but I also didn't get to stay long. Edward Abbey would have been dissapointed in me for sure. Woulda been cool to go all the way down--but I think you need a permit and it would take 10 hours down and back.

The Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile through the entire canyon, making it one of the steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile.

Next stop was Mesa Verde NP which features numerous ruins of homes and villages built by the ancient Pueblo people known as the Anasazi in the 1200s AD. It is best known for several cliff dwellings — structures built within caves and under outcroppings in cliffs — including Cliff Palace, which is thought to be the largest cliff dwelling in North America. Took a tour and learned a bit about the people who lived there. Pretty amazing stuff!

Lassen National Park

2009-06-29T10:19:00.001-05:00

I went to Lassen Volcanic National Park finally. One of our sites, Warner Valley is in Lassen National Forest, but I had never had time to see the park. So I took a break in the middle of the day from resighting WIFL and hiked in the park.

I paid to get in, and there was one hike I really wanted to do. So I wasn't real happy when I found thi sign at the trailhead.

But I saw some other people hiking it anyway...so what the heck. But I probably should have changed my shoes first...

So purdy! Really glad I decided to hike...

Time to stop and smell the flowers

2009-06-26T13:22:00.005-05:00

Well things are going well here in Truckee. The birds are here and doing what they should be--nesting! Things have been a little more laid back than in the past. Only a few speed bumps here and there. I've been more relaxed than usual--actually taking my days off when I'm supposed to. And the crew is good--both in and out of work.

The meadows have tons of beautiful flowers and I've never taken very many photos before. So no better time than the present! This is my favorite...would never have noticed it if someone hadn't pointed it out. Elephant's head. Look closely!

They're Here!

2009-05-20T18:11:00.003-05:00

The WIFLs are here! The WIFLs are here! You know, last year I tried not to make a huge deal out of the WIFL arrival because my other study species (DUFL) would be jealous. But I just can't help being excited about seeing my first WIFL of the year. After a few meadow visits with no WIFLs it was music to my ears when I heard a fitz-bew this morning. Actually I thought I was imagining it...

Three cute WIFL males were singing their hearts out this morning at Milton. I love how they throw back their heads and give it their all when they sing from the tops of snags and high pine branches. The river is still very deep from all of the snow melt so I decided not to attempt crossing this time. Starting off the season with wet waders is a bad idea (they never dry!). Luckily I brought my scope--so Hannah and I resighted those badboys from across the river. Only one was banded--which still makes me wonder where on earth are all the unbanded birds coming from?! I thought we had that under control...

So my quest this season is to find out what meadow near Milton could be pumping out WIFL babies that we are missing. Its possible they were from Webber--sometimes we don't band all the nestlings there. But the more exciting option is to go on a road trip (or by foot) and look for willow in undiscovered meadows (well, at least new to me).

I'll keep you posted on the Milton UB bird mystery...

And by the way, the male DUFL are here too and ready to go--maybe even pairing up. So we'll be kicking it into high gear soon enough. Those guys are great too! Them and their little bobbing tails and little do-hic bean dip calls!

Finally WIFL Time!

2009-05-18T10:40:00.004-05:00

Arrived in Truckee on the 13th for my 5th and final season of willow flycatcher work in the Sierras. I hit up the Wild Cherries for lunch, got the keys to the mansion, and made myself at home. The house is pretty shnazzy as usual.

I've spent 6 months preparing. I started hiring people back in November. After winter break I started getting my proposal fixed up for my second season of research. I also set up the rental vehicles, the house (what a mess!), orders some equipment, and put the new employees through lots of paperwork (ugh). So, with a slightly smaller budget this year we have a crew of 9 including me. Not too bad--but the lowest it has ever been. We are not monitoring Warner Valley nests like we did last year. And Constanza has officially graduated (yay!) so no mammal work. But we will be monitoring and resighting birds in many many meadows as usual in the Truckee, South Lake, and Warner areas--I think its about 40 sites. Plus, the new addition to the operation are the nest cameras. I love having the opportunity to work with electronics and possibly set things on fire (sarcasm). No conspecific attraction work this year either because of fewer people-- a surprise to me as it may have worked last year, but hey, I don't make those decisions.

I visited Martis the other day and briefly surveyed the usual WIFL territories. No WIFL, but I did find a sneaky DUFL. Same result at Perazzo, LT 1, and LT 3. So it seems that have not yet arrived, but I'm excited to see who does arrive when they finally get here! Will probably take the truck out tomorrow morning for another check before I return our rental truck.

Other than premature WIFL searching I've been carting equipment all over the place. Two loads of stuff in my car from Reno, plus and 8 hour round trip in a truck to Mammoth Lakes. Still missed a few things! Ugh. Why do we have so much crap?!

Truckee is the same...except that the Truckee Diner appears to be for sale and therefore closed. I don't know what I will do without their fabulous milkshakes this summer. (Its an original 1940s diner moved from West Chester, PA, and renovated in 1995) Plus there is construction on Donner Lake Rd. that is blocking people from dock parties! I took some pics of Donner though. And I had forgotten how beautiful those snowy mountains really were around Yosemite! Sigh...I love the Sierras. Am going to miss them.

That's all for now. The office is set and the crew is starting to come in today. Although I'm not really looking forward to training a brand new crew on my own--for the past 4 years we've always had at least a couple "returnees" so I didn't really have to do much work. :-) But I'm excited about the new crew.

Photos of good old Donner Lake:

Got flycatchers?

Water lily Pond

D.C Area Bucket List

res·o·lu·tion

Shenandoah

The FUNcercise craze

Are you scarier than a 2nd grader?

Run for your life

Great Falls Park

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

Green's Bluff

Feed me!

Backwoods Kentukiana

Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts

Cherry Blossoms at Tidal Basin

Cat Lovers for Birds Coalition

The Alchemist

Murder in Coches Prietos

Good Qualities of a Wildlife Biologist

Job Application Tips for Field Biologists (Part 2)

Job Application Tips for Field Biologists (Part 1)

So you want to be a wildlife biologist?

Valentine's Day

Longwood Gardens

Spring Ahead??

The 2011 Push Up Challenge

Hiking

The Way of the White Clouds

Bombay Hook

Serengeti National Park

Ngorongoro Crater

Myths of Wild Africa

Trochilidae

Sounds of Nature

Santa Elena Canyon

2010: Reflections

Ringing in the New Year from Big Bend

Merry Christmas

Joshua Tree

Smoky Mountain National Park

The Best of the Best

Madera Canyon

Pima Canyon

Source-sink Dynamics

One step at a time

From Loneliness to Solitude

Mt. Lemmon

Sabino Canyon

Saguaro National Park East

White Sands

Snow and Caves

Yellowstone National Park

Natural Order

Colors of Autumn

Keep it light enough to travel

Race to see all the states

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread...

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings...

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. - Lao Tzu

Noah

Isle Royale

Full Circle

Lava Beds National Monument

Attack of the pikas!

8 Bears in 24 Hours

Meat meat chewy chewy!

Beavers: good or bad?

Montane meadows

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Finished

Birds.

Between every two pines...

Edumacation

Fledglings

Thesis Update

The Truth About Graduate School

Travel Bug

Steer

San Diego

The mountains are calling and I must go...