Day 60

Well, after 5,000 miles of driving, 2 flat tires, 500+ bird survey points, and only 4 cases of poison ivy, it's finally here: Day 60 and the end of our adventure (...or not?).

Tomorrow we will move out of the field house and back to Blacksburg. I am hesitant to say that I'm "done" because I'm nowhere near finished! Now comes the "not-so-fun" part-- putting the information into the computer and using statistics to see what it tells us. Plus, I get to come back next year and do a 2008 field season all over again! And anyway, we still have salamander stuff to do through September of this year.

Well, we finally got some rain (figures, on the last day!). It rained all last night and through this morning. We got to fit in our last hour of birding this morning before the rain started up again, and got soaked while doing our last coverboard check. Boy was that fun! This evening we will most likely go out to do a final frog call survey to finish up.

So, don't be disappointed, the blog is not finished! Things will just be a bit slower now. I will probably come down 3-4 times to work on some salamander surveys, so I will try and take more pictures and write about what I'm doing.

So I thought I would leave you with some beautiful sunrise shots (not sunsets- it's not over!) to celebrate us not being "done."

Day 58

Only two more days of work left! Hard to believe Day 60 is right around the corner. We've been working pretty hard trying to finish up so we can all enjoy a couple weeks of summer before school starts again on August 20. Actually this past weekend we took a quick trip back to Blacksburg to drop off Lupita since she had to get back to Mexico. Chris and I will check out of the house on Thursday!

The past few days have included some amazing up-close ruby-throated hummingbird sightings. The flagging that I use to mark points is orange, so one actually flew right up a few feet from my face this morning, checking out the "orange flower." I would love to get a good picture of one, but they are just too quick. The best pictures can be taken while watching a hummingbird feeder (see my mom for these, she's got some good ones!

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/224/_/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird.aspx


Chris also had another black bear sighting the other day, a young male probably. I think they are pretty skiddish in the area where we work because it is really remote and they don't come into contact with people very often. I guess that's good for us! Most of the time I think they know we are there, they just stay out of our way.

Modeling some ticks! The newest fashion!! Please note, my right leg was in the grass for a matter of 15 seconds while standing alongside the road, and this is what happened!

How many can you count? Chris holds the record for the most ticks crawling on him in one day- almost 100. Definitely won't miss these guys!

Day 53

Happy Fourth of July!


Well we have 5 more early mornings of birding left in the season! We have to be finished by around July 15 since that is the end of the bird breeding season, when males stop singing as frequently and birds typically roam around more. Following the end of our birding days, we'll check coverboards one more time and check all of the plots to make sure that flagging is in place since these points will need to overwinter until I come back for more bird surveys next year. Granted, most of them will probably get lost (or eaten) before I need them again next May, but we might as well get them ready.

So what's the deal for the rest of the summer? I'll have to come back a few more times in August and September to check coverboards since salamanders will stay active for a few more months into the fall. If the weather works out right, there may be the potential for some night searches, but I really hope not since I will be starting school and won't be too excited about the 3 hour drive down here.

Box turtle in a puddle!

Rasnick Cemetery- a small family plot on top of a mountain. Immediate off to the right of the picture is a 100 acre clearcut (all trees were harvested and sold). I was told the Rasnick family sold out their timber and then sold the property to the landholding company that I am working with currently.