(Or, a field story with mild oversharing.)

Yesterday I searched a new expanse of mangrove and sampled a nest with two chicks that looked almost ready to fledge. I estimated they had one more day before leaving, so I decided to return the next day to catch the female. (It's easiest to trap her when the chicks are still in the nest.)

Today the nest was empty. I'd guessed wrong, the chicks had jumped ship already, and catching the female would be impossible. Or would it? Maybe if I caught a fledgling and put in the Potter trap, the female would go in to feed it?

Finding tiny, camouflaged, and silent fledglings has to be one of the most annoying field tasks ever. Which is why, when I spotted one glued to the branch of a mangrove, I scooped it up and vowed to hang on to it until the female was in my hands. Into the trap it went.

It took a few trips back to check, but I figured out that the female was simply passing food to the fledgling through the bars of the trap. I needed a way to cover most of the trap so she'd have no choice but to go in through the entrance and trip the wire. Available options were:

(a) My bookbag, with a gajillion things inside and a busted zipper.
(b) My shirt.

Oh, data, the things I do for you.

Five minutes later, there I am wearing a sports bra, hip waders and a pair of binoculars, swaddling this trap like an oblong baby. I have no idea how I looked, but I'd say a good guess would be Totes Ridic.

Some thoughts going through my head:

(a) Today is a great day to be working alone.
(b) Half of me finally looks like I belong in the Bahamas. The other half, in a Look Like You Crapped Your Pants contest.
(c) Maybe I should get sunscreen from my car that's parked next to a busy highway. Oh wait.
(d) At least it'll even out my tan.
(e) I am deranged to want blood from a bird this badly.

Too bad the female didn't appear for the rest of the afternoon, so I gave up and gathered up my things. And guess what? The trap was empty. The fledgling had gotten out somehow without setting it, giving me the finger and daring me to play Where's Waldo with it again.

So I will. I'm going back first thing tomorrow morning. And bringing an extra shirt.

Two weeks left!