photos 4

May 27, 2011 2:34 p.m.

Greetings from the Bahamas!

Round One Part A has been cleared: I'm here, all my stuff is here, and the instant the customs officer gave a hint of a smile when I explained that hip waders are kind of like waterproof pants, I knew things were going to be okay.

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Round One Part B is pending. Meet Troubles. This photo was taken when he was freshly made last month, and he's currently being inspected in Memphis before getting shipped to the island. (Edit: He just came in the mail! Which means I got all my paperwork right!) Whereas Bubbles left joy and harmony in her wake, Troubles will sow divisiveness and conflict. Which will maybe help me catch males.

Now it's time for Round Two, a generous six weeks of completing the field tasks I most enjoy: monitoring nests and catching Mom, Dad and the kids. Unfortunately there's been so little precipitation that many birds are still just hanging out, and worse, one field site has completely dried up. The drought transformed the marsh from one of my most productive sites into a piece of parched earth, where the only redwings I saw were lonely males that would have been glad for Bubbles's company. So, I get to bushwhack some more to find out where all the females chose to go instead.

This is actually the first time I've returned anywhere to study the same breeding population. The feeling was initially more creepy than comforting; I found my own footprints and even the holes from my mist net poles still intact in the mud, and when banded birds popped up to yell at me, the place seemed to have been frozen in time. But the familiarity became reassuring as I made a beeline for old nests and remembered the stories of each one. And it's been wonderful to see the parks and conservation people I thought I was saying goodbye to last year.

As the Bahamas adventure begins, the Canada one closes, ending an unbelievably successful launch of the field season. In 18 days I acquired samples from close to 50 individuals, many sets of reproductive tissues, and more seminal fluid than I know what to do with. Everything still has to be shipped to the States, so I'm not out of the woods just yet. But the momentum has carried over to the site I've been apprehensive about for the past year. I couldn't have asked for a higher note to end on, or a better group of people to keep in touch with.

Last set of Canada photos below.

PhotobucketI'm glad I never got around to searching this marsh, because all of the nests were destroyed when the rains came. Some of the ones I found also took a hit. It always sucks to peek in and see four eggs abandoned in a cold, damp nest.

PhotobucketThe wild columbine bloomed as the trillium faded. Wikipedia tells me that cyanide is contained in one of its secondary compounds.

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Look at those petals!

PhotobucketProbably not the most useful sign to come across in the woods...although the other bird-labbers knew the forest trails far better than I did, so maybe these names actually makes sense to them.

PhotobucketI found a poor misguided leech on my waders and scraped it off with the nearest flat object. Ew.

PhotobucketThen I transferred it to a tree and it transformed into this. EWWW.

Of course I was also all "You are a hirudinean, which means you are an annelid, which explains your segmented body." Clearly, my Animal Diversity professor made an impression.

PhotobucketMy favorite marsh to work in was named, not so originally, Beaver Marsh. I wondered what separated it from the million other beaver marshes until I came across a massive beaver dam at the west end of the pond. It had to be 15 meters long (okay, small in relative terms, since the record was 850 meters), and it definitely explained the deforested willow stands on the banks.

You can see the beaver lodge behind the dam. The first time I was here, two beavers were out swimming around it. One was acting either alarmed or aggressive and slapped the water with its tail, then dove headfirst into the water while exposing its webbed feet.

PhotobucketWater flows from the higher pond to the creek below. The deeper water created by dams both discourages predators and allows for underwater vegetation storage.

Here's some neat footage that shows how a dam is built and how it completely changes the ecosystem. (Plus, an eastern wood-pewee in the background!) Does it make anyone else think of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"?

PhotobucketThis is just so impressive.

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Finally, photos of the station and the people.

PhotobucketHere's the exterior of the main lodge. QUBS is in its 66th year, but this lodge was built much more recently.

PhotobucketInterior of the lodge, facing southwest. Mealtimes were always lively; the room would fill with staff, students, interns, field course participants, TAs and professors.

The floor and tables are nice and shiny because they get wiped three times a day...by yours truly and other students wishing to receive a "chores" discount on their room and board fees.

PhotobucketAdjacent to the lodge are the cabins. Beginning with the one I stayed in, they stretch down to Lake Opinicon, where the turtles hide and the loons call every night.

PhotobucketPost-dinner social activities lasted until the wee hour of 8 o'clock, when the birders' eyelids began drooping. We powered through Canadian Cranium anyway.

PhotobucketHere Mitch explains the finer points of Cloodle. (I'm totally making that up.)

PhotobucketBirders and GIS-whizzes geared to up check a blackbird nest, a.k.a. looking like contestants in a potato sack race.

I once wrote an entry for another blog that became very popular among people searching for "girls in waders." This photo is Benzene's bid for that path to fame.

PhotobucketCelebrating the sun's return with ice cream at the local cheese factory. Shout-outs to all who study sparrows, swallows, redstarts, vireos, chickadees and GIS!

PhotobucketAnd, of course, the last photos I took had to be of the chip wagon at the corner. I hadn't even planned to stop by, but as soon as I saw it I knew I'd regret not getting a picture. Or enjoying on the road a delicious, delicious box of fries.

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Things I will have to return to Canada to try: Poutine, Tim Horton's, Elgin Bowling Lanes.

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And in closing, two of my favorite images. I really hope one day I can see them again.

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