Exploring mangroves is extremely dependent on the tides. The water surrounding the island (which is plopped between the Sea of Cortes and Navopatia) is never too deep and you can see sandbars form daily in the channel. In the less fast moving water, serious stands… Read More
All posts filed under “Natural History”
Mexico Part 3 – The Ranch
Danner’s truck skidded through a huge mud puddle and we all held on for dear life. Speeding through the Pitayal at 7am I couldn’t have felt more contented. A behemoth above the desert landscape, the fig tree of the ranch loomed ahead. As AWA began… Read More
Mexico Part 2 – Desert Banding
Once I’ve found a routine for early mornings, I happily adhere to them, especially to see some birds close! Bird banding dictates early mornings for several reasons. Birds are more active on cool mornings in hot clines. Setting up nets at daybreak means birds don’t… Read More
Mexico Part 1 – Into the Magrove Labyrinth
Drops of water kept falling on my face. I tried to roll over and cover up with my sleeping bag but instead nuzzled a pool collected at a low spot on the floor of my tent. Cactus Wrens churred away and Curve-billed Thrashers whistled their… Read More
Ok. Okanogan Observations.
We didn’t have nearly enough snow this year. Driving through the Okanogan Valley, that’s about all I could think of. I could follow the trunks of apple trunks groundward with no obstructing snow. It could have been an early autumnal foray. But it was January.… Read More
Crying Wolf
Wolves are one of the most controversial animals in the world. They are recognized as intelligent, complex animals with which we have a distinctly multifaceted past. While our best and probably first companions are their descendants, people have long feared and been in awe… Read More
Birding East of the Mountains: Chasing birds?
(a quick preface – things have been busy and trying – moving back to the city, finding a place to live, and getting settled at new jobs has pushed things back by months, I promise it won’t happen again. Thanks for reading!) No light, cascades… Read More
The Chase (Simone)
The sound of my alarm jostled me awake in the predawn quiet at camp. My room was cold and I could think of nothing more dreadful than getting out of my warm sleeping bag at this ungodly hour. But we had transects to complete in… Read More
What’s a Point Count? (Brendan)
Over our past posts we mentioned our employment is watching birds or specifically that we are “point counting”. However there has been scant attention paid to what a point count actually is. I suppose for those of you actually following along yet unsure what this… Read More
Accipiter Magic (Simone)
After my transect at Slate Creek I took a long drink of water at my last point and checked my topo map for the quickest way to the road where I was to meet Brendan. Southwest is where the map and compass pointed me and… Read More