Melise and I started yesterday with our first day of helping one of the undergrad students with her research project on Eastern Bluebirds. There are about 40'ish bird boxes that have to be checked EVERY day in some of the most beautiful rural roads, fields, farms, etc. Some are given mealworm supplements and some need to be measured every few days for weight. All of this plus extra experiments can take hours a day, so you can see why she needs some help!
Gist: It is aweeesomeeee!
Yesterday we rode around with Amanda and she showed us all of the boxes and how to weigh or band the chicks. Some of the other boxes in addition to the ones related to the study are inhabited by other birds, like tree swallows or nuthatches and so on. Melise and I also kept a lookout of other species as we drove/walked around.
Today this list of special birds includes:
a couple goldfinches
a few brown thrashes
a male cardinal
lots and lots of tree swallows
a white-breasted nuthatch nest
red-tailed hawk flying over us for like, uhhh, 3 minutes!!
and a male house finch
Super cool day. Beautiful weather. Azaleas blooming! and NO classes!!
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