Sometimes you just need an impulse purchase... (Mexico)

Well, I am in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! This was an impulse buy, but a much needed vacation in the sun. Chris invited me to join her at her friend, Patrick's flat. The balcony has an amazing view of the beach and is surrounded by some very charming apartment buildings. Yesterday we were exhausted from travel, but decided to venture down the beach only to be kicked off after I was soaked by a very large wave (see picture). After 12 hours of sleep (2 of which were spent cursing the neighbors' dogs and party goers across the street), we ventured out to buy food from the local supermarket, including my favorite cookies: Gamesa consen consientete! We had a quick, delicious snack consisting of cheese, fresh bread and cookies and we made our way down the boardwalk to Isla Rio Cuale, an island within the city. There, we pushed through hundreds of vendors until arriving at a quiet spot where we watched birds and a very large, lazy iguana (see picture). We attempted to visit with a young boy who spoke little English and showed him pictures of the birds we saw:

Golden-cheeked

woodpecker (apparently they refer to this bird as "loco")

Rufous-backed robin

Great-tailed grackle

Snowy egret

Little blue heron

Green heron

Wilson's warbler

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Cinnamon hummingbird

Great kiskadee

Cassin's kingbird

Yellow-throated vireo

Other birds we saw on the boardwalk:

Magnificent frigatebird

Common tern??

Laughing gull

Brown pelican

Double crested cormorant

Ring-billed gull (I think from far away)

Tropical kingbird

After a short siesta, Chris and I are ready for a night out. We are especially inspired by the latin dance club on the corner, whose music can be heard at least 6 blocks away. Clap clap stomp stomp. Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Born again blogger...

I decided to start this blog a few months ago so that I could keep my friends and family updated as to my whereabouts. However, I have become incredibly busy and (let's face it) lazy in posting.

First, I want to explain what my title means. Few people believe me when I tell them that I have moved close to 15 times in the past 4 years and hence many of my friends refer to me as a nomad. One who knows me might then relate my lifestyle to that of a nomadic bird, such as a crossbill. Because Loxia is the genus of crossbills, I feel the title is appropriate (???). ps I love Fringillidae finches :)

I am now continuing my journey as a lifelong student at the University of Utah, SLC. I have few complaints, except for the excessive smog, and I am probably the happiest I've been in years. I assure you, my nomadic days are not over with. My next stop is the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador where I will be helping with and conducting my own research on Medium ground finches (one of Darwin's finches). In May/June I hope to return to Minnesota for a few weeks where I will relax/camp at Itasca State Park. Following my travels home, I will be flown off to the Philippines (island still yet to be determined) where I will work with a team of researchers to collect parasites off of various animals.

The point of this pointless blog is to let you know that this will my communication tool. Not facebook, not e-mail. Primarily because I will have limited access to internet, I can post pictures, and provide short anecdotes.

Thanks for caring and I love you all!

Mammals and Telemetry! (Minnesota, USA)

Well, I thought I'd be "blogging" more, but I've been incredibly busy.

Last Saturday we attempted to capture field and forest small mammals. We were successful catching several Microtus pennsylvanicus and Spermophilus tridecemlineatus (thirteen-lined ground squirrel) in the field with the mammalogy class. Then, we dropped the class off for brunch and dusted 1 Zapus hudsonius, 2 Peromyscus (either leucopus or maniculatus), and several Tamius striatus in "Bill's Forest" = BF. Since I've just been introduced to the animals I'm only familiar with the genus, but I'm sure by the end I'll know the species.

Today was VERY exciting!!! We caught a male and a female and attached transmitters (250 mg) to the backs (by glue) of each. Larry (the telemetry professor) then tracked one of the birds (the females) quite far from the feeder! We'll see where her nest actually is in the next few days. The male was seen fairly close to the feeder. Tomorrow we will hopefully catch more PUFIs!!!!

Kyle and I dusted more carduelines for parasites and quantified plumage rank through spectrometer readings. This weekend we'll have a videographer possibly taping our operation!!
Today was extremely exciting for me.. now it's time to retire to the tent.

Otherwise, nothing too exciting in the net besides ovenbirds.

Sarah

First PUFIs of summer 2009! (Minnesota, USA)

I got a late start to netting but I caught my first 3 PUFIs (purple finches)!! 2 males with very large cloacal protuberances and 1 female with a very large brood patch. The female is probably on eggs and one of the males may be her mate!

Other birds caught:
50-60 American goldfinches and Pine siskins (at once)
Rose-breasted grosbeak
Chipping Sparrow
Blue jay

I also saw an indigo bunting near the feeders, but haven't caught him yet!

I'll be heading over to another site later tonight.

********************

Later - I had to return to my original site because I wasn't catching anything at site IBS2 except for goldfinches. Karin's family joined me in catching birds. We caught a male and female ruby-throated hummingbird and a male indigo bunting!!! No more PUFIs though. I'm preparing myself for 2 + more days of rain. Hopefully I'll be able to get in a few hours tomorrow morning of netting!

I caught a pine siskin that was banded by someone else. The band # had a 2500 prefix. How exciting!! I can't wait to hear where it was originally banded! UPDATE: the bird was first banded 26 May 2008 in Ontario - more details in a few weeks!

That's it for today!

SAK

The Beginning of Itasca (Minnesota, USA)

Well, I told myself I would never write a blog because they can be incredibly narcissistic, but a bear is currently eating my feeders so I have a little time on my hand. Basically, this blog will contain new birds I've caught, animals I've seen, and events that I think you might care about.

Tonight I was attempting to catch birds and as I was taking a goldfinch out of the net, a bear and her cub came tromping out of the woods. She sniffed my tent, walked towards me - most likely to eat my sunflower seed - then the cub ran up the tree. I walked to my car and grabbed some people to help me get her out of the area. Well she finally left.... but we'll see if she's gone when I return to my tent tonight!

Today was beautiful at Itasca. Warm, calm, everything I expected! I only was able to net for about an hour, but today I caught:

Rose-breasted grosbeak (F)
Red-breasted nuthatch
White-breasted nuthatch
American goldfinch
Pine siskin
Black-capped chickadee
Chipping sparrow
Red-winged blackbirds

One of the red-breasted nuthatches was first captured on 15 June 2008 at 9:30 am!!

A month and a half until I'm in SLC!