Louisiana

Its been an amazing past few week which flew by so fast. Way to much happened to even describe with words or completely recollect, but ill do my best. The first night I arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana and was picked up by some class mates and headed to a local hostel. I spent the night hanging out with classmates and waiting for everyone to arrive. By the next day the whole class had gathered and we departed to Cypress Island Preserve where we began birding. It was a very marshy area with water snakes, gators, and many birds. Some of the birds I saw there included roseate spoonbill, a few types of ibis, and a few species of egrets. We had lunch in Lafayette and went to a small restaurant with southern food.... After we drove to Cypremort Point State Park and stayed in cabins there for two nights. Upon arrive some classmates and I went for a swim in the gulf. The cabins were very nice and it was a very beautiful location. We spent a lot of time driving around to bird coastal hotspots and learning new species along with new habitats. On day four we went to Louisiana State University and learned about current studies there and the significance of understanding species and the environment in order to preserve habitats which can effect human populations. Louisiana relies on its wetlands to act as a buffer from storms, however to keep these places intact there must be heavy sedimentary flow. We also learned about hydrology and the efforts to control the Mississippi river which wants to be flowing in different paths. Everday we also preformed dawn(430-5am) and dusk surveys of birds which involved keeping an "x" list of species/individuals along with recording/identifying calls and chorus(before the trip we got proficient in using flash recorders, shotgun mics, and audio software). At LSU we also toured the Natural History Collections and then later departed for Tunica Hills, which is where our professors friend lived, and we camped on her property which was hundreds or wild acres.
On day 5 we went to LaFitte National Park which is where we then camped the next three nights. After setting up camp we left to go hiking and airboating. The hike consisted of off-trail bush waking in a very dense forest with many unique places such as cypress swamps. By the end of the hike we were in mud up to our knees and had explored many research sites studying species and invasive plants. Next we for airboat rides out to a floating marsh. Its impossible to really describe this place, but basically it was a floating island of swampy plants which produced enough gases(methane.....) to float, kinda like a bog. Once the boats arrived we walked around on the island(which is bouncy and you can fall in loose areas) and looked at how all the plants and animals on this small island survive and hold each other together. The next day we went to the Atchafalaya river and learned about wildlife management and natural history. The next day was similar and filled with many surveys including point-count(measure tree heights, volumes, areas, and species richness....). On day 8 we went to a field research facility and learned about bird banding and migration details. They would catch birds in nets to study fat levels, dna, and any ticks or other foreign creatures being brought in.
After those few days of camping we went o Lake Fausse Pointe State Park during which we compiled species lists for the park and explored the area. The next day my survey group took a canoe out and did a 6 mile loop around the park while doing bird surveys. We saw many gators(14ft....) and huge snakes... It was an amazing time and I really got a feel for the rugged environment there. The last day we had a bbq and the whole class celebrated together. The next day everyone was dropped off at the airport. Four other classmates and I rented a car for the day and headed to New Orleans. My friend new somebody down there so we had a very nice house to stay in right off of canal st. The first day in the city was pretty relaxed and we got some beignets and just walked around and later settled into the house. The next day my friend and I had breakfast downtown and then rode the street car to jazz fest. We were able to scalp cheep tickets and saw many jazz/blues bands and ended with Simon and Garfunkel. It was an amazing show despite huge muddy fields... The final day I just walked around town and some old cemeteries. Unfortunately my old digital camera failed on the last day and it appears my memory card is unreadable.. However many other folks took pics and ill upload them when i get a chance......time to relax and unwind

New Man

Two days ago I went out into the field with few friends and they helped me cut off my dreads out in the sun... Later we buzzed it even and it feels amazing....Shortly after I went running and had an amazing time without hair hitting me in the face. This will be nice for camping in Louisiana and its funny how few people recognize me now.

Travels

Its been a great week full of non-stop action and adventures. My friend from back home, Barzin, flew up here on Saturday and hung out for the night at Evergreen with friends. The next morning we drove up to Canada(borrowed a friends car....) and drove to his friends apartment in downtown Vancouver. While in Vancouver our friends at the apartment showed us many cool places such as stanley park, UBC, and some great restaurants... Barzin and me had a great time wandering around the city and met many interesting people. We returned to Evergreen on Tuesday and introduced Barzin to many of my friends. The next three days I had class which consisted of field trip planning and seminars. I have been doing a lot of planning for the trip and figured out my plans to stay in New Orleans after my class trip ends. Yesterday I dropped my friend off at the airport and wandered around Seattle with Maya. I was accepted in a NOLS course this summer!!! Im now laying out in the field, (with a shaved head!) and figuring out more logistics for the next few days. Im departing on Tuesday for Louisiana and will be there till the 26th.... Everything has been great and the Spring quarter is really amazing so far!

First Week of Field Ornithology

Wow my first week of class has been amazing and also exhausting, thus i must be brief. Im enrolled in field ornithology(study of birds) and have been learning so much every day. This week I have had class everyday at 7am and one day at 10am... So far i have learned how to use a gps unit, clinometer, compass, along with techniques to perform habitat and mammal surveys. Im using math again and have been using trigonometric functions to find tree height and volume. By finding this I am able calculate the carbon offset a tree produces and its relationship to the environment and animals. I have also been using Excel to create tables and scatter plots to find correlations with data collected in the field. We have been doing many field studies and im learning how to recognize birds and plants. So far i have seen many different species including a barred owl in the forest... Im also doing extra work, for upper division credit, which involves making bird specimens for the college collection. Today I started working on a salvaged western meadowlark and will hopefully have a complete specimen in a week or so....Ill spare you the gruesome dissection details.... I have also booked my trip to Louisiana with the class and will also stay later with friends in New Orleans after the class trip ends(Jazz Fest will be going on!!!). This weekend my friend Barzin is visiting and we are planing on taking a few days to travel through Canada and Vancouver! All is well and iv been keeping myself very busy and having a great time throughout it all!