It has been a few days since my last post. That is simply because everything has quit doing whatever it was doing because of the fierce N/NE winds the past few days and temps in the teens. All the open water on the tundra is frozen, and even most of the big ponds are frozen as well. Some birds seem to have abandoned nests that we found before the weather change. We had a daily average of ~65+ Semipalmated Sandpipers and 45+ Red-necked Phalaropes before the weather change. Today we had about 10 Semipalmated Sandpipers and maybe 10 phalaropes. Not sure where all the birds went, but they better come back or this project is going to take a turn for the worse. The weather is supposed to calm down a bit on Sunday.
I did, however, see my first Spectacled Eiders of the year yesterday in the form of a male/female pair. They flew inland for a minute and turned back around toward the sea with a disgusted look on their face. Fear not, Eiders, the ponds will open once again!
As for me, the weather has given me a chance to catch up on sleep, data entry, and adding a few more stakes to my tent that has taken a major beating from the wind. Good thing we have a semi-warm heater and an abundance of hot chocolate. I'll be sure to let you know when things get going again, but it may be a few days.
No comments:
Post a Comment