Unfortunately we had to destroy their habitat to put in our vegetable garden, but we created a new habitat for them on the other side of the shed. I hope they are still there, eating pests.
I have been volunteering a few times a week at a bird banding station in North Boulder. We capture the birds in nets, secure a uniquely-numbered band around each bird's leg, and record their sex and their measurements so that we can learn about their longevity and migration routes if the birds are ever recaptured. Here I am with a yellow-breasted chat:
And a yellow warbler:
Yellow warblers are gorgeous!
Here Deanna is wrangling a very pissed magpie:
Bird banding is a lot of fun and I'm learning bird species really fast by doing it. And, I get to see some gorgeous sunrises when I get up at 5:00:
Of course, I've been working too. The other day I saw a bobcat on my way in to do field work. It was just about the coolest thing ever. It was stalking something in a field, and Christian and I watched it for about ten minutes. Unfortunately it was too far away to take a picture, but I could see it pretty clearly through binoculars. I also saw a fox on the road. Plus, this abandoned car ridden by bullet holes in the middle of nowhere (sorry, it would have been much more interesting if I had pictures of the animals I saw. But beat up old cars don't run away):
I do have one picture of some wild animals. These are mule deer, and they are everywhere. They wander through the city of Boulder, eating the wealthy people's carefully pruned shrubs. These fellows are up by Nederland.
This week I am going to be getting up before sunrise to do bird surveys, and I will be sure to empty the card on my camera so that it will be ready if I see any more bobcats. Or the ever elusive mountain lion. Stay tuned!
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