Day Seven
Peaceful weather today, and we made the most of it with some easy time outside. Emma finished her seabird finger puppets, and we talked about a new research project that will be starting on St. Paul this summer. The study will use geolocators to track the over-winter movements of thick-billed murres and black legged kittiwakes.
Emma and I then went for a hike to see what we could see. We practiced thinking like a scientist—noticing and questioning things we saw—and it was really fun. We noticed lots of things—snow buntings were loudly singing from roof-tops (did they also sing in the wind and we couldn’t hear them?), the snow was piled up on only one side of each hummock (wind direction?), and we enjoyed footprints of foxes and birds that were not instantly wiped clean by the wind. It was a treat to get outside to look and listen together.
After lunch, the twins and I went to the Zapani beach for another COASST survey. Again, no dead birds and lots of marine debris and wood. Powerful waves and beautiful light. It’s blowing and snowing again now, so today’s weather window felt like a real gift.
