A final week in the land of Oz

Wow, where did the two months go? The first month of field work didn't seem to drag on, while we kept busy. When we got to month two, we were full up on our work load. Some days went quick (especially those with blind watches that were busy), but then some days seemed to drag a bit. Especially those that had equipment problems.

But, things all timed out extremely well. Some of you may know that Aussie is in a 7 year drought. That was brought to home by our local creek (or as I say, "crick", which drove some coworkers crazy!). At the start, when we got a few rainstorms, it stayed at a decent level to fill our water buckets and take a dip. By the last week, it was very low, and very hard to even decently fill a bucket with one dip.

On December 19, we did our last route in the morning, and headed to town. On the 20th, we all went to our routes in the morning to take down equipment. 30 minutes after the last of us was in, it rained. For the next day and a half. YAY! Thank heaven it happened after we were all in. Then it was pack all the gear in, and head back to Brisbane! With only minor vehicle issues.

In sum, I am glad I took this field job for so many reasons. I got to see some great new birds. I met some wonderful new people, and I got an excuse to go to New Zealand again. I'm already thinking of my next trip to Australia, if only to get to Tasmania, which I can't manage this trip.

My species total for the trip was 65 new species for the world, and 66 new for Australia (at least). I am now 7 species away from my landmark 1.200th bird...which I may, if I am lucky, get on day 2 in New Zealand! I do have many wonderful photos (and will be trying to get them up next). I made sure I began to write in my journal again regularly, and will be trying to get blog posts up on a regular basis in New Zealand.

And I guess the final question...what do I do from here?

I have no idea. A good, yet very scary feeling. As a (potentially) final field job...I don't regret Australia at all.

My final thoughts for today. I actually made some new years resolutions. So, i thought I might put a few up here, so that people can call me on them if I begin to deviate...

- get to my 450th bird for north america
- get a full time, permanent job (this is actually my #1 priority for 2010)
- see family more often [i hope to make this the last time i spend christmas away from family]
- see a new country

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all. On the docket for today is pack the bag for New Zealand, and a Christmas Eve picnic in the park with one (two?) of my coworkers who are still here in Brisbane.

Return to Brisbane...

The last few days have been a bit of a whirl. I am still trying to sort out my thoughts on everything, and I am sure I will post again when my thoughts are a bit more organized.

First and foremost, Happy Christmas everyone. Or as they say down under, Happy Chrissy. And Happy New Year, too, but I will be sure to post (and maybe even call...?) before then. It feels weird, again, to have no snow. But I got the red and green with the parrots and parakeets, and the white with the Cockatoos. And I had a Christmas tree, briefly.

Work ended abruptly, and my body was quite glad to be done. I used my GPS to track my route to find out just how far I walked every day. Turned out, I was walking at least 10 miles, yeah, that's right, 10 miles a day. WOW. No wonder my body was ready to be done!

I have seen some new birds. And I have gotten my good pictures of the birds I wanted.

And my mind is wandering way too much. I will write again soon, all.

Happy Holidays again. I miss you all.

Michael

Thanks

I'm thankful that I have all these great friends that do work in far flung places, so that I had an excuse to come to Australia again well before I had expected to.

I'm thankful that there is such a great diversity of bird life in the world, to give me an excuse to travel to far flung parts of the globe to tally more bird species.

I'm thankful I have such a supportive family, who helps me make this life work, for now.

So, life in all down here is going well. It is hard to believe there is just under a month left. Since I last wrote, we have finally gotten into the full swing of things here. Data entry every other day, with the other day being bird observations from a blind for 4 hours at a time. Plus other tasks involving measuring stuff on Bowers.

It has gotten hot, though. Wow, has it gotten hot. And not much of a breeze to speak of either. Thank goodness for the rain we had the other day. My farmers tan is, well, very tan!

My world list still grows by a bird here and there. Plus I am rounding out my pictures as well...I finally used up one memory card, so I have at least 600 photos or so now. To be posted up sometime in January or February.

It will be very hard to leave when the time does come, for so many reasons. I try not to think about it, though. And at least there are enough things to keep the mind and body busy here that I don't think about it much.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I miss you all, and hope to see you when I return to North America.

Koalas, Kangaroos, and Kookaburras

I think that sounds better than "Ticks and Leaches." More on this disgusting part later...

It's been three weeks in the land down under, and it been a real enjoyable trip all around. The first five days in Brisbane were a nice change from Maine and New York. Ocean breezes, River views. And lots of parklands nearby to go leisure birdng. Oh, and the 85 degree weather is nice too.

Two of the crew were already there when I arrived. We met up the morning I flew in, and I managed to survive most of that day...but I collapsed sometime in the afternoon after a brief birding excursion. The next day we were all rip roaring ready to go, and went out, you guessed it, birding again.

Even the common birds are nice and exotic! Those first few days had a quite a few new birds for me (I am much farther south than my last trip here). I also saw some familiar friends, like the rainbow lorikeets and the Laughing Kookaburra (you did know that was a bird, right?). I never get tired of their call.

By the 13th of October, 5 of the 6 of us had met up in Brisbane, so we had a last hurrah and did a day trip to birdwatch and koala watch. And yes, I have seen a wild koala! We also managed to see a Tawny Frogmouth, as well as the Variegated Fairy Wren, among other new birds. It was a great way to spend our last day in Brisbane. This day ended with us all going out to eat dinner and ice cream too, knowing it would be our last chance till near Christmas (Chrissy, here). Then it was off to Wallaby Creek on the 14th...

Our two weeks up here have had lots of fun things, and some not so thrilling things. Ticks, for one. Leeches, for two. At least the both of these itch...so one finds them soon enough. Removal is another thing.

The Bowerbirds, Kangaroos, and Joeys make up for that, though. I pass a mob of Kangaroos twice a day on my bower route. And it's always fun to see the unusual things some of these birds collect for their bowers. I have found a cow ear tag, legos, clothespins, candy wrappers, pens, and other man made objects, in addition to the natural objects like feathers, snail shells, and flowers.

The other advantage of my route walk is getting very fit and well prepared for future backpacking (tramping) in New Zealand. Carrying an 8 kg (17 pound) battery (sometimes 2) up a hill nearly every day sure helps build leg muscles rapidly. yesterday was the first day I noticed a difference in fitness...I felt like I was flying up the hills without the batteries.

Not much else new to report. No pictures to be posted anytime soon - our connection is slow, and I am one of seven needing to use this thing today. I have plenty of photos though, including the aforementioned Koalas, Kangaroos and Joeys, and Kookaburras. And today I got good shots of the wedge-tailed eagle.

The best things so far? It's a toss up, but the Fairy-wrens on our front porch rank up there. And the Rosellas (parrots) seem more vivid and colorful than anything I saw in Costa Rica or Ecuador - including the Scarlet Macaws. Though they don't quite match the hummingbirds.

World bird list update. I have seen about 40 new species of bird so far this trip. There are plenty more "common" birds I haven't gotten yet...I expect once I start some bird blind watches, I should see them. I should not have a problem reaching the goal of 1200 for this trip. The best life birds are the two fairy wren species, and the rosellas.

Another end, another beginning...

End of field jobs are always a bit, well, sad. I know I have a choice in the matter in how I go about making a living, and I really enjoy all these jobs I have had.

And you can probably tell that Maine was awesome. It is hard to put into words. My coworker and I got along famously. And it was great that it was just the two of us on the island most of the time. It allowed lots of time for meditation, relaxation, and just chillin'. And cooking, too.

It was hard to leave. I hadn't been that relaxed on a field job in a long time.

It was hard to say goodbye to Metinic. I am a 'mountain lover'...yet, that island has a strong draw. It wasn't just the lack of insects, lack of ticks. It was all the little things, that taken individually, aren't much, but together, were so much more.

It was the lack of TV and internet. It was having only the noise of lobster boats during the morning, and after that just the gulls and surf. It was incredibly nice neighbors. It was the odd song sparrow song. The occasional chickadee calling. It was the infinite stars at night. It was the sunsets and sunrises.

In sum, a northeast paradise.

Farewell, Metinic. I hope I have an opportunity to come again.

And so now, here I am. It's 2 am...and I am restless again. I fly out in about 6 hours for another grand adventure.

I hadn't planned on doing any more volunteer jobs. Ecuador and Costa Rica were awesome ways to contribute my own money to conservation causes (well, the airfare, anyway). Ecuador gave me more refinement in field identification...and totally got me hooked on listing. Costa Rica gave me a great idea of how many birds can be found in just a small area.

After guiding this past winter (my god, was that really 6 months ago I was there?!?!), I definitely feel guiding will be my future. To that end, I was planning to devote this winter to guiding applications, and trying to make it work. And then my friend sent an e-mail...

...and life threw one of those unexpected curveballs...

...without going into too much detail, I was on my last night in Costa Rica, and my friend asked me to come down to Australia to help with her Master's project. I had tried to go last year as well...but funds were falling way short. I told her I would consider it after I looked at airfares...

...I took the cheap airfares, good pay in MO, and my 11 years of longing to go back as the sign to go. So I'm going. With a trip to New Zealand tacked on the end for fun.

It will be hard to again be away from family and friends for the holidays...and this year I will be missing all of them. But camping out in New Zealand on New Years Eve sounds like a fantastic idea...and perhaps it is a sign that 2010 will be another good year.

And thank you, again, AC. You know who you are and why. You put things into words that I feel, but can't seem to express. It makes me feel better about these choices I am making.

And thank you to everyone else...this amount of travel is tough at times. Living out of a suitcase isn't all that fun at times. But because many of you take the time to send me an e-mail here and there to say that you are enjoying reading about my adventures, it helps so much. I don't feel so far from home when you do that.



I bid you g'day.

More Firsts

September 25, 2009...it was a legen....

...wait for it...

...almost there...

...DARY day.

A short background. On the 24th of September, it started as a somewhat calm day. We caught a few birds...about 25 if I recollect correctly. Over the course of the morning here on Metinic, the wind was gradually picking up, blowing from the south at about 10 miles an hour at times. We had a few birds flying around here and there, including a few raptors on the island.

At around noon time, we closed down the banding station. At the same time, we noticed the wind beginning to shift, and the seas get a bit choppy. The wind began to blow from the west, and over the course of the afternoon, it moved to come from the north to northwest direction. And the wind was building in intensity as well.

Our personal weather station from the front yard on the morning of the 25th. Winds were blowing between 10 to 20 mph from the north. Overnight, the maximum wind speed was 25 mph. At the banding station, it was windy, but not overly. It is slightly on the lee side of a north wind due to a mild ridge, and we have some mist nets that are sheltered from any wind.

For those who are bird biologists, you know what this means. Let me sum up the important detail: a previously south dominant wind, turning to the north in front of a cold front.

The definitive "fallout" conditions.

For the uninitiated: a fallout occurs with migrating birds. Songbirds (warblers, vireos, thrushes, etc) fly overnight, and prefer to fly with a tail wind. BUT, when the wind is really strong, they can sometimes get blown off course, and will land on the first land they find when they get tired. I have never experienced a full-fledged fallout before.

Until today. Wow.

We have 18 mist nets. When we began our work today, we saw and heard birds, well, everywhere. We opened nets 2-11, and 17 and 18. The other nets were subject to too much wind.

10 minutes after we opened the first nets, we went to check them (so birds don't get injured by the wind while trapped in the net). We closed net 6 at this point, deciding it was blowing too much. So, down to 11 nets total. We caught 10 birds that net walk, or so. 15 minutes later, we went back to check the nets.

1.5 hours later, we closed all the nets. We had over 120 birds to band. Birds flew into nets while we were STANDING AT THE NET REMOVING A BIRD. Unreal. Birds were flying everywhere...you were almost afraid to take a step, because you might step on a bird.

Two hours later (this is about 1130), we finished banding the last of the birds from those first two hours. We could still see birds everywhere. So we decided, what the heck, we'll open 8, 17, and 18 again (the most sheltered of the nets).

2 hours later and about 150 birds later, we closed the nets again. And continued to band all the ones we caught. I have never walked to a mist net and had it SAGGING from birds. We would check nets every 10-15 minutes...and in these 3 nets, there weren't ever fewer than 10 birds in the net. Often 20 to 30, especially net 18.

And only one of the 271 birds we caught, was caught again later in the day. Birds were dripping off the trees, literally. While taking birds out of a net (especially 17 and 18), you could see birds hopping around in the shrubs next to the net. As you walked to a net, you would see the birds you were flushing/scaring fly over and around the net as well. While we would extract birds from a net, you would see another bird fly into the net. After you had cleared a net of birds, while walking back out from the net, you would see a bird fly into the net. While we were sitting under our banding canopy, I could see birds flying around in a small clearing next to nets 17 and 18. When we closed nets and had all our birds to process, we were surrounded by all the bags we had birds in. We sometimes had up to 4 birds in a bag (only friendly species, like warblers).

It was awesome.

It is so hard to describe how fun, exciting, unreal, unbelievable, and spectacular this was. Had we had any help (and more bands...we nearly killed all our size 0 bands), we would easily have topped 500 birds, or probably 1000, even. Part of me is thankful it was as windy as it was this morning...had it been calmer, we probably would have opened ALL the nets. I don't even want to imagine what our first net run would have been like.

My time in Cibola last year in southern California had NOTHING like this. When we did the math this evening, we had a total of 28 net hours, for an average of 10 birds per net hour. Which is unbelievably good. But this number is skewed...our forest nets usually don't catch much (they are there for quality, not quantity). Eliminate our 4 forest nets (which caught 3 birds) from the equation: you have 20 net hours, and 270 birds. That is 13 birds or so per net hour...which is an UNREAL number. Normally, the number will be between .8 and 1.2 birds per net hour.

And the extra cherry, on top of the regular cherry, on top of the whipped cream, on top of the ice cream sundae which is my life...

I got number 1,128 for my world life list, and number 425 for my North America bird list. After we were all done with the banding, we did a last go round, to check to make sure we didn't leave any bird bags on the ground near nets (it was that kind of day), to check to see if the nets were still furled ok, and to return the net clothespins (we put them on the bag so we know what net a bird came from). As I walked along the forest nets, I saw, perched on a branch just above eye level, with my naked eye, one of the most handsome warblers of the northeast:

A male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Even with the unaided eye, the bird is unmistakable. I don't count birds "in the hand" on my life list...it has to be a free flying bird. I did my little life bird jig, and returned to the banding station for the rest of the clean up.

A fantastic day.

And tomorrow, we may have a repeat. We still have a stiff north breeze. Isn't life wonderful?

Time is a-flyin' by

Island life has it's benefits.

Sometimes you realize you are the only person on the island. 360 acres to oneself. Feels good.

No computers or TV to distract oneself.

Gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. And nothing to stop me from pausing to watch them.

The friendliest neighbors you could ever meet. And having them about a mile away...not too close, not too far.

And wonderful, WONDERFUL bird life.

This has been a job of many firsts for me. I am working in the northeastern US for the first time. It is the first time I have worked on a banding station as my primary responsibility. Cibola NWR in SoCal was a banding operation, but I was working on the telemetry and foraging aspect of the project. I have seen 8, count 'em 8, new species for my US life list, and 7 of these are new for the world too. Though I haven't gotten a Puffin yet.

I have seen another 4 species for the first time in the hand. I have also handled for the first time on my own large woodpeckers (not the easiest birds to handle), hawks, and waxwings. And with luck, my first shorebirds soon too.

Our operations here are going very well. Our station is up to 63 species so far, which ties the species record set at one of the other islands (Seal Island) last year or the year before. And we haven't got some of our northern species yet (namely, the finches).

Sometimes we even catch birds we don't even know what they were. Such was the case of the Bobolink we caught, and the Pine Warbler. These birds look a bit different in the fall than during the rest of the year.

I am trying very hard not to count down my time for my next trip too much...but it is hard. Especially since today I realized in 2 weeks, I will be in Australia. And that I leave my island paradise here (no palm trees or white sand beach...but it is still paradise to me) in about a week. Wow. I will really miss it here...but thankfully the next trip is right afterward, so I won't have too much time to think about it.

And yes, I really do hope I can be up here again next year. I feel very conflicted...it is very hard for me to express just how fantastic it is out here. The mild inconveniences (no running water, using an outhouse) don't faze me in the least. Doing laundry by hand is something I got used to in Costa Rica...and what else will I do with my spare time here? And I get to listen to the ocean and the gulls and other birds at the same time...so it's not all bad. At the same time, I know I would really like to get settled more.

Why is this becoming so difficult?

Perhaps it is that, right now, I can't imagine another life. Field work has been my life for the past 7 years. Wow...full time for 7 years.

No wonder I may need help breaking the cycle.

Exciting times in Maine

So this post won't be going up until I am already done with my field work up here. But better to write it now, so my current thoughts (on September 10) are written.

So, after hurricane Bill passed us by, we were brought back out to the island, and I have been here (Metinic Island) since. Though I am only 5 miles from the mainland, it can seem much farther away at times. Which is a nice feeling. Any groceries I need I send a list to the Refuge biologist or manager, and they pick things up before they get onto the boat to come out to us. Then I give them a check to pay them back. A nice system...and my experience in Hawaii gave me good practice on planning ahead. But at least here we have a full kitchen: oven, stove, and refrigerator (important for keeping the beer cold!).

Right now, we are only doing passive passerine banding, capturing some resident birds, but now mostly migrants. My colleague here is a great teacher: mist net extraction has always been my weakest skill set, and I FINALLY have a teacher who is patient to help me get better. Most days we are not catching that many birds, especially the last few days. The wind has become an issue. Even though it is mostly from the north (excellent for migrants), it has been a little strong, so that we can't keep all the nets open. But the first day with the north wind...WOW! What a day (this was September 6th). We only opened half the nets, and doubled our best day for catching. We caught 102 new individuals of 23 species! Included in this was our 2nd Prothonotary Warbler of the season! For those non-bird nuts: the nearest (known) breeding area for this bird is New York state (I believe). So we are a bit north and east for these guys.

This hasn't been the only odd bird caught up here. A couple of days ago we caught a Rufous Hummingbird. This bird's nearest breeding area is western Montana(!), though it has been found in recent years as a regular migrant in Pennsylvania and New York. But again, we are a bit north for this bird. One of the other islands up here (Petit Manan), which is even more north from where we are (we are south and west of Acadia National Park, Petit Manan is north and east of the park), caught a Lark Sparrow! Nearest breeding area is eastern Indiana.

Yeah, crazy stuff! Other highlights recently include a couple of Flickers (an oversize woodpecker), and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Both wonderful birds.

And I have added to my life lists! Being on the ocean has its benefits. My first week here, I saw 7 new species for the US, mostly from the boat on the way to and from the island. These include the Common Eider (of eider down fame) and Common Tern, that breed on the island. Also regularly seen on the water are Black Guillemots. We have a lot of Whimbrel here on the island, fattening themselves up for the long trip south. I saw my first Storm-petrel (Wilson's), first Jaeger (Parasitic), and the Northern Gannet to round off the trip. It is awesome up here!

Which makes me wonder if I might decide to come up here next summer...for the entire summer. Words cannot describe how awesome this place feels. It is very relaxing up here (though I do wish I had more reading material). The weather is perfect...though as much as I mentally prepared myself for the cold, 50 degree nights have taken some getting used to. And September is the perfect time to be on the coast of Maine. This was the right place to come for the 7 weeks I was without work. And of course the ocean is right there...a bit chilly. But most of you should recall that I am a Marine Biologist by degree...and I forgot how much I enjoy being on the ocean (I may prefer it over the mountains...but it's a toss up).

Most of my afternoons now are spent watching the shorebirds fatten themselves up on the shore. Once I choose my seat, I can just sit and watch, and they will come nice and close while feeding, knowing I am not a threat till I move. Fun...and they are called "peeps" because, well, that is the noise they make while foraging.

Life is good up here. I'm trying very hard not to count down my time to Australia...but right now it is less than a month away, and for so many reasons I can't wait to get there. But there are lots of things to distract me in the meantime.

A Last Hurrah?

I have been meaning to make a post for the past couple of weeks. With the travel recently, and lack of Internet...it just took a while. I had intended to try to compose this and edit...but it looks like it will be stream of consciousness, with a point (I hope).

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently.

As you all know, I really enjoy all the field work I have been doing. The last few weeks in Missouri were quite fun. My field partner and I finally had some free time, since we only had a few nests to follow. So we got out to see some of the surrounding area. Right about that time I was really starting to think about where my life was going.

I am definitely not as young as I used to be. I also have begun to realize that working as a full-time field tech will never pan out into something I can do full time. On top of this, guiding in Costa Rica this fall was so much more fun. Even though it was "work", I really did enjoy myself every day much more than on a field job. Having new guests every week to help me experience things anew. As well as never knowing what to expect each day. Every day was a wonder.

On top of this...the field tech life gets a bit lonely at times. There are places that I have been that have just rocked, and I did not mind spending it alone. Atop Blackrock Pass in Sequoia-Kings Canyon comes to mind. Also on that trip was my camp at Columbine lake. But of course these are both during a trip I took after a job was complete. But even doing field work...one is alone most of the time, and I do enjoy those times. Perhaps this is why Hawaii was, and will probably remain, my favorite field job of all time. Though we worked alone in the field watching our birds, we met up back in camp and had the evenings together. This was the perfect balance.

At the same time, these past three years have seen me in some fantastic locations: Hawaii, Ecuador, Costa Rica (three times!), Panama. And now the coast of Maine. And soon Australia and New Zealand. These tropical trips have been beyond wonderful. But there have been some long and lonely bus rides at times. And when there hasn't been anyone around at night...no one to converse and interact with. One can only write in journal for so long at night. And I can't spend every night at the local watering hole.

It is hard to settle down, or even to think about doing so, when I pick up and move every few months, with no home location. The last relationship I had ended poorly - and the travel was definitely an influence on that. And I have met wonderful people these past few years on my field jobs...but I inevitably conclude what's the point, since I will be picking up and moving again.

If I make guiding a more permanent venture, I can be settled a bit more. And perhaps see my family more.

Does this mean an end to my field jobs? Doubtful. I do still have to pay the bills. And being a volunteer in Australia and then taking a personal trip to New Zealand means I will come home in January needing to find paying work expeditiously (but I am preparing for that by saving a lot right now). On top of this, I forgot how much I love the coast of Maine...and these jobs are here next summer if I so choose, I believe.

That being said...when I return home in January/February, I will be devoting a significant amount of energy applying to guiding organizations. I will probably not plan on being a full time bird guide. I really enjoy doing that, but I want "adventure travel" to be a major part of what I do. There are a few companies I have in mind that do packages that include backpacking as part of the trip, and those are the type of groups I will be focusing on. I don't think I will land anything full time right away. I have not been this nervous in a while. Perhaps next year at this time I will have finally settled somewhere.

So, the last hurrah is not here in Maine. At least not right now. This is a fantastic place for me to spend the 7 weeks I had free after Missouri. The island I am working on (Metinic) is fantastic. I forget how much I like having to ocean outside. We even all went swimming (briefly) on Wednesday and Thursday. And then got evacuated as a precaution on Friday due to Hurricane Bill. We head back out tomorrow (Tuesday). But the time there was, and will be, awesome. No highways. No trains. No planes. Crashing surf. No light pollution at night. And the unusual night noises of the storm-petrels coming in at night.

For a last trip though, I think Australia and New Zealand will be fantastic. I look forward to working with my friend again, and getting out and wild in New Zealand. I haven't done a backpack trip in over a year now, and I can tell. The backpacking I do is my therapy for everything and anything.

Happy trails. It will be a while (about 6 weeks) till I can post again, I suspect. But who knows what the hurrican season will do to us up here.

The next 6 months will be rockin'!

I have no idea where to begin! My last massive e-mail was a while back...but there just hasn't been much new to report since then. That all changed last week...

Missouri has been fun, somewhat unexpectedly. I was all prepared for a summer of really hot and really humid when that heat wave hit in mid-June. It never felt that hot on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica...but then, down there, I hardly ever worked between 9:30 and 3. We got through it ok, and since that heat wave, it has been pleasantly comfortable every field day!

We are down to our final week here. We both found a lot of nests, but in a short span of time, our number of active nests collapsed; we are both now down to 3 each, and it will be a race to see if they finish first, or we leave first.

In spite of all the frequent weekend days we would sometimes have to work (to check nests), I have found time here and there to get off Peck Ranch and see some nearby areas. I took a much needed day hike on the Ozark trail one day. This past weekend I joined a friend of mine and we took off to see Elephant Rocks State Park, and Johnson Shut-In State Park. Beautiful areas...in spite that the rest of this part of Missouri had the same idea. I miss the lonely parks out west...

But, there was lots of good news to be found for me early this week. I was concerned that I was going to be unable to have work up to when I leave for Australia and New Zealand in October. That worry ended on Monday...I will be heading to Maine immediately after I am done in Missouri to work a fall coastal migration station.

Words cannot describe how stoked I am! It means I will be getting paid right up to when I leave for Australia, I get to work in a completely different region, and I will get to see new birds! AWESOME! And with luck, one of the new birds will be my first Puffin!

So, this means I have a little more spending money for Australia and New Zealand (my boss and I had the same first thought: BEER!). I won't have those itchy travel feet I always get when I am not working...Maine should do a good job of taking care of that!

I hope this answers many of those questions I have been getting lately on what I am up to.