Second round data collection

is very frustrating. We've gone back to the first site we netted at, and now we're trying to recapture the buntings we caught before (or new ones). This time we're also taking blood samples, so on Monday, Julian told us to come in a bit later (7 AM) and net some small birds around the office so we could practice bleeding them. The sparrow went well, but we discovered nuthatches are a bit too small. Candice and I did a couple nest searches at site 8 and called it a day.

Due to a lack of communication, Candice and I started trying to net buntings in 2 patches on Tuesday. And we recaptured every one from the first round. JUST KIDDING. We got nothing. Well, actually we got some bycatch, but that doesn't count. Julian came by later that day for his ant project, and that's when we found out he just wanted us to practice bleeding that day. Oops. We moved some nets, went back to station, ate lunch, and set up a net for sparrows. But it was too late to catch anything. So no harm done, really, but it was just a useless day.

Julian came out with us on Wednesday, and we tried again. Still nothing. Argh! We're pretty sure it's a combination of things causing one. Primarily, now that it's later in the breeding season and most males have settled down with a nice girl, they have lower testosterone levels so they're less territorial, and therefore less interested in the "intruding male" (Ipod). Secondly, a previous study on buntings just didn't have much luck at site 8, so it could just be the site. I hope that turns out to be the main reason...

Anyway, around lunch time, after we tied up all the nets, we decided to catch random birds for bleeding practice. We ended up with a tufted titmouse, a brown thrasher, and a downy woodpecker. The woodpecker was my favorite and I named him Rufio, because his hair (feathers) looked like the kid from Hook (awesome movie). Yep, good times.

Another student who had recently joined the project, Lena, wanted to come out with us Thursday morning before she had employee training. I guess she had netted birds for a class once and she was interested in what we were doing. Maybe she was good luck, or maybe we just placed the net well, but we got the mommy from the nest in patch D. We left her in a pillowcase to set up a net in A, Lena left, and we processed our first bunting. I returned to A and discovered a 2nd year male in one of my nets. Yay! Moved a net in D and then processed him. This day gave me a slightly better feeling about the data collection.

Which Friday killed again. It's not that there aren't buntings. We can hear a few, and even saw a couple. They just won't get in the damn net! And this one guy in A, I swear he's taunting me. Anyway, Candice and I have a few theories we might test, and we discussed them as we relocated to the next site, searched for nests, and set up nets. What a crappy week.

Saturday... didn't really do anything significant. I made banana pancakes, read for a while, surfed the web, did pilates, ate lunch, danced around the living room, worked on my beaded raccoon, went on a run, showered, made stir fry, and now I'm wondering why Matt isn't back from work yet... I think I'll call.