I've got SMOL but I'm not a SMOLdier

Burrowing Owl!

This week I had an extended birthday celebration! Strangely enough, none of the celebrating was ON my birthday. The night before some coworkers took me out to dinner at this delicious Mexican restaurant overlooking a lake. It was really nice of them to do, especially considering I’d only been here a few weeks. I had to work on my birthday (it was a Saturday, but there is usually no activity on the ranges during the weekends, so it’s an ideal time for us to be out in the field), but my boss was super awesome and gave me some little gifts as well as four gourmet cupcakes from some fancy bakery. We thought about them all day and then started shoving them in our mouths when we got back to the office that afternoon. They were really nice looking, and it occurred to me a bit too late that I should’ve taken a picture, but after ten hours in the field, the only thing going through my head was, “I WANT MY PEANUT BUTTER CUP CUPCAKE.” It was a good day in the field, though. We found four more nests and I saw ten new bird species, including Burrowing Owls, which are super cool. They look like little bumps in a field, and they have the brightest yellow eyes I’ve ever seen!

Birthday brownies and ice cream that Sally is eyeing.

After I finished work on Sunday, I met my new trailer-mates. Jacob is from Iowa and is working with the Grasshopper Sparrows, and Sheena is from Oregon and is working with the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. They are both really nice and I think we’ll have a great season together! I only chatted with them briefly, and then I was off to Fort Myers to stay with my aunt and uncle for my “weekend” (Monday-Tuesday). It was a perfect night to visit because it meant I got to watch the Oscars! (We have a TV in the trailer but you can only watch DVDs, no cable or anything.) I now realize how much it sucks to watch live broadcasts on the east coast – they end soooo late! (I never thought I’d be saying that midnight was “so late.”)

Roseate Spoonbill in the background

Monday we had a relaxing morning and then drove over to Sanibel Island to go to “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge (ironically, where Sheena just finished a yearlong internship). It was beautiful (yet traffic-y)! They have a nice driving loop with a bunch of pull-offs to observe the wildlife. I saw a dozen different bird species including the Roseate Spoonbill, which is just awesome looking. I managed to get a quick peek at the only spoonbill out that day before he tucked his head into his wing. Perfect timing.

The next day my uncle and I shopped and hung out by the pool, and then I made the trek back to Avon Park (it’s about 2 hours from my place to theirs). I got to chat with my roommates some more, and then settled in to my usual TV show (or 3) for the evening. Thankfully I’ve finally finished Breaking Bad – as good as it was, it’s a creepy show to watch out here!

Sad, wet Scrub Jay

Wednesday was back to work - I went out nest searching on my own for the first time and I found a nest! I found another one on Thursday (despite terrible rainy weather for most of the day), two more on Friday, another one on Saturday, and two more today! I LOVE these birds! This is the easiest nest searching I’ve ever done! I think we’ve found nearly half the nests now – we’re up to 20 and there are 50ish territories, though not all territories have breeding pairs (some may have one breeder who is looking for a mate, or a group of helpers just hanging out, etc). This project has been going on for many years, so they know all of the birds who live on the property, where their territories are, and (generally) who the breeding pairs are. Of the nests we’ve found, a number of them are already getting eggs, so the season should be ramping up pretty quickly – still more nests to find, then chicks to band, re-nests of those that get predated, and monitoring the lucky chicks that fledge!

SMOL's nest

Oh yes, so the title of this post is significant because one of the territories that I found a nest in was called SMOL - all of the territories are four letter names that make anywhere from some to no sense (to me, at least). The birds in SMOL had totally tricked us as to where they were nesting, so we had been looking in the wrong area for days. When I finally found their nest, that song by The Killers got stuck in my head, but I of course replaced "soul" with "SMOL". Whatever - I got SMOL!

Other than work, I’m looking forward to exploring on my “weekend” (Tuesday and Wednesday, this week). I’m told that there is a really nice park not too far from here that I’ll be checking out – lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery. There is also a birding festival near Lake Okeechobee this week that I might head down to. I suppose it’s good to wander around at get exercise, even on my days off. Sheena and I TRIED to go to the gym today after I got off work (there is a gym here for employees), but things didn’t go as planned. It was a long day in the field but I was feeling good, so Sheena and I changed into workout clothes, got the gym key from the office, and wandered over to find the gym. (The Armory gets a massive sign on the front of the building, but the gym is this sketchy, unmarked brick building pushed up next to the tree line.) It turns out the locks had been changed out so we couldn’t get in. We were all suited up and ready to go, but no! How often does one actually take the initiative to go to the gym and then find out they can’t? Doesn’t one typically find any excuse not to go? Well, we were peeking in the windows but couldn’t do it! That’s what we get for trying to stay fit. I guess the solution is to never go to the gym again :-P (or, wait for Michelle to get the new key tomorrow).

I'll finish with a picture of some cute cows, because what kind of field project would this be if there weren't cows??