Death To The Perpetual Weekend

An immaculate looking Ring-billed Gull. Look at that orbital ring! Lake Merritt, CA.

Well, this it...Bourbon, Bastards and Birds' final transmission from the beloved bay area. I've been here since September, living The Perpetual Weekend...but as a seasonally-employed biologist, my departure has been pre-ordained. In fact, I have not stayed ever stayed here this late into spring...so although it pains me to do so, I must go.

Here's a smattering of shots taken from the last several weeks. Have a positive weekend!

It's been a good year for Black-legged Kittiwakes in California. A lot of them have been spending time in Humboldt Bay, like this one, where they can conveniently be watched and photographed from shore. King Salmon,CA.

Tidal slough at sunset. Arcata Marsh, CA.

Hordes of Aleutian Cackling Geese are staging on the northwest coast this time of year. Strange to think that this subspecies used to be listed as endangered! Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA.

A Bewick's Wren assumes classic Bewick's Wren posture. Albany Bulb, CA.

Just what the blogosphere needed, another picture of an American Robin. I really like this picture for some reason, I think the catkins add a lot of depth. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Shorebirds wheel, lurk and generally amass on some east bay mudflats. Albany Bulb.

Although there are many signs of spring in the air, many wintering species like this Lesser Scaup are still holding down the bay area. Lake Merritt.

Unlike the scaup, the local Canvasback population has plummeted recently...they have begun to wing their way back to the prairies for the summer. Lake Merritt.

I'm not sure if I've ever put one of these on BB&B before...it's a California Towhee. Heinously common for some readers, strange and exotic for others. Albany Bulb.

Horned Grebes in different stages of molt. Last time I went out a lot of Eared and Horned Grebes were coming into breeding plumage or, in the case of Clark's and Westerns, already doing courtship displays. Lake Merritt.

Another first for BB&B..behold the Brant. Humboldt Bay is one of their most important staging and wintering sites in California. King Salmon.

August in the Aleutians

Birders drool at the thought of seeing a Horned Puffin. Birders in the Aleutians drool because they are so common and boring. Ok thats not true...the puffins never get old, even after seeing them every day for months. They finish nesting really late in the summer so right now they are probably very busy bringing fish back to their fat fluffy chicks.

This picture is totally not from August, sorry. By now almost all the Least Auklets will be out at sea, as they finish up nesting and fledging pretty early. It's sad when you are out clambering around on Buldir Island's Main Talus and have no auklets for company...you are accompanied by a hole in your heart instead. Note the Crested Auklet and Least Auklet doing weird things in the background.

Aleutian Cackling Geese spend weeks higher up on the island while they molt their flight feathers...by August they have mysteriously reappeared near the coast. I think the front birds are juveniles.

The view from the front door of the cabin. Or, more obnoxiously, "my office".

July and August are stressful because you are just fiending for rare shorebirds (like this Red-necked stint) to appear. Rare birds, especially of the Aleutian caliber, have an addictive quality.

Some Tufted Puffins mingle above a Thick-billed Murre colony. No big deal.

Red-legged Kittiwake battle. So intense. I think those are Black-legged Kittiwake wings sticking out in back.

Black-legged Kittiwakes. Some juveniles (foreground) should be fledging by now.

Aleutian Song Sparrow. I don't know what else to say about them, except that I'm glad they were there. It's weird to not be around Song Sparrows. These are big and dark.

Scumbag.

Rock Well To Tell The Spell

Red-faced Cormorants rule the cliffs from their corma-eyries. Truly a gem amongst the non-waterproofed ones.

When dispensing indispensable pieces of wisdom and advice, as I'm prone to do, I frequently finish my advice with the flourish of, "I am a scientist, after all", to add that extra sense of professional credibility.

Which is true.  I am a (currently unemployed) scientist.  It's what I do.  In fact, I science really hard.  Yeah.  I just used it as a verb, and I'm not sorry about it.

Harlequin Ducks and Common Eiders lurk in nearshore waters throughout the Aleutian Islands.  

Most people can respect that.  But, as so many people at each end of the sociopolitical spectrum have pointed out, scientists are TERRIBLE at communicating their knowledge and discoveries to the general public.  Evangelical Christians will tell you this.  Heretic scientists will tell you this.  And, more importantly, I will tell you this.

Ostensibly, one might say that there are many reasons for this distant gap in dialogue.  You could claim that there is no real mechanism in place to give people up-to-date information about some of the big picture things.  You could claim that scientists don't put enough effort into making their research not only available to the public, but easily comprehensible.  You could claim the Right-Wing media purposefully vilifies science, or at the very least filters it to their liking.  And you would be right on all accounts.

Love the kittiwakes.

But there is one true reason at the root of this thing, which is.......scientists are nerds.  

Which should not be news to anyone.  Imagine, for a moment, that we scientists did not get into our respective fields partially (or in some cases, entirely) as a result of our pathetically underdeveloped social skills.  That we could get along with people just as well as animals, microbes, photons, or what have you.  Imagine that we were actually known to be The Great Communicators of our time.....I think the ideological and political landscape would be a bit different (feel free to interpret that to mean "better"). 

Are there exceptions to the rule?  Of course.  But who cares???  The main thrust of this thing is that the next time you meet some self-sequestered, xenophobic, coffee-avoiding, granola-snorting, croc-wearing obnoxious quasihippiebiologist who is incapable of carrying on a conversation with someone outside his/her field......well.......you can do what you think is best.

Aleutian Cackling Geese are one of the few species that have made a strong recovery thanks to the Endangered Species Act.  Common on Buldir, they are also very annoying.