Cat's Cradle

Recently we had to make an emergency trip to one of our release sites. At the beginning of December we released 5 birds at a site an hour or two away from Mabula. When released, each bird had a tail transmitter that we could use to track them. With a frightening regularity, the transmitters began to be shed, and we finally received a call saying the last transmitter had come off. So we rushed out there in an attempt to capture at least two of the birds to put on new transmitters. This turned out to be a frustrating endeavor. Ground Hornbills are smart birds, so if you capture them with one method, it won’t work a second time.  So we would drive, searching for the birds, and once we found them, would withdraw a short distance, set up the capture net, and prepare our wiles for luring them in.

After two days of trying with no success, the birds vanished. They had apparently caught on to our scheme to entrap them, and decided to hide. We spent the next four days fruitlessly looking for a group of five 4-kilogram-birds. You’d think it wouldn’t be so complex to find a group that size.  Unfortunately they have proven that thought to be fallacious.

But despite not achieving our goal with the birds, we did manage to see some pretty cool stuff while we were there. Here are some pictures! See the cat? See the cradle?

And the Mountains Echoed

Hey guys, it's been a little bit since I posted anything, so here are a couple pictures! I hope you like them! The new year started rough for the project, as one of our three birds on Mabula got deathly sick. We monitored him for a couple of days, then managed to catch him and rushed him to the vet, just in time. It was touch and go for a few days, but happily he has pulled through, and is back on Mabula. Hopefully we will be able to release him in the next couple of weeks.

In other news, for those who haven't yet heard, I've decided to return to the states. So my contract (and visa) finish in the middle of February, then I'll have a couple weeks of traveling, and will land in the U.S. of A. on March 5th. Get ready America!

The Little Things in Life

This one isn't title after a book. This one I decided to reflect a little on 2013.
I've always been of the opinion that it's the little things that make life so exciting and vibrant and fun. I think this year is a testament to that. There have definitely been some big things, but I stand by my little things to make life good. There were many of those in Peace Corps, whether it was a greeting from a former student, or making popcorn to go with watching television, or just playing some cribbage on a hot day.
Being on Mabula has been no different. I've always loved the big animals that everyone comes to Africa to see. The giraffes, the buffalo, the rhinos, lions, elephants, and any other species you can think of. I still love these, and get great satisfaction out of seeing these things. But a person can only take so many pictures of a giraffe. It sounds crazy, I know. But there is a limit before they all blur together, and nothing is new.
So I've taken on a personal challenge of photographing the little things. They're the animals that still make this ecosystem tick, but one doesn't think of immediately.
Part of this challenge is to also make me expand my horizons. As some of you may know, I'm not much of an avid birder. Aside from raptors, I've never held much interest in birds. But part of my personal challenge is to learn the birds, both by sight and by call, as well as photograph them to the best of my ability. I fear that I will turn into an avid birder as a result of this challenge, but I feel that it's good for me to know every animal possible within my work area.
But there are other cool things too! Like bugs! I won't pretend to know bugs well, nor do I expect to ever know them well. But I'm starting to appreciate just how awesome they are, and just how many crazy, weird ones there are!
Here are a few pictures.

Female African Grey Hornbill


Velvet Mite


Dung Beetle (I don't know which species)


Scarlet backed Starling

The Santaland Diaries

It is close enough to Christmas that I feel like I can use this title. It also makes sense to parallel the level of complete madness experienced in seeing Santa and the schedule I’ve been on.

All manner of life has been happening. Since arriving in Mabula, I’ve spent more days in the field than I have at home on Mabula. Of those nights on Mabula, the entire staff has been there two of those nights. Needless to say, we are in the busy part of the year.

I started off by going to the northernmost part of South Africa with Lucy (my boss boss) for 6 days, doing nest checks and looking for new nests. Hornbill families use the same nest year after year, so once we find a nest, we can appropriately protect it and check if they are breeding each year. So we were checking the nests we already knew, and searching for new nests belonging to preexisting groups in the area.

Nest checks ended on Thanksgiving day, and as we cruised through Bela Bela on the way home, we scooped up Adrienne, a fellow PCV from Moz and a dear friend who was coming to visit for a final few days in Africa before returning to the states. Between me, Adrienne, and Nicole (the other volunteer on the project), we managed to whip up quite a nice thanksgiving dinner, if not 100% traditional. The next few days were absorbed with finding as many cool game sightings as possible, at which I think we succeeded.

After Adrienne started her long journey back to the states, I immediately jumped back into field work, doing chick harvests. Ground Hornbills lay two eggs, about five days apart, but only raise one chick. In an attempt to boost the population, we snatch up the second chick, and take it to be hand reared for release once they are fledged. It’s a job that requires a lot of care, and a lot of driving. It’s a fun, finicky, very tiring job, which I love immensely. My coworker, Natasha, and I have been hanging out in the Kruger area for nearly two weeks now trying to harvest as many chicks as possible.

Beyond that, I’m not sure what else is new. Everything is still going a mile a minute. If you have a question that’s burning you up, or if I managed to miss a facet of my life, shoot me an email or a facebook message, and I can try to remedy the situation.  In the meantime, here are a few photos!

If strange bugs and monkeys don't do it for you, click a photo and you might find a picture of an elephant...

Thanksgiving animals

Here are a few more photos. Five total are posted on Flickr. Check 'em!

Impala Baby!

Lilac Breasted Roller

Morning in the Limpopo

The Golden Compass

After a whirlwind time on Ilha, then Maputo, then traveling, I’ve finally arrived on Mabula, and have been settling in and working away for the past few days. Since I’m not allowed to drive on the reserve until I pass the written and practical exam to prove I know how to handle game sightings and follow instructions, I’ve just been helping out other staff members with anything and everything. Most of that has consisted of checking on the family group of three hornbills here on Mabula, which has served a double purpose of helping me to learn the roads on the reserve.

As to housing, although I terribly miss sharing my hot little Nametil house with Adam, I have something completely different. I have a roughly 3x3m tent set about 100m from the office, which puts me just at the edge of camp. It’s wonderful; I have a bed, a field desk, and a camp chair, not to mention lots of space all to myself. While my tent clearly does not have energy, the office does, along with a full kitchen, bathroom, and washing machine, which makes life altogether pretty dandy.

I will try to continue writing on my blog from time to time, but I think that I’m going to convert it mostly to a photo blog. I’m going to be taking lots of photos in the coming months, and I will try to post some of my favorites. Only a select photo or two will make it on the blog each time, but I will probably post a few more to my flickr as well. So you know the dance, just click on any photo to see more.

Some nice sunset colors on the clouds from just outside my tent