Bird Counts

I'm not even sure I want a blog. I mean, who'll read it? Here's my first post anyway:

Yesterday, the univerisity's boat captain took my students and I out on the boat to do bird counts. It's not yet nesting season, and the morning session was kind of a bust. Puttering around the cays, we saw 4 species and a grand total of 10 birds. The afternoon was something else, though. We dropped anchor at a nearby bay, and walked through a bit of forest to a salt pond. I can't remember the last time I saw so many birds in one place. We stood with the trees behind us and the pond before us. The only sounds were bird calls and our own hushed voices. The birds took no notice of us whatsoever but went about their regular business of singing, eathing, and grooming. We counted at least 70 ducks. There were two species of plovers, moore hens, sandpipers, and more. I could float on this high all week.

I really love this planet. It's a shame our species is mucking it up so badly.