On an early Saturday morning, my wife and I drove to the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Mississippi to participate as volunteers in helping researchers capture and study the seaside sparrow. Ammodramus maritimus.
Beaching the boats |
The site was reached on small flat bottomed boats. the shallow profile may help these types of boats get through shallow areas, but they are not great at riding through rough seas. Waves consistently splashed over the sides of the boat getting the people who rode in the front very wet.
On that day specifically, the team was looking for to recapture some marked sparrows attached with geolocator to see how far individual sparrows may move during the winter. The geolocators record daylight versus dark which can then be used to determine the relative location on the Earth for the individual birds. Birds were also inspected for their bands as a way to keep an eye out on specific birds.
It was a great Saturday! I want to thank Grand Bay NERR and the researchers from other institutions working together for a knowledgeable and fun morning.
Below is short video describing more about whats being done here at Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.