Yazoo- ooooooooo!

I like to say "Yazoo" like those old Yahoo search engine commercials. It makes my next place of residency and employment sound even more fun than wearing hunter orange so I don't get shot (another perk of my upcoming job).

This winter I'll be working in the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex (quite the mouthful!) on a winter demography study of Rusty Blackbirds. Rusty Blackbirds spend their winters in Mississippi, so that's where I'm headed in a few weeks. Specifically, I'll be living in the Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge. My favorite part thus far is that the satellite view from Google makes the area look like a quilt- shout out to Elvira and Margaret of the CQC here : )



So what will I be doing besides wearing hunter orange and trying not to get shot? Following birds! In Thailand it was monkeys who weren't individually marked. In Mississippi it will be rusties tagged with radio transmitters. We'll catch birds and then follow them around. Clearly I have a sweet job.

There'll be other aspects of the job as well. In terms of winter demography, we want to know not only where these birds go (i.e. habitat) which we'll get from the telemetry and GPS locations, but also information on what food is around. So I'll be insect collecting and sorting as well.

I leave in two weeks so watch the blog for more info!

PS New address on the left side bar. I heart mail . . .