Back in "the field"

In the past few weeks, I have traveled several thousand miles by land and air. I've been out of the field since mid-March and have taken the opportunity to travel to France and England, then search for (and find!) housing in Columbus, OH where I will relocate at the end of the summer in preparation for starting my PhD at The Ohio State University.
I arrived in Washington, D.C. yesterday after a two-day journey from Chicago and now I am gearing up for my latest adventure in the field: Neighborhood Nestwatch. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has been running this program for about 10 years (yay long-term data sets!) that uses "citizen scientists" to monitor birds in their backyards in terms of survivorship and reproductive success. Basically, families who are interested in watching birds learn how to record data and submit it to the Smithsonian. What I will do is facilitate this by visiting families over the course of the next three months, color band the birds in their neighborhood, and teach them as much as I can during a half-day visit. One of the great pluses of citizen science is that TONS of data can be collected efficiently and cost-effectively: only four technicians are needed to assist over 200 families- quite a lot of bang for your buck!
I've been in D.C. for less than 24 hours now and am beginning to understand the number/letter street system, proliferation of one-way streets, and all of the charm associated with driving in a major city. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to using public transportation to move around once I can park my car at our field house!
I met one of my bosses today and will be helping with various aspects (i.e. net repair, everyone's favorite) of the project until the rest of the crew arrives over the weekend. Besides that, there are friends and family to visit, food to be sampled and national sights to be seen . . . I'll keep you updated!