Road Open!

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted. We set out our artificial nests on the Haul road and the road to Endicott. Both days were long and exhausting but it was satisfying to have it all done. We have already checked the Haul road nests once and have about half of both duck and shorebird nests surviving so far. I lost one of my nests because I built it fairly close to the river and it was flooded in just a few days time. =(

Artificial shorebird nest.

This is why you don't build a nest by a river full of ice.

Tomorrow we will be checking our artificial nests on the road to Endicott. Monitoring the nests doesn't take quite as long, but it is a little more tiring since we are hiking a lot more. As well as moving cameras off nests that are depredated and setting them up on different nests. 

I mentioned previously that we have been unable to access the majority of our sites because the river took out part of the bridge across. Well, it also had large ice blocks on it. Photos are courtesy of Jie, since I did not have my camera and my phone died the day we went to check it out.

I wonder why...

Joe and I checking out the ice.

But as the title of this post says, it is now open! We were able to make it out to those sites today and get all of our first surveys done. One site is still inaccessible because the road it's on is still washed out, but I am not too concerned about getting there anytime soon. It was one of the sites we added later in the season and Erica and I did all of the surveys in late June and early July, so it should be alright.

Last year Mobil WZ quickly became one of my favorite sites because there was so much activity on it. It was also the site we found four Semipalmated Plover nests on. Today, it did not disappoint. It had so much bird activity! We aren't supposed to search for nests on the sites until the second survey, but I inadvertently found a plover nest already! Three eggs, not even a full clutch yet! Jie also found a Greater White-fronted Goose nest on a different site. The first non-plover nest found on a rehab pad, for the whole study!

First Semipalmated Plover nest!

I also recently remembered I forgot to share this picture of a black blob, I mean Bearded Seal! A SEAL! SEAL! Hooray! It was out on the ice by Endicott but the ice has receded further north now, so we probably won't get to see anymore... =(

Like the wolves, you just got to trust me, it is a seal.

All in all, it has been looking up here. We have been able to get work done, the weather is fantastic (mid 50s and reported 60s on Friday!) and the flowers have begun to bloom as the tundra turns green and awakens.  

Beautiful day in the Arctic!