57 to go!

Post date: Apr 25, 2013 7:17:27 PM

It's not every day that you catch three pelicans and narrowly avoid getting struck by lightning. On both counts, I'd call yesterday a success.

Scott, Yvan, Elizabeth and I set out early in the morning for Raccoon Island with tags, leg snares, and high hopes. We set up our first snares near the landing beach, and Scott showed us how to choose nests (ideally on the edge of the colony, with clear sight lines and minimal vegetation) and how to set the snares.

A set snare

We missed the first three, but the fourth was a success-- as soon as Scott pulled the noose closed the pelican began to flap, clearly caught by the leg. We ran up and grabbed it.

Pelican #1

#1, out to sea

After #1 had been tagged, photographed, measured, and released, we re-set the snares for #2, and it didn't take long for us to catch another. As we were processing, it began to rain lightly, and we noticed a wall of black cloud moving toward us. Soon after we released the bird, the rain began to fall harder. We lay flat on the ground as the thunderstorm passed overhead, creating instant mudslides and filling the air around us with electricity.

Once the storm had passed, we set up in the new section of the colony and, after several tries, captured our third bird of the day. It only took us 25 minutes to tag, process, and release it: well on the way to our 15-minute target.

#3, tagged and ready to go

Yvan preparing to release #3

The release

And it's off!

Three of our 60 tags are now out in the world, collecting GPS points every two hours. Pelican tracking is officially underway!