In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room....

On the beach everyday from pre-sunrise to near-sunset, I became familiar with the routines of the wildlife on my little stretch of beach.  Part of my job was to be on the lookout for endangered species and oiled or injured animals. When you spend so much time on the beach, you begin to realized that there are a LOT of shorebirds. At first, they all looked the same to me --- they were either gulls, terns, herons, brown pelicans, or something else.  Slowly, I began to see the small differences among them, and began learning their names. I found it mildly entertaining; it was something to do during down time. 

Then, one day, the birding bug bit me by surprise. I was driving down the beach one evening, on my way to the work area, when I saw the STRANGEST bird! I slowed to a crawl as I edged up on it. What WAS it??? A huge beak. Was this some kind of arctic flyer, stopping for a break? A toucan? In Florida? I turned off my vehicle and watched in wonder. It sat on the shoreline, with the company of a few small terns. Then, off it flew, down the beach.  Later, I found out that it was a black skimmer.

Black skimmers have these huge beaks that they use to skim food out of the water. They aren't uncommon birds, although I only saw the one during my two-months down there.

The sense of wonderment and awe at seeing such a totally foreign and unexpected creature on the beach, the place I had spent everyday and all day, was inspiring.  I bought a bird book, and started seriously trying to learn the different birds around me.  I picked up this book: The Smithsonian Field Guide to Birds of North America, and I love it! The pictures are crisp, the text is concise and packed with helpful info, and it's got a stiff (not hard, not soft) cover, which makes it nice for the field. It comes with a DVD of birdsongs, and has a species checklist in the back. I love to make lists and cross them off, so being able to keep track of what birds I've seen is great!


Now that I'm home, I've got a whole new set of birds to learn. I set up two bird feeders outside my windows so that I can drink my morning coffee while spying on the blue jays, mockingbirds, warblers, and others.  I don't know whether this new hobby will be just a hobby, or become an obsession --- I think it's just a hobby. Still, it's fun to know what that bird is singing in the tree nearby.  As I learn more about birding, I expect to pass on the info!

Crazy Feet

For my job on the beach, I wore Keen sandals.  That's right, two months of suntanning with weird shoes on. The result? Only a picture can explain:

Anyone want to guess how long I'll have those tan lines?

Steady's Back in Action!

Hi there!

Wow! It's been a while. Although I was originally going to be down on the Gulf for 21 days, I extended my detail and stayed for a whopping 60 days on the beach.  It was an amazing and exhausting experience. My job, in a nutshell, was to make sure that while the oil was being cleaned up off of the beach the natural and cultural resources weren't destroyed. I worked the night shift for a couple of weeks, but the rest of the time worked during the day.  How do I summarize two months of working on a beach in "Lower Alabama" (the western edge of Florida, near Pensacola)? I'm not sure I can. I've thought a lot about how I could write this post, and haven't come up with any great solution.  I'll break down the "highlights" from my two months on the beach:

1) Seeing a sea turtle nest hatch, and getting to help get the little guys out to sea.

2) Watching dolphins frolicking and feeding almost everyday just off the beach. I tried to take cool pictures of this, but it didn't happen.

3) Watching the shorebirds everyday. I never thought that I would take an interest in birding until this job. But, I think I'm hooked now!

4) Seeing Portuguese Man O' Wars washed up after a stormy night.

5) Meeting and working with people from all over the country. This was by far the best part!

6) Observing and being a part of the crazy amount of logistics it takes to run such a humongous operation. The amount of equipment and the number of people coming and going, and the need to be able to track everything --- the controlling of chaos--- really, I was amazed by it all.

7) Going to a free Bon Jovi concert... on the beach... in Alabama. Ha! I never expected to do that!

8) Seeing a zydeco concert. More interestingly, seeing a zydeco band cover Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe." Who knew accordion solos could sound so cool?!

9) Going to the National Naval Aviation Museum. Lots of planes!

10) Watching the Blue Angels practice right over my head.

11) Seeing the sun rise --- and set --- every day.

12) Getting a really awesome sun tan that everyone in New York should be jealous of!

13) Being able to help out with the clean-up effort!

14) Seeing this out of my "office window" everyday: