Thursday, August 4, 2011

Day 35: Platform video and new volunteers

Last week, for the first time, I set the platform camera trap to video mode. Nearly two hours of footage were captured. Here's the highlight reel (no audio).


The misplaced nesting material is especially entertaining. Not that these birds are here to entertain me. The tally for the past week goes as follows: osprey 4 (over three days), starling 4, sparrow 2, flicker 1 (first sighting at marsh).

Our cleanup crew grew to five today with the addition of Kelly M., Emma S. and Martin A.


And of course, Rocky Point's own Sarah V.


We focused on the middle marsh, where large patches of debris prevent spartina grass from growing. When the marsh floods as it did today, we trade in the wheelbarrow for more primitive technology, as Emma demonstrates.


Martin coaxes the tiny bits of plastic out of the submerged grass.


During an impassioned raking session, Kelly went in. An exciting moment for all. To date, nobody has swamped their waders at Rocky Point. Would Kelly be the first?


Not this time - evasive maneuvers kept her afloat. Dignity suffered only minor injuries.

We cleared our target area in less than four hours. Here it is in 60 seconds:


In case you missed that:


Thanks again to Thursday's crew, come back soon.

High of 81, max humidity 90%, average wind ESE @ 8 MPH, 6.1 high tide @ 12:14 PM. Moon 21% visible.
Water level recorded at 20 inch mark.
Birds seen in marsh: black skimmer, common tern, unidentified peep, unidentified accipiter
Birds seen in bay: n/a

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