For all you
birdwatchers out there – today is the day to tune in (shout out to you, Mom!). In
the morning, we had a brief lecture about local birds seen often in Northern
Tanzania and Kenya and the typical processes used to collect data about birds.
Mist netting, transects, and point counts were just some of the techniques we
learned about. After the lecture, we hiked up to the top of Moyo Hill and
stopped every 250 meters to listen and look for different bird species. Of the
interesting birds we saw, some of them were the Sacred Ibis, Baglafecht weaver,
and Fan-Tailed Widow bird . All were very far away, so sadly no pictures! But
look them up, you won’t be disappointed!
After
coming back from the hike, we had lunch and then headed into our afternoon
lecture, which I was very excited about because we are (drumroll…) studying
elephants tomorrow in Lake Tarangire National Park!! YES! We had a brief
overview of African elephants and their behaviors, social organization, and
other important characteristics such as eating habits, reproductive cycles, and
habitat ecology. With this information, we’ll be going on a two hour drive to
observe the elephants’ behavior in a similar way we previously did with the
baboons. I can’t wait! Plenty more pictures to come – don’t worry!
First group picture! At the top of Moyo Hill after bird watching.
Can't wait to see more of this tomorrow!
...and more of the front, too!!!
ReplyDeleteWrite a lot about your friends tomorrow!
Love,
pops
I shared your post with my boy Alexander. That let to a fifteen minute talk on birds. He said he was familiar with the Sacred Ibis, but the others are new names to him. Of course he explained that he had not yet gotten to that part of the globe in his research! Got to love 8 year-olds. I certainly will look up the pictures of the species you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI have this strange feeling that I well may feel the ground under my feet shake when you get to see your gray friends. You are keeping me fascinated. Hugs, Rose