The lack of updates has been a result of the exhausting hatch week. Every year around the 4th of July, all the chicks decide to all hatch at once, making for early mornings and late nights for us researchers. It has really been fun keeping up with all the nests and banding a lot of adults and chicks, but it has also been a lot of work. I've been going in the field in the morning, coming back for food, and going back at night. I also learned how to take blood from the chicks, from the jugular vein. It takes two people to do, and is currently the toughest task. I feel like I'm getting the hang of it, and none of my chicks have died, so that is good! Here is a picture of a Red Phalarope chick. Look at those feet!

Here is a picture of a Long-billed Dowitcher nest. Look at the bill on those chicks! It is amazing they can even fit in their egg!

I went out to the point a few days ago, actually around midnight because the light was so amazing. I went with a professor from Cornell who is visiting, David Winkler. A lot of the ice has broke up out there, so while scanning the open areas, I found 2 Common Murres. One was a first-year bird and the other adult. Later, two more groups of two flew by, one group even close enough to hear them give off a weird groan noise. As I turned around to scan some other open area, I saw 2 sleeping loons, so massive they could only be Yellow-billed Loons! My first ones actually sitting on the water instead of flying high overhead. We walked closer and they didn't seem to mind. Of course, I forgot my camera!! The light was amazing and I could have had awesome pictures. I guess I'll wait until next time. On our walk down the beach, we saw a swallow flying around some old archeological tents. It turned out to be a Barn Swallow (American subspecies, we checked). It looked as if it were looking for a nest site. We also saw around 12 Black Guillemots. There were even some that swam in to us, sat on the beach not 10 feet away and started calling! I hear they nest out there. We'll see if I can find a nest next time I'm there. I had a lone Common Eider, a fairly late male I believe. The Long-tailed Duck migration was awesome, huge flocks constantly going by. King Eiders and Spectacled Eiders went by as well. 3 Red-breasted Mergansers flew right over us on the point, my first ones for Barrow. It really was an awesome trip, we didn't get back until around 3am, but it was worth it.

The last few days have been really foggy. Hopefully it breaks up soon, I hear the German crew had 3 Slaty-backed Gulls but I haven't been able to look due to fog. I did see this female King Eider today though.

I'll be going out really early tomorrow to band some of the 2nd birds on some nests. Hopefully they will be there. Another update to come when it isn't so busy!

Oh, and I almost forgot. Yesterday got fairly warm and sunny, so the first hatch of butterflies came out. I only saw 5-6 the whole day, all Fritillary species, but I caught one and got a look at the under-wing. Turned out to be a Frigga Fritillary. Who knows what the other ones were, probably the same. I'm working on getting a net. It was cold today, so no butterflies. 

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