Nature walk and survey drive
9/6/07 12:34 PM
Transcribed from hand-written journal
After breakfast, Simon, who is a botanist, took us on a nature walk--a hike really--around and up Satao Rock (at the base of which sits our camp). He pointed out plants and flowers, talked a little about the geology of the area and some of the wildlife. After a moment of vertigo, through which Sue and Mahmud and Mark helped me, we got to the very top. The tourist camp is up there, and the view from their open air dining room is just spectacular: the flat plain of Taita and Rukinga ranches for as far as the eye can see, a gray scrub forest to the horizon. We too a break there for drinks and then went back down to our camp.
Sighted:
Striped mongoose
Martial eagle
Fireball lily
Male red-headed agama (shown in this picture)
Turns out that Simon is an avid bird-watcher; we bonded over that a bit. He's going on a bird-watching trip after our expedition is over, leading it. His passion for birds is clear--his eyes sparkled when he talked about it.
I am amazed at how quickly the time is passing. It's Thursday already! Even though I obviously have time to journal and nap, it feels as though I am busy every minute of the day.
The first shift drives I'm quite enjoying. It's the second shift--from 10 PM to 2 AM--that I'm finding really tough going. I dozed off a number of times last night; really rather frustrated with myself about that. The lateness of the hour is just really tough. I need to nap properly at midday; no hanging about this PM. I can only imagine what next week will be like.
3:44 PM
Horrible dreams during this afternoon's nap.
Busted a zipper in one of my two pairs of shorts. So pissed off abot that. These goddamned things are brand new.
7:58 PM
Haven't really described how the drives work. Seven people are each assigned to a truck: a driver/naturalist, an investigator (also a naturalist), and 5 volunteers. We each are assigned a job beyond keeping our eyes open and spotting critters. One person records each sighting on a sheet, counting how many of each critter we see. One records the animals in a PDA using a special application that records GPS coordinates, animal activity, time of sighting, and number and type of animal. One person uses a range finder to determine how far from the animal we are. One person holds and rotates an antenna to capture signals from one of the radio-collared lions in the area, and one person holds and tunes the receiver so we can hear the signals when the lions are near. Very manual, very old school. When it gets dark, someone takes the duty of using a million-candle-power spotlight to light up the landscape and continue the search. The spotlight helps us locate animals in the dark by catching their eyeshine.
Each shift (this week) lasts 4 hours. We also record mileage, timing and GPS coordinates. As I've already noted, I find the first shift pretty easy, but the second shift is tough. It's hard to stay awake and engaged. I'm going to try harder tonight.
I've had an idea for a short story that I want to call "Eyeshine." Don't know when I'll have the time or energy to focus enough to start working on it here, however. We're so busy and time is so carefully allotted. I miss time to work on fiction. It's making me antsy.
And now--I should go prep for the next shift.
Sighted on first drive: kudu, African hare, serval cat, gerenuk, civet, yellow baboon, kites, dik diks, tawny eagle, superb starling, hornbills, caracal, Grant's gazelle, garden bulbul, klipspringer, cape buffalo, elephants, Burchell's zebra, giraffe, bateleur eagle, martial eagle, crested francolin, whitebellied go-away bird, nightjar, domestic cattle, bushbabies, dwarf and white tusk mongoose.
Transcribed from hand-written journal
After breakfast, Simon, who is a botanist, took us on a nature walk--a hike really--around and up Satao Rock (at the base of which sits our camp). He pointed out plants and flowers, talked a little about the geology of the area and some of the wildlife. After a moment of vertigo, through which Sue and Mahmud and Mark helped me, we got to the very top. The tourist camp is up there, and the view from their open air dining room is just spectacular: the flat plain of Taita and Rukinga ranches for as far as the eye can see, a gray scrub forest to the horizon. We too a break there for drinks and then went back down to our camp.
Sighted:
Turns out that Simon is an avid bird-watcher; we bonded over that a bit. He's going on a bird-watching trip after our expedition is over, leading it. His passion for birds is clear--his eyes sparkled when he talked about it.
I am amazed at how quickly the time is passing. It's Thursday already! Even though I obviously have time to journal and nap, it feels as though I am busy every minute of the day.
The first shift drives I'm quite enjoying. It's the second shift--from 10 PM to 2 AM--that I'm finding really tough going. I dozed off a number of times last night; really rather frustrated with myself about that. The lateness of the hour is just really tough. I need to nap properly at midday; no hanging about this PM. I can only imagine what next week will be like.
3:44 PM
Horrible dreams during this afternoon's nap.
Busted a zipper in one of my two pairs of shorts. So pissed off abot that. These goddamned things are brand new.
7:58 PM
Haven't really described how the drives work. Seven people are each assigned to a truck: a driver/naturalist, an investigator (also a naturalist), and 5 volunteers. We each are assigned a job beyond keeping our eyes open and spotting critters. One person records each sighting on a sheet, counting how many of each critter we see. One records the animals in a PDA using a special application that records GPS coordinates, animal activity, time of sighting, and number and type of animal. One person uses a range finder to determine how far from the animal we are. One person holds and rotates an antenna to capture signals from one of the radio-collared lions in the area, and one person holds and tunes the receiver so we can hear the signals when the lions are near. Very manual, very old school. When it gets dark, someone takes the duty of using a million-candle-power spotlight to light up the landscape and continue the search. The spotlight helps us locate animals in the dark by catching their eyeshine.
Each shift (this week) lasts 4 hours. We also record mileage, timing and GPS coordinates. As I've already noted, I find the first shift pretty easy, but the second shift is tough. It's hard to stay awake and engaged. I'm going to try harder tonight.
I've had an idea for a short story that I want to call "Eyeshine." Don't know when I'll have the time or energy to focus enough to start working on it here, however. We're so busy and time is so carefully allotted. I miss time to work on fiction. It's making me antsy.
And now--I should go prep for the next shift.
Sighted on first drive: kudu, African hare, serval cat, gerenuk, civet, yellow baboon, kites, dik diks, tawny eagle, superb starling, hornbills, caracal, Grant's gazelle, garden bulbul, klipspringer, cape buffalo, elephants, Burchell's zebra, giraffe, bateleur eagle, martial eagle, crested francolin, whitebellied go-away bird, nightjar, domestic cattle, bushbabies, dwarf and white tusk mongoose.