Tuesday, August 25, 2009

End of the season wrap-up

So I have been really bad about making new posts. Things just got really busy at the end of the season, and my internet access was as good as usual.

Getting home was an adventure. Jeff and Alan dropped me off in Merced, where I caught a bus to San Francisco. From San Francisco I was able to get an earlier flight home the next morning. They wouldn't let me go through security the night before, so I slept in the airport in my sleepingbag with my all my gear. Surprise Surprise, I got selected for a "random" screening in security; maybe I should have shaved in Yosemite. My flight went through Philadelphia. If I were coming through later I would have tried to crash the AOU conference; they probably would have let me in. I was working for the Institute for Bird Populations. While I had some downtime in the airport I found a Swarovski dealer, and they let me try some of the binoculars. Swarovski has the reputation for the best binoculars in the world, and they definitely lived up to it. It was amazing! When I got to Richmond my family was waiting to greet me. I missed them so much. This summer was the longest Jenevieve and I have been apart. If I'm banding next summer, hopefully she can be convinced to come too.

As I close this post, I would like to thank those who have made my amazing summer possible. I would like to thank my parents and family for their help and support, the packages and letter, and helping me with transportation difficulties. Thank you to the Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science Department of CNU for helping me to find this internship and providing encouragement when MAPS eastern region didn't work out. Mary Chambers and the IBP staff have been wonderful for allowing me to band in Yosemite. I have really enjoyed banding with the many IBP visitors that have come out over the season. Finally, I would like to thank Jenevieve for her continual love and support which meant so much over an occasionally lonely summer.

This summer has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life, which I'm sure has opened many doors to future experiences with birds and nature in general. I hope you have enjoyed this blog, and I would like to thank you for reading. I may start posting again if future summers include birds (hopefully they will).

Sincerely,

Kenton Buck

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