All Good Things......

Today is our last day of data. collection. Elliot is trying to get some last minute measurements on black-chinned hummingbirds, which have the bane of his experiment, to increase sample size while Nathaniel is dumping data from all his iButtons and the Veriteq. This afternoon we pack so that we can head home early tomorrow morning.

 

Nathaniel removing an iButton from a hummingbird perching location.

While the overall success of the trip will not be known until we get back to the lab and analyze the data, we are confident that the trip has been productive and that the data we collected is really good. This has largely been the product of Elliot and Nathaniel's hard work.

 

Nathaniel downloading data from one of his perch iButtons.

This trip went by quickly, but that is generally the way it feels when you have been busy. Nathaniel got his first look at some of his iButton data this morning and I could see the fascination as he recognized that the temperature cycle data he was looking at corresponded well with expectations for cloudy vs sunny days. It will be fun to watch him figure out how temperature cycles might impact preferred perching locations throughout the day.

 

Computer screen showing temperature cycles from one of the perch iButtons.

Not sure that I will get a lab note out for the next few days as we leave at about 6 am tomorrow morning and I will be visiting family and friends on my way home (I get to drive, the boys get to fly). Even so, I will resume posting updates when we get back to the lab on June 25 as we progress through our analyses.

A big thank you to everyone who backed the project. I cannot begin to tell you how much the support is appreciated.