Karnolab

Category: Farallon Island

  • Quite a blustery day

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    s41yzw
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    Today I did X-plot with the Common Murres (COMU) again today, but it was MUCH windier and colder.  When I had to go out of the blind and onto a nearby jutting rock to get a look at the murres hiding in crevices, I was afraid I was going to get blown off! But I…

  • COMU & PIGU

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    I thought I’d take a picture of the house! Here is where the biologists and interns live! The first floor has a living room, data room, phone room, kitchen, and bathroom.  Upstairs has several bedrooms and a bathroom.  Jessie and I share the “walk-through” room, Pete has the “wind” room, Russ and Annie have the…

  • Farallon Patrol Run (FP run)

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    s41yzw
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    So much happened today, I don’t even know where to begin! I guess we can go chronologically. So I got up at the bright and cheerful time of 5:20 am, met Jessie (the other intern) at PRBO hq, we loaded up the van with 7 action packers (waterproof boxes), a water sample case, and our…

  • safeway shopping

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    Since this is my first time posting to this blog, I guess I’ll start with a little introduction… I’m Kristina McOmber, Pomona College ’12, and I am working on a major in Biology.  My academic adviser and mentor, Professor Karnovsky, helped me find an amazing internship for this summer – volunteering for PRBO Conservation Science…

  • Loose Ends

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    s41yzw
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    Well, today is my last day on the Farallon Islands, and I honestly cannot believe that the last eight weeks has gone by so quickly. I’ve spent today tying up loose ends, packing, and doing my various studies–rhino daily checks and PIGU breed. Tomorrow, Hannah and I will be boarding “Mi Vida,” a 42′ sailing…

  • The Great Spinach Battle

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    s41yzw
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    The Farallon Islands, like almost every island that has experienced human presence or traffic, have a pretty serious problem with invasive plants.  The worst of these invasives, by far, is the New Zealand Spinach. New Zealand Spinach is a spinach, as in, you can eat it, but the one time it was ever served out…

  • My Room, and Stuff

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    s41yzw
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    Well, it’s been a few days so I thought I ought to update about what’s been going on.  The last four or so days have been pretty odd–as I mentioned, the majority of the seabird work is drawing to a close, so we are left with a lot of odd jobs and data entry/proofing.  One…

  • An Update

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    s41yzw
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    Well, my last boat day has officially come and gone, and with it my roommate Jordan.  It’s a really weird thought to think that the next boat that lands here will be taking me away!  However, the season is definitely starting to slow down.  Murre work is completely finished, and we’ve started officially calculating their…

  • The Intertidal

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    s41yzw
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    So, as if getting to go down to Mussel Flat yesterday chasing after Oystercatchers wasn’t enough of a treat, today we all took a field trip down to Jewel Cave, on the East end of the island, during low tide, to go tidepooling.  All I can say is, the intertidal zone out here is absolutely…

  • Black Oystercatchers

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    s41yzw
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    So, there is one species of bird breeding on the island that I’ve hardly said anything about–the Black Oystercatchers.  This is partly because their breeding population here is small, partly because not much work is done with them, and partly because they are hard to get to.  Black Oystercatchers nest right along the shore, and…