Birder in Training

Alexia had her first taste of field biology this week. She came with me to Brown Ranch in North Dakota to help me train one of my field assistants to do grassland bird point counts. Ok, so maybe help is a bit strong, but she tagged along anyway. We stayed in the field house with a number of other people, and she flirted with them all. She loved watching all the people and smiled at them all. She did pretty well in the field as well. She fell asleep in the baby carrier both mornings we were out. I never realized Yellow-headed Blackbirds could put someone to sleep. She loved being outside, and we both managed to escape the field without any mosquito bites. Quite a feat considering how wet this landscape is. She will get a chance to start her botany skills in a couple of weeks.