Into the thick of it... literally.

Training began this week, to give us all a taste of what we had gotten ourselves into. I am one of ten individuals that will be working on the project known as Mountain Birdwatch 2.0. I have been given the okay to tell you who I work for. The project is one of a few run by Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Training was held at the office location in Norwich, VT and later on in the Green Mountains and part of the Long Trail. The photo is of the window of the "lodge" we stayed in while we were there. Pretty cushy if you ask me. But, no, there was no electricity or running water. But, four walls, a roof, a door, and two sleeping platforms are pretty sweet.


View from the porch of the lodge which looked out over a small pond and in the great distance, the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The vegetation was incredibly thick in spots just feet off the trail, which we discovered while taking data sampling at points along our route. There were places where the young Balsam Fir were so thick that I couldn't even see my feet beneath me!


Now, you may be wondering who this guy is. Allow me to introduce you to Finneus Fitz Callie-Callie (Finn for short). The brilliant custom Callie-Callie creation made by Vermont Urban Farmgirl artist Erinn Simon. The tough guy bear-tamer with a big heart will be accompanying me on my journey through the wilderness. I promised Erinn I'd try to keep him out of trouble, but there's just no telling. But here, he poses in front of the scenic pond in front of the lodge.


We spotted some Ruffed Grouse eggs on the hike up. Though the lady of the nest was nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, when we passed the nest again on the way back down, the nest had been predated. No eggs left, and no evidence left behind. Bummer. Some of the other birds I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing were: Bicknell's Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, White-throated Sparrow, Blackpoll Warbler, Black Capped Chickadee, Winter Wren, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (all target species for Mountain Birdwatch), Dark-eyed Junco, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Raven to name more than a few.

Finally, I'll try to include an insight to my eating habits while I'm out. So, here you go!

Dinner of the week: Chicken Ramen Noodles with Tuna. This was WAY better than anticipated.

Until the next time I have Internet,

-Cal of the Wild

An Introduction

Not a spoof of "Call of the Wild" (though the name may be), Cal of the Wild will follow the short journey of one mountain hopping, bird watching, field technician. For roughly two months I, Cal of the Wild, will attempt to document my experiences through a written and photo journal style blog. My hopes are that the blog will allow friends, family, and stalking strangers to see the following:

A- What exactly it is that I'm doing in the woods for so long.
B- The score is still Cal of the Wild -1 / Ominous wilderness -0.

C- That I was born to do this.

And, maybe even will encourage some conservation type education and love in the process. But hey, let's not have too many expectations.

A bit about the job. I will be working for a non-profit (which shall remain nameless for the time being) that will be sending myself and a number of other field technicians into the mountainous regions of the North Eastern US for approximately two months. During this time we will be working to survey populations of high elevation songbirds. These include ten target species of birds and one target mammalian species.

The journey begins May 26th. So follow along. I double dog dare you.

-Cal of the Wild