Ravens

Although the day is coming to an end as far as my energy levels go, the sun is still shining and the ravens are still flying overhead.  Their ancient dialect seems to follow you wherever you walk in this place.  The locals have come to call them crows; they're so abundant.

It was cold when we stepped outside around 7am this morning.  The previous afternoon had been so hot that I wasn't really expecting it.  I later made a note to myself: thicker socks, gators, and gloves definitely necessary for morning walks along the river.  Our two sites consist of a trail through dense willow and alder species between the sewage lagoons and the Mackenzie River.  With everything buried under snow and ice, we are still spared from the insects and odours that are sure to come.  During the course of the morning, we saw a number of birds skittering through the shrubs or soaring over the river, many of which we couldn't identify for sure, but for which we have our educated guesses.  Besides the ravens on every side, we saw ducks, geese, northern water thrushes, gulls, a few predatory birds, possibly savannah sparrows, and a couple bank swallows.  No yellow warblers as of yet.

The afternoon was spent organizing some of our field gear, as well as getting books from the library, cooking in our great little kitchen, and watching CBC news over dinner (one of three channels on our TV!)

The snow is melting fast here and is almost completely gone from the sidewalks and street sides where it was only yesterday!  It's been quite warm this afternoon, and many of the locals are dressed for summer!  I would be too after 8 months of winter...