Canning River Avian Influenza Survey

While we have been working hard on the coastal survey, my Manomet colleague Trevor-Lloyd Evans has been working on a different project, so we have many different efforts underway this summer.  Trevor is working with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Crew taking avian influenza samples of migrating shorebirds.  The effort is very similar to our work earlier this year in the National Petroleum Reserve (see the previous updates section for notes on that project).  The camp is located on the Canning River, at the western edge of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain.  Trevor and three other biologists are capturing migrating shorebirds to see if they carry the disease.  So far, there are still no cases that have been detected, good news for both the birds and for people!  Catching birds on the mudflats takes lots of hard work and patience under the same blustery cold and foggy conditions we've had along the coastal survey, but is well worth the effort to contribute to this important effort.