deceased downy ducks

2/13/12
Today, Dr. Kirchman and I spent a fun day in the range (where they keep the stuffed animals and skeletons... and where my emu friend is located) rather than the lab. Dr. Kirchman was going to lecture for a group of ornithology students from Bard College and show them some bird species requested by their professor. Dr. Kirchman took me to the range and showed me where they kept the birds for teaching lessons. Faced with 5 massive metal cabinets, a stepstool, and a piece of paper with about 25 different birds on it, I was off to the races as Dr. Kirchman went to go get passes for when the students came.
All I can say is thank goodness the cabinets were labeled! I slowly made my way down the list, straining to read little tags on the birds' feet and then trying to find the common name to match the one on the sheet rather than the scientific name. Luckily, some common sense came in handy while faced with a giant row of stuffed birds with an overwhelming number of tags in small print. Using my deductive reasoning skills, I was able to determine that when I was looking for a 'purple finch' I should look for a purple bird. I am proud to say that when Dr. Kirchman came back, I had found all the birds on the list but two, one of which was not in the collection, and the other, the ruddy duck, had been mounted on a platform right across from where I was working and had literally been staring me in the face. After moving my emu friend onto a table to create a little more space in the range, Dr. Kirchman showed me a hummingbird skeleton. It was amazing to see how tiny the bones were, and the only larger bones were the skull and the sternum. 
While waiting for the students to arrive, Dr. Kirchman gave me two articles to read. I found one really interesting on climate change and how species were forced to adapt much more quickly, but the other article went over my head and before I could finish, the Bard students arrived. I was introduced to the professor, but while we were waiting in the lobby for some lollygagging students, I ran out of time and had to leave before I could hear Dr. Kirchman's lecture.
Next week is Presidents Day, so Dr. Kirchman and I will not meet, but Dr. Kirchman is going to send our rail DNA to be sequenced and I will have some computer work when I next see Dr. Kirchman as we approach our moment of truth in the rail project.