Audubon Camp

It came and went in the blink of an eye. Audubon Camp is one of my highlights of every year. A camp dedicated to teaching 11- and 12-year-olds about the wonders of nature in the middle of the Ouachitas during summer might not sound like the best deal for a summer job, but I've got to tell you, it is.

For two weeks I taught Aquatic Biology, my personal favorite course from when I was a camper there. My kids caught plankton, saw them under the microscope, seined for fish and other lake creatures, found benthic macroinvertebrates, and *hopefully* had a lot of fun.

"What are all of those big ol' words?" you may ask. Well, let me give you a mini-rundown of the class.

First we use a plankton net (seen above) to catch a massive amount of plankton (if you're lucky.) Second week was luckier than the first, and here is a cyclops carrying an egg sac! For those wondering, this is the type of plankton that Plankton from Spongebob is based on.

There were many different kinds we saw, including a few that I couldn't identify. (Yes, I'll probably be buying a plankton guide in the near future. I won't let those plankton stump me again.)

Here you can see three BMIs. These are water pennies, A.K.A. beetle larvae. They mean the water isn't very polluted, as water pennies can't tolerate pollution well in water.

This orangebelly darter is quite possibly the prettiest fish in the creeks around the camp. The other pretty one is the redfin shiner, which really caused quite a fuss with my co-teacher during the second week.

Speaking of my second week co-teacher, here is probably the best picture I got of him in those two weeks. He's got a gorgeous camera that he used to capture all sorts of animals, from birds in their bird nests to the teeny Ouachita Dusky Salamander, which you'll only find down in the Ouachitas.

This was taken during a bird walk the morning I decided to see at least 100 different birds in one year. It's not a "big year" but I figure I'd like to get to know my birds before I undertake something so amazing.

I did a lot of hammock-sitting too in my downtime. I wish I could tell you it was relaxing, but it wasn't. Campers really liked to see how high they could rock you or how annoyed they could make you while you were sitting in there. I enjoyed every minute of it.