Grebe banding was so interesting. You wade into a shallow lake, about 20 people with you, all holding a very long, hip-height net. You corral the flightless grebes into an enclosed area, then grab each one and put them into floating crates. These crates are taken to a dry area, where you and all of the group start processing. There are three groups: one to process grebes that had already been banded (there is an astonishing 60% recapture rate, since the grebes come back to the same salt lakes every winter), one to process unbanded grebes, and one group to verify the grebes' sex, age, and molt with the all-knowing Luis. You were in the last group, since you were new to grebe banding and thus didn't directly process them. You took the grebes that the two groups had finished with and got into the grebe line. The grebe line ended with Luis, who took the bird and told you what age, sex, and molting stage the grebe was in. You then remembered that information and went back to tell the processors. They would fix anything that didn't add up to what Luis said.
Where we did the grebe banding was in Huelva, the capital of the southern region of Spain, Andalucía. Huelva is an industrial city, and they filter ocean water out to create mountains of salt to use in industrial processes. You were walking in a very salty, shallow lake, thus your legs were white when you came out of the water. You rinsed off in a lake that was less concentrated in salt; a lake closer to the ocean. Then you helped band for three hours, and went to lunch with several fellow banders. It was great, and you felt like a part of something wonderful, regarding both the work done and the people you did it with.
My sister and I had Paco pick us up in El Rocío at 5. It took three and a half hours to get to Alhaurin de la Torre, where our grandmother had prepared us a delicious dinner. It was really nice to be back, chilling with Abuelita and eating yummy, homemade food. The grebe banding and entirety of the Doñana trip was unforgettable.
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| These floating crates were brought to land full of grebes |
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| The recapture-processing group collecting data on the grebes who had been banded before this year |
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| This guy's about to go to the water again! |
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