Marsh Hiking 101

Yesterday was my first semi-official day on the job.  I say semi-official because we took frequent breaks to listen to the harmony of bird songs around us and observe them through binoculars, as they flew overhead, including Marsh Harriers, White-winged Terns, Meadow Pipits, and, of course Aquatic Warblers.  We also did not search specifically for Aquatic Warblers.  Instead, the project leader took us on a trek around one of the large survey sites in the peat marsh of Biebrza National Park, so that we could mark the edges of the plots for future reference. 

It was wonderful to be back out in nature, which built up my anticipation for the start of the field work.  We were surrounded by marsh with occasional patches of trees, unable to see the boardwalk, from which we had come.  Yet, some hills could be seen far off in the distance, which are lit up by the night lights of larger towns.  The project leader advised us to “stay away from the light,” as it is a seven kilometer walk to a river, which one must swim across, in order to get to the towns.  I’m unsure of the total distance covered today, but it was tough going, and I cannot imagine what hiking several kilometers must be like! 

And it did feel quite like hiking, particularly through plots, in which the vegetation is taller and denser with seemingly less standing water.  One really needs to pick up one’s feet!  Yet, there is always a hole some place, where the entangled root systems suddenly disperse and some unfortunate individual loses a leg for a few moments.  It was very challenging to tell the locations of such danger zones in advance, since some areas were small and surrounded by vegetation, seemingly harmless.  Even though, I spent much of my walking time carefully watching where my feet feel, I still managed to locate a few gaps in the plant life.