Washington DCApril 21, 2018
The fourth annual World Seabird Twitter Conference took place over this past week, with seabird researchers all over the globe chiming in around the clock for three days straight. You don't need a Twitter account to peruse the presentations: #WSTC4. I had a 15-minute slot to "present" and answer questions about my own tweets:
" I'm presenting on #WSTC4 in a moment! Currently on a Fulbright-NatGeo Storytelling Fellowship in NZ, making art & stories about efforts to save seabirds in the Seabird Capital of the World. Living in a tent, roaming the coast, catching boats to islands... https://t.co/5veeeZnDcg pic.twitter.com/eUAif6goS0 — Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018"
" 1/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 On a recent adventure for my @NatGeo fellowship, I abseiled down a 70-meter seacliff near Dunedin. There scientists are monitoring a hidden colony of fairy prions, elsewhere driven off the mainland by invasive mammals. @Forest_and_Bird https://t.co/aknuNb0LCg pic.twitter.com/GlKUn8GJbe — Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018"
" 2/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 On another expedition, I voyaged across turbulent seas to the subantarctic Auckland Islands, to help wrangle population estimates for yellow-eyed penguins in their last stronghold. @docgovtnz https://t.co/fJ4LaKbQWx pic.twitter.com/Vtg0cTqDIj — Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018"
" 3/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 While exploring the effects of fisheries on seabirds in the Hauraki Gulf, I found myself inside a cyclone of hungry tubenoses, which appear to rely on the feeding frenzies of big fish schools to bring krill meals to the surface. @NNZST https://t.co/EUmfhMEOd4 pic.twitter.com/5L5wMEgmtl — Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018"
" 4/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 Another adventure involved staying up night after night in the rain on Little Barrier Island—where New Zealand storm petrels were recently found nesting after being thought extinct for the entire 20th century. @NNZST @aucklandmuseum https://t.co/P0svJh0YZg pic.twitter.com/aUsO2zDsCu — Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018"
" With this @NatGeoExplorers @FulbrightPrgrm project I hope to convey the beauty and value of seabirds, draw attention to their global decline, and highlight inspiring examples of conservation. https://t.co/qByu1esLXS (📷 @edinatw) @FulbrightNZ @usembassynz #WSTC4 pic.twitter.com/ccdlxPpR5g — Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018"
Photo by Edin Whitehead