MBFE 2017 - Day 1

MBFE 2017 - Day 1 - Time to get rolling

The class gathered yesterday as members of the MBFE 2017 arrived starting in the morning and the last one arriving around midnight.  It was good to have everyone here!  The word of the day yesterday was "RAIN."  Believe it or not, even the people who live here were complaining about how much rain they've had so far this calendar year.  I heard that by now they normally have about 19" of rain, but a recent report from a rain gauge station showed over 34".   I guess it really has been rainy!

It was a calm and beautiful though overcast morning.  Here's a sunrise shot of the marina across the road from the marine lab.  Though still overcast we had a hint of a sunrise...it was dead calm and beautiful out there.

The lack of rain didn't last though and before long the wet stuff was coming down, and rain or no rain it was time to get started so we hit the ground running this morning with a bite of breakfast at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) dining hall at 7am followed by class from 9-noon.  We spent the  morning going over program introduction and basics of lab and field safety followed by an overview of the basics of marine science plus challenges and opportunities of life in water and how that differs from life on land.  We were all ready for a break after a full morning!  

We enjoyed some time out of the classroom after lunch, a whistle-stop tour of various spots between the marine lab and Cape Arago State Park.

One of our stops was at Simpson Reef, the home of a local marine mammal community.  

This is a mass of northern fur seals (lighter brown) and California sea lions (darker color) at Sand Island, Simpsons Reef, on the way to Cape Arago.

Here are some California sea lions on a small rock also at Simpsons Reef.

Our last stop was Cape Arago State Park.  The wind was blowing harder than I've ever seen it there.  Here's Jay spreading his wings and leaning into the wind while looking down on North Cove, Cape Arago State Park.

And our last stop was at South Cove, Cape Arago State Park on a gray blustery day. Somehow Oregon coastlines wear even these conditions well.

And after dinner and another class meeting we are done for Day 1. It was a good start - stay tuned for Day 2!