Post Mortem
It’s now been one week since I got home, so it seems like a good idea to finish off this blog exercise with a brief retrospective. After...
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dmock4
Oct 23, 20224 min read
The OTHER SIDE
Uganda was declared a British "protectorate" (= colony) in the 1890s and held as such by the British East Africa Company until thrown out...
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dmock4
Oct 22, 20225 min read
Paris It Ain't
It's been three weeks since I arrive at Pakuba Safari Lodge and five days from now Kenneth and I will depart, stepping into a Toyota...
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dmock4
Oct 21, 20225 min read
In Praise of Failure
Yesterday afternoon, we acknowledge reality that our 2022 study of shoebill foraging behavior was not going to succeed, owing to an...
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dmock4
Oct 18, 20225 min read
Some Notions About Eco-tourism in Africa
This afternoon, I shall write about some things I have learned from limited personal experience as a somewhat atypical tourist of African...
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dmock4
Oct 18, 20225 min read
Scientist as Tourist
Fig. 1: Mugecis, Kenneth, and Doug (L-R). From this cell phone shot, taken by Ivan, it is clear that we're early in the study because I...
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dmock4
Oct 16, 20224 min read
Arresting Poachers
"The quality of mercy is not strained It droppeth like the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed. It...
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dmock4
Oct 13, 20225 min read
Visits to Fishing Villages
Fancy basket fish traps on the Nile The villages along the Albert Nile have three main economic options: livestock farming, crop farming,...
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dmock4
Oct 12, 20224 min read
Research from a UWA Patrol Boat
Our sole means of transportation for the shoebill study is a fiberglass open boat about 18' long with a 40 hp engine. Two Uganda...
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dmock4
Oct 11, 20223 min read
Switching Format to Vignettes
I know I named this blog 'Shoebill Diary,' but I am less interested in giving a daily play-by-play (which obviously I have not kept up...
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dmock4
Oct 11, 20222 min read
Very Short Update
In 20 minutes the rangers are scheduled to pick us up, so I have time only for a quick summary of the past week. Basically, we spent...
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dmock4
Oct 7, 20223 min read
Trek to Murchison Falls National Park
This post is way overdue, as it’s now been one week since I left Virginia. The flight over was mercifully unmemorable, despite taking 23...
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dmock4
Sep 29, 20226 min read
The WHY question
Despite having stated that I'd posted my last pre-travel entry, I found myself pondering the trip that begins tomorrow morning before...
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dmock4
Sep 25, 20224 min read
Pre-trip Dreamscape
This coming Saturday (Oct. 1) I will complete the 23 hour airplane trip to Uganda, so this is likely my last pre-travel posting. I want...
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dmock4
Sep 18, 20226 min read
Pre-Study Conjectures
It’s easy to add pre-trip postings here from my desk in Virginia, less than 2 weeks out from the trip, so I will say a few things now...
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dmock4
Sep 16, 20222 min read
Shoebill Project Objectives
Kenneth Tumusiime and I have several explicit goals, both scientific and economic, as we gear up for our month-long field study of...
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dmock4
Sep 13, 20223 min read
Welcome to Shoebill Diary!
This is going to be a real-time accounting of an adventure/research project I am pursuing with Kenneth Tumusiime in Uganda throughout the...
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Shoebill Diary
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