We rose early every morning to check mist nests and band birds in the field, amongst the dew, with a view of Lake Ogallala.

Professor John Faaborg had been teaching this summertime field course for decades, but this happened to be his final year. Throughout the course of the three weeks, it struck me how often he lamented, very openly to both me and all of the students, “all of the birds are dead”. Over so many years, he had keenly observed the steady decline of this migratory bird population.

A number of years ago, I was invited to be an artist in residence at Cedar Point Biological Station. Classes are taught to University of Nebraska students throughout the summer, and I felt compelled to look at the course listings, to know what would be taught during my time there.

I requested permission to shadow an undergraduate ornithology class, where students learned about introductory bird anatomy and mist netting & banding techniques.