Our goal in Egypt was to catch 30 barn swallows. We finished with 36 birds, caught over 10 wild days in the villages around Damietta. Each and every bird had a story attached to its capture- the bucket incident, the bat incident, and, now, the prisoner incident.
After the night we accidentally caught the bats (plus 13 barn swallows), we only had 2 birds to go. However, we suspected some of our birds were juveniles, so we were hoping for 6 or so additional birds. Juveniles may not be fully-grown and have paler plumage than adults, so we didn’t want those birds skewing our data. I was feeling particularly awful- two days after extracting bats from the nets I had gotten sick, and spent 30 hours a little afraid I had rabies (I didn’t, just a bad cold). I may not have been dying, but I was still exhausted and felt miserable.
After the night we accidentally caught the bats (plus 13 barn swallows), we only had 2 birds to go. However, we suspected some of our birds were juveniles, so we were hoping for 6 or so additional birds. Juveniles may not be fully-grown and have paler plumage than adults, so we didn’t want those birds skewing our data. I was feeling particularly awful- two days after extracting bats from the nets I had gotten sick, and spent 30 hours a little afraid I had rabies (I didn’t, just a bad cold). I may not have been dying, but I was still exhausted and felt miserable.
We had hoped that repeat visits to Rekabia would habituate people to our presence, but we were wrong- the crowds became more chaotic with each visit, not less. We returned 2 days after the bat incident with Basma and her father, hoping to catch birds at a rice mill where we had previously found 4 nests. We ended up not allowed to work in the mill because it was haunted, and the owners were afraid we would anger the ghosts by catching the birds. There’s really no way to argue your way through that kind of situation, so we moved on to another nest site, where I crawled through a window to flush 2 birds out of a small shed.
By the time I climbed back out the window, there were 20 children surrounding us, including 3 on a donkey. Basma seemed nervous about the crowd, plus we had blown a tire in a pothole on the way to Rekabia. We drove off with the birds to a nearby tire repair shop, where Amanda and I were admonished to stay in the car while the tires were removed and fixed. Still, word on our location got out, and soon the boys on their donkey were doing ride-bys of the car windows, waving and making faces at us. As we waited, things seemed to get more agitated among the adults outside the car. One of Badran’s friends vanished, and shortly after the tire was fixed, reappeared with three swallows in his hands. He quickly shoved them in the window at an unsuspecting Amanda- a female and 2 fledglings, one of which squirmed it’s way out the window and flew off.
By the time I climbed back out the window, there were 20 children surrounding us, including 3 on a donkey. Basma seemed nervous about the crowd, plus we had blown a tire in a pothole on the way to Rekabia. We drove off with the birds to a nearby tire repair shop, where Amanda and I were admonished to stay in the car while the tires were removed and fixed. Still, word on our location got out, and soon the boys on their donkey were doing ride-bys of the car windows, waving and making faces at us. As we waited, things seemed to get more agitated among the adults outside the car. One of Badran’s friends vanished, and shortly after the tire was fixed, reappeared with three swallows in his hands. He quickly shoved them in the window at an unsuspecting Amanda- a female and 2 fledglings, one of which squirmed it’s way out the window and flew off.
As we were stuffing the birds in bags and stuttering confused questions, Basma and her father got in the car and drove off. On the way back to the main road Basma explained that there were two newly released prisoners hanging around the car, and it wasn’t safe for us to be there. Apparently many prisoners were released during the revolution, adding another layer of uncertainty and fear to an already fraught situation. We processed the birds back at Basma’s apartment and let them go in the courtyard, hoping they’d find somewhere to roost and fly home in the morning.
Even though we were now past 30 birds, we wanted a few more adult swallows, but it was also clear that our situation in Damietta was becoming untenable: after the prisoner incident, we couldn’t return to Rekabia, and we had caused even more disruption in the other village we had visited. We were running out of options for catching birds, and, despite their amazingly generous hospitality, Basma and Mamdouh had jobs and family obligations to attend to.
Even though we were now past 30 birds, we wanted a few more adult swallows, but it was also clear that our situation in Damietta was becoming untenable: after the prisoner incident, we couldn’t return to Rekabia, and we had caused even more disruption in the other village we had visited. We were running out of options for catching birds, and, despite their amazingly generous hospitality, Basma and Mamdouh had jobs and family obligations to attend to.
We decided to give Damietta one more day, since Badran had promised to try and catch a few more birds for us the following night. This was not ideal, of course- we prefer to catch the birds ourselves so we can capture them safely and get data on colony sizes and mate identities. But at this point, we were ready to take what we could get. If Badran could get us some birds, great; if not, we were still past our minimum number.
The next evening Basma and Mamdouh took us out for a fantastic farewell dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Nile. Old Damietta spread out along the riverbanks below us, with a huge, gorgeous mosque dominating the skyline and the Mediterranean in the distance. We ordered fresh fish and gorged on salad, tahini, and baba ghanoush, with jello and fresh fruit for dessert. It was a delightful evening.
After dinner we drove back to Rekabia, where we met Badran on a dark street corner. Mamdouh hopped out of the car and Badran surreptitiously handed over a few bird bags while Mamdouh palmed him some cash. It felt like an illicit drug deal. We drove off with 5 more birds in hand- 2 adults and 3 fledglings. We again processed them in the stairwell back at Basma and Mamdouh’s, feeling relief and triumph amidst my constant sneezing. We were done. We let the swallows from the third story window, and they flew off together, cheeping and calling in the night.
-Liz
The next evening Basma and Mamdouh took us out for a fantastic farewell dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Nile. Old Damietta spread out along the riverbanks below us, with a huge, gorgeous mosque dominating the skyline and the Mediterranean in the distance. We ordered fresh fish and gorged on salad, tahini, and baba ghanoush, with jello and fresh fruit for dessert. It was a delightful evening.
After dinner we drove back to Rekabia, where we met Badran on a dark street corner. Mamdouh hopped out of the car and Badran surreptitiously handed over a few bird bags while Mamdouh palmed him some cash. It felt like an illicit drug deal. We drove off with 5 more birds in hand- 2 adults and 3 fledglings. We again processed them in the stairwell back at Basma and Mamdouh’s, feeling relief and triumph amidst my constant sneezing. We were done. We let the swallows from the third story window, and they flew off together, cheeping and calling in the night.
-Liz