I am on the wing, heading north in a couple of days to join a NOAA marine mammal expedition in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, as a volunteer seabird observer. My role is to record seabird abundance while the ship, the Alaskan Enterprise, travels from station to station along an extended cruise that begins in Nome and ends in Dutch Harbor. Word has it that there is no internet available on the ship, and I may not have an internet connection for four weeks, beginning Monday 24 August. For anyone interested, below is a map of the cruise, and here is a little more information about it. I hope to be able to see some interesting gulls, ducks and, with great luck, a short-tailed albatross. As I always say, any day with an albatross is a great day, but a short-tailed day would be extraordinary!