Vanessa's Journal

Dec. 25

Today I decided to hike around to check the cages.  My field assistants tried to insist that I take a break for my holiday but I explained to them that Christmas is a lucky day and if I go out in the field, something special is bound to happen.  So it was me and Lao Wang hiking together again.  It turns out, there was something special waiting for us.  It was in the form of my bird friends.  We came across this huge flock of 50 small reddish birds.  They were all chirping away in the bamboo.  As I saw their red figures outlined in the green vegetation I really felt the Christmas spirit.  They were so fascinating and made both Lao Wang and I smile in appreciation. 

A few minutes later, another group of about 10 blood pheasants appeared. This time I got a good picture of the male pheasant, who looks so different from the female I saw the day before.  I loved its red eye and red legs.  I’ve seen so many of these different types of pheasants, but this was my first time to get a good picture of one.  It will be a great thing to send to my parents, who are avid birders.

At night we had Christmas dinner.  Bless their hearts, my field assistants really tried to make a big deal out of it for me even though they don’t celebrate the holiday themselves.  Lao Wang made all of my favorite dishes.  They toasted me numerous times.  The celebration was tempered by the absence of Lao Fan.  He had to leave early this afternoon due to what I can gather was a family emergency.  It was not the same without him.  I’m not sure what exactly happened, but it seems to be something serious.  For me as his “boss” it is a “no questions asked” kind of situation.  I’m not sure when he will be back.