On Being Nocturnal

Yesterday, I went to bed at 9AM and woke up a 5PM. Today it is 8:44AM and I am editing this blog post after being awake all night. Ever since I arrived in South America I've been making the shift to a more nocturnal lifestyle. It was quite easy in the beginning. After 9 hours on a plane overnight to get here, during which time you don't get much sleep, I had already begun the transition. For the most part, the culture here is stay up late and get up late and when in Rome (or in this case Uruguay)... We would begin our surveys in the late afternoon to avoid the heat of the day (or waking up early in the morning, depending on which view you have). These surveys often stretched into the night and we arrived home past 11PM. During these first few weeks I was eating "dinner" at 1AM. I continued this stay up late, get up late routine, even though it goes against my circadian rhythm, knowing that eventually it would pay off. Recently, we've shifted our efforts to capture. Capture occurs at night using spotlights and hoop nets. We rove the fields looking for roosts of the Upland Sandpiper. Once we find a bird we dazzle them with the spotlight (a.k.a blind them) and throw and net on top of them. This technique works well when there is no moon and some breeze. The moon is waxing now which is bad for us. The birds can see us coming even with the spotlight. To counter the moon we are waiting until moon set, (a.k.a 3AM), to begin work and we work until it is light. The sunrise is beautiful and the mornings very pleasant compared the oven-like feel of the afternoons but being nocturnal always leaves be in a state of constant fuzziness; a bit as though I have a mild hangover. I keep wondering if I'm really awake or just dreaming.