July 4 Field Update



July 4, 2000
		Dave initiated site 14 along Davis Creek near South Charleston and broke out the triple high in hopes of catching anything that made the mistake of going along it. As I write this I have not checked in with Dave, so I cannot report yet what stumbled into the net. A steady rain has been falling this afternoon, I will have to go to the site and make sure a flash flood is not threatening our setup. Davis Creek rather scenic if you look around the mud-greased banks and silted bottom. Route 601 parallels some of the creek, but is somewhat hidden from the river level. After standing in the water for awhile I felt a bit nauseous, though that might have been due to slight dehydration.

	Site 14 along Davis Creek. The triple high extends from water level to the overhanging canopy. An additional double high was installed downstream a few hundred feet.
			I returned to site 13 near Malden. A great double high and two single high setups yielded nothing but some large beetle-like insects with surprisingly powerful pinchers. These nasty looking but slow critters were no match for my pinchers--- a handy Gerber multi-plier. A local from Malden reported no one he knew had bat problems in the community. Humph. To make matters worse, my overall plan to take the site with some kind of view towards Charleston to watch fireworks backfired; Malden is too far away too see any action. I closed shop at 4:00 AM under peacefully calm wind, no moon, no bats.