What Are You Doing?

What Are You Doing? Earl Plato

“What are you doing?” When Rob Eberly, naturalist of Ridgeway, asks you that question,, you never know what to expect. “Pick you up at twenty to eight.”
We were heading to Point Abino light house! That’s right. At night and onto this private enclave to see radar.
We met Dr. John Black of Brock University at the gate. With a swipe of his entry card the three of us in his car drove under the lifted gate. Dr. Black is a scientist who had a purpose and the Point Abino lighthouse was the setting.
We drove up to his recreational vehicle parked on the rise opposite the beautiful historic lighthouse. Truly a great sight as a crescent of a moon shone down ont the white edifice and reflections danced on the water. There down onthe rocky shore was an apparatus spinning around and around. It was a radar setup connected by imbilical cord to the power in the rec vehicle. Around and around the concave head collected the data from the ever growing dark sky. What goes on here?
Dr. Black is the man who had this apparatus set up in the Brock Tower, Inside his van he had a computer and monitor to record “things flying by in the night!”
His night data was not only collected but saved for future use. John Black is a scientist who is recording the incoming life across Lake Erie be it insects or nigrating birds. “19,000 birds recorded one night,” he said. Local Point Abino resident, Mr. Logan, who lives near the lighthouse, questioned Dr. Black, “What will we see tonight?” He said that he would return later.
Rob and I watched the doctor as he pointed out on the monitor. “They come in from the southwest, the prevailing winds this night, and exit on the northeast side of the screen. Watch and watch. Remember that he’s a scientist. Twenty minutes the info was collected then a break of ten minutes when the computer organized the data. “1,760.” We had been watching a swarm of insects about 600 metres up (circa 2,000 ft.) Again theprocess. Even less this time. No birds - hardly any.
It was approaching ten when the blips of larger objects started to appear. Birds!
These migrating birds were passing over the Point Abino area for destinations across Lake Ontario. “The ones we see on the records come morning are the ones landing in the Point Abino-Marcy’s Woods area.”
Each morning that Dr. Black had used the radar he would return to his van and collect the data from the previous night. What a great way to gather information. We who live in the Point Abino area and Marcy’s Woods can go out early in the morning and see the various species that migrate through here.
Dr. Black, a Physics professor, and a genius in my eyes, drew up the plans and had fellow helpers construct this experimental apparatus. He hopes that the data will help sole some of the puzzles he encounters. He told us about plans for a huge net that he could open up from the window of a small plane and collect some of the insects he had sighted on his radar. Ragonfles - night moths? He’s serious. Remember true scientists are always planning ways effectively to collect data.
Thanks Rob for the invite. Thanks Dr. Black. Anytime.