Excerpt:

Our scientific monitoring of the CA Least Tern nesting colony turned out to be more gripping than the best TV drama as we witnessed soaring action, villains and heroes, family ties, and death by predator all within the span of three hours. My husband and I took the training course offered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service a few weeks ago to learn the protocols and procedures for becoming volunteers for the predator monitoring program called "Tern Watch." Father’s Day evening was our first shift.