Field Notes: Waterproof Waterfowl (Patreon)

We’ve been hard at work on our next episode – and before it airs on Tuesday, August 18th, we have an update for you! 🦆🔬

As our team was filming this episode, we were still restricted in terms of what we could film – all of the labs and researchers that we collaborate with regularly were off limits.

Luckily, our intern Annie Roth had researched a fascinating subject that was both accessible and adorable – waterfowl! Ducks and geese are wildlife that people see every day, even in cities. But not many know how their spectacular feathers, which keep heat in and water out, really work.

Our producer Josh Cassidy set out to film them in their home at Stow Lake in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. We also got a look at the images of duck feathers with some powerful electron microscopes from Christopher Gilpin, the Campus-wide coordinator for Electron Microscopy at Purdue University. It’s the first time we’ve ever had someone take SEM images for us!

Do you have a favorite waterfowl? Where do you usually spot them?