Colin Donihue

This year I’ve been lucky enough to bring three Yale undergraduates along with me to Greece. They’ve been here for almost a week and are settling in admirably! They’re going to be a huge part of this summer, and a major ingredient for its success, so I want to give them a full introduction. You’ll be hearing more from them soon, they’ve a special surprise cooking!

Here’s Kat, a rising senior bio major holding her first Podarcis. She noosed it like a pro! Kat’s captain of the swim team so if the kayaks ever get into trouble she can haul us back to shore. She’s also really into insects so she’ll be taking a close look at just what these little lizards are eating.

Zach is a rising sophomore and is by far the most coordinated of all of us (combined). His expert juggling skills have translated to enviable hand-eye coordination giving him the current lead in lizard count (even above mine… I need to get back into shape!) Zach will be focusing on the lizards’ morphology and performance in and around walls.

And finally, Angus, also a rising sophomore. Angus has delighted us with his extraordinary tin whistle playing (a recording is on its way) in the airy, echoey rooms of our castle (we’ll elaborate soon, I promise!) Angus has jumped full into life here, chatting up bakers, fish sellers… really just about anyone he meets, and will no doubt eclipse my knowledge of the language within the next week. He’ll be looking at lizard behavior in and around these stone walls.

So there’s the team! On our first day out they each noosed a lizard, despite a drizzling rain (just about the worst conditions for lizarding). Since then, they have already proved to be critical to this project and my (relative) sanity. We’ve finally finished all of the logistical arrangements, so tomorrow starts the hard field work. I’m so lucky to have them along!