The main objectives of the grant to catch aerial insects available to be eaten by local Chimney Swifts and deliver the collected insects to the Carnegie Museum for identification have been accomplished.
After a number of technical delays in early April 2006 the tethered ten-foot-diameter helium balloon was “flown” from the roof of Weyandt Hall 200 feet off the ground on April 13, 2006 for its first test flight. After a successful, uneventful flight of several hours a weather front preceding a thunder storm rapidly came into the area and I made the decision to bring down the balloon. Although the wind speed at that time was only fifteen miles per hour (within the published rating for the balloon) this created a major problem in bringing down the balloon. Because of the wind I could not control the balloon myself and fearing for my safety near the edge of the roof, I sought help. The second faculty member I recruited immediately said the situation was too dangerous for even two people, and eventually five people were required to lower the balloon in the wind. Walking around on the ground in a fifteen mph wind is not a real concern, however having a large helium balloon moving you around next to an edge of a roof is a different story. Furthermore, the process inflicted major damage to the balloon in the form of several rips, however that damage was repaired successfully and the project was able to continue. Throughout this project the wind was a major concern and factor for both safety and project objectives. Based on that first experience the location of the balloon was moved to a roof deck with a railing farther away from the edge of the roof, and the balloon was only flown in reduced wind conditions. Experience continued to confirm that constant vigilance was necessary when the balloon was flying. Furthermore, two people were always used to raise and lower the balloon. A number of modifications were necessary to the deck, e. g, removing tall, sharp obstructions, padding the surrounding railing, and putting a tarp over the wood floor to protect the balloon from splinters. After these modifications were completed the first day of data collection actually occurred April 19, 2006, two days before the first Chimney Swift was seen over Weyandt Hall. Not knowing if the research procedure would even catch aerial insects, the results of the first day were satisfying, since thirty-six insects were captured on the five sticky panels. Because of the “high” wind conditions throughout the scheduled project time frame, only fifteen flights of the balloon were possible. The original plan of gathering data three days a week over a three month time period turned out to be impossible. The daily risk of severe damage to the balloon during the project, whether the balloon was actually flying or secured directly on the roof, was almost continuously on my mind. On one occasion when a gust of wind hit the balloon while it was flying, the balloon and tether line were pushed down into the top of a tree between Weyandt Hall and the Pizza House, and leaves from that tree were found stuck on the collection panels. The balloon now has a number of small and large patches on it where holes were found from various sources. Furthermore, after experimenting with different ways to secure the balloon at night, an elaborate, time-consuming process was eventually found to reasonably secure the balloon, but only after one of the eight main attachment lines was ripped off the balloon in a storm. That patch also held to the end of the project, but that anchor position was not used as a tiedown again and was monitored closely during the remaining flights. Implementation of the original idea of putting a tarp over the balloon at night caused more problems than it solved. When I was asked by a number of people how long the project would continue my honest answer was to say the end of June or the destruction of the balloon, whichever came first. (During this same time period a larger, but lower flying advertising balloon only a couple of blocks away was seen up only one day, was severely damaged, and has not been seen since then. I felt really bad for the owners when I saw their expensive balloon totally deflated and impaled on a metal fence. I had not put my balloon up that day because of the moderate wind (at least a steady 15 mph). I saw their balloon up earlier and drove by on purpose later to see how their balloon was faring in the wind I knew was too strong for mine. When I first drove by and didn’t see the balloon up, I thought they had taken it down, only to discover the truth that the balloon was hanging limp on the fence by the side of the road.)
On Monday July 17, 2006 I personally delivered all of the collected insects to entomologist Mr. Tim Tomon at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. After being removed from the sticky panels the insects had been previously transferred to a solvent (HistoClear) to remove the Tangle Foot sticky material and then later transferred again into 75% alcohol. The collected insects in small jars labeled by date and panel height are presently in Pittsburgh being identified by Mr. Tomon.
The project’s ending coincided with the end of the university’s fiscal year and this caused some financial problems. While the final result was that not all of the money in the grant account was spent, a couple hundred dollars of personal funds had to be spent on the project. A main reason for this was because of the changing and unknown weather situation and having to allow for enough helium to be available for the end of the project. Some helium naturally leaks through the balloon material and more helium was continually needed, depending upon the wind, which accelerated the loss, and the time between flights. Enough money had to be on hand specifically from the grant account to buy more helium through an IUP service contract, since, of course, that was essential for the continuation of the project. In general, the original budget was followed pretty closely.
This project was very labor intensive with daily weather-related complications and apprehensions, however the main objectives of the grant to catch aerial insects available to be eaten by local Chimney Swifts and deliver the collected insects to the Carnegie Museum for identification were accomplished. The Carnegie Museum has agreed to identify the insects to “order” for free, however depending upon these results, identification to species will probably be desirable. This would cost more money. The next step after appropriate identification of the insects would be to publish the results, e.g., patterns of insects caught over time, in a suitable journal.
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