Dr. Rob Blenk is the Assistant Professor of wetland and waterfowl ecology at Cal Poly Humboldt. Rob is a native of Washington State, and has conducted ornithological field work in much of North America and beyond—from studying pelagic seabird nesting in New Zealand to banding puffins in the United Kingdom. Rob’s current interests involve the development and application of new techniques and technologies to refine and improve monitoring of waterfowl populations—current examples include the use of uncrewed aerial vehicles to survey for breeding harlequin ducks and using genetic markers to connect wintering brant to their regions of natal origin. Rob is an avid birder, backpacker, and woodworker.