This time of year, field work starts to become almost second nature.  Monday through Thursday start to blend together and all of the scenery starts to seem the same.  I am of course talking about the doldrums of the field and the brutal repetition of the day to day work.  However, there are always moments of beauty interspersed within the mundane elements of the job.  This could be anything from a towering Ponderosa Pine standing alone amongst the sagebrush, or a beautiful marshy pond out in the barren landscape.  These moments are what keep me going day to day, always exploring and searching out these enchanting elements.

One particular passion of mine is birding, and the landscape of junipers offers up a bountiful habitat for birds off all varieties.  Recently, I have started seeing Green-tailed towhees, a beautiful bird with vibrant greens and red.  My silence has been shattered by the nasal calls of Clark’s Nutcrackers.  Aside from these momentary asides from the typical, I have had the opportunity to expand my horizons through working briefly with a couple of different projects.

Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go out to do a project with bats.  I had to adjust to a different schedule with the day starting at 5pm and ending around 3am.  To prepare for this dramatic shift, I stayed up late the day before so that my sleep schedule wouldn’t be too messed up.  We arrived at 5pm and then set out to the Maury forest.  We arrived before dusk and got to our first site, only to find that the pond we were going to mist net, was dry.  Then we changed our plan and headed to a second site.  We found that the stream was running and so we decided to set up our mist net here.  At the stream we set up 3 nets and then the waiting began.  I went out with my mentor and two other colleagues from the office.  Our boss had sent us snacks in a cooler, so during the waiting we went to work on the snacks.  At the beginning we saw bats flying overhead, but the wind started to pick up, making the net move (this causes the bats to be able to pick it up on sonar).  We continued to wait and eventually the other two people had to leave around 11.  Ironically, it was soon after that they left that we caught our first and only bat, a silver-haired bat.  I got to watch my mentor remove the bat from the net (you need to have a rabies shot to handle bats, so I did not handle them).  Then my mentor showed me the different parts of the bat that help to ID them.  Eventually we took the nets down and headed home late, or early depending on how you look at it,

This bat experience was a great break from my normal schedule.  I really had a great time, and will be working more with bats in the future.  Now I have been back on my schedule for a while, but I will give you an update about other adventures later.

One of my favorite parts of the CLM internship is being out in the field all day and having the opportunity to see an incredible diversity of birds.  Almost every day I drive past an Osprey nest, a Bald Eagle nest, and a Golden Eagle nest (alas they have already fledged).  I get to see birds on the road, from California Quail to Sandhill Crane.  Then, when I arrive at my site, I am in the sagebrush and I get the opportunity to see that whole suite of birds in this unique habitat.  Furthermore, since I am doing Juniper clearances, I have the opportunity to see a whole other set of birds.  For the juniper clearances, I am checking the trees for nests so that we can have contractors remove the trees from the landscape.  Due to the Migratory Bird Treaty we cannot remove trees with nests, so those trees will be taken down in the fall after all the birds have fledged.  Removing junipers has many benefits from returning water back into the soil, to improving sage grouse habitat by removing perching sites for raptors and ravens, which predate the sage grouse.

Ferruginous Hawk

Loggerhead Shrike

Lark Sparrow

Prairie Falcon

Recently, I got to see both an Eastern Kingbird and a Western Kingbird within miles of each other.  This may not seem to be too exciting, but this is the very farthest Western extent of the Eastern Kingbird, so it was quite surprising to see one out here.  When I went to enter it in eBird, I got a message that it was a rare bird and that I have to enter additional information about the sighting.  Luckily, I had snapped some photos, so I was able to enter those and have the sighting confirmed without a problem.

Rare Eastern Kingbird at the western edge of its range.

In my time searching for nests, I have found plenty of unoccupied nests, but I have also found some really cool nests.  I have gotten to see Red-tailed hawk nests, Ferruginous Hawk nests, Northern Flicker nests and Prairie Falcon nests (these guys nest on cliffs, so not technically under my purview of juniper nests).

Red-tailed Hawk nest with chick.

Red-tailed Hawk on nest.

Ferruginous Hawk Nest with chick (center white blob)

Having a job where I am paid essentially to bird is a dream come true.  Sometimes the birding becomes routine, one can only hear and see so many Vesper sparrows before they start to go crazy.  However, every day has its surprises from Dusky Flycatchers to Ash-throated Flycatchers.  I cannot wait to see what the coming days and months will bring and I will continue to share these birding experiences from the High Desert of Central Oregon.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Well we just wrapped up out week long training in Chicago and I have gotten back to Prineville, OR and got back into the routine of fieldwork.  My journey to Chicago was quite exciting as well as stressful.  I first traveled to Salem to meet a friend and spent some time hanging out before getting a ride to the Portland airport.  Then I waited and took a red-eye flight to Chicago which got in around 6am.  After waiting around a bit in the airport I called a taxi and got a ride to the hotel.  However, all the rooms were full so I would have to wait until noon to get into a room.  It took my sleep deprived brain a bit to process this, but eventually I decided that I would travel downtown and visit a couple of museums.  I trudged to the train station carrying my backpack filled with everything I would need on the trip.

Eventually I reached the train station and was slightly confused by the rustic setting and wondered if it was still in operation.  My fears were allayed shorty when people started to congregate.  I made my way onto the train and into the heart of downtown.  Then I decided to walk to the museums, a strangely relaxing experience.  It felt almost surreal walking through a bustling city seemingly caught up in all of the activity, but some how removed from the noise of traffic and the yells of traffic officers.  I eventually reached my destination, the Shedd Aquarium, where I had to wait for a while before getting in.  However, armed with my pay stub I not only managed to get free entrance, but the lady was nice enough to give me a free upgrade that essentially let me see the whole aquarium.  Then, after touring the fantastic museum, I headed over next door to the Field Museum.  I totally nerded out with their huge bird collection recognizing species that I have seen and fondly remembering those species moments in time.  However, I also was envious of the species I had managed to miss in my travels and especially those which I had never had the opportunity to see.  I managed to get through the mammal exhibit, also amazing, but I was running out of juice.  So I headed back to the hotel, which involved walking, waiting for the train, taking the train, walking some more and finally checking in.  Then I decided to find some where to eat before taking a shower and heading to bed.  Eventually I came back with a full stomach and finally was able to sleep.

Shedd Aquarium

The Field Museum

Owl exhibit at the Field Museum

The next morning we got our first look at the Chicago Botanic Garden and it was fantastic.  We attended a symposium which covered native seed restoration.  I was fascinated about the private business side of things, something that I had never really considered about native plant restoration.  Then throughout the rest of the days we had the opportunity to meet other interns and chat about out placements over lunch.  The several days of training seemed to pass by really quickly, but it was great to have the Botanic Garden as a backstop to slow things down again.  We learned about the history of SOS and took time to learn field survey methods, and brush up on plant identification and keying out plants.  However, one of my favorite activities was when I snuck out of lunch and headed over to the butterfly exhibit.  I managed to talk my way into a free ticket and then headed inside the building to gaze at the butterflies (the birds of the insect world).  I immediately recognized some of the species from my May Term in Borneo through Earlham College.  During that trip I even got to do a mini-project on butterflies.  Needless to say I was really excited.  It was great to see old friends such as the Clipper as well as new species like the incredible moth.  I had such a great time photographing the butterflies and trying to see them all I even snuck out a second time during lunch.  I also had some great chats with some of the employees at the butterfly exhibit.

Eventually Saturday rolled around and it was time to leave the hotel and the garden and head back to the airport.  I took the 10am shuttle and got into the airport around 10:45 and managed to get through security in 5 minutes (so much for the crazy long line at O’hair).  I spent the next 10 hours at the airport hanging out watching a DVD that I brought and reading.  I could have spent another day downtown, but I had already done that and I didn’t really want to worry about taking public transportation again and the though of missing my flight somehow was unacceptable).  Eventually I took my late night flight and got back to Portland where I was picked up by another friend and spent the night.  Then I took the Amtrak to Salem and then drove back to Prineville.  Phew, after all that travel I was ready to sit back and relax at home.  I managed to sit back on the couch and watch some golf before watching Lebron and the Cavs finally win their championship.  It was a fitting end to the week and all in all it was a wonderful week.

This last month has been chalked full of activity.  At the start of the month I participated in a week long AIM training.  AIM stands for Assessment, Inventory, Monitoring.  It is a protocol used to evaluate landscapes on their flora.  It measures plant cover, species richness, as well as information about soil type and stability.  The week long intensive training started with presentations in a classroom setting and then transitioned to learning techniques in the field.  It was certainly a challenge learning all the techniques and rules to the survey, but towards the end of the week everybody was feeling more confident and ready to practice it on their own in the field.  Two weeks later, the AIM team at the Prineville office met up on Friday and headed out into the field to calibrate.  The practice of calibration is meant to ensure that everybody on the team is getting similar results so that there is no bias depending on who is collecting the data.

After the training there was work to do around the office to prepare for the upcoming field season.  Much of this work was attending safety trainings so that I am prepared for all of the unexpected situations that I could encounter in the field.  Other than trainings, I prepared maps and routes to field sites that I would be traveling to in the future.  My first set of excursions into the field focused on Greater Sage Grouse again.  This time instead of monitoring active leks, I was monitoring unoccupied-pending leks.  These leks are essentially ones that have not been documented to contain Sage Grouse for a certain number of years.  My job was to drive out to these leks, then hike out to the lek center and check for signs that they have been utilized recently.  This mostly meant checking for clockers and cecal tar (two types of Sage Grouse excrement).  Most of the leks that I checked had old signs, but a couple had recent signs indicating that they should be examined more closely next year.

Greater Sage Grouse Cecal Tar

Greater Sage Grouse Clockers

After I surveyed the leks that I was assigned to, I was ready for the next adventure.  This turned out to be conducting wildlife clearance for Juniper thinning.  A little bit of background here about Junipers.  Junipers have been rapidly encroaching on the western landscape from their traditional distribution.  They are cleared by ranchers and farmers because of the water that they hold, but they are also a major threat to Greater Sage Grouse (GSG).  GSG lek and live in open habitats that are optimally free from tall structures.  Raptors and Ravens perch on these structures and use them as a vantage point from which to hunt.  Depredation from raptors and ravens has a highly deleterious effect of GSG populations, so we are trying to reducing perching locations for these predators.  It turns out that Junipers are perfect structures for raptors and thus need to go.  However, due to the Migratory Bird Act of 1918 that we cannot destroy nests of birds, so that is where I come in.  I go out to the areas that are prioritized for Juniper thinning and check for nests.  If I see a nest I take a GPS point and mark it with flagging tape.

Before I embarked on this new field assignment I took advantage of a three day weekend and planned a birding itinerary.  Earlham College, my alma mater, has an annual bird count and I was eager to be a part of it this year.  I left Prineville and traveled to Smith Rock and the Sisters area, where I located many species of woodpecker, the highlights being Black-backed woodpecker and the White-headed woodpecker.

White-headed Woodpecker

Black-backed Woodpecker

I then traveled to Corvallis before stopping by the coast.  I managed to find many of the shore birds thats I was searching for including the Black-bellied Plover, Western Sandpiper and Whimbrel as well as many other species including Common Murre, Black Oystercatcher, Harlequin Duck and Brown Pelicans.

Whimbrel

Western Sandpiper and Black-bellied Plover.

Then I spent the morning in William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge and saw a wide range of species from the Black-throated Grey Warbler to the Western Tanager and Black-headed Grosbeak.  Then I returned to Prineville and picked up a couple of species before heading home and calling it a weekend.  All in total I had seen 130 different species over the weekend, a fairly respectable showing.

Shortly after this, I headed out into the field and started to search for nests in Juniper trees.  This consisted of a heavy dose of hiking, but through a wonderful landscape. Not only was the scenery beautiful, but is provided me another opportunity to search for birds while looking for nests.  The highlights so far have been a long-eared owl, a variety of sparrows, as well as a very photogenic Wilson’s Snipe.

Vesper Sparrow

Gray Flycatcher

Nest in a Juniper tree

Wilson’s Snipe

I am loving working with the BLM in Prineville and cannot wait to report on my next adventures.

My first two weeks at the BLM in Prineville have been a whirlwind of activity.  The first day I entered, I was nervously waiting for somebody to guide me around the office and explain the ins and outs of the job.  However, by the time I left that day, I was confident and ready to face all of the challenges that the next days would bring.  My experience started out with lots of training and paperwork.  My training varied from four wheel drive training to First Aid and CPR.  Shortly after this training I was able to go out into the field to look at wildlife.  (I am a wildlife intern instead of the typically botanical intern).  We headed up to northern Oregon in search of the elusive Washington Ground Squirrel (yes they are found in Oregon as well, despite the name).  We managed to find the colonies easily and the burrows, but with great difficulty we managed to locate an individual.  Then we helped survey additional habitat for the Washington Ground Squirrel and stumbled upon a Short-eared Owl, a once in a lifetime experience for an avid birder such as myself.

The next week started early at 4am in search of Greater Sage Grouse leks.  Instead of being tired, I was full of excitement and energy.  Seeing lekking birds has been on my birding bucket list, and I could not wait to finally see them.  We drove out in the pitch black, and after what seemed like an eternity we arrived as the sun was rising at the lek.  We got out the scope and started to count the birds and to watch their behavior.  Shortly after we arrived, a golden eagle flew over and flushed the grouse.  Four more individuals popped up that we could not see and they began to fly towards us.  Their wingbeats over out head captivated us and formed a memory that will last a lifetime.  Since then I have had the opportunity to view leks on other occasions, but every time the experience is as wonderful and new as the first time.

Greater Sage Grouse displaying at lek.

Being from Ohio, Oregon is a very different atmosphere, but I find that I am adapting very well.  Although the abundance of pick-ups, country music, and conversations about hunting may take some time to adjust to, I feel that I surely will.  I am so grateful to all of my coworkers for all of the time they have taken out of their busy schedule to answer questions and to make me feel included in the office.  I cannot wait to continue my work in Prineville and to explore all of the natural beauty in the course of my five months of work.