I’ve been quite busy since the last time I wrote! Of course, the day after I submitted my first entry I had quite an adventure. Aside from learning a lot of fieldwork and survey techniques, I’m gaining quite a bit of experience in practical skills, such as driving a truck on dirt roads after it has rained. To many people (especially out here in Cedar), that’s no big feat, but I come from a city where there are no dirt roads, let alone mountains! I followed my mentor out to one of our field sites, so that he could show us where we would be working and get a feel for the area. It was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but by the end I was pretty confident in my newfound off-roading skills. The region he showed us that day was one of our main areas for wildlife monitoring and while we were out there, I saw my first glimpse of a wild horse. It was a pretty exciting day! Since then, I’ve seen the horses several more times. It’s both thrilling and unnerving to see them when I’m out in the sagebrush surveying for wildlife and they come closer to investigate, then stamp their feet and make irritated noises.
Wild horses are awesome, sassy, and sometimes intimidating!
I’ve only been working out here for a month, but I’ve learned and hiked so much it feels like much longer (in a good way). So far, we’ve been mostly focusing on general wildlife monitoring in areas where land management practices have taken place or will in the future. We’ve also completed several raptor surveys and I must say, it’s quite exhilarating when you find a nest! Whether it’s currently occupied or not, it’s awesome to see how different species will engineer their nests. It is quite impressive how large some of the sticks can be!
A Ferruginous hawk. I took this picture during one of our raptor surveys. This was a new species for me. It is so exciting seeing a new bird for the first time!
Studying all of my bird calls really paid off during our point count surveys. Coming from the Midwest, it was a bit daunting coming to an entirely different ecosystem. I’ve had to work really hard to get to know all the new plants and animals, but it is incredibly rewarding and fun to go out and monitor all these new-to-me species. Plus, you never know what you will find when you’re out there!
I found a matching set of Mule Deer antlers while conducting a point count. Needless to say, that made my day!
Most of our work so far has been in the mountains surrounding Cedar City or in a remote Sagebrush Steppe. Aside from all the wonderful birds, mammals, and reptiles I’ve had the pleasure to see and experience, I’m also getting to enjoy a completely different vegetative community than I am used to. I really didn’t expect to see so many wildflowers, but amongst the vast expanse of sagebrush and pinyon-juniper habitats are countless wildflowers! One of my favorites is the matted buckwheat (Eriogonum caespitosum). I’m also quite taken with the cacti out here. Some of them are just starting to bloom and they are absolutely stunning.
Matted buckwheat. It starts off yellow and then changes to orange and red as it matures.
The wonderful beehive cactus (Escobaria vivipara).
Next week, is the workshop in Chicago. I’m really looking forward to the lectures and meeting some of my fellow interns. It will be awesome getting to know some of the other bloggers and share our experiences face-to-face. After that, I’ll be back in Cedar City training for the seeds of success program and then assisting in some capture and relocation of prairie dogs. So much to look forward to!
I’ll leave you with this gem of a photo, because who doesn’t love owls? A Great Horned Owl watching Zach as he passed through the trees taking stock of the vegetation and inhabitants.
My coworker Zach was being watched while conducting one of our surveys. My jaw about hit the ground when he showed me this.