{"id":72991,"date":"2016-09-29T11:59:40","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T18:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=72991"},"modified":"2016-10-06T08:18:25","modified_gmt":"2016-10-06T15:18:25","slug":"hummingbird-monitoring-in-the-grand-staircase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=72991","title":{"rendered":"Hummingbird Monitoring in the Grand Staircase"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rufous hummingbird<\/span>– \u00a0The birds often rest for 10-20 seconds to recover from the stress of handling before they fly away.<\/p><\/div>\n

As I sit in the office in Escalante, I can’t believe my time here is almost over! The fall rains\u00a0have come to this formerly hot and dry desert landscape, and a familiar chill is in the air once again. \u00a0Except for the one main highway that runs through town, none of the roads here are paved. \u00a0The remaining roads are made of clay and silt, which makes them pretty dangerous\u00a0when it storms, and impassible when the scourge of floodwaters literally wash them away. \u00a0Back when summer was in full swing and the area\u00a0was more reliably\u00a0safe to traverse, our team was able to\u00a0conduct surveys of many different animal species on the monument. \u00a0Our boss, Terry, partners with the Hummingbird Monitoring Network, so we\u00a0spent many early mornings driving to beautiful sites along slick-rock rivers and in the crisp mountain forests.<\/p>\n

A typical day goes\u00a0something like this:<\/p>\n

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Drop-net feeder trap<\/p><\/div>\n

We arrive to work between 4:30-5:30 am in order to make it to the sites early enough. \u00a0The birds are more active and numerous before sunrise. \u00a0We begin by getting all the banding equipment in order and setting up the\u00a0drop-net traps. \u00a0If we have time before the survey begins, we\u00a0scramble to make a fire to keep the frigid\u00a0winds at bay. \u00a0Then, eyes still red from lack of sleep, we begin trapping! The traps have a feeder hanging in the center. \u00a0Once a bird lands and begins to drink, we trip a wire from about 15-20 feet away. \u00a0A circular net drops around the feeder and makes contact with the base. \u00a0The bird is unharmed and still free to fly around in the enclosure. \u00a0We simply grab a small mesh bag, walk up to the feeder, and very gently reach in and get the bird.<\/p>\n

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Teeny tiny hummingbird band!<\/p><\/div>\n

Terry is trained by the network to examine and band\u00a0the birds, so once we deliver the birds to him, we begin to take data. \u00a0First,\u00a0exact species, sex, and age is confirmed. \u00a0We then look to see if the bird already has a band. \u00a0If not, the bird’s tarsus is measured to make sure the band will fit. \u00a0Too big and the band either falls off or gets material wedged inside. \u00a0Too small, and you risk injury to the bird. \u00a0Each band has a unique number used to identify the bird if captured again. Banding species of any kind is a very precise and meticulous process, but is especially important in this situation as hummingbirds are obviously very small. \u00a0Can you imagine using a special pair of pliers to apply a metal band to an ankle that’s barely bigger than a piece of pencil\u00a0lead? \u00a0Special care is always taken to make sure the birds are not injured. \u00a0I’m glad Terry knows what he’s doing, because I’m not ready for that kind of pressure!<\/p>\n

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Feeding post-banding<\/p><\/div>\n

Next, we gather information about the bird’s specific markings, colors, and condition. \u00a0We measure the birds weight, length of the wing chord and culmen (bill), how much fat is present, wear on the body’s different feathers, and more. \u00a0The four most common hummingbird species\u00a0we encounter are: Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Rufous, and Calliope.\u00a0We all try to work as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that the birds don’t endure more stress than necessary. \u00a0Hummingbirds have extraordinary metabolisms, so they lose a lot of energy in the short time we have them.\u00a0Because of this, we make sure to feed each bird before releasing them.<\/p>\n

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Fire: our saving grace on the mountain during those cold 30-40 degree mornings<\/p><\/div>\n

Each survey period is precisely five hours long. \u00a0We take care to measure the change in temperature, wind speed, and cloud cover every hour. \u00a0We also record the number of birds that simply fly by to check the feeder out, rather than stop\u00a0for a drink. \u00a0Birds are discerning\u00a0creatures, and many of them are rightfully skeptical that their usual feeders are now surrounded by a mess of unintelligible equipment. \u00a0Usually after the first 1-2 hours, the number of birds we trap takes a dive. \u00a0This is a\u00a0time for us to\u00a0 desperately run to the fire and warm our freezing hands. \u00a0Once the survey period is over, we pack up and find a nice spot overlooking a lake or river to eat lunch, remembering all the fascinating species we caught that day!<\/p>\n

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Though getting up at 4:00 am wasn’t always easy, it was definitely worth it. \u00a0Those early mornings were some of the best of the whole season, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything- not even more sleep.<\/p>\n

Lauryl McFarland<\/p>\n

Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument<\/p>\n

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As I sit in the office in Escalante, I can’t believe my time here is almost over! The fall rains\u00a0have come to this formerly hot and dry desert landscape, and a familiar chill is in the air once again. \u00a0Except … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7346,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72991"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73102,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72991\/revisions\/73102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}