Fri, Dec 15, 2006

Last day of Fall trapping season.

Jackie trapping with us. Jon watching campground bait, Tom, Jackie, and Bryan watch Junction bait. Jon spots bald eagle feeding and calls other three.
Hatch year bald and 11 ravens caught at the campground.

Hatch year bald caught at the Junction bait in the late afternoon to finish the season.
25th eagles caught; 23 bald, 2 golden.

Thurs, Dec 14, 2006

Tom spots a morning eagle on the way to the office at the campground bait.

Bryan returns and fires off the net. 3 eagles under the net - Basic IV and two adults!

1st Simultaneous 3-EAGLE capture!
3rd eagle is brought to Kelly school to show children.

Junction bait New Launcher does not fire on 4 eagles, and again on 1 eagle.
Assumed to be 9-V battery in firing device; battery replaced. No problems since.

Wed, Dec 13, 2006

Junction bait still has new launcher, and eagles present but not feeding.

An adult bald eagle is captured at the campground bait.

Wed, Dec 13, 2006

Adult bald eagle caught at the campground. No lead level is measured because there are no Lead kits. Blood is put into pool for submission to Michegan State University.

Tues, Dec 12, 2006

Bryan and Jon trap with Old Trap at Blacktail Butte bait and Tom watches Junction bait.

AM- Blacktail Butte bait misfired and missed potentially 2 bald eagles.
Bryan tries bellycrawling and gets within a short distance, but scares off the eagles.
The firing pin is frozen, possibly due to staying inside overnight.

PM -A Basic III bald comes in to BTB. Trap does not fire. In a courageous move of epic proportions, Tom boldy crawls up the ditch and gets close enough to the bait to set off the launcher and valliently capture the eagle. Jon comes for assistance. Bryan slides into ditch but gets out; Tom runs a half mile past the captured eagle.

Mon, Dec 11, 2006

We removed the Radio bait from the field and dropped it at the dump.

Junction net launcher set up with New Launcher.

3 bald eagles caught one at a time with the Old Launcher at the campground.

1st 3 EAGLE DAY!

Sun Dec 10, 2006

Bryan and Tom set up Junction bait with Rob, Jill, and Jon.

New launcher set up at Radio bait; no eagles.

Old launcher at campground; eagles in but did not feed.

Sat, Dec 9, 2006

The river bait is put to rest after 3 successful captures.

The new net launcher is put to the test with an adult bald eagle capture at the Radio bait, starring Jill, Tom, Bryan, and Rob.

Fri, Dec 8, 2006

Tom went to Idaho Falls to pick up the new carcass trailer.

The 2nd net launcher, hereforeto refered to as "New Net Launcher," arrives.

Bryan and Rob catch an adult bald eagle at the Riverside bait in the morning.

Thurs, Dec 7, 2006

Rob arrived in the evening from Montana to help with trapping.

A bald eagle fed on the Radio bait.

Bryan and Tom captured a basic IV bald eagle at the Blacktail bait.

Wed, Dec 6, 2006

Blacktail bait has largest eagle explosion ever -35 eagles and over 50 ravens.

Trap is set at Elk Refuge bait, which Tom watches NO eagles feed on all day.

Bald eagles also visit the Radio and campground baits, but with no traps set.

Tues, Dec 5, 2006

Bryan, Tom, and Derek set Blacktail bait and Radio bait.
Radio is 2 wanton waste carcasses.
Blacktail bait is a roadkill elk.

Mon, Dec 4, 2006

Adult bald eagle caught at the campground by Bryan and Tom.
2 ravens captured also.

Sun Dec 3, 2007

Bryan and Tom caught a Basic II bald eagle at the campground bait.
Campground bait continues to produce with supplimental carcass pieces.
2 Ravens caught also.

Sat, Dec 2, 2006

Caught small adult golden eagle at the Kelly hayfields. Jill and Bryan trapping.
Trap would not fire. Bryan tried crawling up to it, and eventually gave up.
He stood and walked to the trap holding down the remote, when it eventually fired.
Tom joined while processing, as did the rest of the BS team.

Fri, Dec 1, 2006

Launcher set up at GVCG with only ravens.
Whoosh net still bringing in no birds at Riverside.
Hayfields had eagles and ravens. Left uncovered the night before.

Thurs, Nov 30, 2006

Jackson Hole Research Symposium. Derek and Bryan presented.
Launcher set up at GVCG with only ravens.
Second explosion at Hayfield with ravens and eagles.
Whoosh net still attracting no birds at Riverside bait.

Wed, Nov 29, 2006

Caught a HY bald eagle at GVCG bait. Lots of ravens
11 ravens captured also.
Whoosh still at riverside bait, no birds.
Nothing at Hayfields.

Tues, Nov 28, 2006

Launcher at the hayfield bait. No birds.
Explosion at GVCG bait.
Set whoosh net at Riverside bait. No birds.

Mon, Nov 27, 2006

Caught Basic I at Hayfields. 4 eagles came in.
Set up GVCG bait.

Sun, Nov 26, 2006

Launcher at the Riverside Bait.
One eagle came in but did not feed.
Hayfield had explosion. Roughly 12-15 eagles, and 30 ravens.
Left uncovered the night before.

Sat, Nov 25, 2006

Caught an adult bald eagle at Riverside bait.
Bow net still at Blacktail. No birds.
Hayfields let uncovered.

Fri, Nov 24, 2006

Launcher at hayfield- no birds.
River bait had eagles and raven explosion.
Set bow net on Blacktail Butte base gutpile.

Thurs, Nov 23, 2006

Bryan kept an eye on the hayfield bait with little activity.
Tom continued to cover/uncover the Elk Refuge bait with no signs of feeding to report.

Wed, Nov 22, 2006

Bryan and Tom created a "super-bait" using around 6 gutpiles, a rabbit, Claous the chicken (who had recently choked to death on a pea) and some rotten meat that they had X-rayed from the elk butcher.
No activity at any baits.

Mon. Nov 21, 2006

Major elk slaughter at the base of Blacktail Butte at the entrance to Morman row.
Bryan and Tom spent the afternoon picking up 6-8 gutpiles, a wanton waste carcass shell, and an elk-skin which was later disposed of. All remnants from the pick-up left behind were buried to elimate competition for feeding.

Sun, Nov 20, 2006

Bryan caught an adult bald with Jon at the river bait.
Launcher fired at about 4pm. Tom caught up just in time to help with extraction.
Ravens feeding on bait also.

Sun, Nov 13, 2006

Trapped up North at the campground.

Amy and Bryan trapping. Fired on Golden eagle.

Golden got out from under the net.

Sat, Nov 12, 2006

Caught adult bald eagle on MR Dump.
Ralph and Louise joined us for some photos and helped release the bird.
4 Ravens caught also.

Fri, Nov 10, 2006

Tom, Vince, and Bryan are trapping at Heart 6 bait.

Multiple rounds of eagles come in.

One ad BAEA comes in and is fired at but missed.
Back lines catch in deep snow and do not fire.

The same thing repeats as a juvie is missed in the afternoon as the back lines catch too soon.

Moral is low, despite yesterday's catch. Vince and Mosie take off.

Thurs, Nov 9, 2006

Tom and Vince are setting up traps. Can of bear spray ejects in Tom's face.
Vince takes Tom to the hospital. Traps not set, but eagles do show up.

Wed, Nov 8, 2006

Cold and much new snow.

Bryan and Tom set traps at Heart 6 with Vince.

Juvie bald starts to feed at about 10:30, and is captured, along with 9 ravens.

Trap is reset and shot at another bald in the afternoon, but only 1 raven and 4 magpies are caught.

Tues, Nov 7, 2006

Tom, Bryan, and Vince are trapping on the burrow hill and hatchet bait.

Heart 6 bait explodes. 14 eagles and dozens of ravens.

Vince and Bryan fire at a juvie bald eagle but miss it at 7:30 am on the Burrow Hill bait.
Tom catches a raven that sets off the bow net on its own.

Mon, Nov 6, 2006

Bryan and Tom trapped up north for the morning.

1 BAEA was seen at both the Burrow hill bait and the bait near the Hatchet, but none fed.

Trappers returned to Kelly road moose to watch an ad BAEA contemplate life, but not feed.

Bryan and Tom put out the Heart 6 deer, the original Money Bait. Magpies feed before we've even left, ravens feed within the hour, and eagles are seen to feed by that afternoon.

Sun, Nov 5, 2006

Jill and Bryan trap on bison calf in Hayfields.
1 ad BAEA comes in but does not feed.

Sat, Nov 4, 2006

Moose calf on Burrow Hill trapped by Jill and Bryan.
1 ad BAEA and 1 juv BAEA come in but did not come down to the bait.

Wed, Nov 1, 2006

COLD and clear. -15F when setting traps, high less than 20F

Tom and Bryan set up a moose calf bait on the far side of the river from the Forest Service station.

Tom trapped on the moose, Bryan watched the horse.

An adult and juvie BAEA came to bait and started feeding.
Tom gave the order to fire from across the river through the scope.
Bryan fired and caught a female adult bald eagle.
1st eagle!!!

Tom and Bryan are driving on Elk Ranch S to take down the bait, when Ol' Blue slides off the road and crunches a tree. Side door destroyed.

Tues, Oct 31, 2006

Clear and COLD. 10F high, -15F when setting traps.

Bryan and Tom watch the bait from a distance.
2 adult BAEA arrive and begin to feed.
Bryan and Tom attempt to sneak around the hillside to fire off the launcher.
One eagle takes off. The attempt to set off the launcher with the remote fails.
Bryan attempts to set it off manually from the wire, but the eagle flushes.
We believe that the launcher device lost charge due to the cold temperatures.
Heat packs are now placed in with electronics to keep them warm.

Mon, Oct 30, 2006

Cold. 10F high.

We set up the Hatchet as a trapping station.
Bryan and Tom meet Jack Hatch.
Jack takes the team to a dead horse which has over a dozen eagles and 50 ravens feeding on or around the animal.

Bryan and Tom make plans to trap on the horse the next day.

Thus, Oct 26, 2006

Clear, 30F.

Gutpile set up across the river from the office with whoosh net.
Ravens come in and feed.
Eagle perches above two times, and both times is flushed off by someone walking a dog down there.
No success with eagles yet.

Mon, Oct 23, 2006

Warm and clear. 45F.

Tom sets trap at Elk Ranch S.
No guts are left so Tom rolls the trash barrell with reserve gut pile and sets it out.

Bryan comes later and watches from a distance.
Juvie bald returns again late morning and begins to feed.

Tom attempts to set off launcher. Does not fire.
Juvie flushes. Perches for a while, then takes off when dump truck comes in and empties the dumpster by the cabin.
Trap did not fire because of lose paperclip.

Sun, Oct 22, 2006

Warm and clear. No snow.

The gutpile was eaten at 2 Ocean.
Bryan continued to pass between 2 Ocean bait and Elk Ranch S.

A Juvie BAEA showed up and perched several times at Elk Ranch S.
Large pile of CORA fed, but eagle never descended.

Sat, Oct, 21, 2006

Cool and clear, patchy snow.

Tom sat inside barn at Elk Ranch S gutpile with launcher.
Bryan watched 2 Ocean gutpile with whoosh net.
An adult and juvi BAEA both perched above Elk Ranch bait, but neither fed.
Large pile of ravens fed.

Fri, Oct 20, 2006

Opening day of elk huntin' season.

Tom and Bryan spend the day picking up and dragging 6 gutpiles from elk found around the elk ranch.

Thurs, Oct 19, 2006

Trapping at Elk Ranch North.

Slow day, no eagles seen.
Trap is sprung and 2 magpies are caught.
Tom accidentally released one when it escaped from the bag.

Wed, Oct 18, 2006

Cold and clear, patchy snow. 16F.

RKO road bait is abandoned because of signs of grizzly bear.
Elk ranch N is trapped at instead.

The trap is about to be set off on a few ravens when an eagle is noticed.
The eagle comes in about an hour later and the net is fired, but only one of the two sides go off.
The eagle flies away.

Tues, Oct 17, 2006

Cloudy and 32 F. Light snow on the ground.

Bryan and Tom trap in the morning at Hunter barns, trap misfires on some ravens.
No explination of misfire.

Bryan and Tom drive to Elk Ranch N barns where the whoosh net is set up on a bison calf.
The traps is sprung on 12 ravens, 4 of which are caught.

1st Whoosh net capture of ravens!

Fri, Oct 13, 2006

Warm and clear, high of 65F.

Same two traps set up on gutpiles.
Tom sits in blind above whoosh net from 12-4:15.
10 ravens seen, but only 3 on bait at a time.

Bryan sits in Gilly suite and sees no birds.

Thurs, Oct 12, 2006

Clear and warm, 55F.

Traps set up on Flagstaff road on two moose gutpiles.
Whoosh net put on closer gutpile, launcher set out at farther pile.

1 BAEA seen perched in whoosh net clearning, but never feeds.
1 BAEA and 1 GOEA seen above net launcher pile. Birds all spook when we drive by.

Tues, Oct 10, 2006

Clear, no snow, 28F

Bryan and Tom trap at the hunter barns in the morning.
Set off the net launcher at 7:30 in the morning.
Fire at 17 ravens, catch 15, roughly 30 ravens present.
Ravens are brought back to office for processing.

Tom's first raven capture.

Mon, Oct 9, 2006

Cloudy and drizzly, 48F

Bryan and Tom trap at Mormon Row, Tom in barn and Bryan in blind near bait.

11 Ravens come in, only 3 feed at a time.
All leave when it begins to rain.

Fri, Oct 6, 2006

Cloudy, no snow, 40F

Bryan and Tom trap at Hunter barns in the morning.
20 Ravens come in, 6 are feeding.
Trap misfires due to a bad blank in the barrell.

Wed, Sept. 20

While out looking for the Burrowing Owl this morn, D and I went down mormon row and got a band read on the Knob male (6/T) and watched him have a territorial dispute with another bird (maybe SE??) in one of the burn sections. They would hop along side each other with all feathers erect and then one would try to get higher on a bison chip. While teetering on the chip, they would calm down for a sec, then pick up again. It last for about 3-4 min before 6/T went back to his mate.

Office day and trap making day.

D checked Y2, and nothing...

Tues, Spet. 19

Park talk in the AM.

Office day in the PM.

No birds in the Y2 trap.

Mon, Sept. 18

Got a new download from 49 this weekend with one new cluster near Red-top Meadows. Went to check it out and found some discarded elk bones that a hunter threw out there after butchering. They seemed like a few days old, but still flexible. They were about 20 ft away from the GPS locs. I would put it as 75% likely why the raven was there. There was some whitewash on a few of the bones. Nothing else around.

At least 2 BBMA at Y2.

Sun, Sept. 17

Harvested a deer up W. Atherton Cr at about 8:50. By 9:27, there were at least 6 ravens flying and perching above me.

No birds at Y2 over the weekend. I put the deer bones and scraps in the trap.

Fri, Sept 15

Rainy and colder.

After a morn in the office, Jill and I went out for cluster searches on 49. One was by the base of Munger by Evans and the other by Red Top Meadows.

The cluster by Munger was an elk that got caught in a fence. 2 ravens and a bunch of BBMA were there. Carcass was at least a week old. Appears to have been shot to put out of its misery.

Cluster by Red Top turned out to be a gut pile. ATV tracks lead to it and there were drag marks out. We found a bit of rumen and a few intestines. We ran into folks at red top and they said it was a moose that was shot on opening day, last Sun. No birds present, but not much left.

Nothing in Y2.

Thurs, Sept. 14

Tried trapping at Moulton, but no go. Laid out til 9 and no ravens showed interest. Three kept flying over, but didn't even thing about coming down. Even the magpies didn't show much interest.

Lunch w/David.

Nothing at Y2.

Wed, Sept 13

Got a new download from 49 and D anD I went to check on a cluster in Spring Gulch. Turned out to be a few week old cow carcass in a ditch that was mostly gone. There were a dozen ravens feeding and hanging around. There was another cluster to the west on the edge of the butte that appeared to be a staging area.

Travis and I went up north to the dump site to grab the bison I heard about last night. Turns out it was a bit older or eaten that I was expecting, but we still got a bunch of meat from it.

We took the bait down to the Moulton dump and set up the dummy. No ravens in sight.

There was one bird in the Y2 trap. Unbanded juvie.

Tues, Sept. 12

Mainly office day. Heard that there was an elk hit on the hwy and put up at the moulton dump. When I went over there, nothing.

Nothing at Y2.

Mon, Sept. 11

Office day.

Sun, Sept. 10

Day off.

Caught 2 birds at Y2. One had BLL of >51 ug/dL. Opening day of hunting season.

Sat, Sept 9

Old Bill's

Fri, Sept 8

Jill and I tried trapping at the Y2 dump. 49 and 2 others came into feed, but 49 never left. He stayed much longer after the others left and didn't show too much fear even after we got out of the blind. Shut things down.

Thurs, Sept. 7

Jill and I went to trap at Y2. Set up and sat in the blind until there were 4 ravens in and a bunch of BBMA. A PRFA flew in to pick off a BBMA and all the birds flew off. Non of the ravens came back, so we called it off.

Wed, Sept 6

Got a download from 49, so I went to check things out. 2 centroids down at the Hereford ranch appeared to be where birs were picking up hoppers. Same bug stuff in the main valley of spring gulch. The main centriod at Y2 was at their dump site.
Jill and I went to check it out later when most birds would have been gone. Looked like a 1/2 way decent place to put a trap. there were 2 very old carcasses, but still were being used by at least 2 ravens and a bunch of BBMA.

Monday, Sept. 4

Thought I had a line on some bait, but no go. Had a meeting down at 3 Creeks.

Caught 4 birds in Spring Gulch, two were re-caps (lazy K and inverted 4 teal). Two new HY. Travis helped out.

Thurs, Aug. 31

I climbed up S.K. by myself and counted very few birds before the big flock came in. While the flock sreammed in pretty steady, it appeared that they came from more directions and for a longer time. My count was a total of 537 crows and just a few ravens. Probably an underestimate because some birds may have slipped in under my field of view.

Tues, Aug. 29

Jill and I climbed up Snow King to count the birds on the roost that I found the evening before. We checked all of the places I saw the birds roosting, and found very little evidence that a few hundred birds had been sleeping there. The biggest roosting place was an open, grassy grove with a bunch of old, tall dead pines.
We had the first crows and one come in at about 6:30. We had about 50 crows up until 7:30, when an est. 325-350 more came in from spring gulch. They all came in within minutes.

JULY-AUG

Hiatus. Field notes on file.

Fri, June 16

Released the Mead fledgling back with its family on town hall.

Banded the Hunter barn nest w/ D, Sophie, Trap, Kati, and Sophie's friend. One nestling that was pretty badly eaten up by bugs/mites.

Thurs, June 15

Office day. Trap went out with Drew.

Wed, June 14

Went flying for cats w/ D, Trap and Kati.

Bad hail storm at about 10 am. Got a call about an injured fledgling at town hall and went down to pick the bird up. Nothing seemed bad, but when I let it go it ran into a parked car. I took it back to the office. Got reads on the rest of its siblings and saw that Lazy 5 had a broken leg and was having difficulty standing. pink 26 = hanging 5. 27 = lazy 5. 28 = Lazy 4. 25 = hanging 4 (that was the injured bird).

Tues, June 13

Banded nests with D and Kati. Trapper checked nests.
N Miller, 3 young, neither ad banded.
Flats, 2 young; neither ad banded.
Central Failed.
NEW NEST; Power; 4 young banded. Bailed. One hit hard, others good.
NEW NEST; BOB; 2 young banded. One about 1/4 size of sibling. Neither ad banded.
All 5 PO birds alive.
Art Center nest failed. nestling feathers below nest.

Mon, June 12

Got up @ 3am to trap adult male from Barn. Success. Now has GPS collar.
Went out to watch the barn from 10-11:30. No sign of the male. Female did very little feeding.
Banded Chapel Nest. One adult banded (orange; no read). One young.
3pm - Male on Ditch Cr NE of barn picking at transmitter went to field to feed itself.
Trap watched the male roost on Ditch Cr NW of moulton barn.
Got a call about a dead bird. Picked it up at G&F office. Young from Creekside Nest. Fried on transformer.
Warm Springs still in nest.
Got 4 eagle blood samples. all <1.0.

Sun. June 11

Went banding with Trap and Kati.
Hayfields; 2 young. Parents never showed up.
Lobo; 2 Young. One parent showed up to feed as we were walking away.
Heskett; 2 young. Both parents present and not banded. One bailed after being put back in. Bird looked alright, so it was put back in.
S Gully; 2 Young; Parents never showed up.
Watched male and female go to roost. Female in nest, male in big barn.

Sat. June 3

Banded Romney with Trapper and Mike. 1 Young. Banded in nest. Got a decent look at one of the adults, not banded.

Banded the 2 fledglings from the NER Shed nest.

Fri, June 2

Jill and I hiked the refuge looking for new nests.

New Nest in a doug-fir on the N end of Miller Butte. A little too young for banding.

New Nest in a shed by the N end of Miller Butte, 2 young out of the nest.

New RTHA nest up on miller butte in a spruce on the NW corner.

3 UNK nests (all likely CORA) up on the West side and in the main top drainage. Climbed 2, both CORA. The one in the Drainage may have been used this year.

Checked the NER Flats nest. Needs a week.

Walked the creek by the Mc Bride Shed. Found a new Nest in a POAN just west of the shed. Female brooding.

Checked two historical areas up the Drainage NE of the McBride Shed. NEW NEST (Hilltop) in a SA Fir. I heard very young chicks.

NEW NEST (Indian View). Dead chick under nest. 3 in the nest. Banded.

New UNK nest on the creek in a POAN east from the shed. Likely a RTHA.

Thurs, June 1

Trapper, Jill, Kati and I went out banding.

Banded Coyote Rock; 3 nestlings; Trapper Climbed; I banded; neither adult banded

Banded Confluence; 3 nestlings; Trapper climbed; I banded; neither adult banded

Banded Warm Springs; 2 nestlings; Trapper climbed; I banded; neither adult banded

Banded JAC Post Office; 5 nestlings; Trapper climbed; I banded; only one adult present - not banded

Wed, May 31

Kati and I tried to locate the new knob nest without any luck. We checked all the old nests and nothing looked good. We both thought we heard young when the parents flew up into a grove of trees above the aspens, but couldn't find a nest. They both took off after that and didn't come back for an hour. We gave up for the time being.
I checked on the Hayfields nest. I'm pretty sure it failed. the nest lining was torn out, no sound from any birds.
Curlew nest has at least 2 young that should be ready to band next week.
Heskett has at least one young ready to band next week. We'll see about the tree....
Elbo needs to be re-checked in 2 weeks. Young are still pretty small.
Hunter Shed has at least one that will be ready next week.
Island still brooding.
Walked up to the SW territory. No birds. Nest looked ok, but likely failed. Last years nest all but blown out.
I sat up on the bunch above Meadow Rd. for 1/2 hour. Only crows and a RT. About 8 crows mobbed a RT that was perched, then flew. No ravens seen.
Picked up some samples from Mike later that eve and got them in the freezer.

Tues, May 30

Kati and I went to the E end of the NER on the 2-track off the highlands loop. We found the new (alt) nest of the nest DC found last year right by the first junction in the road in a fir. We checked the eastern nest and saw the chicks needed another 1.5 weeks before banding.
Checked on the RTHA nest in the large aspen grove between the two raven nests and found it active. I watched a RT fly into the aspen grove at the top of the drainage above the Junction CORA nest, but didn't hike up there.
Kati and I found a new CORA nest up the bowl to the west in a fir tree. We went up to the top of the ridge that connects the west to the east side and flushed a GHOW that was then chased by a RTHA and an AMKE. We had to turn back, so we didn't search for nests.
We found an old nest in an aspen on the west side of the highlands hill. Looked like a SWHA most likely.
I went to the DMV to get records and saw the nest Susan told me about just S of the Snake River Bridge. One adult not banded and 4 foung about to fledge.
Checked on the Bickner Nest. The said one fledgeling died, but I couldn't find the carcass. Got 3 band reads of 2 fledglings and one nestling (N, G, and K).
Deloney still in nest.
One of the Mead birds in the nest still.

Mon, May 29

DC, Trapper and I went on the NER from the HWY towards romney. We found one new raven nest on the way in, in a doug-fir (Twins). Female was banded with a green band. Male not banded. Young seem ready to band.
We walked up the road drainage aftyer seeing a few birds. After walking all the way up, I found an old nest and a new RTHA nest (INC). I walked over to the next tall drainage to the south and found a new ravens nest (Aquila CORA)at the top of that in a doug fir. Female was brooding small chicks and neither adult were banded.
I found another RTHA nest in the small drainage between the two tall ones (aspen).
DC checked the Romeny nest and couldn't get a read on the age.
We all walked the river bottom and found only one really old nest in a cottonwood.
I walked the canyon on the way out to the south and found another raven nest in the base in a cottonwood. Didn't see either adult's legs.
Trapper walked the west-most part of the flat cr stringer and found an active RTHA nest. DC thought he saw anopther raven nest in a lone cottonwood to the NE and I found another Raven nest in a lone Cottonwood south of the flat cr out in the flats.

Fri, May 26

Derek and I met with a reporter all morning.

We banded the Poney Express nest this afternoon. 5 young. Trapper climbed, Derek banded.

Thurs, May 25

Checked the Kelly Butte nest. I was unable to see the birds, but they sounded about a week old. The Lobo nest was brooding and the chicks sounded real young.
I walked all of the hill north of the Gros Ventre rd behind the shane cabins. The pair of SWHA were still on the NW end. Nothing else.
Checked the Hunter cabin nest; brooding.
Checked the Barn; 2 young about 1-1.5 weeks old.
Checked the Shadow Campground nest; maybe about a week old.
Elbo; Young; check in 1.5 weeks.
Jill checked the PO and Poney express. PO needs another 5 days or so and the Poney is ready.

Trap and Kati walked the GV from Kelly to the campground, Ditch Cr, and the McCal areas. Nothing.

Wed, May 24

We all went and banded the NER sign nest. 3 Young. I climbed and DC banded. Banded the Path nest. 5 nestlings. Trapper climbed and Dc and I banded. Banded the CRC nest. Got the Haberfelds out. 6 young. DC and I banded. Banded the Cumming nest. 4 young. Trapper climbed and DC and I banded. These guys were a bit smaller (maybe two weeks old while the rest were 3 weeks).

Tues, May 23

Trapper, Kati and I went to watch the Murie Center/Headgates areas. Kati sat up by the headgate nest, I was down in the river bottom, and Trapper was up on windy ridge. I saw a few birds flying back and forth from the old eagle tree towards the Murie center, but wasn't able to get a good read on the birds. I watched one raven go up into a goose nest after the goose left to tray and steal an egg. The goose came back before the raven was able to get the egg or nestlings out. Kati saw birds go into the forest just behind the construction a few times. I walked around there quick and found nothing.
Trapper and I hiked up the south gully and checked the 04 and 05 raven nests. A red-tail was in the 04 nest and the ravens moved to a new nest down at the mouth of the gully in a doug-fir. Dc and Kati walked the Kelly Canyon.

Mon, May 22

Kati came in today.
I took Kati out to look at the study area and show her some of the nesting sites while Trapper sat at the N Gully of BTB. He found nothing. He then went and walked Ditch Creek and found the McReynolds nest failed and an active GHOW in the Magellan nest. Kati and I went to the Island and saw a banded bird on the pole with two others. Two of the birds chased one, then went back into a NEW NEST on the NE side of the island in a lodgepole that is almost impossible to see while you're in the woods. The nest is somewhat visible from the parking area. The female was sitting pretty tight, so I figure we should check again in a wee or two. We went from there to check on the Hayfields nest. The young are pretty small. Check again in 1-2 weeks. We checked on the SE BTB nest and heard the young begging. Sounded pretty young. Check again in 1-2 weeks.

Sun, May 21

Bird walk in the am at TSS.

I went down and walked the N end of the campground and searched around the mile 3 island. There is at least one crow nesting down in the island, if not two. I was unable to locate the nest.

Sat, May 20

Trapper, Derek, Renny, Greg and I went up and banded the museum cliff nest. Renny climbed up first and set up top-ropes. Greg and I climbed up and he took pics while I was up at the nest. There were 3 chicks about 3 weeks old. DC banded.

Fri, May 19

Trapper got in today. We went up and found the nest on high school butte after a few hours of searching. The nest was in a thinner lodgepole. We also found an old nest lower in a big doug-fir. Trapper climbed the nest and found 3 eggs.
We went through the airport subdivision and found that the Solitude nest had failed. It was pulled out by the homeowners and spikes were up in its place. Both of the pair were on a nearby house, and neither were banded. Didn't look too pormising for an alternate nest.
Trapper and I went and banded the TVR nest. 3 young.
We went with Spohie up to the tank nest to band it and trapper climbed up and found really young chicks less than a week old.

Thurs, May 18

Sunny and warm. 46F @ 7am.

Banded the airport nest with Drew. A reporter came out for photos. There were 2 young and one dead nestling in the nest. I'd guess the dead nestling died with a day or two. Strange since we hadn't had any bad weather and the chick didn't look emaciated. Neither parent banded.
Banded the west nest. 3 Young. Parents not banded. A little younger than typical.

Wed, May 17

Sunny. 37F @ 7am.

Went into town to band nests. Jon came out and helped at all of the nests and Jill helped at Bickner. Banded the creekside nest (5 young), Spring Gulch (4 young), Bickner (5 young), and Deloney (3 young). None of the adults were banded.

Mon-Tues, May 15-16

Home range workshop - Pocatello.

Fri, May 12

Jill came out and she, DC, adn I all walked the area over by and above Carpenter Draw. We found nothing there, but were able to confirm the nest up on top of shadow is occupied and the bird is INC. The last time that nest was occupied was 2003.
We went over and hiked the N end of the island with no luck. we saw a pair flying around, but couldn't locate a nest. Jill saw a SSHA flying through and the first Pronghorn of the year.
Jill and I went and sat over by the old air strip and watched Murie Ridge with no luck. A pair of RT was up there, but no CORA. 2 young were on the BAEA over by the river.

Thurs, May 11

DC and I split up for the morn. I went up Ditch Cr and checked on the coyote rock RT and CORA nests. Nothing at the RT nest and the CORA nest is active. Heard young birds in the nest begging. Must be pretty small. I'd say check in 1.5-2 weeks.
After a bit of watching and hiking up at the Heskitt area, I found a new nest in a tall lodgepole that is dead at the top. Female is INC.
Nothing at the McCal area.
Went out and GPSed the new nest out in the bison fields N of Ditch and E of Mormon. Nothing in or around, but I'd guess SWHA.
DC found a new CORA nest in an aspen grove N of BTP by the 2000 historical nest.
I went down to -BC and found a new active CORA nest in an aspen. INC. Nothing in the OSPR nest, but there's a new heron rookery on the other side of the river.
Checked on the '05 Cottonwood Cr nest. Female INC.
Checked on the '05 Schwabachers nest. Female INC.

Wed, May 10

Woke up to snow on the ground. Sunny. 23F @ 7am.

Tues, May 9

Sunny and chilly. 32F @ 7am.

Office in am. Got the GPS and PTT locations all straighted out and caught up.
DC and I went to town and checked to see if Bickner was ready for banding. There were at least 3 chicks that needed a few more days.
Banded Mead nest. 4 chicks about perfect banding age. Added a pink wrap-around band above the usgs band to signify town birds. Neither ad banded. I looked hard for egg shells and found none. There was a bunch of dog/elk hair in the nest and it also had a lot of thick brown paper as nest lining (maybe from an old mail envelope). I stayed in the tree while DC banded and took blood.

Mon, May 8

Rainy all day. 23F @ 7am.

Jill checked on the nest by the cattle grate on the groy rd. Nothing in it. We walked Ditch Ck from the moutlon barns to TSS. Confirmed the goose nest in the '04 rtha nest. Saw a raven go over a perch above it for a while. Confirmed the hayfields nest INC. Jill found a new unk nest by the confluence of the two creek braids. Saw a orange banded raven eating by the bridge. We gave it some food and it flew off the the NE (maybe towards the hunter barns?). No ravens on the creek. Found a pair of GHOW by the upper RT nest. Both RT by that nest as well, but not INC. likely in the '05 nest.
Saw a Bairds Sparrow in the burn area.
Worked on the gender analysis and wrote an abstract for Jeannette.

10 ravens at Bubba's last night around 5:15 pm. Got one band read - orange right sideup U.

Sun, May 7

Rode on my bike around the east side of town, east of redmond looking for crow nests. Found 5. NER HQ building, hopsital INC, Redmond INC, another building on the small loop street and a suspected INC in the big open lot.

Walked with Jon up the shadow upper gully. Confirmed the RT INC. Nothing seen or heard up the gully. On the way down, we saw the upper bird INC on the lower POTR nest.

Thurs, May 4

Rainy and Cold.

Office work in the AM.
DC and walked Cottonwood Ck. from the -bc rd. top the eagle nest. Saw a COHA scolding a GHOW, but no nests were found. Nothing in or near the '05 RT nest, and the eagle was in the nest further west. Nothing else.
Walked around Beaver Ck to look for the birds, but nothing. DC saw one raven cough up a pellet right by the truck when he came back and it flew towards beaver ck.

Wed, May 3

Clear. 22F @ 7am

DC and I walked the refuge off the higlands loop. We first went up towards the tank nest and found the cora nesting in the '04 nest. One of the pair was banded and I thought it was the female. She flew off the nest when DC went below the nest. On the way up we found the nest in a low aspen was occupied by a RTHA. We saw a copulation and greens on the nest, but no INC.

Checked on the NER nest up on the NE corner. Found a new unknown nest in a doug fir. The '05 cora nest was not acvtive and after a bit of searching found a new one in a subapline fir down at the western base of the patch. On the way back I flushed a RT off the '05 nest on the western side of the draw. D walked over to the other CORA nest he found last year, but no birds were on it. I confirmed the nest I thought up by Ds house in a engleman. I checked the highlands nest and a RTHA is now using it. It was built up, new sprigs were on it, and the bird screamed at me.

I went to Indian Springs and found an old RT nest in an aspen and an unk nest in a spruce.

Tues, May 2

Windy and sunny. 38F @ 7am.

Set up the net launcher in the am and found a new grouse lek.

Checked on the new McCal nest. Nothing there.

Went up on Kelly Butte. Found the CORA nest up there INC. Didn't see the male and the female didn't come off the nest. Went up to the south end and checked on the RT nest. New sprigs. I went up on top and watched over the river bottom by the old CORA nest. Nothing there. The wind was pretty bad so I couldn't hear anything. On the way back I found a new SWHA nest in a spruce.
Checked on the RT Ditch Cr Upper nest. Looked good, but nothing in it. Walked up to the unk nest just east and it was blown out.
Went up to check on the Heskett nest - nothing.
Drove the Shadow Mtn road up to the upper nest. I walked around the upper area and found nothing. Neither nest looked built up. Walked up to the lower nest and the nest didn't look that great. As I was walking around, I heard the tell-tale call of a female INC below me. Went down and found the nest in a subalpine fir. That will be a fun climb...
Walked out to the island nest and around the N end. Didn't see a nest, but did see and hear a bird on multiple occasions on that end. Probably a nest. I watched the area for ~15min, but didn't see anything.
Tried to go to Schwabackers, but the road is still full of snow.
Went and dropped off a deer at the dump. About 30 bison were at the bait, so I picked up the launcher and replaced it with the dummy. I'm heading out now to switch it.

Checked Mead nest in town babies are about ready to be banded. Got 4 band reads at Bubba's last night around 7 pm. There were about 15 birds. K lazy yellow; 8 right sideup orange; M/5 green; and X/4 green. There was also another yellow band but cold not get a read.

Call for Help - Band Sightings

TO REPORT BAND SIGHTINGS, call BRYAN @ 307.734.0581 or email bryan@bswy.us

Here is a description of the raven bands we have been using:

We have been banding ravens intensively since 2002, and all ravens banded should have bands on both legs. On the bird's left leg should be an aluminum USGS number band that can usually only be read when the bird is in hand. The color band should be on the bird's right leg. We have used two different types of color bands in a variety of different colors. Here are the details:

Green Anodized Aluminum Bands
Used from 2002-2005 (a few birds prior to 2002)
These bands always have one symbol over another. The top and bottom symbol can be either a number or a letter. Here's an example:

NOTE: We stopped using these because some bands tended to fade. It is possible to see one of these bands without the green. If that is the case, it is next to impossible to read the letters/numbers.

Plastic Bands

Used from 2005-Present. Colors used so far have been yellow, silver, and orange (all with black lettering). The symbols can be confusing at first. We have limited the bands to one symbol/band, and either a letter or number. However, each symbol can be in one of four directions: right-side-up, up-side-down, and turned left or right. Below is a silver plastic band that has an "a" that was turned to the left. If you happen to see a band, just write down what you see in the direction you see it.

Mon, May 1

Clear and clam. 23F @ 7am.

I set up the net launcher at about 5am on the airport bait. I waited in the guillie suit til about 6:30 and left because no birds came in. Left the launcher out.

DC and I wen to check on the launcher and there weren't any birds. We walked the river bottom from Moose south. I walked the east side and D walked the west. I didn't find the headgate pair and nothing was in the nest. One RT screamed at me when I got near Circle EW and again when I got back near the headgate nest. I saw a single CORA fly towards circle EW from the west and out to the south. Nothing else.

When I got back to the car, I saw a SWHA carry a stick to a new nest aross from Dornans drive.

We checked the Barker Place and found nothing.

We confirmed the BTP nest was INC.

Met with NPS about RTHA and rechecked the gun range - nothing.

Sat & Sun, Apr. 29 & 30

Nothing Sat.
Sun - Set up the dummy net launcher at an elk carcass at the Airport Dump. I flushed about 12 birds from the bait when I drove up.

Fri, Apr. 28

Walked the Groy from mile 2 down to golf course w/ Jill and DC. The old GHOW nest further east had blown out. The '05 GHOW nest looked built up, but I couldn't tell by what. A GHOW was in the '05 Jxn RT nest. Nothing from Highway to the golf course. A pair of CORA was hanging out by the GHOW.
The barn birds may be in the '03 barn.
CORA INC at McReynolds.
Jill and I walked the McCal area to Carpenter Draw and to the Schwering nest. We found about 4 AMKE nest. The Carpenter Draw RTHA nest blew out. The Schwering RT are in a new nest that Jill found. I flushed and GHOW from the area where the '05 Shwering nest was.
I walked from the Fire Cabin to the Hunter Barn. No new nests. RT INC on the boundary nest. CORA still INC on the Hunter nest.

Thurs, Apr. 27

Partially cloudy and 26F @ 7am.

New crow nest being build at St. Johns in town. Female up in the tree calling.
Crow defending N end of USFS building. I saw and heard a raven in one of those crow nests, but flew out and got chased by the crow.
NEW RAVEN NEST - Huckleberry Dr. Likely the Sage pair. It's right where I saw a bird fly after picking a branch from the sage nest weeks ago. Bird was preening and sitting in the nest.
Hiked out to Curlew nest. Both birds came in and scolded. New sticks on ground and in nest. I picked up a few pellets from under the nest, but they got destroyed by coffee in the car. The curlew 1 nest blown out.
I walked the Kelly Dump area. Nothing on dump nest, and no new nests found. Saw the first sapsucker of the year.
Checked the bison nest. RTs around and new sticks on nest. Also new evergreen sprigs.

Wed, Apr. 26

Sunny and 23F @ 7am.

Lobo nest INC. Male not banded. Pair chased another pair to the SW. Unk nest down the 2-track in the aspens has blown out. Walked over towards the CeCe area and saw nothing. Shane nest looks decent, but I don't suspect any recent activity.
Warm Springs RT INC.
TSS nest active. The female was on the nest when I walked up, but the male called and she took off with him towards the school and didn't return right away. Unsure if inc or just building. I saw the pair go back after I got to the truck and was heading up the road. I was unable to determine if either were banded.
Nothing on the Heskitt nest and it didn't look built up. I found a new partial nest in an aspen about 100-200 ft E of the '05 nest, but I couldn't determine if it is old or new. One raven and one rtha were by the Ceasars.
Nothing at any of the bridge nests. No birds seen while I was walking around down there. I went E to the aspen grove. Didn't look like any new nest activity.
Hunter nest INC. Male banded orng inv. a. Female came off the nest for a sec and I saw she wasn't banded, but had a broken right leg. She did not use it while perching.
McCal nest doesn't look finished and I saw no birds in the area. There was a green evergreen sprig on the nest. Maybe the RTHAs took over.
The Island nest looks built up and I found fresh sticks and a few body feathers under the nest, but I saw no birds in the 1/2 hour I was there.

Tues, Apr. 25

28F @7am. Partially cloudy turned to overcast and snowy at noon.

DC and I drove the campground and walked west to the eagle nest. We found a new nest at site 127, but it looked like a RT nest. The Amp and 111 nests looked pretty bad. I found a new nest (likely '05 RT) west of the campground in a big spruce. Nothing on it. A pair of sharpies were down by the river and D flushed a GHOW. One accip nest was found in a spruce by the snipe ponds.

We went down by -b- and confirmed the rthas at -b- and sage were INC. A cago was INC at the far west -b- nest. Rye not inc yet. possible crow nest on the south park of moulton loop. nothing at buckwheat. NEW CORA NEST - Zenith. Birds just building. The male is banded and confirms that the pair is the ponderosa birds. RTs at the ponderosa nest, and it's built up. NEW SWHA NEST - Zenith. RT INC at nest SW of Zenith down in the Split Ck Ranch area.

Apr. 20 - Apr. 24

Out of town.

DC walked the east side of the butte on 4/23 and confirmed that SE was INC in the '05 nest, and the knob pair is on territory, but not INC. Looked like the '04a nest was built up.

Wed, Apr. 19

Sunny and clear. 15F @ 7am.

A RT in Kelly was chasing a raven for food on the morning walk. I went over to the TVR and found the ravens there INC. Both are banded and I was able to get reads on both. The male came in and INC the eggs for about 10 min so the female could stretch her wings. He didn't sit tight like the female, but was definitely in there.

I think there's a new nest up on the NER highlands hill just up from D's house. I heard a begging call typical of a female on a nest. I wasn't able to see the nest. Not too much going on at the highlands nest area, but there may be a pair further west over by the '05 GHOW nest. A pair of RTHAs were copulating up above Justin's nest. that nest was built up. I saw a female RT fly off of the Phantom nest.

Found a new nest down in Solitude on a house (not the Crow's this year). Further north. The male was not banded, but I could not see the female, as she was INC. Looks like a pair of RTHAs have taken over the Ponderosa nest. I was unable to locate the Ponderosa pair. Saw a pair of AMKEs copulate over by Split Ck Ranch. Rye is building.

Tues, Apr. 18

Overcast. Snowed again last night. 23F @ 7am.

Bear refresher training in the am. Met with S. Cain in the afternoon. Saw the first SWHA of the year on the way to the airport by the old HWY 89 nest.

We stopped down at BTP and heard a raven doing a begging call from the cottonwoods on the ck, but didn't find a nest. A new nest has been built at Magellan. A goose was in the W ditch Ck RTHA nest. Both RTs were near. The McCal pair has begun to build by the 04 nest. They chased off a pair of RTs. Neither of the McCal birds are banded. A breeder turnover!

Mon, Apr. 17

Snowing. 2 inches of new snow and 32F @ 7am.

Sat & Sun, Apr. 15 & 16

Weekend. Birded a bit.

Sat. - the Pony express nest INC.
3 band reads at Sidewinders. Possible nest on refugee across from S. end Miller Butte. CRC pair not banded.

Sun. - found a new crow nest by the Community Foundation, but no birds sitting on it, but crows in the vicinity. Nothing by Pearl St., but a bird was sitting in the interior of a spruce right next to Betty Rock. Couldn't find a nest.
Ely Springs pair INC.

Report of Whooping Cranes moving through and Greater Yellowlegs at the Warm Springs.

Fri, Apr. 14

High ceiling, calm. About 33F @ 7am.

Went flying with Derek to look for cougars all morning. Didn't find the dispersing female we were looking for (F13).

Spent most of the day in the office.

D and I went to pick up a fridge in town for all of our samples and checked on a report of a possible nest across from Davies and Davies. We found a stick nest, but could not see into it to confirm spp.

Thurs, Apr. 13

Overcast. 36F @ 7am.

I scoped out Ditch Ck and found both the TSS and Heskitt pair on territory. Nothing on the RT or osprey ditch ck nests.
Derek and I went to town to check for some crow nests and found a lot of nests, but only two were active. One just down the street from the Deloney nest and one by on the N side of Glenwood. The one on Delony was INC, but the other was just building. A pair was present at the Kudar and a bird flew into the Forest Service office nests.

Tues, Apr. 11

Clear and calm. 20F @ 7am.

Office all morning. Checked on TVR, one bird present. No new nests found. Nothing going on at the Highlands nest, and no birds seen. No birds seen at the Kelly Butte nest and nothing going on at Shane.

Sat up on the hill behind sidewinders. Saw birds fly into Poney Express nest. Confirmed active, but not INC. Found new nest at new PO. In spruce and INC. Grn Mtn INC. Confirmed area of High school butte CORA nest on N side and nothing on new nest on south side.

Mon, Apr. 10

Windy, Snowing and 30 F @ 7am.

Things cleared up at around 9 and I met Jill at 10 to check on some nests. Nothing is going on in the -B- area yet. We did find a new crow nest and the rthas are still building, but nothing at Rye, Ponderosa and Crow. The RTs are back in the Sage nest. Nothing at Kins Hwy. A pair was down in Solitude, but nothing was going on. The golf course nest looks pretty bad. there were plenty of birds around, but didn't see any nest activity. They seem to be feeding on the constructions workers lunches. Surveyed down to the groy GHOW, and nothing in that nest. Walked out to W BTB and they are INC. BTP pair around the N end of BTB, but couldn't determine much. There was a rtha near the McRenyolds nest, but I could see the nest. Maybe it blew out?

Sat & Sun. Apr. 8 & 9

Days off.

SAT - found new nest on Ely Springs Rd. Neither bird banded. Not INC.

Fri, Apr. 7

Overcast. 30F @7 am.

First female AMKE in the park by the campground. A male was by Moose.

I saw a pair over by the deloney nest, so I thought I'd double check for the female sitting, and she was.

Sign still on nest. The landscapers took the food town nest.

I went over to check the NER cliffs, and saw the pair after a while. Neither looked interested in building so I thought I'd give it another go later. I did see my first chisler over there though. Also saw a COHA fly over the butte.

I went up the east hill for a while to glass for a pair. When I saw 2 birds go into a tree, I thought I'd check it out. When I did, it turned out to be a pair of crows.

I did a run through of the -B- area. Nothing at Ponderosa or in Solitude. I did find a new nest NE of the groy jxn. The pair was in the process of building. I got a good look at both birds, and one was banded with a green band. They were collecting sticks on the ground from a downed cottonwood. I thought they usually took sticks from intact trees, but these birds weren't.

A PAFA was on the poles by Kelly.

Jill got some band reads at Sidewinders in the morning.

Thurs, Apr. 6

Still snowing and 28F @ 7am.

We got about 3 inches of fresh snow last night.

I took the owl into the vet to get some sub-q fluids in him. He seemed a bit more lethargic today.
At about noon, the owl died.

Fixed up cages and the office today.

Wed, Apr. 5

Partly cloudy and warm. 29F @7am.

Today has been the first in a long time where it felt like spring. With all of the rain yesterday, there was a hint of humidity in the air. The clouds and sunrise were reminiscent of summer and the song sparrows were singing their hearts out.

I checked on the '05 TVR nest, and it had blown out. Nothing at the Highlands nest. I saw a pair by Sally's and one was banded. The Rye nest may be built up a little, but I'm not too sure. Nothing at the ponderosa nest, but both birds were around and one was banded green B/8. Nothing down at the Crow nest. A merlin flew through Solitude.

I got a call from the forest service about an injured GHOW, so I went up to Blackrock to get it. It was a very emaciated and small male. I took it back to the office to weigh it and try to rehydrate it.

The Mad River nest is INC, CRC is INC. Jill checked both on Mon and they weren't. I found a new nest on the backside of High School butte (west side), but I'm not convinced its not a RTHA. a pair of CORA were in the same location as previous days high on the east side. both flying around. I saw another merlin while watching the hill.

The weather got really bad, so I called it a day and went back to check on the owl.

Tues, Apr. 4

Overcast, rainy and warm. 26F @ 7am.

Went up the Gros Ventre to help Marilyn start the snow machine. A Goshawk flew across the road up by the slide. On the way back into Kelly, I stopped to glass a few ravens at the Taylors and saw at least 6 banded birds out of 10 or so. I was only able to get 4 confirmed reads, 3 of which were banded nestlings. One in '03, one in '04, and one in '05. The bird banded in 'o4 was from TVR.

It was raining off and on all day, so I made it an office day.

Mon, Apr. 3

Overcast and warm. 25F @ 7am.

Picked up the dummy net launcher from the Park Bait. There was one raven in the distance, but not much else.

Spent most of the day doing data entry. I went to meet some people in town about a new raven nest. I stopped at the Food Town nest to see if anything was going on. One bird was across the street, but I didn't see any activity. I did notice that the few sticks that were left up in the sign after the nest had blow out were gone. The nest was still on the ground.

I was shown 3 nests at Crane Ck. One old CORA, one old GHOW, and one RTHA. Nothing was on any of them.

A great gray was up the Spring Creek rd.

Sun, Apr. 2

Jill got 2 band reads at Sidewinders this morn.

Day off.

The Sign nest appeared to be INC.

Sharp-tailed Grouse on the Groy Rd.

Sat, Apr. 1

Jill got 5 band reads at Sidewinders this morning out of ~20 birds.

Day off.

Fri, Mar. 31

Trapper and I went out to check on the -B- area, with no luck. There was a pair near the Ponderosa nest, but the nest didn't look built up. The spring Gulch pair was not INC. The trail nest at Mad River territory seemed built up. Nothing by the High School. We sat by the Grn Mtn area and confirmed that the pair was building in the 1st '06 nest found. The Food Town nest got blown out and the nest was on the ground. We found and collected 2 broken eggs for lead analysis. We left the nest there for the birds. A pair was at the Pearl St. area, but we couldn't locate a nest. We confirmed the Creekside nest INC, and the Museum. A bird was on the sign nest again, but didn't appear to be INC.

Thurs, Mar. 30

Overcast and breezy. ~30 F at 5am.

Trapper, Susan and I went out for an attempt at trapping in the park. We got set up and in the blind by 5:45 and waited until 8 for the birds to begin feeding. The first bird came in at 5:47 and we were able to get a shot off at about 8:10. There were about 15 birds on the bait; one of which was our satellite bird!! That was the first time we had seen him. Unfortunately, the net was aimed just a bit too high and we missed most of the birds. We caught 3, one of which was a recap from Spring Gulch.

We spotted a Ferruginous Hawk on the Kelly Rd right after trapping!

Trapper and I went to town for nests. Deloney still sitting tight. Food Town inc. Kelly Rd still building. Nothing from the east hill. sighted 2 pairs on the backside of high school butte, but no nests. CRC still building. Broadway not inc. Flat Ck inc. Museum inc. Sign on nest, but standing. Nothing at HWY 89. Romney pair rebuilt at last years nest site. GROY eagle inc.

Wed, Mar. 29

Day off. Did glass Deloney nest: inc.

Tues, Mar. 28

Partly Cloudy. 22F @ 7am.

Trapper made bands in the morn. Went to town and removed the nest from the fairgrounds. We collected all of the sticks to count how many it takes to make a raven nest. The Kelly Rd birds just began building in last years nest. Jill reported bird flying with nest lining on the back side of High School Butte. We sat back there for a while and found an inc BAEA, but no ravens. We also sat up on the east hill with no luck. We moved up to the sidewinders hill to determine if the food town and Broadway pairs were the same. Best guess is that they are not. The food town pair may have been in the process of laying eggs. Look as if neither were inc. Museum didn't appear to be inc. Nothing at the HWY 89 nest, and airport was sitting tight. No inc at the Deloney nest.

First Song Sparrow in town.

Mon, Mar. 27

Sunny and Breezy. 15F at 7am.

Got up early and put some bait out in the park.

Trapper and I went out and checked on a bunch of nests. A pair was by the HWY 89 nest, the airport birds are INCUBATING. Nothing going on at Rye and Ponderosa. A pair was at the Crow nest. Couldn't find the new sage nest. Nothing at Buckwheat. Spring Gulch not inc and neither bird was banded. No bird on the Food Town nest. No bird on the Mad River. Mad River nest doesn't look good. We found an alternate nest across the hwy, but it didn't look good either. We did not see the pair come in for the hour we were there. The pair that was building in the fairgrounds was at it again and the nest was pretty big. They were taking sticks from the Kelly West nest and bringing them to the fairgrounds. We figured they were the same as the Grn Mtn pair. We saw nothing up at the east side hill for an hour. The Deloney birds appeared to be INC, but the bird flew off shortly after we glassed it. Needs to be double checked. The Bickner pair is incubating. Flat Ck not incubating and neither bird is banded. Museum not inc. NER sign bird on nest, but not inc. Double check on the airport: inc. Nothing on park bait.

Skied into a suspected kill in Kelly. Found a dead mule deer in the warm ditch up on the TVR. Mostly gone, but 3 coyotes and a dozen or more ravens feeding. Unable to see any bands. 3 eagles present as well. No bands.

Sun, Mar. 26

Jill got a few band reads at Sidewinders this morning: Silver inv f, sil inv 2, yel inv 2, and org S.

She also checked the Deloney, Food Town, Mad River nests for incubation. Nothing.

Sat, Mar. 25

Spent most of the day making a new pigeon and chicken coup.

The Deloney, Mad River, and Food Town nests are not incubating yet.

Fri, Mar. 24

High clouds and overcast. 11F at 5am.

While it was the last things I wanted to do, I got up at 4:45 to go out to the bait again. I just about fell asleep in the blind, figuring that the birds would wake me up if they can in to feed. After a little while, I heard the starlings and magpies start up, and heard one or two ravens come in. I figured it would still be a little while, so I didn't get up to look. Then a few minutes later, I heard some very faint thumping. Not knowing what this sound was, I got up and looked toward the bait. There were 10 ravens on it feeding and another 8 coming in! Well, at 6:30, all 18 were in on the bait and two were out to the west. I figured this was it. So I took the shot and caught 12! Missing only a few birds, it was a great shot. There is a down side, however. I recaptured two birds, both of which had no color band! The two birds had been caught in the same capture back in December and had lost their silver, plastic bands. Let's hope this was a freak accident with the two particular birds..... Interestingly though, they were only 2 band #s away, so they have been hanging out together in both captures. Maybe we got a few breeders! Thanks to Jill for help banding.

Jill and I went to town to look for nests during the afternoon. Jill checked the Mead nest and the bird was still on the nest (presumably incubating). I checked the Delony nest; no bird on it. We tag teamed the east side of town. I went up on the NER hill and Jill sat up on Upper Cache. I saw two ravens chasing a great grey up on the NER hill. Then I saw a cora fly with a stick up the gully north onto the refuge. Thinking there might be a nest right behind me, I climbed further up the hill and found an old winter kill that the birds were feeding on. Likely no nest there. I watched the two birds still feeding for long enough to see them fly back over towards the hospital and fly into a tree with an old nest next to the hospital. They spent their time feeding all around the NE side of town. Jill didn't come up with too much over by Cache, but there may have been a pair over by Snow King. We checked the area around the hospital and found a nest by the golden eagle inn. Unsure if it is active.

We went over to the Grn Mtn area and saw the pair building two new nests. One up on the hill and the other in the fairgrounds stands. I don't think the fairgrounds nest is going to last... This is the second territory where the pair builds an alternate nest while they are building their real one. Interesting...

The Food Town, Broadway, Mad River, and Museum nests are not incubating yet. I was unable to see into the Flat Ck nest. I found 4 nests up on the Hatchery cliffs, but none appeared to be occupied. The NER sign nest was not incubating.

Thurs, Mar. 23

Clear and cold. 11F at 5am, 7F at 9am.

Got up early again to try and trap at the bait. One pair of birds (I assume the nesting pair right there) was so territorial all morning, that the rest of the ~20 birds never really came in to feed. At about 8 am, the group had increased in numbers enough (~18) that they were able to get past the pair, but even then they were really skittish because of them. The most birds on the bait at one time was about 6-8, and at least 10 were always beside it. The majority left at about 8:30 when they were spooked by something, and I gave up at about 9.

Office day most of the time dealing with permits and reports.

Wed, Mar 22

Partly cloudy. 15F at 5am.

Up early to uncover the bait and put the net launcher out. I hid in a nearby shed (maybe 30ft away) so I could try and get some pics. At 5:50, the birds started rolling in. They waited maybe 10-15 minutes, then started in on the bait. There were no jumping-jack displays. They also didn't seem aware that I switched the fake net launcher for the real one. Within the hour, I had about 20-25 ravens feeding. One coyote walked by, but didn't come in. Last night, I put out a dryer sheet to keep the human smell up and the coyotes off. I got about 250 pics, but it was pretty dark for most of them. The birds seemed to be spooked by the camera lens, and every time I moved 1/4 inch, they scattered. By 8 am, they had spooked enough times that they finally started leaving. Deciding not to take a shot, I called Drew and had him come get me.

I went to town in the afternoon to glass for nests. A group of 4 birds were hanging out by the Karns Mdw parking lot. I sat at kmart for a while with not luck until I saw a banded bird at the climbing gym. After that read, I started around town, but didn't come up with much. The Pearl pair was up in the trees, but not building. On the way back, I stopped at the museum to see a raven sitting on the nest I found yesterday! That's a new one.

Tues, Mar. 21

Overcast. 15F at 7am.

It was hard to tell how many ravens were at the bait, but it was a few. Horned Larks were out today on the Kelly Rd.

A pair was on territory at the sage nest, but one of the birds took a stick from it and flew south. I was not able to follow it. The first RTHA nest of the year was confirmed today as a pair was building by Rye. I saw no raven activity W of the airport by any of the territories. I did get a band read on a bird sitting on the airport fence, B/8.

I picked up a deer carcass by Flat Ck, and decided to glassed the cliffs above the museum. I found one stick nest in the big cliffs, but I'm not too sure if it is new or old. The Sign pair was fitting their new nest with lining. One was not banded, but I didn't get to check the other.
A pair was hanging out by the ditch crossing the GV rd, and neither looked banded from far away, but one had a gimpy foot. Gimpette?

I covered the bait so the coyotes wouldn't get into it before the morning, so I could try for some pics and maybe a capture.

Mon, Mar. 20

Partly cloudy. 15F at 7am.

I got a report last night that a raven was getting nest lining material from an old carcass on the GV road, but direction of flight was not noted.

I checked on the MC bait, and there were only about 10 ravens there picking at the bones and hides. Seems that the coyotes ate all the bait.

There wasn't too much happening around town today. However, a pair began to build a nest at the NER sign. The nest wasn't there yesterday, and it seemed to be almost all the way built today. I did get confirmation that a pair of ravens was building a nest down at the CRC. I also got a swan collar read down there; green 6Y3.

I saw my first pair of house finches and a flock of bluebirds today!

After dark, I put an additional 3 elk and one deer out at the MC bait to try and lure the birds in again.

Sun, Mar. 19

Jill and I spent the day in town looking for nests and attempting to trap breeders. After two attempts with the whoosh net and the raven, we decided to give the bird a break. The first nest (Green Mtn) had no response from the breeders. Both flew over and didn't even bother calling. They appeared to be carrying sticks to an alternate nest location that has yet to be discovered, Have they moved their nest?

The second attempt at Mad River had a better response from the breeders, but they didn't come down. After about 10 min, they lost interest and resumed their building. However, they too were building alternate nests. The Mad River nest looks all but complete and they had built on each of the 4 corners of the Smith's Condos and in the eve of the new log building next to the condos. Not too sure what's going on there either...

We glassed the pair by the high school for a while, but didn't come up with much. Maybe they recognized my truck.

We found a good viewing point for the east side of town up on the hill next to the refuge. After about an hour up there, we saw the Deloney pair bringing in elk hair from the refuge, the Mead pair bringing in hair from the refuge, the Bickner pair defending their territory, and a bunch of crows on territory and building. No new ravens.

I checked on the McCal bait at about 4pm, and there were about 30 ravens there feeding and one imm. bald eagle was perched above it. One coyote was about 150 yards off to the west.

Sat, Mar. 18

Not too much going on today. I went birding with Mike down at the S Ponds, only to find 25 ravens feeding there. We glassed the birds and got 4 band reads!! This was the farthest south we've gotten band reads.

I refreshed the McCal bait with two more deer after dark and replaced the flash card in the camera trap.

Fri, Mar. 17

Happy St. Pati's Day!

Overcast. 19F at 7am.

Derek cheacked McCal this morn and said there were patches of ravens all around.

In office making a new trap for trapping adults in town. I've got high hopes for this one.

I finally got the trap finished around 2 and headed to town to tray it out on the Mead pair. It only took about 10 minutes to set it up. After waiting about 15 min for the pair to come back to their nest, it was on. The minute that the bait bird saw the pair, he started screaming. The interesting part of the calling was that it was an appeasement call. He knew he wasn't supposed to be there, and it seemed that he was letting them know that. They flew up above him without saying a word. Shortly after, one of the pair flew about 10 ft. over the bait bird and back to its mate. Neither called. All the while, the bait bird was screaming his appeasement calls from time to time. After a gruelling 30 minutes, the pair took off, never having made one sound. I picked up the trap.

Thurs, Mar. 16

Overcast and snowing in the mtns. 16F at 7am.

After running all of the blood samples from yesterday, I decided to take our raven in town for a little experiment. Jill and I took him to one of the occupied territories to see the reaction of the adults. After only a few minutes, one of the pair came right in to tell this intruder to back off. It was right next to our bird. Then it flew off and got its mate. With the right trap, the pair would have been caught! We'll give it a go tomorrow.

Jill found a new territory by Pearl Street, but it appears as if the birds are just getting ready to start building. We glassed the west side of town all afternoon, and found what appears to be a territory on Rancher St. Jill confirmed last year's Broadway nest when she saw a bird flying into the nest with liner materials.

After dark, I brought some more bait out to McCal and grabbed the flash card out of the camera trap.

Wed, Mar. 15

Snowy and 20F at 7am.

It snowed a good 4 inches last night. I figured with all the new snow, the ravens would be out feeding in their old haunts. May be a good day for trapping.....

Jill and I set up the net launcher in Spring Gulch at the cow feeders after herding the cattle. Within 10 minutes the ravens were coming back. Within the hour, a hundred or so were working their way into the trapping area. The wind was also picking up at that point; not too good for the flying net.

When there were about 50 ravens within the trapping area, I decided to go for it, despite the wind. Even if we don't get as many as we should, it should still be plenty.

Shot fired! A mess of ravens flew up and started circling and calling, but I could tell there were some birds squirming under the net. 15 total! not too shabby. One recapture - B/7 - a female caught last winter in Dec up in the park.

Thanks to Jill and Jared for their help.

Tues, Mar. 14

High clouds and overcast all day. 11F at 7am.

Full moon tonight.

Office day (had to fix the computers).

Two coyotes were sleeping by the McCal bait. One magpie was feeding and one raven was in the tree above it.

Jill thought she found a new nest in town. Awaiting confirmation....

Mon, Mar. 13

6F at 7am. Looks like a system is rolling in over the mtns.

Derek and I spent the day in town looking for new nests.
I finally found the new '05 Green Mtn. nest that I had been looking for by the fairgrounds. I confirmed that pairs were back at the Bickner and the Creekside nests. Derek found three new unknown nests on the east side of town.

Derek and I both got band reads from birds at Sidewinders this morning. About 75 birds were hanging around the dumpster. Band reads were Orange T, e, and J, and Silver inverted 2. All of the orange birds were from the two recent big captures in spring gulch and the silver band was a bird we caught back in Nov at the Gros Ventre campground. Interestingly, that bird had the highest lead count we ever saw, and Derek said the bird was top dog of the group.

Sun, Mar. 12

Derek and I went to cut up the deer out at McCal and to put some fake blood around to attract some birds. There was one magpie feeding when we walked up, but no sign of ravens.

After I got a hot tip from Jon that he saw a raven in town with a stick, I went in to check it out. Jill was sitting at K-mart looking for nests when I got there. She hadn't seen anything in the past 20 min, so we just waited a few more together. After a little while, I spotted to birds and one had a stick. I got in my truck and sped after it. I caught up with it over by Deckers, and low and behold, there was a nest. Looked like the birds had just started building that day.

I checked on the pair and nest by Karn's Meadow, but without luck. I thought I was onto something when I saw a pair up on Saddle Butte, but they seemed to be just feeding after I watched them for a while.

Sat, Mar. 11

On a ski up Shadow Mtn, I saw a pair of ravens on territory by the campground.

Derek and I set up two deer as bait by the McCallister cabins. We forgot the knife, so we left them not cut open. We did not see either of the McCal raven pair, and the '05 RTHA nest has all but blown out.

Fri, Mar. 10

Clear and cold. -7F at 7am.

I spent the afternoon in town looking for new nests. I found one new pair building a nest by the hospital. The male of the pair was not banded, but I didn't get a look at the female. There are two nests in the NER headquarters, but no birds were around. I found an old nest up on snow king, but the resident pair was taking sticks away from it to build on their new nest. I have not located the new nest yet. There appears to be a territorial bird further west on snow king up from the post office. I found where the nest was last year on the high school, but the nest had been taken down or blown out. Neither of the Food Town pair is banded, but they are still building. The Teton Inn nest has blown out.

When I got to town at noon, I spotted two ravens in the Home Ranch parking lot that looked pretty cozy, so I went in to take a look. When I stopped, I noticed that one was banded, Yellow K (a nestling from '05). A first-year with a girlfriend!! That's unheard of. The conventional thought is that ravens don't breed in the wild before the age of three. This bird is not even one, and was feeding another raven! I doubt that they were on a territory at the time, but still an interesting observation.

Thurs, Mar. 9

Snowing and windy. 27F at 7am.

Feels like winter again. It was blowing and snowing all day, but I thought I'd make a break from the office and check out the situation in Spring Gulch. There were a ton of birds there feeding with the cows again. I estimated about 100 or so. There were a bunch of banded birds, but the snow was blowing so hard, it was difficult to see the bands. However, I was able to get 5 band reads; Yellow J, Yellow hanging f, Yellow X, Silver hanging B, and black/white/black tab.

Derek found a new nest in town; in the Food Town sign. The pair had just begun to build the nest.

Wed, Mar. 8 - First raven on nest

Clear and calm. 5F at 7am.

Derek and I went to pick up the big box trap at Spring Gulch - Y2 that the cows had destroyed a while ago. Before we went in, we glassed the few birds that were around (~15) and got one band read - orange K. The bird had been banded there with the first big capture a month ago. It looked as if the cows had been fed earlier that morning, but there were fewer birds on the feeders than I would have expected.

On our way back, we saw a raven IN a nest (the Spring Gulch nest). The bird hadn't laid yet, but was most likely building. A little earlier than I would have expected, but it has been warm during the days.

We got a band read from a bird that is likely part of a breding pair by the golf course. The banded female (W/7) had been banded in Dec. of '04 at the cabins in the letter trap. It was perched on a branch with her mate and they had a green apple that had a few bites taken out of it.

Derek and I went into town to drop off Grullo for repairs and checked on a few nests in town. It appeared that the Mead nest had been built upon, and we both thought for a minute that a raven was on it. When we went around the other side for a better look, we saw no bird. I later checked the Art Center nest and it was in similar shape; built up but no bird. It was hard to see, but the Karns nest looked similar.

Tues, Mar. 7

Partly cloudy and calm. 27F at 7am.

We have had extra bait sitting out in front of the office since at least December. Every day we have up to 9 magpies feeding, but not once has a raven come in to feed. That is, until this morning. When I came around the corner, I flushed 4 ravens off the bait and got a glimpse that at least one was banded. We got a dusting of snow last night, and maybe that has enticed the birds to feed again. Otherwise, I can't imagine why the birds would feed now and not over the past few months.

At around noon, Derek and I watched as 7-9 ravens bathed in the snow and the river. They would go down and take a dip in the river, then go up and bathe in the snow. They would snow-plow through the snow and start flapping around to try and "dry" off. Then, each one would fly up to the top of the bank and do flips down the bank. Once they got about 1/2 way down, they would go up again and roll down the hill. Each one did this and it looked like great fun for them. Looked pretty cold to me, but it was almost 40F out.

Mon, Mar. 6

I got back in town around noon. After arriving in Kelly, Derek and I stopped to glass a few ravens that were hanging out. We got band reads on all three birds (of 9) that were banded. P/9 had been banded in Kelly last winter and not seen since. C/5 was banded during the '04 hunting season and seen last spring in Spring Gulch and in June behind Bubbas. B/A was definitely paired with another bird (both had horns to end that debate), and is likely going to breed near Kelly.

Starlings were going in and out of a nest box. A crow was on the office. Bluebirds and red-wings are coming back in increasing numbers every day since this weekend. Goldfinches are getting breeding plumage. Juncos are back. The dippers are displaying.

Mar. 3 through Mar. 5

Out of town.

Thurs, Mar. 2

Clear and calm. 4F at 7am.

To investigate the reports of many birds feeding on winter killed fish up at the north end of the park.

Skied into 2 Oceans with Stephanie. After about an hour, we came close to the bank of the lake and flushed a few ravens, 2 immi bald eagles, 1 immi golden and an adult eagle. Upon reaching the bank, we flushed about 20 ravens, and a few more bald eagles. We saw no mammals moving, but there were many fresh coyote tracks, along with older wolf tracks. I estimated a total of 30 ravens, 7 BAEA, and 1 GOEA. I also heard a few magpies, but only saw one.

It appears that a bunch of fish had died within the lake and were near the surface of the ice around the western shore. In 6 places where small streams came in, the ice had thinned enough for the coyotes and birds to get through the ice and grab floating, dead fish. The minute we walked into the open, it smelled like rotting fish. We are only guessing at this point, but it seems that the fish are a perch or something, but not trout. Below is a picture of one of the "open" spaces in the lake where the critters were able to get some of the fish out from below the ice. Notice all of the dead fish.


I also picked up the dead raven from the middle of the lake that the cougar crew had reported. I was only able to find the wings and around them were a lot of coyote tracks. There were no raven tracks around the wings. It looked as if the coyotes had been feeding on them in various places and had moved the carcass a few times. From the looks of the feathers, I assumed the bird had not been a hatch year, as I would have expected. I do not know how the bird died, but I would imagine that the raven was feeding on the fish and a coyote or eagle caught the bird when it wasn't paying attention. Or, possibly, the bird may have fallen through thin ice trying to retrieve a fish, gotten wet and was unable to fly as fast as it would have needed to escape a coyote.... Who knows.

Wed, Mar. 1

Partly cloudy and breezy. 24F at 7am.

I picked up a road-killed coyote last night on the highway. This morning I took liver and kidney samples from the small female to test for past lead exposure.

Office Day.

Tues, Feb. 28

Warm and snowing. 33F at 7am.

Apparently, it has been spring for the past week while I have been out of town. The snow has melted down to only a few feet and the roads are now clear. On my walk this morning I heard many raven calls I have not heard since last year. Spring must be here for the birds as well. There were at least 3 different pairs that were performing territorial and mating calls that I could distinguish.

Reports have come in about large congregations of ravens at the north end of the park feeding on winter kills. A dead raven was found right next to a dead cougar kitten up north. Cause is still unknown. For two days, about 10 ravens a few eagles were feeding in the bait across the river (which hadn't been touched in weeks). Only 1-2 birds were ever seen feeding on the NER bait, which is now gone.

Derek found a winter kill elk in Kelly and there were about 15 ravens on it. We saw one green band, B/A. The placement is too difficult to trap on it.

Today is an office day.

Sat, Feb. 18

I will be gone until Tuesday, Feb. 28th.

Fri, Feb. 17 - 25 BIRDS CAUGHT!!!!

Clear and cold. -12F at 7am.

A little hazy near the mountains, but the wind is calm. That should be good for another trapping attempts down in Spring Gulch. The way we have to set up is the net launcher facing the wind, which you really never want to do. It is always best to shoot downwind, because the net really gets blown off course by the wind.

Jon and I went down to Spring Gulch at about 9:30 and the ranchers were still there feeding the cows, so we decided to wait a little for them to finish. After the ranchers were done and the cows fed for a little while, we herded them into the side pen and roped them off, set up the launcher, and put some more bait out. Well, as you could guess, an hour later when the ravens started to come in, the cows got out. So, we herded them again, tied them off better and grabbed a cup of coffee. And again, they got out when the birds were coming in. I had about had it, when I remembered that our broken trap (the cows broke it a few weeks back) was sitting out to the side. Jon and I grabbed a panel from that and tied to cows off with that. That should hold 'em....

Luckily, it did. About 75-100 ravens started making there way into the trapping area. After a few spooks, the group finally made it into the site. I figured there were about 40 ravens directly within range and another 50 or so just behind. There was no way we could handle the remainder, so I shot the net off. 25 RAVENS CAUGHT!!!

We banded and took blood form all the birds, and released them by 4pm. Thanks Jon, Rose, and Steve for your help banding. All birds tested had blood lead levels below 2.5 ug/dL (really low).

Thurs, Feb. 16

Clear and cold. -10F at 7 am.

There was really no wind to speak of this morning, but we got a dusting last night.

Checked the NER bait at about 10am, and there was nothing in sight of it.

Jon and I went down to Spring Gulch to try for a big capture of ravens near the cows. After getting things set up and the cows in place, we waited for about 45 min, and the birds were moving into position. Just before they got within firing range, the cows got out and started heading for the net launcher. So, we had to abort the mission and head the cattle again.

This time we thought we had the cows tied in right. Well, as it turns out; we didn't. Just as the ravens were coming back in, so were the cows. So, we had to try it a third time. This time we weren't messing around though. We really tied the gate up and reinforced it with some of the broken trap that Derek and I had out there from previous weeks.

Well, the cows didn't come in, but the wind sure picked up. And by the time the birds came in and got really spooked by some unknown force, it was already 2pm. I decided to call it because if we did catch 30 ravens, we wouldn't have enough time to process them all before dusk. We'll try again tomorrow, but maybe a bit earlier in the day.

Wed, Feb. 15

Cloudy and windy. 14F at 7am. Wind ~20 mph with gusts of 30 mph.

The wind was howling this morning. The odd thing is that the wind was coming out of the east - northeast. Usually the wind comes from the west. No new snow last night.

Jill got saw at least 8 individual banded birds yesterday at the Mead Ranch. Thanks Jill. It may be too windy to try for a capture down in Spring Gulch this morning, but hopefully it clams down a bit.

Spent the rest of the day in the office.....

Tues, Feb. 14 V-Day

Partly cloudy and warmer. 22F at 7am. Blowing snow last night.

I was in town this morning, so I went to check to see if there were any ravens behind Bubbas, and there were about 40. I got one band read. Orange U. The bird was caught in Spring Gulch a week ago. None of the other birds were banded that I could see.

Jill and I went to run an experiment in Spring Gulch were we had the big capture last week. We were going to move the cows again and see if the birds had any chance of coming back in to feed so we could get another big capture tomorrow. When we got there, the cattle were already sectioned off because the ranchers had come through, so we just waited to see if the birds would feed without the cows present, and they did after about 1/2 hour. Looks good for an attempt.

On the way back into Kelly, I checked on the Park bait. There were a few birds feeding, so maybe we'll try a capture later in the day.

I checked on the NER bait. The blowing snow had covered our tracks, so that may help us. There was only one raven sitting on a nearby fence.

At 2:30 I checked the park bait again. 4 birds feeding. I came back to get the stuff and Drew to help. I dropped him off at the end of the cord so he could fire the net and I went back to watch. When I turned around and got the scope focused on the bait, I saw 8 birds on the bait. I thought great, and told Drew to fire when the birds were in place. Unfortunately, the net was bogged down with snow and didn't fire right and we missed all the birds. Maybe another day...

Mon, Feb 13

Clear and cold. -3F at 7am.

We went out at about 10 to check on the bait, and there were 5 ravens feeding. We decided to give it a go. Derek dropped me off with the detonator (which had fresh batteries this time) and went back to watch the birds. While I was lying on the side of the road waiting, a raven flew up to a powerpole just north of me. I figured it would give me away and that would be it, but it didn't. After a few minutes, the 5 birds were in place and ready to go. Derek said fire, and the net was off.

2 ravens and 1 magpie caught! Three had gotten out. Either the bait was 5 ft too far away, or the strings holding the weights to the back of the net were too frozen in the snow. Either way, we caught some birds. One was banded. It was a HY bird that we caught the other day in the big capture. The other was an adult; hopefully a breeder. We reset the net and put a new shell in the launcher in hopes that some birds would eventually come back or new one would come in.

The G&F called with 3 more elk for bait, so those are now in the back of the blue truck (thanks Jon & Marilyn). I checked on the bait on the way back, and 1-2 ravens were feeding. That's a good sign for future captures, hopefully.

Derek and I put out two of the three elk to see if we could attract a big number of birds this week out in the study area. Let's call this the NER bait.

Sun, Feb. 12

Clear and cold. -7F at 7am.

The cord was set up last night, so there are no batteries to change today. At 9:30 there were 9 ravens feeding. I think we'll try and get a shot.

When we finally got all geared up and back out to shot the net, it was 10:30 and there were only 4 birds on the bait. We decided to wait until later in hopes of more birds.

At 1:30, there were 7-8 ravens feeding on the bait and two coyotes kept walking but backing off at the last second. The coyotes seemed to pull the ravens in. Derek dropped me off at the end of the detonator cord and went back down the road to signal me when the birds were in position. While sitting on the side of the road, two ravens flew over just to the north, so I laid as flat as a could against the snow bank and luckily, they didn't see me. After what seemed like forever (probably only 2-3 minutes), Derek gave me the go ahead and I pressed the button...

Nothing.

I had been falsely banking on the fact that the batteries in the detonator would warm up and be fine. Apparently they need a little more juice for the current to travel through 500 ft of frozen wire. At least the birds weren't spooked, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

After dark, I went out to the bait and chased off 4 coyotes that were threatening to shut my operation down by eating all my bait. After checking on the net launcher and re-burying the strings that hold the back end of the net down because the snow on top hardens so much, I put out a little "anti-coyote scent" and went home.

Sat, Feb. 11

Very cold, clear and breezy. -19F at 7am.

It was the kind of morning where you feel bad for anything that has to be outside and doesn't know how to make a fire. After replacing the batteries in the remote, I did a few dry fires of the net to make sure the firing pin wasn't frozen. It wasn't, but it has been so cold, that the batteries in the detonator had been run down, so I doubt the net will fire right. At 9:30, there were about 5 ravens feeding on the bait. It was still -4F.

At 12:30 there were 5 ravens, but a coyote had moved one of the elk quarters out of net range. At 3:30 a golden eagle was eating from the bait. There were no ravens there at that time.

I removed the remote trigger and replaced it with the ~500 ft cord so I can plug the detonator in at the road where the birds can't see me. (also so I can sleep in tomorrow). We will have to signal the person detonating the launcher from a 1/2 mile down the road where you can see the bait.

Fri, Feb. 10

Cold, clear, and breezy. -4F at 7am

So, we're running the experiment today. I put out two elk quarters this morning where the previous bait was and reset the launcher...

At 9:30 there were 4 ravens by the bait. By 12:30 there were 6. Still 1/2 of yesterday, so I guess we were both right: 1/2 of the birds were scared and the other 1/2 weren't. Hopefully more will come in soon.

By 2:30 there were 9 birds feeding, but everyone had other things to do, so I didn't shoot it off.

Thurs, Feb.9

Clear and cold. -2F at 7am

despite the fact we shot the net launcher off yesterday afternoon, I reset the launcher there again this morning. I brought some extra bait out in case the coyotes had finished off the elk that was out there, but they did not seem to touch it. I didn't put the new bait out for fear of scaring any ravens that may come in. I am banking on the fact that a few birds that I spooked in the am yesterday when the net froze will come back today. When I checked it at 8, there were about 6 magpies back on it. Not too surprising.

We spent a few hours before lunch trying to get a shot. There were 8-10 ravens on the bait and every time they got on it and we drove up to detonate the net, they would flush. When we went back after lunch, there were only 4 birds, so we decided to wait until tomorrow. DC and I are running a little experiment tomorrow. He thinks that putting out new bait at the same location will increase the number of birds tomorrow. I think it will scare them. I suppose we'll see.

Total # of ravens banded to date from the projects inception is 414!!!!!

We got two band reads today. Orange A and Orange B. Two of the five birds that were caught the other day on the river bait. Looked pretty cozy too; probably a mated pair.

There were 6 ravens perched above the Gros Ventre River bait at 3pm, but they all took off.

Wed, Feb 8

Cold and clear. -2F at 7am

Set-up the net launcher at the bait in the park before dawn. We set out a dummy net launcher when we put the bait out, so I replaced that with the live one. I had covered the bait last night so the coyotes and wolves would eat the rest of the bait overnight. Once the net and remote were set, I removed the cover on the bait and took off before first light.

At 10am Jill and I went out to try and catch some ravens at the bait in the park. There were about 25-30 ravens on the bait. Unfortunately, when we went to shoot it off, Nothing! I thought maybe it was the range of the remote, so I snuck up 1/2 way, but still nothing. At that point, I decided to just spook the birds and see what was going on. Turns out the launcher was frozen and the firing pin didn't go all the way. I reset everything and put a new shell in, left, and hoped the birds would come back....

Got more bait.

12:30 - There were about 15-20 ravens back on the bait. Let's try again. At about 2:30, we were able to make it back out and there were 14 ravens on/near the bait. We waited until the got within range and did a drive by and shot the launcher off. The snow that I had put on top of the net for camo had hardened and stopped the net short of a full fire. However, we still captured 2 ravens and 2 magpies. We banded both ravens and let the magpies go. Both ravens were adults and very docile when banding. To fix the net camo problem, Derek had the insight of covering the launcher with a white sheet that is tied to the leading edge of the net. After a test fire, we figured it was worth a try. We'll try and put more bait and the net launcher out there again in the morning.

Tues, Feb. 7 - A day for the records!!

Clear and Cold. -3 at 7am

Same old, same old. The net launcher has fresh batteries this morning again. Not new batteries, but recharged ones (we are a conservation organization...). There have been no birds visiting the bait this morning though. I watched three groups of ravens totaling 9 birds flying towards the elk refuge and/or town this morning. I am afraid that is the population of birds inhabiting Kelly. I will likely pull the launcher from the river site and try to trap some birds over in Spring Gulch. Every time we are over there, there's over 100 ravens feeding from the cow feeders. Oh, the picture on the right is the bait across the Gros Ventre River that we have been working for the past few weeks. The small lump on the far bank is the bait. You can see all of the snow that has been matted down by the magpies and few ravens and my tracks along the hill. The launcher is set up in the overhanging willows against the hill.

Well, the trap was going to get pulled regardless, so we shot the launcher at two ravens feeding. Unfortunately, the back of the net had become frozen to the launcher, so we missed both birds. The net had been sitting out for a while now, and I suppose the thawing during the day had allowed some water to permeate down to the back of the net and froze at night. Each morning I would uncover the net and move it around to free up any ice that had form, but I guess I didn't get deep enough. Another hard lesson learned.

24 RAVENS BANDED!!!!
Finally, a successful capture! Jill and I went over to Spring Gulch at about noon and herded the cattle from the pen where all of the ravens have been feeding on their corn and feed. When we drove up, there were roughly 100-150 ravens feeding in the area. We moved the cattle and roped them off so they would not be in spooked by the net launcher. After setting up the launcher under the feeders and baiting the area with rolled corn, we waited for about an hour for the birds to come in. And come in, they did! I figured there was about 75-100 ravens slowly making their way into range. They first started at the feeder farthest away and got spooked by trucks a few times. (I am pretty sure they would only get spooked by trucks with racks or things strapped on top) The birds finally made their way over and I don't think my heart had pounded so much since my first capture attempt. There were at least 50 ravens making their way into launcher range, and another 50 on their tails. With Jill's prodding, we realized that if we waited any longer, we may catch far too many birds to handle, so I shot it off. 28 ravens and 2 mallards were captured!! While the picture on the left is a bit overexpose, you can tell that here are a few birds captured. The record catch up to this point had been 15 ravens. No birds were injured while trapping, and we let the mallards go right away. By my best guess, I figure we missed at least 30-40 birds that I thought were in range. The capture went off at about 1:15 and all of the birds were banded, measurements and blood taken, and released well before dusk. Much thanks to Jill (she shed more blood than anyone I've seen banding birds), Marylyn, Jon, Drew, and Dan for help banding.

When it rains, it pours!
Dan said there were at least 20 ravens on the park bait now. I guess we'll try for a few more birds tomorrow.

Mon, Feb. 6

A bit colder this morning. -6F and clear. Once again, I got up and switched the batteries. There was no new snow on the ground, so I made sure to use the tracks I made yesterday. It's not too clear if the birds get freaked out by fresh tracks. I have been trying to notice the answer to that question for a while, but it has yet to become clear. I have tried certain bait stations using only snowshoes and others without. Only time can tell....

Fewer birds seem to be interested in the bait this morning. I had expected otherwise since it was so clod. I figured that the birds would go to a known food source first to try and get the much needed food for warmth. Just when you think you have it figured out...

No birds really used the river bait today. There were two ravens and a magpie over by the park bait, along with a lot of mammal tracks. We didn't walk up to check on the status of the bait, but it looked like some was still there at least. On the way back into Kelly, we glassed 3 ravens perched in a cottonwood snag. There was definitely a mated pair, plus another. One of the mated pair was banded. After a while of waiting and watching them allopreen, I got the read; green band B/A. That was a bird banded at the office last winter with Peggy (a raven with a broken leg that we also caught). I thought I was onto something for a while because B/A's mate had "ears" while they were allopreening, and I thought B/A was a male. Turns out she's a female (DNA testing). More obs on that question later I suppose. It seems fewer magpies (~5) were at the office today feeding on the excess bait.

Sun, Feb. 5

A little warmer today. Switched the batteries again in the morn, but no more than 4 birds showed up all day. Took most of the day off. Didn't take a shot.

Picked up some more bait at the G&F office and went to the 30th anniversary meeting of the Jackson Hole Bird Club. A man asked me at the meeting if I thought that only males ravens have the "ear" feathers used in mating displays. I had told him I did not think so, but we'll have to keep an eye out for that.

Dan (cougar project) reported 2 sets of wolf tracks going up towards the bait in the park.

Sat, Feb 4

Overcast day. 10F at 8 am.

Once again, started the day by wading the river to change batteries in the net launcher. 4 birds fed for about 10 minutes at ~9:30, but the 2 pairs kept going after each other. Seems to be 2 territorial pairs fighting over the food source. It's probably not worth taking a shot today.

A few of us are heading to Rexburg to look for the 2 snowy owls this afternoon. Maybe we'll get a lifer!

Fri, Feb. 3

Started the day by wading the river again to replace the batteries in the net launcher remote control.

Snowing and cloudy til 11:30 when it cleared up and got sunny.

7:30 - about 10 ravens were circling and calling over north central Kelly this morn, but few birds went over by the bait. By 8:30 there were 6 ravens with a bunch of magpies over there. One of the ravens was starting to sidle up to the carcass.

8:45 - At least 8 ravens are now around the bait. 4 are at the bait. One is eating while the other 3 keep walking in circles around the feeding raven. It reminds me of kids on a merry-go-round. Either that, or they are guarding the feeding one; but that is double. They are likely just mad that one got the good spot and they are looking for a way in. The others in the area still look a little apprehensive about the whole ordeal.

10:30 - All of the birds have left. Should have taken a shot, but it's possible they will come back in greater numbers this afternoon or tomorrow. Patience. Patience. Patience.

11:30 - 2 ravens are back and feeding.

There were no birds on the GTNP bait that we set out yesrday. I checked it at about 12:30.

From noon until 3:45 no birds have been using the river bait, but 3 were eating a bed-time snack at 3:45. None were in the surrounding trees.

I recieved my bound thesis copies finally today!