22 March 2007
Thursday March 22
Spotlighting on refuge at 4ooam with T and B on 4 wheeler. Spotlighted on and around lek. B flushed on bird. No other birds seen before sunrise when from a vantage point we spotted 5 birds. At least two were male SAGR. Baited Meadow pair, Gunrange pair, and pair N of McCal on the way back to the office. 900am staff meeting. 1030am died dropnet blue and finished spraypainting lester trap. T worked on glueing transmitters and B worked in office. Took coffin out to Morton lek for early trapping Friday morn. B in meetings all afternoon.
Wednesday March 21
I took the morning off from trapping. Baited the Meadow, Airport, and Gun Range pair with cheetoes at 730am. Spotted 3 banded CORA in the meadow across from Kelly. Tried to ID band #s to no avail. All 3 CORAs banded with green riveted color bands. Reinforced Lester trap and sprayed some camo paint. Tested out D's net invention in the driveway. The DropNet is promising. Loaded up 4 wheeler in trailer for early morning spotlight trapping. T sat at carcass at gunrange CORA pair in the early morning but had no birds come down. Elk and bison migration is going strong.
20 March 2007
Tues, March 20, 2007
Bryan and Vince set up near the walk-in trap at the Mormon row lek before the dawn. The first grouse appear around 6:30am. All grouse stay near the western end of the lek and seem uninterested in or afraid of the trap.
Tom sets up at the MacCallester barn blind with a fresh deer leg next to the carcass. A piece of hide and a few bones were dragged out to the West the morning before and a dozen ravens feed on those instead of the bait. Of the 3 ravens that come to perch a moment above or near the bait, none are banded. Of the first 9 birds to come peck at the bones and hide, none are the GPS transmitter bird.
Bryan and Tom set up next to the NER sign with some Cheetos. Within 5 minutes, one bird of the pair begins to feed, possibly the female. The other bird, "Male," is chasing other ravens out of their territory. After about 15 minutes, the male comes and the two begin alternating coming to the bait and either eating or cashing cheetos. After 10 minutes of this both land on the bait at the same time and are captured. Derek and Vince join and the birds are sexed. The female was considerably lighter, had shorter measurements, and displayed the beginning of a brood patch. The male was fitted with a transmitter and released. While the male was being fitted, 5 ravens were mobbing the pairs nest, and only departed when the male was released.
Bryan and Tom check on MacCallester bait with no birds. Tom spots the Molten barns transmitter bird flying alongside the road near the Mormon row junction when he is wildlife viewing that afternoon. He also has to ask Wildlife Expeditions for directions to the local moose, thus disgracing himself and the project.
At 6am set up at Molton Lek w/ Brian in green tent. First SAGR heard at 645am about 100 ft south of the tent, HOLA heard around 630am. SAGR seen E, W, N, and S of blind but nobody in the direct vicinity of the trap. About 10 SAGR flew in at 9am 100 yards E of trap. Brian and I left the lek at 915am. Came back to the office and went to the dump to test fire net launcher that Derek fixed. 1200 pm I went to the lek to retrieve banding kit and net and drove to meet Brian, Derek, and Tom who had just captured M and F ravens at sign nest. Watched D and B band and put on the satt transmitter. During banding 6 ravens seen around sign nest fighting over the nest area. This activity continued most of the time during banding.
Tom sets up at the MacCallester barn blind with a fresh deer leg next to the carcass. A piece of hide and a few bones were dragged out to the West the morning before and a dozen ravens feed on those instead of the bait. Of the 3 ravens that come to perch a moment above or near the bait, none are banded. Of the first 9 birds to come peck at the bones and hide, none are the GPS transmitter bird.
Bryan and Tom set up next to the NER sign with some Cheetos. Within 5 minutes, one bird of the pair begins to feed, possibly the female. The other bird, "Male," is chasing other ravens out of their territory. After about 15 minutes, the male comes and the two begin alternating coming to the bait and either eating or cashing cheetos. After 10 minutes of this both land on the bait at the same time and are captured. Derek and Vince join and the birds are sexed. The female was considerably lighter, had shorter measurements, and displayed the beginning of a brood patch. The male was fitted with a transmitter and released. While the male was being fitted, 5 ravens were mobbing the pairs nest, and only departed when the male was released.
Bryan and Tom check on MacCallester bait with no birds. Tom spots the Molten barns transmitter bird flying alongside the road near the Mormon row junction when he is wildlife viewing that afternoon. He also has to ask Wildlife Expeditions for directions to the local moose, thus disgracing himself and the project.
At 6am set up at Molton Lek w/ Brian in green tent. First SAGR heard at 645am about 100 ft south of the tent, HOLA heard around 630am. SAGR seen E, W, N, and S of blind but nobody in the direct vicinity of the trap. About 10 SAGR flew in at 9am 100 yards E of trap. Brian and I left the lek at 915am. Came back to the office and went to the dump to test fire net launcher that Derek fixed. 1200 pm I went to the lek to retrieve banding kit and net and drove to meet Brian, Derek, and Tom who had just captured M and F ravens at sign nest. Watched D and B band and put on the satt transmitter. During banding 6 ravens seen around sign nest fighting over the nest area. This activity continued most of the time during banding.
19 March 2007
Mon, March 19, 2007
BB, TR, DC and Vince head out to the refuge to spotlight sage grouse at 4am. No grouse are found at night and the team waits until sunrise to see where they have been roosting for the night. 13 birds appear on an eastern point above the "Grand canyon" and another bunch of 4 is flushed by Vince a couple of ridges above the road.
Vince, Bryan, and Tom put out a new deer by HWY 89 for the aiport pair and set up the walk-in traps on the eastern end of the Mormon row sage-grouse lek. The NER Sign pair are seen feeding off Cheetos within seconds of our pulling out of the parking lot.
Spotlighting at 4am w/ D, B, T, and myself. Nothing seen besides a couple of coyotes. At sunrise we scanned for SAGR to the tune of MELA and HOLA and coyotes howling. Spot 13 SAGR in historic lek area. I take a walk looking for night roost piles and find a few above the road. On my way back to the road, I flush four SAGR who fly out of sight behind a ridge on the other side of the grand canyon. We come back to the office and have a meeting on trapping plans. B, and myself head in to town to the hardware store to get some fencing and posts for the Morton LekB, T, and myself set out deer carcass across from airport and throw some cheetoes at the pull out near the sign nest. CORA down on cheetoes immediately upon leaving the pull out.
B, T, and myself set up the walk in trap at the Morton Lek.
First SOSP heard today near office in riparian!
Vince, Bryan, and Tom put out a new deer by HWY 89 for the aiport pair and set up the walk-in traps on the eastern end of the Mormon row sage-grouse lek. The NER Sign pair are seen feeding off Cheetos within seconds of our pulling out of the parking lot.
Spotlighting at 4am w/ D, B, T, and myself. Nothing seen besides a couple of coyotes. At sunrise we scanned for SAGR to the tune of MELA and HOLA and coyotes howling. Spot 13 SAGR in historic lek area. I take a walk looking for night roost piles and find a few above the road. On my way back to the road, I flush four SAGR who fly out of sight behind a ridge on the other side of the grand canyon. We come back to the office and have a meeting on trapping plans. B, and myself head in to town to the hardware store to get some fencing and posts for the Morton LekB, T, and myself set out deer carcass across from airport and throw some cheetoes at the pull out near the sign nest. CORA down on cheetoes immediately upon leaving the pull out.
B, T, and myself set up the walk in trap at the Morton Lek.
First SOSP heard today near office in riparian!
18 March 2007
Sun March 18
6am set the net launcher at the barn nest and then went the Refuge at daylight to scan for SAGR. After about 20 minutes at about 800am we spot 43 SAGR in flight. They land on point right above grand canyon and forage for approx 3 minutes and then fly to the N toward Kelly and out of sight. Elk seen locking horns, coyotes and CORA seen feeding on a carcass in the distance, and a few bison spotted. Brian and I then check barn trap w/ no CORA seen in the area. Approx 900am we check the molton lek and spot 23 birds spread out in thin strip with no snow. On the way back to the office B gets some great shots of a M SAGR just off of Antelope Flats Rd. At office we prepare for spotlighting the next day getting the nets, banding kit, backpacks, lights, etc.. D shows up at office and we plan for a 4ooam spotlight.
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