Two Mini Adventures

No pictures today; I was out with the YCC crew again and was too busy wading though sagebrush and bitterbrush to cut the fence off its posts ahead of the crew. But here are two little stories to continue giving you a flavor for the job:

1. I've seen rattlesnakes, but today was the first time that I was the one that triggered the warning ! As we were walking back to the truck in the brush, I stepped on a rock and heard a warning rattle. According to my coworker, I jumped back as if I'd seen a snake, but I was dead quiet. I hadn't seen the snake and his rattling was intermittent, so I guess survival kicked in and I was silent so I could hear the next warning. We found him coiled up under a bitterbrush, less than a foot from where I'd stepped. Needless to say, the rest of the hike back to the truck was a piece of cake. Go adrenaline !

2. Back at the office, we startled a family of California quail that had apparently been resting in the plants just outside our back door. We thought we'd seen them all adorably run off, but shortly my coworker said that he needed my help ! One of the babies had apparently run in the door as we were opening it and was cornered in the supply room. The poor, frightened little thing was cowering under a desk. We were able to chase it into a box and let it outside. I wish I did have my camera ! Too cute.

Working four 10-hour days has its perks. It's easy to get the time in during our field season, and now my weekend has begun !

Hangin' with the YCC

This summer we have a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew of local high school students helping us out with some projects. On monday, I supervised the crew while we dodged a rattlesnake and afternoon thunderstorms, and they removed hog wire that was keeping sheep and wildlife out of a stringer meadow. The fence will be replaced with three strands of wire, the top two barbed and the bottom smooth and 18 inches above the ground. This allows wildlife such as sage-grouse and pronghorn antelope to crawl under the fence safely to access water and forage in the meadow...but is enough to keep domestic sheep out.

Rolling up the cut pieces. These kids are good. I tried and ended up with a big, unwieldy mess.

at work...

...and maybe some play

Aquilegia formosa crimson columbine

a good day's work

Not Finding Rare Plants

On thursday, Martin and I searched for rare plants along an old power line due for removal in the Bodie Hills. While the habitat along the line wasn't ideal for what we were looking for, there are populations nearby. And you never know !

The species we were hoping to find were Arabis bodiensis, a member of the Brassicaceae (mustard family), and Phacelia monoensis (Hydrophyllaceae). You can tell by their names that they're found in limited ranges ! Both are CNPS List 1B (rare, threatened or endangered in California and elsewhere) and BLM sensitive species.

Alas, we didn't find any rare plants, but it's always great to be out in the field ! And here are two pictures to keep this post about our lack of success from boring you completely:

Penstemon speciosus (love those anthers!)

ground squirrel on alert

Fixin' Fences !

I've spent my share of time climbing over barbed wire fences while doing wildlife surveys, but now I'm responsible for some of them ! Our barbed wire fences are used to keep grazing livestock where they're supposed to be, whether it's within a certain area or outside of an area we want to protect, such as a meadow, riparian corridor, or aspen grove. Here, my coworker Casey shows me how we repair breaks in the fence. Don't tell him though, he hates having his picture taken. ;) The fences can break under pressure from the snow that covers the Bodie Hills in winter. One solution is the installation of "let-down" fences that can be put up or taken down with relative ease. We also use let-down fences in areas near sage-grouse leks, since the birds flying in to strut their stuff aren't always paying attention to where they're flying...

the fence let down

close-up of the simple post attachment

Cool birds of the day: sage thrasher and green-tailed towhee.

And some semi-random bonus pictures:

Calochortus leichtlinii


each sheep flock has its own burro

Tracking Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep

There are four herds of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) on the eastern side of the Sierras. They usually stay at higher elevations on Forest Service land, but they may venture down onto BLM land and into grazing allotments for domestic sheep. Domestic sheep may be able to transmit respiratory diseases to bighorns if they come in contact with each other. While this is unlikely to occur given the timing when grazing is allowed, we still keep an eye on the activity of the bighorn herds. The California Department of Fish & Game has fitted a number of bighorn sheep with radio collars that transmit coordinates via satellite. We're able to log into the system to see where the herds are hanging out and to make sure none of them are entering into areas where they may be at risk. It's a bit hard to see in this graphic, but this demonstrates locations of five radio-tagged rams over the past 6 months. They don't go far, do they?

What are these bighorns doing in the middle of Bishop?! And right across the street from my apartment?! The Fish & Game office is a half a block from where I live. Clearly these collars were still transmitting when they were turned on or returned to the office. We also sometimes get points from when the collars are sent back to Maine for repairs. Kinda funny. :)

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

On sunday, we escaped the valley heat and headed up to see the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. We didn't get very far up Highway 168 before I made Brent stop for some showy wildflowers along the roadside.

Penstemon floridus

Opuntia erinacea

The oldest Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) trees are found here in the White Mountains, some older than 4,000 years old ! I have to admit to feeling a sense of awe walking among the ancient giants on the Discovery Trail at Shulman Grove.

growth rings

young cone

cone bristles

My reverence was broken as we followed the trail through a talus slope because I caught sight of my first ever pika scrambling over the rocks !!! Holy stinking cute. We watched him pop in and out of sight until we couldn't see him anymore, then continued down.

We braved the 12-mile unpaved washboard road up to the Patriarch Grove at the timberline (11,000 feet). If not the oldest, this Grove holds the largest bristlecones. We were also able to watch red crossbills feeding on the cones ! Other birds we saw on the trip included: gray flycatcher, mountain bluebird, and Clark's nutcracker.

Patriarch Tree

Inyo National Forest - Land of the Ancients

In search of Willow Flycatchers at Dog Town

On friday, we were able to sneak in a survey within protocol for willow flycatchers (Empidonax traillii adastus, WIFL) on two grazing allotments up for renewal. As their name suggests, willow flycatchers are found in riparian areas dominated by willow or alder, including streams, ponds, seeps, and meadows. The loss of these habitats at lower elevations has restricted their range to elevations generally between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. This subspecies is currently considered State Endangered. This habitat near Dog Town was marginal and we didn't detect any WIFLs, but we did get eaten alive by mosquitoes and see a number of other bird species including: yellow warbler, song sparrow, red-winged blackbird, spotted towhee, green-tailed towhee, spotted sandpiper, Bullock's oriole, and black-headed grosbeak.

A Willow Flycatcher Survey Protocol for California (Bombay, et al. 2003)

What about Dog Town? Dog Town is the location of the first major gold rush to the Eastern Sierras in 1857. While never highly profitable, it is allegedly said to have produced the largest gold nugget found on the eastern slope and led to the discovery of more profitable areas nearby, including Bodie. This marker is along Highway 395, just south of the turnoff to Bodie.