USGS_2018_2019_take2

Greetings once again,

The second part of USGS field seasons 2018-2019 should be up and running now. Part2/take2 features some of the non-bird aspects of daily life in the field; one encounters all sorts of nature when you spend 6-8 hrs a day outdoors. For those that don’t believe that rattlesnakes are a common worry, I happily posted some of the snakes I have been up close in person to. During one survey called DeLuz/Roblar, I choose to change from boots to running shoes so I can swiftly go up a steep fire break and then descend to Roblar creek. Well, the place I chose to switch my footwear out happened to also be where a rattlesnake was resting (photo of boots, rock, snake). That is how close one may be to a rattler without realizing it. Thankfully, rattlesnakes usually don’t want trouble and neither do we, so we stay alert and do our best to avoid stepping on one and go around them with a good margin when we see them. Where I have live for many field seasons, Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, we have snakes that live near the house and who sometimes search for and chase prey under the back porch. The Red-diamondback and Speckled-rattlesnake are two of the short videos shown. Due to the wet winter, it seemed like the frogs and toads were in abundance and were out and about breeding where there was water. The survey at Roblar creek was full of tree frogs both on the creek rocks and in the stream. I had also never seen so many toads; some being endangered Arroyo Toads which were breeding at our field site at DeLuz in the river/creek. I should have shown the 1000s of tadpoles in the pools, but it looks like I somehow skipped over loading those…there were 1000s and 1000s of tadpoles at the start of this season in March/April/May…..When we were checking the nets during MAPS banding at DeLuz creek it was pretty common to see dozens of froglets and toadlets on the ground or metamorphosing in pools. Hopefully this year’s wet conditions gave a boost to all the amphibians out there. At the end of each bird survey season, most of us go back out into the thick of it to do a series of habitat vegetation transects (50-60?) and circular vegetation plots on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and at the San Luis Rey River site. We use vegetation poles that extend up to 7-8 meters (the yellow poles you see in photos), plant identification guides, and other implements to measure and characterize (lots of numbers and plant species codes) what the habitat looks like for the birds (LBVIs and SWFLs) that are using the areas we survey and monitor for breeding (and foraging…). If the going gets to thick with poison oak or say stinging nettle, we may throw on the Tyvek suits you see some of us wearing to help wield off the toxins and stings….all part of the fun of veg work which lasts about 3 full weeks. In the last weeks we also summarize all of our survey data which brings us up back to the wonderful USGS office right off the side of the SD Airport and San Diego Bay….a nice place to work from time to time. This video wraps it all up I with an image of the “Principal Investigator” of the USGS (San Diego office) bird studies, Dr. Barb, who received a big award from USFWS for her conservation efforts spanning 3 decades!, some shots of our annual end-of-season get togethers (hurrah!), and some bonus shots of Ocean Beach where many of us seek out fish-taco/burrito/foodie nourishment, perhaps a beer or mule, and companionable camaraderie after a day or week (or 4.5 months) in the field. Many good memories, experiences, challenges, insights, learning opportunities, stings, bites, tumbles, fish tacos, swims, long walks in the thick of the habitat, and more lead us on the path to enlightenment in the field out-and-about in nature as well as in the urban environs we inhabit in San Diego County!!! There will be more posts to come in the future…for now hope you enjoy the present ones……adios for now from DST studios in Davis, Cali….

https://vimeo.com/357219525