Writing Challenges, Lodgepole Pines, and Unmarked Roads

With only 2 weeks until my exit seminar things are beginning to wrap up, but at the same time, I feel like I am busier than ever. I have mostly finished my background reading (although there is always more to read) and am concentrating on writing. I went out on another survey route, this time with IMBCR in the mountains, and had my first deliverable (A Tale of Two Methods) for the Bird Conservancy published on their website.

If I have learned nothing else, it is the need for flexibility. When I went out on the BBS survey, I was given two days warning, but planning to go out on an IMBCR survey has required patience. After weeks of planning, re-planning, watching the weather, and coordinating busy schedules, I finally went out on an IMBCR survey. Just to keep things interesting, I had to find a small dirt road not found on Google maps with a road marker not visible from the turn off in the dark. It was sad when my 9-year old flip phone finally died a few months ago, but sometimes smartphones are lifesavers.

Office space, Grasslands, and Grackles

It really is good to be back in Colorado. As much as I enjoyed being so close to Picnic Point and the Arboretum while in Wisconsin (especially during migration season), it is even better to have the mountains as my backyard again. I have been back in Colorado for just under a month now and have been working at the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies for almost three weeks. It is exciting to be surrounded by people who love birds as much as I do.

While I sit at my computer doing my work, I get to hear stories from my office mate as she coordinates field technicians out on surveys. There is always more to do when working on a large-scale monitoring program like IMBCR and not everything goes smoothly. Some of these hiccups are more frustrating than others, such as when a group falls behind on a time-sensitive survey and you are trying to wrangle them from a distance. Others are easier to shrug off as simply part of the job when doing remote field work, such as when a bear tries to break into the rental car (Don’t worry, the car door was the only casualty).

Mountains, Birds, and Outreach

Growing up with the Rocky Mountains as my backyard and weekend playground, a passion for wildlife and wild places has always been a part of my life. Building off of that desire to work out in nature I was fortunate enough to spend two summers working in southern Colorado catching and watching birds during my undergraduate degree. Ever since pulling that first white-crowned sparrow out of the trap I have been hooked on birds, so I am very excited to be back in my beautiful Colorado to work with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.