I arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska on Friday, May 11^th just in time to see the sun setting around 11pm local time.  My flight had left Seattle about three and a half hours prior, at which point I had also been watching the sun setting!  Ah the great northern summer!  I have come north to volunteer for a project focusing on Ptarmigan and Willow interactions along the North Slope of Alaska.  Here, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) PhD candidate Katie Christie has been studying how Ptarmigan and Willows compete with each other.  Ptarmigan are grouse-like, arctic ground dwelling birds that feed almost exclusively on willow buds in the late winter and early spring.  Over the next 2+ weeks, I will be assisting Katie on her project conducting aerial surveys for Ptarmigan and ground surveys for Willows.

Katie Christie's Study Area.

We will be leaving tomorrow to drive to Coldfoot (see map for details on survey area), north of Fairbanks along the Dalton Highway.  The Dalton Highway was constructed to provide access from Fairbanks to the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay, and to allow maintenance workers access to the Trans Alaskan Pipeline.  Incidentally, it also allows biologists great access to study sites far north.  At Coldfoot, we will be staying with a pilot who will take us on daily flights far north over the Brooks Mountain Range to survey for Ptarmigan.  These aerial surveys, over the course of two days on the North Slope, will involve flying established routes about 100 meters above the ground to look for both Rock and Willow Ptarmigan.  Flocks of birds should be pretty easy to spot this time of year against the snow, as most are starting to transition into their summer plumage, which includes more brown than white feathers.

Male Ptarmigan. Photo taken from the Birds of North America Online.

Once these harrowing flights have concluded, we will continue north along the Dalton Highway to the Toolik Field Station.  Here, arctic researchers congregate to study various facets of the arctic ecosystem.  Katie and I will be focusing our attention on how willow shrubs are being ‘grazed’ by Ptarmigan from Toolik Lake north along the Sagavanirktok River.  Our northern most shrub sites will take us close to the Prudhoe Bay oil fields!  One of Katie’s main research interests is looking at how possible shrub expansion due to climate change may impact Ptarmigan/Willow interactions.

Mount McKinely, or Denali to those from Alaska. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Throughout all of this, I will be documenting our experiences for a future Webisode series on Katie’s research.  I will also try to keep everyone informed on our progress up north in the coming weeks as Internet access allows.  Until then, here are a few bird pictures from the past week spent exploring the greater-Fairbanks area!

Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Female Varied Thrush. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Male Greater Sage Grouse. Photo by Neil Paprocki

This past week allowed some time for Matthew and myself to head down to Nevada to assist one of our videographers in the filming of Greater Sage Grouse.  Tatiana Gettelman is a wildlife biologist working with Sage Grouse in northeastern Nevada as part of a monitoring project for the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The Greater Sage Grouse is a species of concern throughout the Great Basin and Intermountain West, and has been given a “warranted but precluded” listing by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.  This means the species is warranted for listing as an endangered species, but that it is precluded for now by other species with greater conservation needs.  The US Fish & Wildlife service will have to make a decision about officially listing the Great Sage Grouse as an endangered species in 2014.  This decision will have major ramifications throughout the west as Sage Grouse are a wide-ranging species, and listing under the Endangered Species Act would affect everything from cattle ranching, to wind power, to human development.  Due to this upcoming decision, biologists are studying Sage Grouse more than ever throughout their range, and this is leading to a better understanding of their overall ecology and population status.  Wild Lens feels it is crucial to provide more information about this species’ conservation status to the general public, and so we have paired up with Tatiana and USGS to help document Sage Grouse on this particular project site.

Matthew Podolsky and Tatiana Gettelman inspecting some Sage Grouse pellets. Photo by Neil Paprocki

Tatiana had already been collecting amazing footage of Sage Grouse throughout the first few months of the project, but we thought it beneficial for Wild Lens to come out into the field for a few days to get some additional footage, as well as some audio recordings of male Sage Grouse at lekking sites.

Female Sage Grouse on her nest. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

We started our trip by visiting a known grouse nest, north of Wells, Nevada.  As we approached the nest on foot from the truck, Tatiana instructed us on how to best proceed without flushing the female off the nest.  Due to high predation rates from aerial predators such as Ravens, we did not want to flush her off the nest, thus leaving her eggs unprotected.  We were able to get within 30 feet or so of the nest, and got great looks of the well-camouflaged female sitting on her eggs!

Matthew Podolsky filming a Sage Grouse nest. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

The next morning found us waking up at 3:30 AM to head out to a lekking site.  Sage Grouse are unique in that during the breeding season males congregate at display sites (called leks) in the mornings and wait for females to arrive.  When a prospective female arrives, all of the males at the lek compete for her attention, and she ultimate chooses the male she feels will provide the best genetic information for her offspring.  We arrived at the lek just before sunrise to see about 35 male grouse all around us performing their truly bizarre and amazing display!  View the video below to see a male grouse in action.

That afternoon we tracked two female grouse outfitted with radio collars under an astonishingly huge Great Basin sky.  We wanted to check in on their nesting sites to make sure all was well with incubation.  As we approached the first nest, we noticed a cattle rancher on horseback, and Tatiana stopped him to chat.  Ranchers such as these will be crucial to the success of any conservation plan implemented around Sage Grouse, as they are the ones out on the range everyday.  These ranchers are sometimes given a bad rep as being against anything conservation oriented that will impact their cattle business, but I think all of us biologists have had countless positive interactions with these folks, and most seem very willing to help where they can to save this species.  The rancher accompanied us to the nest, and we were able to get great looks at the females on both nests.  Both were incubating large clutches of eggs!

Biologist Tatiana Gettelman (right) discussing Sage Grouse with a rancher. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

With our return to Boise, Idaho the following day, Matt and I reflected on our visit to Nevada.  We both came away with more knowledge about the specific conservation issues facing this species.  We also felt we obtained great footage and photographs of Tatiana on her project, and are very excited about the possibilities surrounding the future of this project.  Tatiana is getting great footage of grouse, and she is also very passionate about the birds she is studying.  Over the next few years, Greater Sage Grouse conservation and science may become the most important, and controversial, wildlife issue facing the Intermountain West.  The need to educate the public surrounding this issue will be huge, and Wild Lens hopes our collaboration with Tatiana and USGS will help do just that!

Male Greater Sage Grouse performing his lekking display for the camera. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

I’ve been pretty excited these past few weeks as I researched and planned to purchase my first DSLR camera from Canon.  I have not historically been a person well-versed in camera knowledge, and have pretty much been relegated to shooting landscape pictures with a small point-and-shoot camera for years.  With the formation of Wild Lens last year, I’ve slowly been exposed to more and more camera technology, and I figured if I was to be an integral part of this non-profit, I needed a camera to match.  I settled on a lightly used Canon EOS 7D from eBay, and also bought two lenses: a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS.  This camera will serve dual purposes: 1) videography, as it shoots full 1080i HD video and, 2) high-quality photography.  This camera will be promptly put to good use during my upcoming trip to Alaska studying Ptarmigan.  Until I leave on May 11th, my aim is to become a semi-proficient photographer and videographer.  This practice began yesterday as I took a field trip to Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area in central Idaho.  Below are some highlights of the first pictures with the new camera.

Pygmy Rabbit southwest of Magic Reservoir, Idaho. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

American Avocet, Centennial Marsh, Idaho. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Willet, Centennial Marsh, Idaho. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Yellow-Headed Blackbird, Centennial Marsh, Idaho. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Rock Wren, Magic Reservoir, Idaho. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Red-Tailed Hawk, Magic Reservoir, Idaho. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Up next:  Matt and I will be heading to northeastern Nevada this week for three days to help shoot some additional audio and video at Sage Grouse leks for one of our webisode projects.  Stayed tuned!

Up until this point the debate over lead-based rifle ammunition has revolved around the question of a ban on the use of the product.  As you’ll see in this video, biologists and hunters are trying to shift this debate away from concerns over banning lead ammo and instead focus on realistic ways to address the issue of lead poisoning in wildlife.  Watch hunter and biologist Chris Parish try to convince Lawrence Keane, vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, to support voluntary non-lead ammunition programs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected a petition to regulate (not ban) the use of lead-based ammunition on Monday of this week, April 9, 2012.  This petition has been highly controversial and polarizing, with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) claiming that it is an attempt to end hunting.  With the rejection of the petition, the NSSF and other groups that represent the ammunition industry have claimed victory.  For those of us who understand how serious the lead poisoning issue is for wildlife – what comes next?  Do we wait around for the Center for Biological Diversity to file their lawsuit against the EPA and hope that the results are different than they were in 2010?

X-ray of a deer shot with lead-based ammo

The reality of the situation is that the EPA’s rejection of this recent petition was no surprise.  The EPA simply does not have the political willpower to address this difficult issue head-on.  The real solution is hunter education.  Why is it that the majority of hunters continue to use lead-based ammo?  Because they are completely unaware of the extent to which lead-based bullets fragment when they pass through an animal.  Most hunters have never seen an x-ray of the deer or elk that they harvested which contains, on average, 140 almost microscopic fragments of lead.  By leaving their gutpiles out in the field, hunters are playing an active role in the ecosystem and providing a food source for a multitude of scavenging species.  Most hunters have never seen an x-ray of this gutpile so they don’t understand that when scavengers feed on it they are getting a potentially lethal dose of lead.

X-ray of a deer gutpile containing lead bullet fragments

Let’s look at what happened in California when lead-based ammo was banned from use within the range of the California condor.  This ban went into effect before ANY hunter outreach or education programs had been implemented.  The result – a whole lot of angry and uninformed hunters who continued to use lead-based ammunition despite the ban.  In recent years a number of individuals and organizations in California have stepped up with outreach programs that teach hunters about the detrimental effects of lead ammo use and the benefits of switching to a non-lead alternative.  Would the ban have been more effective if these outreach programs had been implemented beforehand?  Ask anyone involved in outreach for this issue in California and the answer will be a resounding, YES!

Expansion of a solid copper bullet compared to a lead-based bullet

So should we be disappointed that the EPA rejected this recent petition?  Absolutely not.  The education programs MUST come first.  Hunters are America’s greatest conservationists and are very willing to switch to a non-lead alternative if they are given the facts about the issue and treated with the respect they deserve.  Let’s compare the situation in Northern Arizona with what happened in California.  While California was legislating a ban on lead ammo use, the Arizona Game and Fish Department was working on implementing a voluntary non-lead ammunition program.  Every hunter who drew a tag on the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona was given two free boxes of non-lead ammunition.  A team of game wardens, biologists and volunteers then spent the entirety of the hunting season in the field, talking to hunters face-to-face about the issue.  Within two years more than 80% of hunters on the Kaibab were voluntarily using non-lead ammo.  If lead-based ammunition were to be banned on the Kaibab Plateau tomorrow, there would be no controversy, because everyone is already using copper.  This is the model for how to address the lead ammunition issue on a national scale.  Outreach and education FIRST – regulation and bans on the product can come later.

This is the REAL debate over lead ammunition.  We need to stop fighting over the validity of the science behind fragmentation – everyone knows that lead bullets fragment and anyone who claims that these fragments don’t poison wildlife hasn’t read the scientific literature.  The real debate remains – what is the most effective way to address the issue?  I would argue that by focusing on hunter education rather than litigation, a great deal more will be accomplished.

*** This is the conclusion of my attempted interview with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, a Washington lobbying group representing a variety of hunting organizations.  A warning:  there is some use of profanity below. ***

An hour passes with no phone call and I decide to head back to the office.  I approach with camera rolling and reach for the office door; it’s locked.  I knock on the glass and see a pair of eyes peer out from around the corner where Jeff’s office is.  The situation seems so ridiculous to me that I actually burst out laughing.  As comical as this scenario appears however, I’m also getting rather angry.  I really did not expect Jeff to lie to my face like he did.  I decide to remain at the door until someone is forced to deal with me.  After about 5 minutes standing at the door knocking on the glass periodically my friend Larry Donahue (name changed here) finally appears.

Larry steps outside, careful not to let me into the office.

“Man, I’m not going to be able to get anything done today.  He’s actually leaving for vacation tomorrow.  But I’ve got some statements here, some on-the-record letters if you want to use these.”

“So there’s nothing… there’s no chance…” I stumble.

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Man… it just… it would’ve been nice to know this before I spent a thousand dollars flying out here…”

“I know.  I’m sorry.”

“And now you understand that the organization you work for is going to be portrayed in a pretty negative light in this documentary.”  I was pretty upset and started to ramble about what a poor decision it was for CSF not to participate.  Larry could see that I was getting worked up and interrupted, “Come on, come walk with me and we’ll chat.”

Larry walks down the block away from the office and I follow, continuing my rant as we go.  I pause and Larry starts to talk, mumbling at first, “Well I’m getting ready to leave so I can say whatever I want and…”

“You’re getting ready to leave… the organization?” I ask.

He nods and continues, “I don’t really know what the problem is, to be honest with you.  Truth be told I don’t think it’s a f***ing problem and yet, I get f***ing overruled while you’re standing there and guess who gets to come have the conversation with you.  I know that’s not worth f***ing s**t to you but, that’s exactly what f***ing happened today.  I toe the company line because that’s what I get paid to do.  The company line today was, I don’t have time.  Bottom line is, I think I got overruled.  If I were you, you know, I would just say f*** CSF, they had their opportunity and maybe they’re trying to hide something, I don’t know.  I have no idea what the real f***ing problem is.”

He was angry, angrier than I was.  We proceeded to sit on a park bench a block from the CSF office and talk about all the problems with groups like the National Rifle Association, the National Shooting Sports Federation, and of course the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation.  We were both able to agree that these organizations no longer truly represent hunters in America.  They’re so focused on lobbying politicians to support their industry that they have completely lost touch with the average folks who just want to enjoy the outdoors and get the opportunity to harvest an animal.  Larry expressed his desire to start his own organization that would actually represent the interests of hunters and sportsman.

The conversation eventually digressed into a discussion about the excise tax placed on ammunition sales which funds quite of bit of wildlife and conservation research in this country.  This, Larry said, would have been Jeff’s primary argument against restricting lead ammo use had the interview happened.  The concern is that a transition from lead-based ammunition to generally more expensive alternatives would cause a decrease in ammunition sales, which would lead to a corresponding decrease in funding for wildlife conservation programs.  This is the strongest argument that groups like CSF have against restrictions on lead ammo use.  Unfortunately it is an argument that is not represented in our film, Scavenger Hunt, because we were not given an interview by the president of the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation, Jeff Crane.

When directing and producing our feature length documentary about California Condors (entitled Scavenger Hunt), securing interviews with representatives from groups like the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Federation was a difficult and frustrating process.  What follows is my account of a nearly successful attempt at getting some of these folks to speak on camera.

After the Center for Biological Diversity, among others, filed their first petition to the EPA to ban all lead based ammunition and fishing tackle, there was an interesting bill introduced into Congress.  This bill proposes an amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act that would exempt ammunition from regulation by the EPA.  The Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation played a central role in creating this proposed legislation.  The purpose of the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation (CSF) is, in the words of their website: “providing access and a voice for sportsmen in the U.S. Congress, the Administration and federal land management agencies, as well as state legislatures across the country.”  I wanted to ask the president of this organization why he thought ammunition should be exempted.  I wanted to explain to him the immensity of support in the hunting community for a shift to non-lead ammo and ask him for his organization’s help in reaching out to hunters.

I was surprised by the prompt response to my email inquiry.  Larry Donahue (name is changed here), a CSF employee, responded by asking who I would be most interested in interviewing.  After some discussion, we decided that the best possible interview candidate was the president of CSF, Jeff Crane.  We picked a date for the interview and I bought a plane ticket from Boise, ID to Washington, D.C.

Congressional Sportsman's Foundation Office

I arrived at the CSF office, only a few blocks from the capital building, promptly at 10am on the day of the interview.  I was greeted by Larry and introduced to the president, Jeff Crane.  The walls of Jeff’s office were covered with trophy heads – all African species.  I noticed a photograph of Jeff smiling next to G. Dubbs (Also known as the 43^rd president of the United States).  While I unpacked my camera gear I handed Jeff a copy of our standard talent release form.  Along the top of this form it read, “Project: Living with Condors (Working Title) A documentary about California Condor recovery.”  Jeff commented, “This is your title, ‘Living with Condors?’”  I explained that it was only a working title, but realized immediately that before handing Jeff this form he had had no idea that the documentary I was making had anything to do with condors.  I had not spoken to Jeff before meeting him on this morning; the interview had been arranged by Larry and it seemed that Larry had forgotten to mention to the president what the focus of our project was.

George W. Bush with CSF President Jeff Crane

Jeff Crane's office

“I just need to have one of our assistants take a look at this form before I sign it,” said Jeff as he exited his office.  My camera was set up; all I needed to do was clip the lavaliere microphone onto the front of Jeff’s shirt.  I sat in Jeff’s office for approximately 20 minutes waiting for him to return.  Eventually, Larry came in to tell me that a very important vote was about to happen up at the capital, and Jeff had had to run up there at the last minute.  He assured me that we would be able to set up the interview that afternoon.  I asked if it was okay for me to leave my camera gear set up.  His response: Nope.

At noon I called both Jeff and Larry; neither answered so I left messages.  An hour later, I left two more phone messages.  At 2pm (my return flight to Boise was leaving at 5pm) I decided to return to the CSF office.  After a phone conversation with my producer Eddie Chung, I decided that from here on out the camera would always be rolling.  Whatever happened when I re-entered the office to confront Jeff Crane would be documented on tape.

I positioned my camera on the tripod so that when I rested it on my shoulder it was aimed down in front of me and entered the CSF office with tape rolling.  The receptionist wasn’t there so I walked right towards Jeff Crane’s office and knocked on the open door.

“Hi Matt, I’m real sorry about this I’m just jammed.  I’m getting ready to leave town and I’ve got to organize… I apologize on this whole thing…”

“Is there any chance I could have a half hour of your time?” I respond.

“I don’t have a half hour, that’s the problem.  I’m just absolutely slammed on this thing right now, so um…”

“I hope I’m not making you nervous about the intentions of the documentary…”

“It’s nothing more than a time issue for today,” Jeff states.

After a few minutes of additional excuses and apologies Jeff says, “Let me do this… I’ve got your cell number, there are a couple of places just up the street, let me try to squeeze this in here either real soon or towards the end of the day… we’ll try to make this happen.”

I thanked Jeff and walked up the street where I found a table at an outdoor patio to wait.

Am I becoming obsessed with Rough-Legged Hawks?  Perhaps, but for good reasons I swear!  There is relatively little known about the year-round ecology and life history traits of this high arctic breeder.  This is all the more surprising when you consider how common this raptor can be on it’s wintering grounds in the continental United States.  Most of what is known about Rough-Legged Hawks has been inferred from small scale studies on their wintering grounds (my Master’s thesis research included), with few studies documenting their breeding and migration ecology.  I hope to be able to study these beautiful raptors in greater detail soon, but for now I thought I’d take some time to familiarize some of you with field techniques I use to age and sex the species.

Rough-legged Hawks are unique among hawks (also called Buteos), in that they can be aged AND sexed fairly reliably using plumage characteristics in their feather patterns.  Most hawks can only be aged (juvenile vs. adult), using plumage characteristics.  Let us start with the bird pictured in Photo 1.  First, we see this individual has the trait common among all Rough-legged Hawks in it’s dark “wrist”, or carpal, patches (A).  All Rough-legged Hawks have these, although they can vary quite a bit between individuals.  The second trait we see that is also common among all Rough-legs is the subterminal, or sometimes terminal, tail band (C).  This individual is an adult male, which are unique by sometimes have multiple tail bands, as we see this individual has a faint second tail band above it’s well-defined subterminal band.  Lastly, we can see perhaps the trait that most often distinguishes adult males from females, which is the lack of a dark “belly” band across the lower abdomen (B).  There is considerable variation among adult male plumages (which are not all covered here!), so lets look at two more individuals:

We can see that the adult male in Photo 2 is fairly similar to the adult male in Photo 1.  A few key differences to note:  The first being that the male in Photo 2 has a considerably darker belly than the male in Photo 1.  In fact, Photo 2 almost makes it appear as if this individual has a belly band (an adult female and juvenile trait), however the picture is backlit, so keep in mind that light can play tricks on you.  The second difference between Photo 1 and 2, is that the adult male in Photo 2 has a much more well defined second tail band (A).  Adult males can sometimes have anywhere from 1 to 5 (or more) tail bands.

The last adult male I want to share with you is pictured in Photo 3 and is vastly different from the previous two individuals.  This adult male has heavily “mottled” feathers (or feathers with markings on them) on its underwings, as well as chest and belly.  These feathers are so heavily marked that the characteristic carpal patches of Rough-legs almost fade into these markings, but still remain slightly darker than the rest of the underside of the bird.  We can also see another trait common among all Rough-legs (except some dark morphs), which is the presence of a white-rump patch at the base of the top-side of the tail (A).  This can lead some to easily confuse Rough-legs with Northern Harriers, which also have a conspicuous white-rump patch.  Lets quick re-cap the two best defining characteristics of most adult males:  1) lack of a well-defined, dark belly band, and  2) more than 1 tail band (sometimes).  Now lets move on to adult females:

Right away we see a difference in Photo 4 from all the previous birds.  This bird has a clearly defined, dark belly band (A), coupled with a single well defined subterminal tail band (B).  These two traits help identify adult female Rough-legs.  Photo 5 is another adult female, where we can again see the dark belly band, along with the single subterminal tail band (C).

Adult females are most often confused with juvenile Rough-legs, which cannot usually be sexed unless you have them in the hand.  This confusion results from the dark belly band  common to both adult females and juveniles.  A juvenile Rough-leg:

The biggest difference between juveniles and adult females is the lack of a well defined tail band in juveniles (A).  We can see in Photo 6 that this bird has a broad, dusky tail band that gradually fades into the rest of the cream colored tail.  Another key characteristic of most juveniles is a general lack of mottling, or markings, on their underwing feathers (B).  To see this more readily, lets compare Photos 4 and 6 side-by-side:

Now lets look at another juvenile that is considerably lighter, and has almost no tail band at all (very light):

Photo 8. Juvenile Rough-Legged Hawk. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

So now you are an expert in aging and sexing Rough-Legged Hawks right?  Well maybe.  As with most things in life, nothing here is absolute.  Some key considerations and difficulties can arise:  1) These are all pictures of birds in flight, and perched birds are often times much harder to age and sex, although the belly band of juveniles and adult females is still conspicuous,  2) There is evidence in the scientific literature (Clark & Bloom 2005) that some adult males can exhibit adult female characteristics (namely a dark belly band, among others) after their first feather molt, so they are still retaining those juvenile belly band feathers while exhibiting other adult traits, and  3) Adult females can often have varying degrees of belly bands, with some showing lighter bellies indicative of adult males, while some can also show more than one tail band!

Hopefully this will be useful to some of you for the remainder of the winter, as Rough-Legs will sometimes stick around on their wintering grounds as late as April/May before heading back to the arctic to breed.  But you can certainly use this guide for next winter!  I’d welcome any and all photos or questions you have on Rough-Legged Hawks.  I personally love seeing the wide-range of plumages this species can show.  Please direct them to my e-mail at neil@wildlensinc.org.  Below are some useful references I have used to help me identify Rough-Legs, and other raptors.

• Wheeler B.K. and W.S. Clark. 2003. A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors. Princeton University Press.
• Liguori J. and D. Sibley. 2005. Hawks from Every Angle: How to Identify Raptors in Flight. Princeton University Press.
• Bechard M.J. and T.R. Swem. 2002. Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• Clark W.S. and P.H. Bloom. 2005. Basic II and Basic III Plumages of Rough-Legged Hawks. Journal of Field Ornithology 76: 83-89.

It is with some sadness that I must admit the purely fun part of my thesis research at Boise State University’s Raptor Biology program is now deceased.  I ask: what could be more enjoyable than standing outside all day counting birds of prey?  Unfortunately the only answer I have for that is writing, writing, and more writing!  Perhaps I am being a bit dramatic, as this is the part of my research experience where I find out exactly what all that  winter raptor data I collected means.  I will continue updating this blog with my research findings, and other fun tidbits (such as a photographic ID to aging and sexing Rough-Legged Hawks!) as they come along.

The Snake River Canyon. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

For those who don’t already know, I will eventually be looking to see how winter raptor numbers have changed in southwest Idaho over the last 20 years, and how these changes have been affected by habitat and climate change.  Until then, here are the raw count totals from November 15, 2011 – February 28, 2012 inside the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area.  And some photographic highlights from the last month and a half!

1. Northern Harrier           205
2. Rough-Legged Hawk     172
3. Golden Eagle                  137
4. Prairie Falcon                  88
5. American Kestrel            58
6. Red-Tailed Hawk             54
7. Ferruginous Hawk           30
8. Bald Eagle                        25
9. Merlin                              1
10. Short-Eared Owl              1
11. Snowy Owl                       1
12. Northern Shrike               1
13. Unidentified Buteo            79
14. Unidentified Falcon           7
15. Unidentified Eagle             3
16. Unidentified Raptor           42

Adult Female Rough-Legged Hawk. Photo by Robert Miller.

Adult Ferruginous Hawk. Photo by Robert Miller.

Juvenile Rough-Legged Hawk and Adult Golden Eagle. Note the size difference. Photo by Yozora Tadehara.

Juvenile Rough-Legged Hawk. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

Neil Paprocki

I am happy to announce that our feature length documentary about California Condors, “Scavenger Hunt” will be premiering on the opening night of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) in Ithaca, NY on Thursday, March 29^th.  Choosing this festival as the site for our premiere screening was an easy decision because of my personal connection with the Finger Lakes region.  I attended Ithaca College as an undergraduate and was dramatically influenced by the films that I saw at FLEFF.  I graduated from Ithaca College with a double major in Environmental Studies and Cinema/Photography, and FLEFF provided me with the opportunity to see exactly how these two interests could be effectively combined.

The Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival is unique among wildlife and environmentally themed festivals in that it places a strong focus on community development.  The films that screen at FLEFF address environmental issues from a uniquely honest perspective that fits very well with our mission at Wild Lens.  Our goal with “Scavenger Hunt” has always been to address the issue of lead poisoning from spent ammunition from the perspective of the hunting community.  We understand that without community support very little can be accomplished, and this is why the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival is the perfect venue for the world premiere of “Scavenger Hunt: An Unlikely Union.”

Matthew Podolsky

** The following is the second of a two part guest blog series written after Wild Lens board member Karen May returned from a 3-week trip to New Zealand **

Janine and I booked our flight to New Zealand in October 2011 and by the time December rolled around, we had only a rental car and a general sense of the track we were going to take on our 16-night journey across both the North and South Islands.  While Janine was armed with a bird book and bird sighting aspirations, my goals for the trip were more geared towards seeing the picturesque New Zealand landscapes, embarking on some adventure trips, and enjoying the friendly culture of the New Zealanders.  Well deliver, New Zealand did.

Wellington, New Zealand. Photo by Karen May.

In just over two weeks, we logged some serious miles (correction, kilometers!) in our Toyota Camry.  We landed in Auckland after an unexpected nearly day-long layover in Fiji.  Bypassing the largest city of New Zealand completely, we spent our 4 days in the North Island in Lake Taupo, Hawkes Bay, and Wellington (the capital).  After ferrying across to Marlborough Sounds in the South Island (where we spent the majority of our time), we spent time in quaint Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park, drove south through the rugged West Coast towards Queenstown, over to Te Anau/Milford Sound, and finally, drove up the east coast from Dunedin to the earthquake-damaged city of Christchurch.   And along the way, we ate more than our fair share of greasy fish & chips, learned the difference between a flat white and long black coffee, camped for several nights in both private ‘holiday parks’ (bonus: showers!) and at more-secluded and picturesque D.O.C. campsites, and even mastered the art of driving on the left side of the road (I know Janine is somewhere out there smirking at our complete inability to learn what side our turn signal was on: our windshield wipers got plenty of use, with or without actual rain).

Kayaking Abel Tasman National Park. Photo by Karen May.

New Zealand, particularly the South Island, is well known as a mecca for adventure sports & adrenaline rushes.  While Janine & I could not muster much desire to bungee jump off a bridge or repel down a tall building, we were able to find plenty of adventures that showcased New Zealand’s stunning beauty.  One highlight was a two-day kayaking tour of Abel Tasman National Park.  Abel Tasman is the stuff of postcards – white sand beaches & clear blue-green water.  During our relaxed paddle, we saw New Zealand’s largest colony of fur seals and plenty of birds (including a wood pigeon that nearly took off my head!), and camped near a beach on a portion of the Abel Tasman Track/Great Walk.  (There are several ‘tracks’ or ‘great walks’ throughout the country that allow you to escape the tourists for about 3 to 5 days, hiking through and camping out in otherwise inaccessible spots.  Had Janine and I started our trip planning early & had more time to travel, this would have been high on our list).  Other notable adventures included hiking on Fox Glacier, jetboating through a river canyon in Queenstown, a boat tour through breathtaking Milford Sound, jumping in various degrees of cold water, and finding various day hikes – Fox River Cave was particular rewarding.  Unfortunately, incessant rain caused us to miss the not-to-miss Tongariro Alpine day hike, but it will be top on our list for the next trip!

As a foodie and wine and beer drinker, I often travel in search of great cuisine.  I knew that New Zealand was not a country to visit for the great food.  British fare – fish and chips, Indian take-outs, as well as pizza – were predominant.  However, we happened upon some wonderful Mediterranean-inspired meals in Wellington, discovered the remarkably delicious & simple breakfast of eggs, bacon (more like ham), roasted tomato & foccacia bread, enjoyed New Zealand’s famous lamb in the form of lamb shank pizza, and in Havelock, devoured two large bowls of green-lipped mussels.  Obviously, as a bit of a wine-o, I planned to taste plenty of New Zealand’s famous Sauvignon Blanc wine.  In the Marlborogh region, Janine allowed me to indulge my fantasy of bicycling to several wineries – and finally on a day of sun!  I was also pleased with the wine in Hawkes Bay – Pinot Noirs and sweet whites, most notably.  Hawkes Bay reminded me a lot of Sonoma, with its rolling hills and smaller wineries.  We even tasted at a cidery – and were pleased to discover that 10:30 am is not too early for a cider buzz, thank you very much; nearly every bar & restaurant had an apple cider on tap.  New Zealand is definitely a country of beer drinkers, and the local brews were also fantastic.

New Zealand Cidery. Photo by Karen May.

I find that when I travel, the one thing that can really make or break a visit to a new country are the people that you meet along the way.  While we met several nice travelers –from US, Israel, England, Germany, and more – it was the Kiwis themselves (on the road themselves or at home) that made us fall in love with this friendly, laid-back country.  By the end of the trip we had a collection of handwritten notes on napkins, from waiter, winery workers, and more – helping us to find scenic shortcuts, campsites not listed in our guidebooks, and the best places for fresh seafood.  Service was always coupled with a smile.  A family of famers in the Otago Peninsula, near Dunedin, were gracious enough to put Janine & I up for a night, take us on a tour of some amazing wildlife on their large parcel of land/private beach – yellow eyed penguins, fur seals, and sea lions, oh my – and even get us a little drunk on gin & tonics.  New Zealanders are clearly proud of their country and are equally proud to share it with tourists, and as a traveler, this attitude was very much noticed and appreciated. And from friendly small-town farmers to cosmopolitan city-dwellers, one thing that remained true for every New Zealander we met – was their complete devotion to their World Cup winning rugby team, the All Blacks!

Milford Sound, New Zealand. Photo by Janine Harris.

Throughout our exciting adventure, Janine & I experienced plenty of travel mishaps, usual ones – flat tires and long flights delays – and New Zealand-specific ones – an earthquake in Christchurch and several bites from the all too friendly South Island sand flies.  But the trip was a winning one and the only regret I have is that we were not able to spend more time to see everything New Zealand had to offer.  Janine & I are already planning a 10 year reunion trip – this time, no shorter than a month (per island!) and we will plan in time enough to reserve our spot on a Great Walk.  Cheers!

Karen May