A different kind of assignment today

Intern Katie and I headed out this morning on a dual assignment for the refuge complex hunt biologist. 

Notice Mount Shasta above my head.  Not much smoke around today.

We had to go to the Oregon section of the Lower Klamath NWR to install these signs at entrance roads.  There were about a dozen access sites to the refuge, and the signs needed to be put up to keep Oregon goose hunters out.  We had brought some poles along, but luckily, we didn’t need to pound any in.  Empty stakes were available at all of our stops. 

The area we covered was about 10 sq. miles which was divided up into around 25 half mile square sections.  That was the second part of our assignment.  We had to survey each of those 25 sections and determine for the biologist whether they were Pasture, Grain, or Fallow.  The sections on both sides of this road were obviously G.  As you can see, the roads were not paved, and this is an example of one of the better ones.  We were very careful on some of the two track lanes so that the growth in between the lanes didn’t catch fire as the truck brushed through it.  Don’t need any more wildfires around this area!

Ha Ha!  Give two women power tools, and we felt like “Charlie’s Angels”.  Out to defend our nation’s wildlife. 

Our ‘missions’ were accomplished by early afternoon, and Katie even got a good look at her first ever black-crowned night heron.  Now this was a fun assignment.  Sure beats sitting in the VC!

I’ll be back out on Thursday morning to do the weekly bird survey.  You can bet I’ll be borrowing that 600mm lens again!  In the meantime, I’ll leave you tonight with a picture vignette from last Thursday:

                                              Parent western grebe about to take care of its young.

                                                                           Where’s junior?

                                                                 Did Dad catch my lunch?

                                                     Oh boy, I’d better get over there fast!

                                                                             Here I come!

                                                                              Thanks Dad!

                                         Okay, now I have to figure out what to do with this fish.

                                                                                 Gulp!

                 Like father, like son.  (or it could have been like mother, like daughter.  Who knows?)

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy