Desert Horned Lizard! (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)

I could not resist catching a horned lizard the other day while out tracking female grouse. He was quick but I was able to snatch him up when he was running between the sage brush cover. There have been other lizards around the Butte Valley as well, this was the first one that I have hand caught. Apparently they get Great Basin Rattlesnakes here, I've been looking out for them when I am out hiking through the sage. 

Mid-April Update

It is the end of my trapping season! Although there is still 2 GPS backpacks to put out, I have officially finished my spotlighting and trapping sage-grouse career and have moved onto the next stage of the project, tracking radio collared females and finding hens with nests (I will post some pictures later of me conducting radio telemetry). I have not found any nests yet and the birds that I have been tracking are still moving around the Butte Valley. I have already started to miss heading out at night with a long pole or a spotlight backpack hiking up and down hills and looking for grouse but I am glad to switch back to a daytime work schedule.

Cushion Phlox

Goat skeleton

After hours of roaming the sage brush in search of grouse, it
feels great to net and collar a hen!

Last week we had 4 straight days of snow! There was not a lot of accumulation but it was crazy to see so much snow falling. Driving on the frozen highway in near whiteout condition was an experience, so was changing a flat tire on the side of the highway after a long night of trapping. Nevertheless, as a Texas boy I was always impressed by the light, fluffy frozen precipitation. 

Illipah Reservoir

Frozen campground

Snow at the trailer

Lek counting

How many can you see?

Hens wanted

We caught our first hen of the season!

The primary objective for trapping in the springtime is to radio collar female sage-grouse. This is used along with radio telemetry to follow and monitor the hen as she is nesting and raising her chicks. The area that I am working in, called the SWIP is notorious for being hard to capture males and females. During this time of year, the hens are even harder to find and net compared to males because they do not roost near leks at night like the males and are more inclined to be more cautious and flush from further away. No female had been caught in the SWIP in the springtime since 2011. After a week of trapping we had only managed to capture 4 males and rarely have seen hens. The other crews on other field sites in Nevada had already managed to fill their quota of hens. That is why I was so proud to net my first hen on Tuesday night! She was a calm girl and did not flush when we approached. My crew lead and I were running up to it when John missed with his net gun, I quickly threw the long pole net and jumped on her. Hens are much smaller and docile compared to males. She was a sweetheart and did not try to peck at me while I was fitting the radio collar on her neck or taking her measurements. She was quickly processed and released.

Update: Since our first hen our crew has been able to capture three more females, including a feisty one who managed to escape out of the clutches of my crew leader. As of 4/01, John and I have caught 6 females including a time where we caught and processed 3 females in one night! In total our crew has captured and collared or fitted GPS backpacks on 15 females in the SWIP. 

Caught a hen! notice the radio collar around her neck

Snow in NV

It’s cold in Nevada.

I am not a person that can usually deal with cold temperatures. I'm from Texas, its hot there. I can always enjoy an ice-cold beer or ice cream but that’s probably where my affection ends. Working all night during the coldest part of the day and then returning to my tent I am slowly being conditioned to deal with it, with minimal complaining. Temperatures the past couple of weeks have been hovering around 15-30 degrees. My field crew and I actually look forward to the 30 degree temperatures now.

Here are some examples of how cold it is:

-I can see ice crystals forming in my water bottle in real time.

·        - My skin and hands are permanently ashy and cracked. My lips are crazy chapped.

·        - Hiking in snow flurries. (Yes, it’s been done several times already. It sucks walking against the wind and being pelted in the face with frozen precip, wish I had a formidable beard for face protection.)

·        - Frozen foods: lettuce, milk, coffee, eggs, fruit and condiments. (I had to keep my mustard bottle in my pocket to thaw it out before eating hot dogs.)

·        - Layers. When going out to trap at night I essentially double in size due to the amount of cold weather clothes that I am wearing. This is a new record for me. At night I typically wear: two pairs of thick wool socks; bottom: thermal pants, sweat pants, field pants, sometimes rain pants; top: thermal shirt or long johns, long sleeve, soft shell jacket, hoodie, fleece, thick winter jacket; head: my Sherpa hat, a scarf, jacket hats; and a pair of gloves.

·     -   Baby wipes- which I use for wiping my hands and ‘camp showering’ comes out in frozen strips.

·     - Patches of snow still on the ground on hillsides and under trees, weeks after the last snowfall. When it does melt, everything gets muddy.  

·    -     My socks get wet. And sometimes they start to stink. 

But it all makes up for it when you get to build an awesome 6 foot tall SNOWMAN!

Frozen campsite

My tent on the right, covered in snow!

Taking a peek outside

I made a snowfriend!

He was definitely taller than me

Explored an old house in the snow

All smiles even despite the cold temps

Alas, all good things must end