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.
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| Cushion Phlox |
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| Goat skeleton |
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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.
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| Illipah Reservoir |
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| Frozen campground |
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| Snow at the trailer |
The grouse appears to be grinning.
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