Hey Y'all!
So, yes, Yosemite. Snow. The rumors you've heard are true. As I was driving up the 120 into Yosemite, the temperature dropped every few hundred feet, the snow on the side of the road became more profuse, and the sky looked extremely daunting. A couple inches of snow welcomed me into Hodgdon Campground, where I managed to set-up camp in one hour of decent weather (it was about 40 degrees) before it started raining/sleeting/snowing/hailing. This combination of appalling cold wetness lasted three days....needless to say I am certain now that my sleeping bag is no longer the 15 degree bag it once was. I have a sleeping bag liner and an additional exterior insulating layer, and I was still cold.... :(
We set-up a banding station in 36 degree weather with a side of pouring rain. 'Twas not pleasant. We decided to take the next rainy day off, and set-up the other sites when we were blessed with slightly better weather, which worked out wonderfully! We banded at Big Meadow (BIME), and Hodgdon Meadow (HODG - Upper and Lower) and had decent numbers given the circumstances. We had to close half of our nets at Big Meadow due to wind, so had fewer birds. HODG gave us 42 birds one day, including a Savannah Sparrow (SAVS) and Ruby-crowned Kinglet (RCKI)...I'm thinking maybe they are late migrants? Or they might be staying low for the breeding season because of the cold up north? I'm excited to see what the rest of the season brings us :) Last season's Period 3 numbers at HODG were much lower than they were this year. I'm hoping this bodes well for the season, but have no idea if this is a true precursor or just a lucky day in the field! We'll have to wait and see! We heard some Red Crossbills at HODG....I know they're up high...but MAN, would that be an awesome bird to have in hand!
We made some wonderful friends during those sad rainy days. An Interpretive Park Ranger came across my crew and I huddled under a leaky tarp, cooking dinner in the pouring rain. Taking pity on us, he invited us to his home for some homemade brewskies (which were delicious!), some warmth/shelter, and some first class socializing with his roommies. Ranger Jeff even left us some lentil stew one night, still warm, in our bear box. We have never been so grateful :) Another Park Interpretive Ranger came out to help us with set-up and is working relatively close to our campsite. Nice southern gentleman :) He will be visiting us out in the field one day this upcoming period to see what we do. The Seasonal Biologist working for the park this summer will be coming out banding with us at least one day per period and is also quite a chill bird nerd who fits in just dandy with us 'bird folk.' He's got great experience under his belt and is incredibly informative about birds and local events in and around the Park :) We have already attended a small local music festival, which was more like a hippie community jam session in someone's backyard, but it was still awesome. We also have a Black-backed Woodpecker crew we had a training and some Point-Count crews that will be coming in and out of the Park all summer. We just had a night in the Valley with them :) Fun times :) I feel like we're actually going to have a sense of community this summer :) Yes, cute.
We have a lot of net repair ahead of us this week, as our nets did not get repaired last year (I was here, I would know). Hah, so that's what we have to look forward to on our days off this period. We might do some hiking around Hetch-Hetchy as well, and hit the Valley on a hot day to hike to Yosemite Falls and get drenched, but only after we've earned it! Net repair is our priority!
Tonight, we cook a feast for Ranger Jeff and his roommies :)
Tomorrow, adventures of net repair!
Hugs,
Erin
No comments:
Post a Comment