Not really, but he touched it!! While I was sitting in it with my crew mates waiting for the temp to go anywhere above 36!! I know, the excitement is overwhelming, but this actually happened about 3 weeks ago. I've been that terrible about updating this thing! Sorry! The bear was a very black cute little yearling, I was eating my breakfast, very frightened that he would smell my apple and try to get it by smashing his way through my car! But when he noticed there were people sitting in the car, he took a few startled steps backwards (which was adorable!), realized we weren't going to chase him, then sniffed/touched my bumper before wandering off, in his little bear wobble, up towards our banding station. We haven't seen him since.
We gained access to Crane Flat (CRFL) and Gin Flat (GFEM), two of our higher elevation sites and have banded at CRFL multiple times, GFEM only once. White Wolf, our highest elevation site, remains inaccessible and the water table is going to be an issue this year because of the massive snow melt. Yay. We'll check on it again later this week since the forecast is in the 90's - hopefully there will be enough melt for us to get up there this Period!
CRFL has been our best site yet in terms of numbers. Even with fewer net hours, we've maintained the same capture rates as last year, even surpassing them by a handful of individuals. This has been surprising since the snow melt is worse this year than last! Another surprise: we caught 50 birds today at HODG - no banding period brought such high numbers last year at this site. NONE. So many HY Song Sparrows as well, which is surprising because we hardly caught that many adults. Most of them were LISP's (Lincoln's Sparrows)...so, this begs the question: does the P5-P9 measurement really hold true? Are all of these really SOSP's?? I don't know =\
We've had some new species this period as well : ) Lesser Goldfinches, Lawrences Goldfinches, Acorn Woodpeckers, a Brewer's Blackbird, 3 Mountain Quail(!!!!!), and a few Selasphorus Hummingbirds (FINALLY!). We've found lots of nests too, which has been really exciting! We've found a White-headed Woodpecker and Williamson Sapsucker nest cavity, a Spotted Towhee nest, Oregon Junco nest, Black-headed Grosbeak nest, Western Wood-Pewee nest, and an Anna's Hummingbird nest! So far it looks like the Anna's has been successful, the Towhee's been predated (boo), and we'll check on the Junco tomorrow and the Grosbeak and Pewee the following day. Here's hoping we see babies!!! :) We've started to catch a lot of Hatch Year's now as well, which is partly why our numbers are higher than before. Many sparrows, Oregon Junco's, Nashville Warblers and Orange-crowned Warblers so far. Oh! And a Black Phoebe and American Robin :)
Another bear story: when we were setting up our banding station at Gin Flat we came across two huge black bears!!! They were far away, grazing in the middle of the meadow when we came out to the forests edge. One ran into the woods as soon as he caught wind of us (yes, that's how bad we smell). He was so enormous I thought he was standing and sniffing the air in the woods when he was actually still on all fours....their paw prints are the size of my feet. It's AWESOME. We haven't seen them again...but hopefully we will! :)
Now, more of a personal update: being the Biologist is exhausting. I really enjoy it, but this is my first season, only after ONE breeding season of banding. I don't exactly know what I'm doing some of the time! I've made some mistakes recently and you all know how hard I can be on myself when that happens, so those days were fun. But, for the most part, I think I'm doing a good job. Whenever I review data, I make a point to mention to my interns where I found mistakes so they don't happen again. I also try to have a meeting each Period to discuss some of our most frequently caught birds or to discuss something new that we experienced that Period (a new species, or Hatch Years and Skulling). It also gives my interns a chance to ask questions if they're confused about anything. Those meetings seem to be a big help and my interns appreciate it. Bird songs are still something we're learning, although I can say with certainty that we've all learned a lot since the beginning of the season and aren't in bad shape! ;) So, overall it seems I'm doing a'ight as the Biologist.
We've gone to a couple of concerts (of course) since I last wrote and have continued socializing with Park Rangers and going to Taco Night. It's been a lot of fun! Bands that have stuck in my mind are The Littlest Birds and The Brothers Comatose. Check 'em out! Another experience to write home about was the MOON BOW (a rainbow made by moon light!) in Yosemite Valley at the foot of Lower Yosemite Falls. It was beautiful....and totally worth the late night shower. hah.
There might be some bird nerd romance going on too.... :) That's all I'm gonna say. If you want to know more, ask.
I will upload a few pics and write more another day soon! I have so much more to tell you, but will end here!
Hugs and Bird Nerd Love,
Erin
