PCCI Research Day 3

On Tuesday morning, I headed out for the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute. Work would not start for a few days, so I had planned to explore the property over the course of these two days. After moving in, I started walking the trails. Conditions were not the best and the rain started not long after. Even so, it did not stop me from exploring. I walked a good portion of the trails (about 3.5 miles) and was soaked in the process. It was a productive walk though. I saw Veery and Cerulean Warbler. Later in the day we all went to a sports bar for trivia. We almost won... The next day I joined the rattlesnake team to collect Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes. After three hours of searching in dense wetlands, we found five rattlesnakes, two of which were found by me. That night, my research partner and I headed over to some fields east of the institute and saw Henslow's Sparrow, Bobolink, and Eastern Meadowlark. Unfortunately the Institute property only has Song Sparrow, Field Sparrow, and Common Yellowthroat. Today we helped out with the Garlic Mustard pull until Dr. Keys came by. Once he went over a few things we started our point count survey training. The toughest part about that, is that you need to determine if the bird is singing within 50 meters of your point. It is much harder than it sounds. Property list is at 69 birds, 7 reptiles and amphibians, and 5 mammals. I'll keep you posted.

 The first rattlesnake was a male in very dense phragmites stand.

 The second one, was in a much better photography position.

 Same one

This little neonate was found by another in our group, but I thought I'd show you how small these guys are at first.

This is me with the second rattler

Pre - PCCI (Pierce Cedar Creek Insitute) Research

On April 16, we had our orientation at the PCCI. Overall, there are 18 students who received grants for research or art. We will all be living in the same house, so things will be packed. It was a very nice day at the institute and I met a lot of people. There will be a few researchers studying Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes, so I hope I will be able to tag along with them sometime in the summer. After orientation, Michael Hindy, Dr. Keys, and I did our first vegetation measurement at the PCCI grasslands. Using a Robel Pole, we measured the vertical density of the vegetation.

Since then we have been gathering our equipment for the summer. I now have the GPS, rangefinder, keys, point count forms, compass, and other gear items to get started. Today we had planned to take more measurements of the vegetation at the Gerald R. Ford airport and a field in Hastings, but final permissions have not yet been given. Unfortunately, it sets us back a whole week.

Because of today's lack of field work, I decided to go to the Luton Park prairie to see what was there. Luton Park is one of the possible locations to add to our research. It was a productive trip. 5 of our 10 target species were present. I saw Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, and Field Sparrows.

Our research will officially begin on May 12. It has been taking its time in coming, but school is almost done... there is still hope.

A New Year

Hello there, its been a while. Obviously I'm not good with this whole blogging thing. I don't keep it up to date, and I apologize for that (If anyone is actually reading this). The last I wrote here was my plannings to go to the Peruvian Amazon. I have not changed in my determination to go there, but I believe it may take a while longer than I had hoped. I've been busy between college and work, and have only been able to gather a little under $500 for the trip. Hopefully, with continued saving, I will be able to finally make it in a few years from now. Fixing problems on my car have made a dent in the Amazon savings.

2015 ended well. In the spring I went with my family to California. I had a chance to see many new birds including White-headed Woodpecker, American Dipper, Hermit Warbler, Brandt's Cormorant, Heerrmann's Gull, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and many others. In the summer I was able to go on a mission trip to Russia. That was a really awesome experience. I even was able to get a dozen life birds as well. They included Eurasian Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Eurasian Jackdaw, White Wagtail, European Robin, and a few others. In the fall I started my first full-time semester at Cornerstone University. The semester went pretty well, but I wasn't able to get much birding in.

Now that 2016 has come around, new opportunities have taken center stage. I was hoping this summer to start working in the field I was going to school for. I've been a line cook at a local restaurant for a couple years, and have been itching to start gaining experience in wildlife biology. Fortunately, an opportunity has come. This summer I will be a research associate at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute. I will be spending the summer researching how vegetation affects grassland bird biodiversity and nesting success. The target species of study will be Henslow's Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, and Upland Sandpiper. It won't be final until the grant proposal has been accepted, but chances are high that it will. I am looking forward to May, and am praying that this spring semester goes by quickly.

Once the summer research begins, I will try to make a post every week with photos and maps describing our work. It will be my first paid research position, and I will make the most of it.

Preparation Update

I just purchased a used Garmin eTrex 20 GPS for almost half the normal price. It works well and is almost brand new. I also found my machete to add to the list of gear items that I already have. On Thursday, I will be submitting an application for a passport, hopefully it will come by April. As of now the target date for the trip is the summer of 2016.

Preparation

I'm starting to plan my trip to the Amazon. I have just purchased field guides that I will need.

Birds of Peru: Princeton Field Guide
Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon: an Ecotourist's Guide
Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: a Field Guide

My next step will be getting a passport and possibly a handheld GPS. Other items to be purchased include a headlamp, rain pants, rubber boots, field shirt, machete, extra camera batteries and memory, DEET, Lifestraw water filter, and iPhone Lifeproof case. In addition, I will also try to learn more Spanish from my co-workers, along with research survival tips. I have decided that the Peruvian Amazon will be my destination, because of the ecosystem diversity, and the possibility of new species discoveries. The next decision is whether to go to Iquitos or Cusco; Picaya Samiria National Preserve or Manu Biosphere Reserve. I'd like to join a real research expedition, but I have not found one yet, so it may be that I'll be just a tourist. One may show up though because it may be a couple years till I'll have the funds to proceed.

A quick side note: I forgot to mention in my last post, that in May I will be going with my family to California for my brothers master degree graduation. We will then visit my grandparents, and that means we will be stopping at Yosemite!

2015

Okay so, its been a while. I never got around to making a post of my roadtrip to the U.P., and I apologize for my laziness. I had a good trip and got two new life birds; Sharp-tailed Grouse and Evening Grosbeak. In addition, I saw Moose, Pine Marten, and Boreal Chickadee. In August, I saw a Short-billed Dowitcher at the Muskegon Wastewater. In December, I found my first ever Snow Goose at Versluis Lake. I ended my 2014 Michigan State list at 222 species, and my Kent County list at 174.

Now 2015 has come. I had planned a Cannon Township big year, but I have not been diligent with it at all. I am at 30 species, when I hoped to be around 45 by the end of this month. This is my last semester of high school, and I will finish with 33 college credits. In "celebration" of finishing, I am in the process of planning a backpacking trip somewhere in the U.P. with a few friends in June. Furthermore, I would like to further pursue the reality of going to the Amazon Rainforest, which has been a dream of mine. I will be saving money starting now to actual go there in the near future. As you see on the right of the page, I have set up a "gofundme" page if anyone would like to help me in my quest to explore the most bio-diverse place on the planet.

JUNE

Of all the months, June is my favorite. Specialty breeding birds, warm weather, sunny days, etc.. I was able to assist the tour guide for the Pre and Post birding tour for Cerulean Warbler Weekend. Outside of those two days of birding, I have not been able to get out much. I made a few trips to Siedman Park and the Cannonsburg SGA, which gave me Acadian Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, and the second ever (known) Prairie Warbler and Blue-winged Warbler hybrid. The Pre-event Tour was on June 5 and started at the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary. I had my life Yellow-billed Cuckoo there.  Soon after, we had good looks at the Cerulean Warbler. Later in the day, we headed over to the Allegan SGA. We had Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, Dickcissel, and many others. Our total for the day was 73 species. The Post-event tour was on June 9. The day before, I saw a Olive-sided Flycatcher at Otis Farm. On the June 9 trip, we had Red-headed Woodpecker, Prothonotary Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Worm-eating Warbler. The tally for the day was 80 species. I have found 32 of Michigan's 37 warblers. All that is left is Connecticut, Yellow-throated, Prairie, Kentucky, and Yellow-breasted Chat. I do not think I will make it to 200 species for the county or get all the warblers now. In July I am attending a Botanical Foray in Houghton, Michigan. I will bird on the way up and hope for Black Tern, Evening Grosbeak, Le Conte's Sparrow, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Spruce Grouse, Connecticut Warbler, Yellow Rail, Western Fox Snake, Mink Frog, Boreal Chickadee, and Black-backed Woodpecker. I will be lucky and happy if I get 20% of that list. If anyone has good locations for those species, let me know. So far I have Pike Lake for BBWO, Seney NWR, for YERA/mink frog, Munuscong SWA for LCSP/STGR, Tahquamenon for SPGR, Peshekee grade for BOCH, FS 3344 for COWA, Houghton Lake for BLTE, and Hartwick Pines for EVGR.

 Hooded Warbler

 American Redstart

 Prairie x Blue-winged Warbler Hybrid

 Wild Lupine

 Hooded Warbler

 Red-eyed Vireo

 Yellow-throated Vireo

 Cerulean Warbler

 Common Loon

 Bobolink

 Grasshopper Sparrow

 Common Snapping Turtle

 Olive-sided Flycatcher

 Blue Flag Iris

 Distant Prothonotary Warbler

 Red-headed Woodpecker

 Dickcissel

 Louisiana Waterthrush

 Eastern Hognose Snake

Different Eastern Hognose Snake

Michigan Year List: 210 Species

Kent County Year List: 163 Species