Back to the woods 18 April 2002 Hello again! Well, I'm back in New Mexico for another summer of owl watching. I've been out here since the 29th of March. The last few months have been pretty hectic getting ready for the field season and still trying to get last year's report done. Luckily, I've had some help. Right after last year's field season Ann (my boss) hired Chris to help out with the acoustical portion of the data. She also hired Tina to work on her Killer Whale project (there was a baby orca born a few months ago and another is due in about a month or so). Although Tina doesn't work on the owl project, the three of us share an office and we get along great which makes work go a lot easier. Anyways, Chris and I drove out here together the end of March. Since both of us have not-so-big cars, we took Ann's personal truck (she always gets a rental for the summer out here). Camp's set up pretty much like last year...food tent, fridge truck, office trailers and then everyone's personal tents spread out over the nearby area. I got a new tent this year. Well, it belongs to the project, but it's mine for the summer. I can actually stand up in it, which is so much nicer. Getting dressed on your back for four months is not fun. :) We arrived a few days before the official start of the season so there was time to get settled and meet the new field people that were also there early. There are a few returning people, but most of the field crew is new. I'm working with the behavior crew again, but also still keeping track of all the incoming data. We went through two weeks of training at the start of the season. Wilderness First Aid and CPR (i.e. how to get someone with a broken leg out of the backcountry using duct tape and a stick), safe driving training (which was a joke because the instructor was a 4-wheeling off-roader who basically taught us how to drive the 4x4 F250s in ways that will get us fired), orienteering (how to get yourself lost with a map and compass), tree climbing (more on that later), and of course spotted owl training, which is always interesting to see how the owls react to a group of about 10 people invading their areas. Our group went to the pair of owls that I ended up studying last year for behavior work, and it looks like they are nesting (knock on wood!!). Actually, we've found a few possible nests so far, so the prospects for owlets is much better than in years past. We think it's due to the rainy season from last year. Basically, rain = small mammals in the forest (mice, etc.) = owl food = baby owls. And while on the phone last night I saw a field mouse run through the circus tent. While that's probably terrifying for most, it's actually a really good sign out here. :) Tree climbing training! A group of people got trained to climb trees so that once we find the nests, we can set up a camera in a nearby tree to monitor them. So for two days I learned how to set a line into a tree and hoist myself up about 30 feet (that was about the highest I got). It was so much fun, but oh I'm still sore! And the bruises on my legs!! But it was worth it, especially when (not if!!) we find nests. The last thing we did in tree climbing was to simulate setting up the camera system. So in groups of 4 we all got assigned a job (tree climber, computer person, and two ground crew that worked between climber and computer). I got to go up the tree, but unfortunately the plan we had figured out on the ground didn't work once I was up into the branches. It was a little scary for a while (don't worry, I was still strapped in), but we all had to do some quick thinking. Basically, I ended up straddling the branch I was supposed to be standing on and setting up the camera there. Even though you're strapped in, your body has been trained to freak out and think you're going to fall. Needless to say, I had a death grip on the branch with my legs...which is where most of my bruises came from. :) We've already had a bit of a scare this year. It's been so warm and dry that forest fires are a big concern. Chuck (the camp logistics manager) won't let us have a campfire, which makes for some interesting evenings...everyone sitting around the gas heater. There was a forest fire started about the time we arrived (maybe a little earlier) down in the wilderness areas of the Gila. It spread quickly and by the middle of the first week, was about 4-6 miles from camp. We were all on evacuation status, which only helped to make us more jumpy. Because I'm part of the supervisor team out here (albeit, still low on that totem pole), I was told on Wednesday of the first week that we were going to have to evacuate. So I quickly, quietly went to my tent and grabbed some stuff and tossed it into my pack. Turned out that the sheriff was overreacting a bit and we didn't have to leave after all. The same thing happened the day after too, but we ended up not leaving again. Everyone was pretty edgy, but we had the weekend off. Ann and Chris and I to make an errand run to Albuquerque for the weekend, and we were glad to leave camp. Because the fire was still raging pretty good then, we basically took all of our stuff except for our tents with us to Albuquerque just in case. Luckily for everyone, it rained and snowed all weekend and only a bit of the fire was left. Albuquerque was fun, even though it was all errands. Showers and real beds are always appreciated. It hasn't really rained since that weekend, and there's been no snow either. Looks like it's going to be a very warm season. I can't complain though. Now we're in the swing of things. Noise team is setting up and servicing the sound level meters. Survey team is busy searching for owls. And me, I'm stuck in the office trailer attempting to get this data collection thing as easy as possible so I can spend time in the field. The beginning of the season is always a little difficult. Camp itself is still as posh as last year. Yes, I sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor, but we have a refrigerator, showers with warm (and sometimes hot) water, electricity, phones, computers, internet (really, really slow internet). There are a lot of people out here this year so we have to be careful about our water supply. It only gets filled once a week and the new people seemed to think that since there were showers, they could shower everyday. Well, that idea got dispelled pretty quickly, thank goodness. We do have a "public" phone in camp this year, aside from the office phone and fax lines. There is a pay phone about 2 miles down the road (I know, it's still weird), but they had a separate line installed in the circus tent (the rec tent, which looks like a small circus big top tent) for anyone to use. So, if anyone is dying to talk to me in person, you can call me. And we can get mail too. Send all those great care packages. I hope you are all doing well! Love and sunshine, Stefanie ;) top of page letters from camp