While we at Ecostudies Institute primarily work on birds, I had the opportunity to attend a week-long workshop about the other group of fascinating, flying creatures: Bats! Many of the same technical challenges of monitoring bird also aggravate and perplex bat biologists. Their flight, for example, makes them difficult to catch or track. I was [...]
Some days, it pays to be a bird biologist… …especially when you get to fly! As the biologist who is responsible for the Estuary Restoration Project surveys, I had the very great pleasure of being able to take to the skies in the name of science last week. In my day-to-day responsibilities, which are decidedly [...]
What’s that in the sky? A bird? A plane? No! It’s a bat! Specifically Myotis californicus, otherwise known as the California Bat. While I am still working in Skagit County for Ecostudies Institute in as the Estuary Restoration Project technician, I am aslso “moonlighting” as a bat technician for Rochelle Kelly, a University of Washington [...]
Washington Estuary technician, Leah Rensel, checking in! It’s been a while, folks, and I’ve been drowning in datasheets instead of tromping around outside this summer. As the fall approaches, I am once again in the field and just in time for the fall migration. I’m excited to see the occasional Broad-winged Hawk or Rough-legged Hawk that [...]
We have concluded our final surveys! The mud has been cleaned off, the gear repaired and inventoried, and the alarm clock reset to a time after sunrise. Our citizen science project is still running, but as technician, it is time for me to transition from an “outside” biologist to a “inside” biologist. 5:03 a.m. [...]
One of the joys of working in the Pacific Northwest is the opportunity to work with other enthusiastic bird nerds. When I explain to laypeople that I work with birds, I am mostly met with confusion or, better yet, the “Can You Identify This Bird Based On Vague Descriptions” game. But there is a special [...]
Do you like bird watching? How about mucking around outdoors? Do you have a pair of boots, a set of optics, and a desire to help avian conservation? Well, we have an opportunity for you! We are looking for volunteer citizen scientists to assist with breeding bird surveys at Leque Island this spring. Ecostudies Institute has [...]
In Washington, the stretch of I-5 freeway between Seattle and Bellingham has a few major metropolises. Most people won’t stop on their way between these two cities, particularly when many of the smaller historic towns are several miles off the beaten path. But I’m here to tell you about what these people are missing when [...]