Last intern update

Hello Everyone!
We just finished our last week up at Hi Mountain on Wednesday! We ended the year
with all of the interns up at the lookout for the last few days together. It was
a little squished with all 6 of us hanging out in the lookout but we were in
great company.
I will keep this update short as I am sure most of you will be up at the lookout
for open house. We will be rehashing our research experiences up there for all
to hear!
We got some great pictures on our wildlife camera this week including a
California Thrasher, Gray Fox and a Black Bear (that somewhat resembled
sasquatch, it had just rolled around in the creek and was soaking wet)! Grace
should be emailing out pictures soon.
Final P. boylii count: 10 speciminesFinal Dipodomes spp. count: 4 specimines
We are now working on entering/correcting data which will take a couple of
weeks.
Thank you all for reading the updates this summer and I hope to see you all at
open house!
-Hannah

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Field Research Projects

Hello all,
This morning Los Padres wildlife biologist Kevin Cooper and I accompanied two of
the Hi Mountain Cal Poly student interns 2.5 miles along the Trout Creek trail
to one of their study plots within the Garcia Mountain Wilderness Area in Los
Padres National Forest. Ashley and Natalie checked the 15 small mammal
live-trapping stations within the study plot and came up with two newly captured
Brush Mice and one recaptured, ear-tagged Pinyon Mouse (what big ears they
have!). The interns weighed, recorded body length, tail and ear measurements,
ear-tagged and released the mice, then moved on to the next set of live-traps
within the study plot. Kevin and I enjoyed watching the interns at work,
observing the field techniques and their enthusiasm for the rigors of field work
-making long hikes in rough terrain to set up the live-traps in the evening and
rechecking the traps again early the next morning. We appreciate the efforts of
all the 5 student interns and volunteers working at Hi Mountain Lookout this
summer.

I posted photos of today's outing at the Hi Mountain Lookout Facebook page, at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332<https://www.f\
acebook.com/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332>
A nice view of Hi Mountain Lookout was seen on the summit in the distance.

Steve Schubert

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Intern Update Weeks 7 and 8

Hi Everyone!
We have just completed out 8th week up at Hi Mountain and have several updates
to share.

In these past two weeks, both groups have been spending their time in a mixture
of oak woodland and chaparral plots. The chaparral plots are proving to be
extremely different from one another...depending on location a plot may be
extremely diverse (even harbor a few Dipodomys spp.) or extremely bland as far
as small mammal species go. This week our group trapped in chaparral plot #8,
which should be named "woodrat heaven". Although this plot had an extremely low
trap success, more than 50% of the animals we did catch were Neotoma macrotis
(dusky-footed woodrat). It was fun to practice holding those little fluff balls
that sound amazingly like doggie chew-toys when they are picked up. FUN FACT
(from Grace Mannell): It is rumored that Walt Disney modeled Mickey Mouse after
a woodrat he found in his back yard!

Last week we trapped in two special locations: 1) the long-awaited burned plot
and 2) a very interesting oak woodland plot that seems to have transitioned more
into chaparral in recent years. Both plots were incredibly different than
anything we have trapped in before. The burned plot harbored a great variety of
species (Peromyscus maniculatus, Peromyscus truei, Peromyscus californicus,
Neotoma macrotis, Chaetodipus californicus and Reithrodontomys megalotis) but
unfortunately not any Dipodomys species. The chaparral/oak woodland plot also
harbored the same list of species in addition to Peromyscus boylii (we brought a
sample home), Dipodomes venustus and potentially Dipodomys hermannii. We were
not able to collect the Dipodomys species (because they were not caught on the
last day of trapping) but this information will be useful to future interns who
will use high-density trapping strategies in places where we have found
kangaroo-rat presence.

Camera Update: We have now had our camera up for two whole weeks! The first week
was quite uneventful...400 pictures of willow leaves and maybe one or two of a
song sparrow examining our cat food bait in a confused manner. This week was
much more exciting (after we got rid of the troublesome leaves): squirrels,
chipmunks, bobcats, birds, raccoons (which was exciting- at first glance they
look a lot like ringtails which are also in the Procyonidae family) and of
course, the classic pictures of us crawling around trying to make sure the
camera works. To top off all of the wildlife pictures, a brown tree frog covered
the lens of the camera when it was checked (yielding a few comical brown-smudgy
pictures of frog belly). Grace will be sending out exciting pictures in the next
week or so.

We had an eventful visit from Kevin Cooper and Steve Schubert on Monday. Grace
and Andrew had the privilege of working with them throughout the day to get
ready for open house and had lovely discussions on the lookout history and
geography of Hi Mountain and surrounding areas (I was playing hooky- backpacking
along the Carson River, but ended up meeting with everyone at the end of the
day).

One more last thing, we found a Giant Desert Scorpion milling about the floor of
the lookout JUST as we were about to fall asleep on Monday night. What a
surprise! Luckily, we were able to catch it and filled a nice little tupperware
with rocks and sand and fed it crickets that Ninja Andrew caught by hand! It is
rumored that Grace might keep it as a pet.Grace- "I think I really like scary
animals"Hannah- "Only when they are confined within tupperware"Grace- "Haha
that's SO true"
That's all for now!
-Hannah

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pinnacles trip

Hi all,

Here is a little update from our trip to Pinnacles National Monument.
Working with Pinnacles intern Jess, four of us interns at the Hi
Mountain Lookout were able to explore the flight pen/release site and
practice telemetry while consistently picking up signals. We also saw
two condors with one flying right over head! It was a very successful
and educational trip and we all wished that the whole troop could've
gone to enjoy the sites with us. Here's a photo of condor #190 that
flew over head. Here is a public facebook link in case the photo is
not visible.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2207464395995.2131902.1528989704&l=e28d\
f31815&type=1

Have a great weekend!

Andrew Ruddock

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week 5 and 6 update

Hi Everyone,

We are officially six weeks in to our Hi Mountain
internship, and as Dr. V says “still on a learning curve” (which is a good
thing). We have gotten our hands on so much more knowledge this week!

As many of you know, we took our intern trip to Pinnacles
National Monument last Thursday to practice telemetry, see their “cool condor
equipment,” drill the senior field tech with every condor question imaginable
and hopefully see a REAL LIVE CONDOR. Well, all of these things happened (and I
will leave the condor story for Andrew to tell…he is planning on emailing
everyone about this experience as well as adding a photo to the facebook
gallery).

This week, our Sunday through Wednesday group trapped in the
chaparral for the first time. What a cool spot (once the trails are made and
the GPS points are found)! We had some great diversity in our plot this week:
Neotoma lepida, Neotoma macrotis, Peromyscus truei, Peromyscus californicus,
Chaeotodipus californicus, Dipodomes heermanni (potentially) and Dipodomes
venustus. We were all very excited to get a potential Dipodomes heermanii
because it would greatly increase the range of the species.

We also obtained camera equipment from Kevin Cooper as well
as my bio-geek dad (who has wildlife cameras installed all over our 3 acre back
yard in Atascadero) who was generous enough to let us borrow one of his
precious toys. We installed one of the cameras in a rocky outcrop bordering a
riparian area about a mile or so up the road from the fire station. Last night
we baited the camera with canned cat food and checked it in the morning to make
sure it was functioning properly. We pulled out the memory card and found some
lovely shots of ourselves crawling in front of the camera imitating ring-tailed
cats. So far there have not been any wildlife sightings in the camera, but we
know it is working! The Thursday through Sunday group will be in charge of the
other camera, so we will have double-duty wildlife monitoring 24-7!

Thanks to Marcelle, we have found the adapter for the
headphones that fit the telonics equipment. If any of you receive the telemetry
data, you may have noticed that our group picked up about twice as many signals
as we usually do. This is most likely due to our now-functioning headphones
(and our new-found inspiration to track condors after seeing one last week),
thanks again Marcelle!

Yet another adventure that I must mention here is our trip
to the burned chaparral plot. We purposely decided to sample an area that had
recently burned to see if small mammal species in this area differ from
non-burn areas. We had some lovely directions from Dr. V “hmmm…..well, it is
about 2-3 miles down the ridge road on the left.” So we got in the jeep on
Monday and simply drove around looking for a “burned chaparral” area, not
really knowing what to expect. Once we saw it, it was obvious…at exactly 2.3
miles down the ridge road was a wasteland of what one could only discern as
Manzanita skeletons. Their charred, grotesque appearance stood out against the
shades of yellow, wispy, annual grasses that now dominate the scene. What a
cool sight! We took a gps coordinate and then began plotting out the areas
where we would set small mammal traps….it will be interesting to see what we
find there next week.

I think I have covered just about everything.

Thanks for listening,

Hannah Tillmann

P.S. below is the week 5 update incase you did not get a chance to see it!
Hi Everyone,

We just completed our fifth week up at Hi Mountain, wohoo! At this halfway
milestone we are finally getting in the groove of the "rugged mountain life" and
have learned to appreciate the "simple pleasures" such as traveling to gas up
the USFS Jeep in Santa Margarita and purchasing a diet coke and potato chips
(hits the spot)!

As of this week, both of our studly field teams have braved the horrors of the
chaparral ecosystem as we attempt to find GPS points and trap there. What a
crazy bunch of shrubs! I don't think I have ever experienced such feelings of
claustrophobia/adventure/accomplishment as we successfully bushwacked through
thick clumps of Ceanothus cuneatus, Adenostoma fasciculatum and Arctostaphylos
spp. (for several hours at a time) to the pot of gold that we call a GPS point.
In this ecosystem we are hoping to see some of those super cute Dipodomes!

Update on the P. boylii count: We now have eight out of 10 specimens! It is sad
to have to bring the little guys home, but it is also extremely exciting. Today
all of the interns checked out the Cal Poly Peromyscus collection to find out
that there were just a few, rag-tag P. boylii specimines, it is nice to make the
collection a little more representative of the area.

We are all headed up to Pinnacles for a day trip tomorrow. We will be traveling
in style (in Graces bright blue VW bug) and hopefully will return home with some
new condor knowledge to impress our friends with as well as pictures of us being
science nerds to post on facebook!

Highlights of the week:

(1) Andrew and Grace both tracked their first condors this weekend (data sheets
coming soon!)
(2) Finding one of our Sherman traps completely annihilated by an unknown
trouble maker (Dr. V says it is most likely a black bear). Maybe Andrew will
sent out a picture, it is rumored that he is bringing the trap home to hang up
in his bedroom (most likely to remind himself of how hard core his job is).
(3) Answering the question of "Do hummingbirds really drink out of hummingbird
sage (Salvia spathacea)?" when we caught an Anna's fly by and take a sip while
we were hiking in Trout Creek.

That is all for now!

-Hannah

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Hi Mtn Intern Update Week 5

Hi Everyone,

We just completed our fifth week up at Hi Mountain, wohoo! At this halfway
milestone we are finally getting in the groove of the "rugged mountain life" and
have learned to appreciate the "simple pleasures" such as traveling to gas up
the USFS Jeep in Santa Margarita and purchasing a diet coke and potato chips
(hits the spot)!

As of this week, both of our studly field teams have braved the horrors of the
chaparral ecosystem as we attempt to find GPS points and trap there. What a
crazy bunch of shrubs! I don't think I have ever experienced such feelings of
claustrophobia/adventure/accomplishment as we successfully bushwacked through
thick clumps of Ceanothus cuneatus, Adenostoma fasciculatum and Arctostaphylos
spp. (for several hours at a time) to the pot of gold that we call a GPS point.
In this ecosystem we are hoping to see some of those super cute Dipodomes!

Update on the P. boylii count: We now have eight out of 10 specimens! It is sad
to have to bring the little guys home, but it is also extremely exciting. Today
all of the interns checked out the Cal Poly Peromyscus collection to find out
that there were just a few, rag-tag P. boylii specimines, it is nice to make the
collection a little more representative of the area. 

We are all headed up to Pinnacles for a day trip tomorrow. We will be traveling
in style (in Graces bright blue VW bug) and hopefully will return home with some
new condor knowledge to impress our friends with as well as pictures of us being
science nerds to post on facebook!

Highlights of the week:

(1) Andrew and Grace both tracked their first condors this weekend (data sheets
coming soon!)
(2) Finding one of our Sherman traps completely annihilated by an unknown
trouble maker (Dr. V says it is most likely a black bear). Maybe Andrew will
sent out a picture, it is rumored that he is bringing the trap home to hang up
in his bedroom (most likely to remind himself of how hard core his job is).
(3) Answering the question of "Do hummingbirds really drink out of hummingbird
sage (Salvia spathacea)?" when we caught an Anna's fly by and take a sip while
we were hiking in Trout Creek. 

That is all for now!

-Hannah

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