Migratory Bird Protection Corps 2012

The challenges of this project are many. They include heat and the constant sweating that accompanies it, headaches when you do not drink enough water, sleepless nights during the frequent windstorms, hard work under a ceaseless sun, nausea (you may not know exactly what caused it, but trust me it happens regularly out here), fire ants that bite, cactus spines in your feet, and the disgusting feeling that only accompanies 10 days of hard work in the dirt under a blazing sun without showering. On top of all that, this hitch was particularly difficult for me. I learned just before we left for the field that my grandfather had suffered a stroke.

With the knowledge of those challenges weighing heavily on everyone’s mind, the Dead Bird Squad went into our final hitch in Tonopah, NV. The Tonopah area is about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the Las Vegas area where we had been working until now.

The team experienced a new challenge in this area. Instead of struggling to find mine claim markers, we were suddenly swimming in them. Thousands of markers became a daunting task to pull, especially at the end of the season when everyone is tired, uncomfortable, and beginning to think about where they will be after this internship is over.

The crew managed the daunting task of pulling such a large number of poles admirably. More poles were pulled during this single hitch than in the five previous hitches combined.

It has been a long season filled with many challenges both in the field and out. I have learned a lot about the desert, the SCA, and further identified where my strengths and weaknesses as a leader lie. I am proud of the work that my team has completed for two reasons. One because it will hopefully save birds in the future, and second because it was done to the best of our abilities despite of a myriad of setbacks.

Although these markers cannot be removed from the field, it became legal to pull out PVC mine claim markers in Nevada on November 1, 2011. The Dead Bird Squad would like to encourage anyone who may be hiking around Nevada to pull out hollow PVC mine claim markers and join us in the fight to save cavity-nesting birds.

Desert Eagle. Over and out.

Written by Heather Rogers

As a child, I was fortunate to grow up in a small Midwestern town. My younger years were spent being surrounded by the never-ending greenery of trees, grass, corn fields, and wildflowers. Each day I woke up to chirping birds and mooing cows, while eventually falling asleep to the yip yap of neighboring coyote families. My life changed once high school came to an end. After some time had passed, I moved to Florida where I attended college. It was a big change from where I had grown up. Palm trees, beaches, and the warm gulf waters had become the norm. With my college days coming to an end and graduation approaching, I made the decision to move to Las Vegas, Nevada.

While moving from Illinois to Florida was a big change, nothing could have prepared me for this next venture. When I first moved to Las Vegas the bright lights, unique buildings and people caught my attention. Anything you could ever want or imagine is here. Who would have thought that a city like Las Vegas could exist in the middle of the desert? What even comes to mind when someone says the word desert? Desolate? Lifeless? Inhospitable?

I had been living in Las Vegas, Nevada for about two years when I got accepted into the SCA’s Migratory Bird Project. Fortunately for me, the work we would be doing was within southern Nevada. While this was great for me, my other team members would have to adjust. It had taken me a good amount of time to get used to the long hot days that seemed to never disappear with the setting sun. I worried for them, as I knew how hot it would eventually get as the months progressed.

Almost two months have now passed, and I can say that they were not the only ones that had to re-adjust themselves to the desert climate. Our ten day hitches can and usually are brutal. My home during hitch is a small two-person tent. We get up around 5 am and walk on average about four miles a day in sometimes triple digit weather, while at the same time, hiking through steep mountainous terrain, avoiding spiny cacti, spiders, and snakes along our path in hopes of finding a mine marker.

Even though days can be difficult, I have been able to experience a lot of great things just within hitch four. Being an avid birder, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Amelia Savage (our BLM contact) would be taking us out to perform some bird count surveys, where we learned to identify Western birds by call and species. We also saw many other species of wildlife including the rare desert tortoise, roadrunner, golden eagle, coyotes, and a bobcat. And last but not least, we set up the green monster. This is a huge army tent that at first gave us some trouble, but the struggle was worth it because the tent provided us with an immense amount of shade throughout the last few days of the hitch.

While daily life has not been easy during this project, I have discovered through all of the ups and downs to be all worth it. I work with amazing crew members, save animal lives, and learn something new each day. I have found that there ultimately is beauty away from the bright lights of Las Vegas. I have come to respect the plants and animals that spend their entire lives surviving and thriving in an environment that I struggle in for a meager 10 days. If it was not for the Student Conservation Association, I may have never been able to discover this, and that I am truly thankful for.

Written by Leah Daniel

The Migratory Bird Protection Team’s second hitch got off to a rough start when a spring on the trailer broke before we left Las Vegas. After a day of having little luck spotting mining claim markers in the southernmost tip of the state, our crew moved north to the Nipton area just off of Joshua Tree Highway. Program Manager Jamie Weleber joined our crew for the third day of the hitch. It was tough to spot claim markers within the Joshua trees and some markers were unreachable due to a large and mysterious fence, but we began to see an increase in the number of markers pulled. Daily totals of claim markers started to increase dramatically as we moved down Joshua Tree Highway. It was nice to see an increase in production of markers pulled, but it was saddening to see the remains of many dead birds inside of those markers.

One hot Sunday afternoon, near the end of a long day of work, Leah Daniel and I stopped near a claim marker to rest and hydrate when I heard a noise inside the marker. I peered over the top of the pipe and saw a bird struggling inside. We had to take extra precaution in removing the marker so as to not injure the struggling bird. I pulled the marker out gently and tipped it slowly. After a few long moments, we watched what appeared to be a brown headed fly catcher fly out the end of the pipe apparently unharmed. We were very excited to have saved the life of a bird. Our team knows that by removing each claim marker, we are potentially saving the lives of multiple birds, but as I witnessed that bird fly away, I felt less hot, less tired, and more motivated. This event boosted the morale of the whole team and was a great reminder of why we are out here.

Written by Joe Felgenhauer

Ian Laing is originally from the small town of Holland, NY. He attended the University at Buffalo earning bachelor’s degrees in both Environmental Studies and Political Science. He has been accepted into law school and hopes to practice environmental law. He enjoys rock climbing, hiking, travel, and snowboarding, and the outdoors. He is excited to be a part of the migratory bird team and saddened by the number of birds that die in mine claim markers.

Joe Felganhauer is working on an environmental science degree at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. His hobbies include fishing, hiking, baseball, and the outdoors. He looks forward to exploring the scenic Nevada desert and helping to prevent the further deaths of migratory birds.

Leah Daniel comes from the small town of Galena, IL. She attended Eckert College in St Petersburg, FL, earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. She loves to camp, hike, bird watch, scuba dive, kayak, and also really enjoys photography. She looks forward to spending the summer working with other conservationists in the Nevada desert.

Jack Matthew Hausserman currently lives in Ionia, Michigan. He attended Central Michigan University earning bachelor’s degrees in both Anthropology and History. His hobbies include anything that has to do with sports; mainly soccer. He likes to do anything active, or to just read a good book. He is looking forward to gaining experience by challenging himself during his time with the Migratory Bird Protection crew.