Over the course of my career in the wildlife and natural resources field I have had the opportunity to learn a variety of wildlife research techniques and work with a multitude of different species.
My first wildlife job combined wildlife monitoring and public outreach. I monitored common loon nest success and territoriality in Montana, where they are classified as a sensitive species. I educated the public at boat ramps on how to respect loon nesting areas during the breeding season. I also provided education to campers about safe camping in grizzly bear country.
I have worked with prairie dogs twice, looking at both flea loads and collecting fleas for sylvatic plague detection. Both of these studies also looked at fleas on small mammals that inhabited these prairie dog colonies. Through these jobs, I have gained experience with live animal trapping, chemical immobilization and ear-tagging small mammals.
I have worked with endangered species and species of conservation concern in multiple field jobs. These species include Black-footed ferrets, masked bobwhite quail, New Mexico jumping mice and Mojave Desert tortoises. Though most of these species I monitored using radio telemetry, I also was able to work on the captive breeding program for the endangered masked bobwhite quail. This program involved both rearing and caring for captive animals on a remote wildlife refuge, but also involved bringing in captive bred chicks from another breeding facility and pairing them with local adults to mimic natural brooding behavior and to provide chicks the experience to survive in the wild. This work was even featured in The National Audubon Society Magazine.
My work with desert tortoises is just one of several jobs I had conducting radiotelemetry. I have experience conducting telemetry in a variety of landscapes, from open grasslands to hilly and mountainous landscapes, and areas touched by human development. I have tracked sage grouse, quail, tortoises and mice. I have also captured and outfitted all these animals with their radio transmitters, all of which had different mounting types. Radiotelemetry is one of my favorite methods of biological data collection.
I have also participated in more hands-off wildlife data collection. I have done breeding bird surveys involving point counts in Eastern Montana. I have also collected camera data while working with the masked bobwhite quail for detection of non-tagged wild birds. I have also participated in a full camera trap study on satin bowerbird breeding behavior in Queensland, AUS. This involved using camera traps to observe nest building, nest destroying and breeding events. We also did decoration counts, vegetation surveys and mark-resight surveys.
