Goshute Mountains, Nevada
Wildcat is the mountain in the middle of the image.
I was employed by HawkWatch International as an assistant raptor bander.
I trapped migrating hawks, falcons, and eagles using lure-bird baited mist nets, bow nets, and dho-gaza nets.
Captured raptors were banded, taxonomically identified, aged by plumage, sexed, and morphometrically measured (weight, presence of wing-pit fat, keel muscle evaluation, crop size, wing chord, hallux, tarsus, and culmen length).
Feathers were sampled for future sex determination and hydrogen isotope analysis. The goal of this ongoing project is to monitor long-term trends in raptor populations that utilize this migration route.
My other duties included care and maintenance of lure birds in outdoor aviaries.
This position involved much tent-camping and hiking at high elevation.
