Baitin' for buzzards

Doug, you get my vote for the "Most Interesting Man in The World", to heck with that Dos XX guy.

I find it fascinating they found the right couple. I can Google Arizona Republic. Please let me know when the photos and article are published.

I will read the referrals tomorrow. Had a long meeting tonight. Good luck. Sharon

Note the time of posting , a new day of waiting out the birds starts. Researchers shold be here in 10 minutes. Time to unlock the gate , get out and prep the feed station BEFORE dawn's early light .

Rock n' roll !

Will look forward to the article and additional updates. TVs are smart and wiley creatures..... when nervous or frightened, they will vomit up their food. Let me tell you, if you think it was nasty when you put it out there, wait till one of them vomits it back. Can really stink then! (sorry for the graphic image/smell to all)

********************************************** "A Turkey Vulture Named Julie" **************************************************************

A turkey vulture named Julie now soars the skies of Aridzona. Something that I anticipated yesterday was that today was our garbage pickup day . We are the only people that reside on our road so I planned that we needed to intercept the garbage truck so that it would not stop on our road in front of our house. Our road seperated us from the vulture feeding station on the other side of the road . So my wife Julie volunteered to do intercept patrol/duty . This involved the researchers and I loading our garbage can into my van . I rode down with Julie to the ambush?intercept point at which we could divert/detour the garbage truck onto another road .

This was important because over the last several weeks in training the vultures I had observed that normal cars/traffic did/does not disturb the birds much , whereas the big noisy garbage truck stopping and hoisting the garbage can to the top would frighten/scatter the birds.

Julie intercepted/detoured the truck minutes before we trapped our first turkey vulture . Yesterdays cacth was a black vulture which is not the species that are being equipped with radio bands . Turkey vultures are the target species of this study . So Julie's actions resulted/being credited for our first T.V. capture .

Three cheers for Julie , she nows soars the skies .

How do you catch them?

Cool; what great lengths you guys to go for the sake of the birds.

Little tired to give much of an update , seems that I have been missing a bunch of sleep ove the last few weeks .

If you all look for the upcoming saturday May 25th edition of the Arizona Republic maybe that will tell ya'al a few things that I have missed .

Jackie , next week might be your lucky week , researchers will be here at least until monday maybe tuesday BUT do not get here at noon and expect to see much . Activities here start at dawn .

A turkey vulture named "Desert rat" (I wonder who that was named after) now flies the skies. Julie and desert rat together again.

Early in the day desert rat was released about 7:15 A.M.

We have set up a second trapping location about 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile away , a location where the buzzards have been going to for years . So if our activities spook the birds from here we still have a hope of trapping them there .

Kind of like playing ping -pong, simply bouncing the birds between two locations .

I bet he is one handsome buzzard. Have a great day and get a nap. I will check in later.....

Banner day today !

Two turkey vultures and two black vultures trapped , tagged/banded and released. Researchers are buying dinner for all at a restaurant in Casa Grande . Celebration time , we are half way to stated goal at getting these radio transmitters on TV's . Six transmitters at $4,000.00 apiece , not a cheap project . Plus $650.00 per unit per year for the data so long as transmitter remains active..

Saturday, sunday , monday remain to do trapping , researchers fly out of Tucson early tuesday.

Susie, if you are going to make it down, time is running out .

P.S.

Wonderin' just what the Arizona Republic is going to have to say about these kooks chasin' buzzards round tommorrow.

This message was edited May 24, 2013 12:20 PM

THREE TV's today ! ! !

Four TV's with radio tranmitters , two to go .

Well up and working again at 4:15 A.M.. One TV apparently stayed the night in a tree very close to the feeding area. His buddies started showing up at 5:10 A.M. , the earliest we have seen them arrive . We had cleared out of the feeding area just 10 minutes before. By 5:30 there were 25 or so but they would not go for the bait.

10;00 A.M and still waitin................................................

Not going to have time to make it down, sorry! Volunteering for the Master Gardeners, preparing and leading tours and working at Liberty kinda take all my free time these days....

Susie

Well mission was accomplished. We caught zero birds yesterday (saturday) , a coyote had been posing some problems sometimes coming in to steal our buzzard bait. Friday he got away with a major piece , which the vultures also shared in yesterday . Being it was drug off to a location where we did not know , this resulted in coyote and vultures getting free meals . I located this stash yesterday evening and removed it so this morning we were back on track . We got two TV's within 10 minutes of each other accomplishing the goal of capturing and releasing 6 TV's all now equipped with solar backpacks transmitting thier locations .

The birds were named in this order;

1. Julie (as julie, my wife, played a pivotal role in the capture of this bird)

2. Desert rat ( I am honored)

3. Jennie (U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer who played a substantial role in putting this effort together)

4. T. K. Red River (A major supplier of buzzard bait and supporter)

5. Linda ( A major financial contributer of this project)

6. Edward Abbey ( It is said that he wanted to be reincarnated as a turkey vulture, we hope he is happy that we have made an effort to grant his wish )

I am happy that I was accorded the honor of releasing Edward Abbey (I got to shake claws with Edward Abbey). Pics of the event(s) will eventually be posted at http://desert-rat-studio.com/

Jackie, you mentioned possibly coming down on tuesday . The turkey vulture feeding station will be maintained to/through tuesday the operation turkey vulture will be ended .

The biologists have completed thier mission and are going to Tucson for a day and will be flying back home tuesday morning . A celebration was had here at the completion of objective .

A URL will be posted for tracking at http://desert-rat-studio.com/

I was sent a notice this morning about renewing here at Daves, I do not believe that I will . I will now be posting there also . This tread is likely my swan song here .

So long

This message was edited May 26, 2013 1:55 PM

Doug,

I've bookmarked your page so I can keep up with what you're up to. You can keep in touch with me through my blog, www.mrbsgarden.blogspot.com, if you're so inclined.

Bye, have a wonderful life. Sharon

Me preparing to release Edward Abbey;

https://www.facebook.com/sonoranjv#!/photo.php?fbid=602865419732367&set=a.503006719718238.122681.110799068939007&type=1&theater

Arizona Republic article finally out in thursday May 5, 2013 edition. Pages B-1 and B-4

Well there is no Thursday on May 5th and there is no Thursday on June 5th so I am confused. Maybe it is to do with the time zone......

Mea culpa, mea culpa .

I am still recovering from sleep depriviation .

It was in this mornings edition of the Arizona Republic , Thursday May 30th, 2013 , pages B-1 and B-4

Meantime over the summer I start reinvestigating bats , I got interested in them some time ago but was discouraged by some people to try in the low desert . But I came across an article some time ago;

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/Bat_useof_Desert_Wildlife_Water_Catchments.shtml

That gives me some hope that they can be attracted here. Mexican free tailed bats will be target species . I have been in contact with some of the AGF people involved in that study . Come September - October I likely will be helping install some bat houses down near Yuma .

Yeah , I am going batty in my old age .

I lived in clarkdale 20+ years ago and there were lots of bats living in the attic of the old high school; every evening in the summer they'd come pouring out of the building to hunt.

A great bat show almost in the center of Phoenix;

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/bat_conserv_bat_viewing.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6HBZpJEUbE

http://www.arizonensis.org/sonoran/urbanhabitat/batcolony.html

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bat-cave-phoenix

What is not commonly written about is that the bats also use the northern end of the tunnel which is closer to Lincoln Drive.