[Comments in brackets by Jeannine and Duane]
From the Northern Crew:
Dear deer people,
My 1st week flying solo without the fawn crew was pretty uneventful, but productive. I got my truck cleaned out and the storage shed organized like I had hoped, allowing the perfectionist in me to breath a huge sigh of relief. I had to clear debris from a few roads along my telemetry route, but all fawns are alive and well.
On Monday, I discovered that there is a bridge under construction on West Branch Road, which unfortunately means a 30-minute detour each day since there is no (short) alternate route. The bridge is posted to be out-of-commission through the entire month of September. Let’s hope everything stays on schedule—or better yet, ahead of schedule!
This minor inconvenience did allow me to explore some uncharted territory in areas of the Susquehannock outside of our study area. I was pleased to stumble upon the stunning Cherry Springs Vista along Highway 44.
Critter of the week: I was lucky enough to cross paths with one of only two sandpiper species that nest in trees [they lay their eggs in deserted tree nests of jays, thrushes, or blackbirds]—a Solitary Sandpiper! These shorebirds spend their summers in the boreal forest, far from Pennsylvania. I was excited to spot this little bugger on its migration south where it winters in Central and South America. Birds be crazy!
From the Southern Crew:
Hi all,
My time with the remaining crew members (Julie and Levi) has concluded [☹]. I’ll be riding solo for the next 4 months. Bummer because I had an awesome crew and I’m really going to miss them.
My truck briefly stranded me in McAlevy’s Fort on Monday. Luckily, I wasn’t too far from a cooperating landowner, so I walked to his place and asked for help. Thankfully, it wasn’t a serious issue and a jumpstart did the trick. A new truck battery was promptly installed.
Wednesday, we pulled bear traps with the bear crew. They completed their final trapping round in the Southern Study Area. They caught 4 bears in Bald Eagle during their final trapping round! They’re awesome people, so I’m going to miss working with them as well!
Levi and I cleaned out the bed of the crew truck and organized the storage shed on Thursday. We continued to hand out thank you letters to our cooperating landowners this week with only few left to deliver.
Julie also pointed out that low tag 12229 was missing his left tag in a few photos she took last week. We have other fawns in this same area, so it could’ve been a different fawn. But based on the signal strength and location, we believe it was low tag 12229 [those earrings are “expense” to put in but that’s why they get 2!].
Next week, clover trap welding is on the schedule at Penn Nursery [by those who are qualified, of course]. I’ll continue to monitor all remaining fawns (with the help of Ethan and Emily) and obtain 3 locations/week. The crew truck will also be getting inspected next week and I have some data input to catch up on since my laptop was out of commission last week.
Field Crew Leader
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