Mission
Statement
Committee
Meetings
Conservation
Award
Bird
Research projects
Coyote
Hills
Salton Sea
Tree
Trimming
Wind
Turbines
Environmental
Volunteer Opportunities
Urban
Sanctuaries Campaign
Least Tern Project info
2013 Nesting Season
Snowy Plover Survey
|
Scott's
Adventures in Sweden |
|
|
|
| In
October, Pete Bloom and two of his experienced raptor banders,
Scott Thomas and Jeff Kidd, traveled to Sweden to band Golden
Eagles in a remote, heavily forested area. The purpose of the
project, which was funded by the wind farm industry, was to
monitor the movement of eagles around and near the wind turbine
sites. A Swedish biologist, Jonas Gastafson, and a team of eagle
watchers and scientists were also there working on the project.
The data collected will be analyzed by the University of Sweden.
|
| |
| While
Scott was there, he sent back many photos and reports to his
wife Cheryl to document his experiences. I hope you will enjoy
reading about Scott’s experiences as much as I did —
from the warmth & comfort of my home in Southern California.
|
|
| 10/11/10:
Typical Day |
The Sweden team
has already picked the location and we have been there once
to pre-set the trap and blind, and re-bait. Bait is a carcass,
usually sawed in half and opened up – a rough deer, fox,
black grouse, or moose parts.
Most days are highly routine:
We get up at 0445h and have a quick breakfast (instant oatmeal
and OJ for me, crackers and fish for Pete), pack our lunch (sandwiches
and a thermos of hot water for Cup of Noodles and cocoa later),
and get dressed for cold weather – out the door by 0515h
Most sites take 30-45 minutes to drive to- we go in teams of
2
Arrive at the site, hopefully before sun up and head straight
for the trap for a quick check then into the blind. I bring
extra clothes, reading materials, binoculars, phones and 2 way
radios. It’s usually between 2-8 degrees Celsius (in the
30s F). Get settled and comfy, open one small window and wait.
We may be in the blind all day, until dark near 1830h (6:30pm),
but usually we have been quitting by 0200 -0300. No moving around,
you have to be quiet and can’t get out of the blind.
If we are lucky a local pair of Jays will spend the day eating
at our bait or a couple of ravens to keep us occupied. Ravens
are actually critical because they are needed to attract the
eagles. If we are really lucky we get an eagle. We can only
trap the adults so if it’s a juvenile eagle we just have
to quietly watch it. Twice now we have caught adults, but that’s
10 days in the blind for 2 successful trapping.
We leave and usually come straight back to our cabin. Cook dinner,
organize the trapping gear for the next day, go over maps and
plans for the next sites, walk to the hotel and get internet
access, clean up, and go to bed by 2100-2200h.
In between we do a quick bit of birding, I take a 1.5 mile walk
most evenings, and go to the store. And hopefully on good nights
talk to Cheryl on Skype.
We haven’t seen a moose yet, but we expect to. There is
a bear at one of the sites, so we are deciding whether to trap
there. Lots of interesting farm houses and nice scenery on the
way to the sites, but we don’t have much time to visit.
The food is not too great, so we cook dinner in the cabin. Haven’t
seen Tiger’s wife yet – still looking. Reindeer
come in soon – they are herded from the north by native
people for sale. Moose and reindeer are a staple of the diet,
especially in the northern part of Sweden. I have had them both,
moose is so-so, reindeer is better, but neither beats a good
rib eye.
|
|
| Most
of these photos were taken by Scott which explains why he is
not in many of them. These pictures are only a fraction of the
ones he sent out to us. |
|
|
|
packing
equipment to ship to Sweden |
Swedish
cabin near the woods |
Forested
area near blind |
|
|
|
|
View
outside of blind |
The
blind; can you find it? |
View
from inside blind, looking out |
|
|
|
|
Pete
Bloom holding the 1st eagle |
Pete
showing the eagle's wing |
Pete
weighing the eagle |
|
|
|
|
Transmitter
attached to eagle |
Pete
and Jonas and the eagle |
Scott
holding the eagle |
|
|
|
|
Pastoral
setting |
Hotel
where they slept |
Close-up
of hotel at dusk |
|
|
|
 |
Vindeln
River adjacent to hotel |
Cabin;
Waxwing flock in tree |
Vindeln
church spire in distance |
|
|
| 10/14/10:
A Morning Update |
| I thought I would
let everyone know that I heard from Scott. He said that it snowed
8 inches today and it is very cold. Today he only had a juvenile
eagle at his trap. But they did catch an adult yesterday and
here is her picture. not very dignified but they were aging
her. —Cheryl |
|
|
| 10/14/10:
These are the birds we move to next Tuesday
- in the back country (in Karingberget), as if this were modern
living. —Scott
|
|
|
| 10/20/10:
Adventure |
| Good Morning everyone,
thought I would send out a little update. The expedition is
up to 5 birds captured. The last one caught was a feisty bird.
She reached out and grabbed Scott's hand and sent him to the
hospital. A few stitches later and a hug from a friendly nurse
sent him back out into the field. Let's just think about this....these
birds weigh about 15-20 pounds and it's like holding a small
child (that squirms and tries to bite and fly away). —Cheryl |
|
|
| First
update from Scott (from the field): |
Hi,
I don’t have internet access today at the hotel –
it’s closed on weekends, hard to understand? So I will
do this from time to time when I have a little free time.
So, it’s very nice here, but always cold. These
are definitely arctic people. I am starting to acclimate and
don’t need quite as much clothing, but it’s still
in the high 30sF. We’ll see what happens when it gets
into the 20s. The people are pretty nice, but a little stand-offish
on the streets. They probably can tell we are outsiders.
Everyone with money drives Volvo’s, BMWs, Audis,
or SAABs. We are in little cars called SKODAs. They are made
by Audi/VW here in Sweden, pretty nice little station wagons.
We pull a neat little utility trailer that is popular –
very light and made for the little cars, it would be perfect
for banding..
The
woods are pretty special. Mostly 3 trees, Scotch Pine, White
Birch, and Norwegian Spruce. The ground is covered with moss
and small plants including that heather we have a couple of
on the side. It’s very lush and made for gnomes and fairies.
. . . .
I had a juvenile eagle at my trap today. It was very hard not
to pull the trigger, but they only want adults. He was so close
I could see his eyes.
At night I am walking about 1.5 miles along the river. They
have bike and walking trails everywhere – very clean and
healthy society. The deposit on bottles is equivalent to about
$1, so no one throws anything out, very little trash.
As I said the food is not so great, even in nice restaurants.
And they are minimalists, so you don’t get the service
we are used to – very nice, but no choices, only a few
brands of beer, nothing on tap.
Tim, Birger and our first guide Jonas (Uniss) have been great.
If you decide to visit you will like the scenery and the birding
is wonderful. As I said their restaurant food is pretty bland.
It would be similar to our trip to Minnesota, not exactly sun
bathing weather, but I think memorable. And the old barns are
plentiful and interesting in the countryside.
—Scott |
|
| 10/21/10:
12 photos taken in Asele (northern Sweden) |
|
|
|
Angermamalven
River |
Asele
church |
Capercale |
|
|
|
|
Jeff's
room in Asele |
Scott's
room in Asele (long view) |
Jonas's
room in Aseles |
|
Poem
for an Imaginary River - by Sigurdar Gudmundsson |
A
meeting on the water between roughly chiseled rocks
and a pair of bronze reindeer antlers. Standing over
three meters high, its arms branching and twisting like
flames in a fire. this sculpture is a comment in the
ongoing dialogue between man and nature. It is a contribution
to the surrounding landscape where man's presence had
hitherto been felt vy the felling of forests, rhw regulated
river, the highway and the high-voltage powerlines that
cut across the hillsides. |
|
|
|
|
Sculpture |
Sleigh
to School |
Sunset
in Asele |
|
| 10/21/10:
A couple of pictures to share. The man
with Scott is a journalist with a Swedish TV crew. In the next
couple of weeks they will be on Swedish TV. Pretty cool. —Cheryl |
|
|
| 10/21/10:
A mid-term update from Scott |
So first
of all it’s getting colder – not to jump ahead too
much, but today it was -13º C (9º F) when we were setting up
at a new site.
To back up a bit, snow has been giving us trouble (challenges)
for about a week. The nets freeze when it goes up and down above
and below 0º C (freezing 32º F).So we have been experimenting,
but on Tuesday we caught a break and it bounced up to a whooping
5º C (41º F). So we set up in 2 new sites.
Wednesday I spent from 0630 till 1730 in the blind without a
jacket on and the day paid off. At about 1710, when I was ready
to give up I heard an eagle pass over my blind headed for the
trap. It sounded like a small plane went over head – incredible
displacement of air. I grabbed my binoculars clumsily and looked
at an adult eagle standing on my bait – right in place
for the net. I turned on the controller, took a deep breath
and hit the trigger switch – the net flew over her flawlessly.
This was the first bird I have taken out of a net by myself
– near the top of my list for exciting things. We had
to keep the bird overnight, which was eventful, but I’ll
talk about that some other time. The next morning we had a film
crew from a Swedish Nature Show with us – so we will be
on TV sooner or later, probably after we have left.
Back to today, it was brutally cold and I am not sure how much
colder we can take – as it is, we are cutting our days
short – it does warm up to about -5º C during midday so
we will start a bit later than sunrise for a few days to see
how it goes.
As I think I said, life here is very homogenous. All the houses
are mostly red, with a few fire truck yellow, and even less
tan or pale green – that’s it, no other colors,
and no different designs. The people are the same way, they
are considered liberal politically, but they are set in their
ways and day to day quite conservative – it's kind of
like a 50's TV show.
Everyone walks, rides bikes and uses personal sleighs in the
snow – I watched an elderly woman ride a sleigh to store
today, coasting down the street like a kid on a skateboard.
We are a little out of place, but so is our guide – a
very large version of Jeff Kidd. Yesterday, a German man came
up and shook my hand – he said he had always wanted to
meet Vikings. We told him he had only found Americans, but he
said he was sure we had Viking ancestry. I should note that
I have grown a beard, which might help me look a little wilder.
Miss everyone and the sunshine |
|
|
|
|
| Cheryl
wrote, "Check out the talons on this girl. She is
the one who punctured Scott's hand. Just imagine that
going into your hand. . . |
|
|
| 10/27/10:
Fixing up the trap |
|
|
| 10/29/10:
See the following links for news articles
about our eagle project: |
| Tracking
Golden Eagles by Satellite; Impact of Large-Scale Wind Farms
Studied |
| Eye-in-the-Sky
Aims to Keep Eagles Safe from Wind Farms |
|
| 10/31/10:
An update from the field: Snow, Sleet,
Rain, and Ice |
We continue to suffer
from challenges with the weather. If it's several degrees above
0 (freezing) or several below, we have things figured out. And
it helps if it either snows or (there's) no precipitation. But
when it bounces back and forth above and below 0 and snows some
days, then rains – we have issues.
We set up a site camouflaged in 4 inches of snow, at about -2º
C- which requires digging a trench for the net, lining it, and
covering the net with a light dusting of snow. Then it rained
and melted our covering, so we covered the net with grass clippings
and trapped for a day. The next night it snowed again, so at
600h -1º C, in the dark we removed the grass and recovered the
trap with snow, Jeff went in the blind at 0645 h before sun
up and by 0730 h 2º it was raining again and ruined our set-up
by 1030h .
.
Needless to say, this is a lot of work and when we do everything
we can, but can’t stop the weather, it’s disappointing.
The best part about the last 3 days was having 3 species of
woodpeckers. . |
|
|
|
|
Black
Woodpecker |
Gray-headed
Woodpecker |
Great
Spotted Woodpecker |
|
|
The Black, Gray-headed
and Great Spotted Woodpeckers (were) all at my trap at the same
time on Friday. The Black Woodpecker is very large, like a pileated,
with a whole lot of character – a black Woody Woodpecker.
Today is Sunday, the 31st, Happy Halloween! We took the morning
off to regroup and will hopefully set-up and trap this afternoon
or first thing tomorrow morning. |
|
| 11/04/10:
Pictures |
|
|
|
Reflections |
Swans
with young |
Shrew
that joined me in the blind |
|
|
|
|
Reindeer |
Reindeer |
Reindeer |
|
|
11/07/10:
After snow storm delays, the team is finally
on their way home. Here is the
last update. —Cheryl
|
Wrapping up
It's day 33 and I’ve been cleaning and organizing equipment
all day. This has been quite a labor intensive and equipment
intensive project, not to mention full of dead stinky things.
No matter how we tried we got moose, deer, and fox smell and
blood on us all from handling the bait carcasses and everything
that touches them such as the nets. So cleaning is taking a
lot of time.
The last 4 days have been pretty good, after a long streak of
challenges and no eagles captured for about ten days we caught
3 in 2 days. Jonas, our Swedish guide and assistant, caught
one at a place called Botsmark (his first solo eagle capture).
It turned out to be too young, but we put a transmitter on it
anyways – it will be good data, although not exactly what
the study wants.
The crew from the Swedish TV show "Mitt I Nature"
showed up and filmed me processing the bird – we are going
to be national stars – it’s a very popular program,
kind of like the of Wild Kingdom in the US.
Jeff caught the second bird at a place called Lokmyberg, which
we hope is the mate to the female I caught there. This was the
quickest capture yet. Although we had already tried there last
week for 3 days, this time we re-set the trap on Thursday and
caught the bird at 1300h on Friday morning. Then finally on
Saturday, I caught a bird at Ramselle. It was already banded
(or “ringed” ) as a nestling in 1999 at Lykselle
100 kilometers away. That is the same year as the re-capture
that Jeff got in Kvällåliden. We had tried here at
least 4 times and put a lot of days in, so this was a special
bird. And it brought us to 8 adults, plus the one juvenile –
we kind of promised at least 8 birds, so we were very happy. |
|
|
|
|
A
few friends for Santa |
Lucky
#8 (eagle) |
Sunrise
over Lycselle |
|
|
We are going to
write a paper on trapping eagles on their territories in the
non-breeding season in very cold climate. We will be presenting
the paper in Norway at the NINA Convention in May 2011. Although
8 eagles would not be very much for trapping at a migration
station, getting target birds on their territories is rarely
attempted and rarely successful. They tried here about 15 years
ago and only caught 2 birds in a year in Norway.
Have had a great time and really love a lot about Sweden, but
I am very anxious to get home and see my family. Jeff trapped
today and Jonas will put in one more morning tomorrow while
Jeff and I do the final cleaning and pack up for the last 2
days which we will spend in Umea, packing the shipping crates,
dropping of rental cars and hopefully spending a little time
shopping and going to see Sea Eagles.
—Scott |
|
|
Over-all
view of where we trapped |
|
|
