In the Merry Month of May

Highland Range

Well, let’s see.  May started off with a bang, with me surveying one of my favorite spots in Nevada, in the Highland Range, south of Las Vegas.  That’s what it’s called now – but I prefer the name I’ve seen on some older maps: the Multichrome Range.  On the east side of the mountains, where I am surrounded by outcrops of reds, grays, and greens, it is particularly gorgeous at sunrise.  The next day, I met up with my southern Nevada crew and botanist David Charlet, and we had a day of learning plants – it was great!

Crew field day in Wee-Thump, South of Highland Range

Cash-Dog

Let's Go, Let's Go!

View from Highland Range

The rest of the month continued on as April had ended – I got to do the occasional point count transect, but mostly, I was at Warm Springs doing area searches and prepping stuff for my field crew.  Another sunrise at my field site shot (below), and the Pyramid Lake Frog Monster mysteriously transported to the Muddy River, silhouetted against regrowing tamarisk.

Phainopepla

Wolfberry

Last but not least, 2 of my favorite species – Phainopepla and Brown-crested Flycatcher.  Phainopepla are a fascinating species; many (if not most) will migrate from desert mesquite, where they’re largely dependent on fruiting mistletoe berries, to oak/other woodlands.  There’s speculation that some individuals may actually breed in both places – folks have documented the same individuals in both habitats, but haven’t documented them breeding in both.  They’re one of my focal species, and it was wonderful  to see so many active pairs this year – Warm Springs burned a couple years back, and the burned areas – with the resulting loss of mistletoe – had showed an impressive decline in territories post-fire.  The past 2 years, I only had 1 Phainopepla territory on the plot – this year I had nest after nest.  The mistletoe may be in a bit better shape this year (the honey mesquite, in particular, is coming back nicely), but there was a spectacular crop of wolfberries this year, which must have been crucial.

Yet another view of my plot at sunrise

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Brown-crested Flycatchers aren’t a species of conservation concern in Nevada, but they’re just so darn cool!  If you have a field guide nearby, you can take a look at comparing them with their cousin, the Ash-throated Flycatcher.  Awfully similar!, but the Brown-crested is a bit bulkier, and has a different voice.  Happily, I found the nest trees for both territories this year.  As I was writing this just now, I made an interesting realization – I had been going to mention that I had watched a pair building a nest in a

Bullock's Oriole male perched above nest

cottonwood snag cavity that had held a Ladder-backed Woodpecker nest a few years back – however, the Flycatchers ended up abandoning that nest site.  Then I suddenly realized that the only other two pairs I’d seen nest-building in that tree – Western Kingbird and Lucy’s Warbler – had also ended up abandoning their nests shortly thereafter.  Now I’m wondering: what the heck was up with that snag?  Ant colony, maybe?  Huh.  There’s nothing particularly obvious that could have impacted all 3 nests, since all three nest locations were vastly different.   It was a prime location for perching cowbirds, and I guess it’s possible one could have snuck past one of the Kingbird parents, but there’s no way on earth a cowbird could have gotten into the Lucy’s Warbler’s nest fissure.  Huh. Now I’m curious.  Maybe thermoregulation – the snag is all off on its own, so there’s no shade at all.  Maybe the cavities are overheating??

Upper Arrow Canyon at sunrise

Anyway.  Towards the end of May, the Great Basin field season began, and thus began my commuting between the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert!  On to June!