Today we prepared to start our Scheduled Tracking Period. We had training yesterday, and a great group of apprentices spent time outside taking bearings, plotting bearings and learning all of the things we do in order to follow a moving bird.
This morning, everyone met at Bldg 1064 with bags packed and ready to hit the road. And "The Wait began." and continued, and continued. It wasn't until 12:45 that POAK blind reported being on the board; but it was a small bird. Then at 2 PM, POAK called, they had a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk for us. A little scurrying around, and the hawk was brought to the office so that Libby could apply the transmitter. Kris held the bird, who was then named "Gypsy", while Libby applied the transmitter to a central tail feather. Once it was glued in place, the only evidence of the new jewelry was a few inches of the antenna protruding beyond the tail.
While Libby was busy with Gypsy, the other two teams headed for their assigned high points. One team to Twin Peaks and the other to the San Pablo Ridge. Gypsy, with new transmitter attached, was taken up to Hawk Hill and released in front of the Hawkwatch. Just in time for the end of their day.
That evening Gypsy settled down near the Miwok Trail, and the teams went home to sleep in their own beds for, maybe, the last time for a while.
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