Well, as usual I never post the pictures I say I'm going to. To my defense our lap top is on the craps for a while and we don't have internet on the desktop. So maybe you'll see Puerto Rican pictures sometime in the future.
Right now I am using the computer at a hotel in Monticello, UT. I have a new job in the Canyonlands area which is south of Moab. I'm a field technician for my friend Leah from USU. She is doing her graduate project on Mexican Spotted Owls, so that is what we are out here tracking. They are threatened and apparently so because I haven't seen any yet. We met up with some other grad students from Montana to go out hooting last night, but they ended up getting stuck on the road. We stayed in Monticello and watched the 24th Fireworks instead. Monsoon season makes it really hard to drive to the remote places we have to get to. We are going to try to go out to Fish and Owl canyons tonight. Hopefully the thunderstorms stay away for a night.
I am staying in a trailer at Dugout Ranch which is just outside the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. So far, things have been slow going because we have been trying to get established in the area, talking to the park rangers, and figuring out where to get water, and where to dump the black and gray water. I don't know anything about trailers. We organize and plan during the day and then go out hiking about 5:00 in the evening. We drive, then hike into an area using preselected GPS points that Leah has picked out. When we get to the first one we have to wait until official sunset time to start the first hooting calls. The MSO has a distinct call, much different than the Great Horned Owl, which is actually a MSO preditor. We hike for a few hours in the dark with our headlamps and packs until we hit four call points, then we hike back to the car and drive home. We go to bed late and wake up however late the heat will allow us to sleep in.
Don't know when I'll be able to post again!
Jessica
To check out the park, look at this link: http://www.closertonature.com/maps/canyonlands-map.gif
