Following Forest Owls in the Western U.S.

I participated in Following Forest Owls last year in Utah and had such a wonderful time I decided to sign up for the expedition in Arizona this year. I loved it! Dave Oleyar and Markus Mika did an excellent job explaining the goals of their research and preparing us for the field work. They enjoyed talking about their research and patiently answered all of our team's questions. They are both passionate about their work, and I find that incredibly inspiring.

Holding an owl in your hand is an awesome, life-changing event, and everyone on the team was able to experience that. The work of the expedition is satisfying and meaningful. The leaders are knowledgeable and excellent teachers. All of us left knowing more, and vowing to see trees, forests, and owls in a new way. Following Forest Owls was an exceptional experience.

This ignite expedition was flat out tremendous. It began with meeting the rest of my team at the airport on terminal 3 at LAX. We were all lost and nervous but we got along right from the start, playing card games while waiting to board the airplane. Once we arrived at Tuscon, Arizona, we met up with our team facilitators, Merissa and Josh. We then met our lead scientists, Dave and Felicia. They took us to get some pizza at Tuscon then drove us to the Southwestern Research Station. We ate dinner and then went to our dorms to unpack. That night, we just spent some time trying to get to know everyone. The next two weeks consisted of so many fantastic experiences. We took the next two days to get familiar with the different tree species near the area, learning how to use all the equipment, and learning about the different owls we would perhaps encounter. On the fourth day, we began to go to different elevations and spots to conduct cavity searches, take tree density measures, and went out at night trying to catch some owls. Over the course of the trip, we caught Whiskered Screech Owls, Western Screech Owls, and a few Northern Pygmy Owls. We would go to a spot and first listen quietly for about five minutes to see if any owls were present in the area. Them, either if we got a response or not, we would play on a small speaker, owl calls and hope that would enhance the response from any owls in the area. Once they got close, we would set up a net that was incredibly delicate, but also successful in catching any owls that would fly into it. Once caught, Dave or Felicia would untangle the owl and we would record some measurements on it. Then we would release them after we had banded them on their leg. The food that we ate was really delicious. There was a cafeteria next to the station and boy was it good. It would range from tacos to beef to pizza to spaghetti. There was also desert which was always a treat. The stars at night were also a sight to see and they were so bright and vivid as oppose to in Los Angeles. Over the course of the trip, we got to know each other pretty well. I loved every single person i met on this expedition and hope to keep in contact with them for the rest of my life. I recommend anyone to apply to earth watch ignite and get the opportunity to explore the outdoors while helping scientists with their research on these different species of wildlife. This was for sure an experience i will never forget. Thank you Earth Watch.