Images

Pelicans on a rock, observed by the USGS Western Ecological Center Seabird Studies team.

USGS WERC researcher Julia Ersan gets prepared to release a hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) after capture and examination. USGS researchers are conducting multiple projects to learn about the ecology of Western bats, including long distance migrants like the hoary bat.

Scientist Nate Stephenson with a large juniper tree in the Sierra Nevada

Dr. Brian Halstead, USGS WERC, gestures to the Randall House, now abandoned, constructed in the early 20th century. The house is now maintained by the National Park Service as a maternity roost for Townsend's Big-Eared bats.

Photo of driftwood, and invasive grasses and iceplant at Point Reyes National Seashore, CA. Such "dune drainages" make surprising habitat for a threatened species of amphibian: the California red-legged frog.

Pat Kleeman, USGS WERC, searches for threatened California red-legged frogs in a dune drainage, Point Reyes National Seashore.

Driftwood and sand dunes at the Point Reyes National Seashore.

Dead trees like the ones featured in this photo still provide valuable habitat for wildlife, including birds.

Wing of Southwestern Willow Flycatcher nestling on band day in 2017. 

Moving from one site to the next requires hauling needed gear along with. These three have their hands full taking things back to the truck after processing waterfowl from a maintained site. 

Researchers use wire mesh to construct traps for collecting waterfowl in Suisun Marsh, CA.

This mallard duckling was captured in Suisun Marsh. USGS scientists are weighing, measuring and banding waterfowl to understand how they are using the marsh and for capture-recapture data. 

Brock, a USGS volunteer, walks out to a future waterfowl trapping site with a bucket full of rice in hopes that it will attract waterfowl to the area.

Two WERC technicians walk back from a placed trap with hands full. 

Young skunk with an ear tag ID. The USGS is studying the movement patterns of skunks and raccoons in Suisun Marsh, CA to learn how they use different landscape features, like levee roads, to navigate to waterfowl nests.

Taken 7/11/2017 at Grizzly Ranch, Suisun City, CA. USGS biological science technician Breanne Cooney builds a decoy waterfowl nest for an outreach demonstration. 

Taken 7/11/2017 at Grizzly Ranch, Suisun City, CA. USGS biological science technician Breanne Cooney builds a decoy waterfowl nest for an outreach demonstration.

Taken 7/11/2017 at Grizzly Ranch, Suisun City, CA. USGS biological science technician Breanne Cooney shows kids how to measure the vegetation surrounding waterfowl nests. Density and height of vegetation can influence the survival of waterfowl eggs and chicks and affect their risk of falling prey to ravens, skunks, and other predators.

Taken 7/11/2017 in Suisun City. The California Waterfowl Association hosts a "Youth Hunter Camp" for children at the Grizzly Ranch in Suisun City, CA. Here, a USGS employee and a child look through a tube at an egg to observe its contents.

Taken 7/11/2017 in Suisun City, CA. A USGS employee teaches children at the California Waterfowl Association's "Youth Hunter Camp" to measure the vegetation surrounding waterfowl nests.

Chinook salmon released into Yukon River in Alaska, USA.