A Thesis — Davis Mountains Here I Come

I am excited to announce something I’ve known about for a while but have yet to announce as I worked out the particulars. I’m leaving tomorrow to begin my thesis on avian community ecology in the Davis Mountains. I will spend two field seasons of approximately six to eight weeks focusing on quantitatively describing the bird communities and how they are defined in major habitat types. Also, this type of work has previously been done in many of the other southwest mountain ranges, so I should be able to make comparisons with the Davis Mountains to see if any differences show up.

Most exciting is the place I get to work. I’ll be doing this study on The Nature Conservancy’s Davis Mountains Preserve. This location is an amazing place. It includes Mount Livermore, the fifth highest peak in Texas at 8,378 feet. It also contains habitats (and species associated with them) that are either Rocky Mountain species which barely make it this far south or Mexican species which barely make it this far north. The state’s first record of Buff-breasted Flycatcher was found here, sitting on a nest. The Mexican subspecies of Spotted Owl occurs here. Ten species of hummingbird have been recorded, like Magnificent Hummingbird. It’s also a great place for rare Mexican warblers like Slate-throated Redstart, Red-faced Warbler, and Olive Warbler. It is a place that any biologist would love to work in.

At first, I’ll be extremely busy working on the details of the study and marking my transects. But after things settle down and my surveys begin, I may have time to blog. You can also bet that I’ll be taking pictures, as time allows. We’ll just have to see how things work out. I’m also excited by all the time I’ll have this summer to read. I’m bringing a bunch of books.

One of my biggest goals in my time off however is to make a date with a Flammulated Owl. Of the birds that regularly occur in Texas, I can count the ones I’ve not seen on one hand. Somehow I’ve missed these tiny owls in all my prior birding trips, probably because I’ve not looked for them specifically.

It’s going to be a great summer, but one with its own challenges being away from my wife. I’ve got to give a big shout out for her support and willingness to take care of the homefront while I’m gone.