Life as a Field Biologist (Part 1)
By Isaac Rath and Katie Milesky
Photos by Isaac Rath and Dad
In these earlier years of my career as a wildlife biologist, I’ll be working on a lot of smaller projects to try to gain as much experience and insight as I can. While my long-term goal is to get into a graduate program in a few years, I’ll need to rack up a few thousand hours working field jobs first. This month, I began a new journey as part of the technician team with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. My role involves traversing diverse locations across the state of Utah, meticulously gathering vegetation data, and conducting standardized bird counts. Each count is 6 minutes long, where I identify every bird I see or hear. This is where being able to ID birds by sight and sound comes in handy. While it may not sound like much, due to the remoteness of many of the areas I am traveling to, either by foot or by car, the current information we have is scarce. While citizen scientists contribute invaluable bird data via platforms like eBird, remote areas often remain uncharted territory. Thus, my efforts are instrumental in filling these gaps and enhancing our understanding of avian populations.
This kind of work isn't for everyone. It can be quite challenging, both physically and mentally, as I find myself spending up to a week at a time in remote areas of Utah, sleeping in the car provided to me by the Conservancy. Each day, I rise as early as 4am to embark on a several-mile hike to reach the survey area in time for the first light. The timing is critical, as birds are most active and vocal during the tranquil, cool morning hours. Despite the hardships, so far I’ve been personally rewarded with the addition of 10 new bird species to my life list - and I’m only a week in. As the season progresses, I’m hoping to see my life list continue to expand, while also contributing to research.
During the initial week of training, I encountered a series of challenges. From navigating through snowstorms and relentless rain to braving bone-chilling 28-degree mornings waking up in my car, the elements certainly tested my resolve. I’ll admit, the personal gain of adding those birds to my life list is a huge beacon of motivation that helps me get out of “bed” each morning. As temperatures rise throughout summer and lonely days drag on, I know I may get to a point where I want to quit, but seeing my own growth as I get more confident in my ID skills is reason enough to tough it out until the end. Before I know it, the season will be over and I’ll be moving onto a new field job. One thing I know for sure is that at the end of each long day, I feel like this Mexican Spotted Owl - very sleepy.
