Lead technician Adam Vonderschmidt reported that as of 28 July, he had confirmed a total of 82 nests . . . only 7 nests short of our record at RPQRR (89 nests recorded in 2015). Pretty amazing given the torrid conditions that dominated July. With any luck, and some rainfall, we should break the record by the end of nesting season (i.e., 1 Sept).
Here’s the “tale of the tape”:
- nest success is at 48% for completed nests (36/75);
- 44 nests have been in fed pastures vs. 38 nests in non-fed pastures;
- average clutch size is 14 eggs;
- most popular nesting substrate is a combination of bunchgrasses and yucca;
- we documented our first hen of the season to hatch 2 nests!
- we currently have 3 hens on their 3rd nesting attempt;
- we’ve tagged 149 chicks to date; largest brood capture (26 chicks with two hens on 7/17/2023; one hen was radio-marked and one not marked).
Adam departed RPQRR this past weekend headed to Oklahoma State University to begin studies toward his Master’s degree. He’s done an excellent job while with RPQRR and we wish him the best in his future studies.
