Fieldwork

Wyoming & the Intermountain West

More on our new Wyoming projects to come.

View near Turtle Rock Loop, Vedauwoo.

Birding in Goshen County, WY.

Sunset near Laramie, WY.

Peru

Our work in Peru takes place in the high Andes where we study the migration, ecophysiolgy, genomics, and natural history of giant hummingbirds and Andean songbirds. Previous work has included research on the comparative physiology of marsh birds from coastal mudflats to high-elevation marshes. Work is done in collaboration with the University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates, the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad, and the Museum of Southwestern Biology.

Southern Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas). Photo: Bryce Robinson (Macaulay Library 604164851)

2023 field team, L to R: Marlon Chagua, Emil Bautista, Kyana Montoya, Bryce Robinson, and Jessie Williamson.

2022 field team (minus Cristhian Felix!), L to R: Marlon Chagua, Jessie Williamson, Kyana Montoya, and Emil Bautista.

Jessie samples pollen from a giant hummingbird.

LyAndra Lujan removes a tit-spinetail from a mist net

Field camp at 3,700 meters in the cactus-strewn mountains of Lima Department.

Field site at 3,800 meters in Lima Department

Below Anta Q'asha glacier, Lima, Peru (4,800 masl)

Marlon and Bryce set net lanes through cactus and chinchilcoma flowers.

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus)

High elevation grasslands above Vitis, Lima Department

Field sampling at Reserva Paisajística Nor Yauyos-Cochas

Sparkling Violetear (Colibri coruscans)

Marsh sampling team (L to R): Chauncey Gadek, Emil Bautista, Jessie Williamson

Field site at 4,300 m in Reserva Nacional de Junín, Junín Department.

Amazilia Hummingbird (Amazilia amazilia), a common lowland species.

Peruvian Thick-knee (Burhinus superciliarus)

Chauncey Gadek checks nets in the marsh

Bolivia

Current research is focused on giant hummingbird evolution and ecophysiology in collaboration with Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado. Past work has included research on the nesting biology and conservation of Blue-throated Macaws in the Llanos de Moxos grasslands with the World Parrot Trust.

Field site in Cochabamba Department, ~2,800 meters in elevation.

Southern Patagona in the rain.

Mountains of La Paz Department, ~4,300 m.

Copacabana, Lake Titicaca.

Jessie suits up for field recording, Cañon de Palca, La Paz.

Southern Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas) and Cleistocactus parviflorus.

Llanos de Moxos sunset

Howler monkey family

Llanos field camp. Photo: Alan Kneidel.

Turquoise-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) chick

Conducting cavity nest checks

Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis) chick

Seasonally flooded savannah forest, Beni Department.

Blue-and-yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna)

Flora of the Llanos

Peach-fronted Parakeet (Eupsittula aurea) chicks

Crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous)

Dusk fly-out count to monitor macaw populations at Isla Siete, Llanos de Moxos

Chile

Our fieldwork in central Chile has focused on Giant Hummingbird migration, population genetics, and evolutionary ecology in collaboration with the Museum of Southwestern Biology and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Southern Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas) on nest.

Aging a young Southern Giant. Photo: Chris Witt.

Southern Giant Hummingbird gets a backpack harness. Photo by Chris Witt.

Austral Pygmy-owl (Glaucidium nana)

White-throated Tapaculo (Scelorchilus albicollis)

Javier Reinoso and Jessie haul gear out of field site, 2017.

Southern Giant Hummingbird with geolocator backpack

Selina Bauernfeind gets ready to process samples.

Rosa Zelada, Jessie, and Alfredo Zelada near Giant Hummingbird field camp.

Central Chile field site

Chilean students learn about hummingbird migration!

Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch (Phrygilus gayi)

Ecuador

Previous projects have included research on Andean Condor-human wildlife conflict, reproductive biology of Golden-plumed Parakeets, and demographics and movement of the Andean Ibis. Much of this work has been done in collaboration with the Jocotoco Foundation.

Golden-plumed Parakeet nest monitoring

Measuring a parakeet nestling at Tapichalaca Reserve

Golden plumed-Parakeet (Leptosittaca branickii) chicks have fully-grown flight feathers!

Vladimir Ushiña and Ben West record field observations at Antisana Volcano, Ecuador

Andean Ibis (Theristicus branickii)

Scouting for Andean Ibis nests near Antisana Volcano

Costa Rica

Previous research included a study of gap-crossing behavior of understory insectivore birds at La Selva Biological Station, part of the Organization for Tropical Studies.

Red-eyed tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas) in amplexis

Rainforest flower

JLW scouts sites for playback experiments

Jessie and red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas)

Green-and-black poison dart frog (D. auratus)

View from the suspension bridge, La Selva Biological Station

Phyllobates lugubris with tadpoles

Glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni)

Spiny orb weaver

Mexico

Past work studying the nesting behavior of Maroon-fronted Parrots in the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains of northeastern Mexico with the Monterrey Technological Institute.