Images

A female Wilson’s phalarope with 2-gram Sunbird PTT transmitter. Wilson's phalaropes spin around in the water to stir up invertebrates to snack on. Large flocks gather on terminal lakes in the American west before migrating as far as southern most South America.

Research in the field means making the most of your surroundings! Scientist Andrea Mott set up this work station on the dry lake bed of Lake Abert to get the birds banded with GPS trackers close to where they were captured. 

Yellow-headed blackbirds can be found in the spring and summer in the marshes of terminal lakes and wetlands. Common sightings occur in the Klamath, Summer, Malheur and Harney lake basins.

Walker Lake is part of the Great Basin in western Nevada. Walker lake is a rest stop for many migratory birds including Common Loon, Snow Geese, White Pelicans, several types of Grebe, Brants and Harlequin ducks. 

This word cloud displays answers to the question: what are the key mechanisms that interconnect the Great Basin landscape? The exercise was conducted at a stakeholder workshop in 2022. Answers that were selected by many participants have the largest text size and are more central in the cloud. The most popular answers were: climate, water, birds, fire and drought.

The Saline Lakes Team identified five primary thematic questions around environmental data collection activities or management needs: 1) How much water is there and how is it used throughout the watershed? 2) What are the hydrologic vulnerabilities of each saline lake? 3) What are the primary resources being utilized by representative taxa at each lake?

A map of the Great Basin, including parts of Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and California.

This Sora is likely looking to munch on some seeds from the wetland plants or a small aquatic critter. Sora's have huge migratory ranges and rely on terminal lakes of the Great Basin as they go between breeding and wintering habitats. 

A diagram showing the connection between water availability, water quality, saline lake habitats, and bird usage. Water availability drives water quality, which affects saline lake habitats that birds use. Water budget, water use, timing, vulnerability, and water depth are factors in water availability.

Map from the Great Salt Lake Water Dashboard from July 27th, 2022 showing the extent of the Great Salt Lake watershed. Markers are stream flow gages colored by flow status with warmer colors indicating below normal flow status, green as normal, and blue to black as above normal.

Andrea a USGS researcher measures the birds bill or "culmen". The culmen is measured from the tip of the upper mandible to the end where the culmen meets the forehead.

White-faced Ibis breed in colonies that shift locations from year to year with changes in water levels. The birds usually nest in dense marsh growth such as bulrush or cattails. 

Water table contour map (2018) of the Harney Basin, Oregon. Image is from a new groundwater basin study study by the Oregon Water Resources Department and U.S. Geological Survey for Harney Basin in southeast Oregon.

Malheur Lake, a saline lake in eastern Oregon, photographed from a USGS airboat. USGS has been monitoring water quality parameters including temperature, turbidity, and pH in the lake since 2017.

The eastern shore of Lake Abert, a saline lake in Oregon, photographer during a field trip USGS researchers led with multiple local groups. A drought in 2022 resulted in low water levels.

The eastern shore of Lake Abert, a saline lake in Oregon, photographer during a field trip USGS researchers led with multiple local groups. A drought in 2022 resulted in low water levels.

Warner Lakes in Oregon photographed from the eastern ridge looking west. In 2022 the lakes were dry due to an extended drought in the western U.S.

The medium sized Snowy Egret is a regal looking heron. Mature Snowy Egrets are all white with black bill, black legs and yellow feet.

Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge lies at the southern end of Ruby Valley in northeast Nevada. For more information visit the Ruby Lake NWR website.

These large birds live in open habitats like wetlands, fields, and prairies across North America. Looking closely you can see the crane on the left is banded with a GPS tracker on its right side leg.

Malheur Lake, a saline lake in eastern Oregon, photographed from a USGS airboat. USGS has been monitoring water quality parameters including temperature, turbidity, and pH in the lake since 2017.