Notes from Montana
M. Schweitzer's Field Notes

July 12

Well, not much luck today. We aimed for one site that looked promising on the map, where this area was outlined as terrestrial Hell Creek deposits, but it sure didn't look like it, and had none of the badlands-type weathering that so characterizes this formation elsewhere. In fact, there was nothing for miles and miles and miles and miles but the rolling drab topography that marks marine sediments. We walked out a few exposures, but there was nothing at all weathering out. We didn't find what we hoped for, but we did see some pretty spectacular wildlife. The birds are really amazing here, and we came surprisingly close to many. I love the birds of prey--guess they remind me of dinosaurs! . We drove past a HUGE raptor, who would jump up and flap his wings at the trucks but didn't fly away. !http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/resources/schweitzer/july12-1.jpg! He was claiming his territory and  warning us away. We didn't go very much further before we saw the reason he was so territorial--maybe. Another bird was nestled in the grass. !http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/resources/schweitzer/july12-2.jpg! It didn't move a muscle, despite the noise and dust from our 3 vehicles. We didn't know if she was injured or guarding young--but this bird doesn't normally nest on the ground. Of course, there aren't many alternatives up here!

Given the lack of exposures in this area, we made it a short day, and then headed to town for gas and a few other things we needed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but this was a good starting day...We were joined in the evening by three NCSU undergrads, Chris, Brandon and Dan, and Walt from the museum also drove in. We are a full crew now.

Posted at 12:19PM Jul 30, 2007 by tppeake in General  |  Comments[7]