Gallery

Gavin got to visit Gothic, CO in Fall 2025 for a workshop in forest climate adaptation.
A moonlit night by the fire with colleagues during a workshop at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO.
Dani Owens prepares to deploy a microclimate sensor in a talus patch to understand pika thermal exposure in Glacier National Park.
Field crew lead Dana Reid snapped this photo of a 20-year-old male Mexican spotted owl on the Lincoln National Forest.
Dani Owens presents her work at a Biology Department seminar at University of New Mexico.
The Dragoons – a small rocky mountain range in the Madrean Sky Islands in southeastern Arizona.
Field technician Michael Cushing nears a summit crag in Glacier National Park, MT.
Dr. Brian Harvey (University of Washington) with Gavin at the National Academy of Sciences Beckman Center in Irvine, CA.
Jami Belt (National Park Service) and Dani Owens take a lunch break during a pika survey in Glacier National Park, MT.
On their day off, pika-teers ascend “Thin Man’s Pleasure” en route to the summit of Mt. Wilbur in Glacier National Park, MT.
Did you know pikas can levitate?
Rock-hopping along the edge of an alpine lake in Glacier National Park, MT.
Dani Owens traverses a slope in front of a sea of peaks and clouds in Glacier National Park, MT.
Close-up view of a USGS federal band and a unique color band on a Mexican spotted owl.
Dr. Kari Norman traverses a talus field in search of pika sign. Can you spot her?
Is this field work or Lord of the Rings? The Pika crew on a wet and cold backcountry trip in Glacier National Park, MT.
Researchers of the round table! Labbers gather in Gavin’s office at RMRS for a close-quarters lab meeting.
Co-authors, report! Anu, Jessalyn, and Gavin pose with Jessalyn’s poster at the TWS Western Section meeting in Rohnert Park, CA.
Labbers, friends, and pups head out for a hike on the Cibola National Forest just outside of Albuquerque.
Dr. Kate McGinn contemplates the meaning of life and a conceptual diagram she’s just sketched on the lab whiteboard.
The pika crew descends from the summit of Mt. Cleveland toward Stoney Indian Peaks on a hazy day in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Gavin holds an adult Mexican spotted owl as it is banded by Nick Kryshak.
Dr. Kate McGinn presents her research on owl community response to fire at the Raptor Research Foundation meeting in Albuquerque.
Arianna Bowman (high school intern) poses with a poster summarizing her summer research project.
An office with a view? No thanks – we’ll do pika surveys in Glacier National Park instead!
The pika crew on the west slopes of Goat Mountain in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Gavin poses at the summit of Bishop’s Cap in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Gavin with Dr. Kathy Zeller at Triple Divide Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Dr. Lucas Moyer-Horner looking down on Margaret Lake from the summit ridge of Ipasha Peak in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Excitement over excrement! Gavin collects pika poop for genetic connectivity analysis in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Jessalyn trying to get a whiff of cell service near the pika team cabin.
Gavin hiding from the wind on the east side of the summit of Goat Mountain in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Snack time on the trail in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Ceeanna Zulla holds a Mexican spotted owl she just captured as part of a GPS study on the Tonto National Forest in northern Arizona.
Ceeanna Zulla – on her way to catch an owl – looks for a route to descend the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona.
A mini-GPS tag that will be mounted on the tail of a Mexican spotted owl as part of a movement ecology study.
Ceeanna Zulla organizes and assembles color leg bands that will be used to uniquely identify Mexican spotted owls.
Gavin won two awards from the Rocky Mountain Research Station in 2022 – ‘Best Scientific Publication’ and ‘Early Career Scientist’ awards. What an honor!
Shaula Hedwall, Becky Kirby, and Jack Williams on the Sitgreaves National Forest during a field trip.
Ceeanna Zulla holds fragments of a Mexican spotted owl pellet on the Tonto National Forest, Arizona.
Joining Dr. Pete Fulé’s class field trip to Mexican spotted owl habitat on the Coconino National Forest in Arizona.
Nothing better than reuniting with colleagues and friends – at the 2022 Wildlife Society meeting in Spokane, Washington.
Field trip to the Sacramento Ranger District on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico.
Taking flight!
Posing by a waterfall during a field trip to the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico.
Paige Handley, a biologist with the Cibola National Forest, deploys an acoustic recording unit as part of a collaboration with Rocky Mountain Research Station.
Jessalyn going “cuckoo” over new results!
Visiting with colleagues from the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana.
When we said we wanted to study the effects of wildfire, we didn’t mean it like this!
Jack Williams lectures a captive audience of Mexican spotted owl biologists on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico.
Sarah Sawyer, USFS National Wildlife Ecologist, going all-out to make sure an acoustic recording unit is secured to a tree on the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.
Close-up of a Cornell SwiftOne acoustic recording unit that was deployed on the Kabiab National Forest as part of a study of bird communities.
Jessalyn Ayars on a field trip to the Black Range Ranger District on the Gila National Forest, New Mexico.
Nothing hits like an afternoon nap.
A packed house for a Biology Department seminar by Dani Owens at University of New Mexico.
Exhausted but cheerful hikers after a long day traversing the Sandia Crest trail on the Cibola National Forest!
Dani Owens above the clouds on the summit of Mt. James in Glacier National Park.
Gavin speaking at the National Academy of Sciences in Irvine, CA as part of his selection as a 2025 Kavli Fellow
Dr. Caroline Cappello looks for pinyon jays.
Lab goals? Look at that collaboration!
Dana Reid observes a newly GPS-tagged Mexican spotted owl after it was released.
Gavin was honored with the Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award from the American Ornithological Society in 2024.
Dana Reid points to a nearby tree where a Mexican spotted owl nest has been found.
August is huckleberry season in Glacier National Park, MT!
It’s owl o’clock on the Tonto National Forest in northern Arizona.
Chief Mountain, or “Ninaistako”, is sacred to the Blackfeet people and makes up part of their creation story.
We’ve got a tree hugger! Collaborator Dr. Andrew Stillman sizes up a scorched ponderosa pine in the 2022 Black fire (Gila National Forest).
Labbers and friends out for a happy hour at Canteen in Albuquerque.
Arianna Bowman (high school intern) releases a Mexican spotted owl on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico.
The greatest pit toilet on Earth? At Boulder Pass, Glacier National Park, Montana.
A reunion dinner with the best graduate school cohort ever (!) during Gavin’s visit to CU-Boulder for the 2024 EEB seminar.
Burnt orange skies from wildfire smoke give a surreal backdrop for pika surveys. Lexie and Maloree hike in the foreground.
The pika crew descends a class 4 section of Bishop’s Cap in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Team Pika 2023! L-R Lexie, Maloree, Kathy, Lucas, Gavin, Alyssa, Dani, and Jessalyn.
Baby Mexican spotted owls!
Have you ever seen a rainbow from above? Gavin on the summit of Ipasha Peak in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Dani Owens looks to Medicine Grizzly lake and Razoredge Mountain on the way to Triple Divide Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Post-fire type conversion in Sunrift Gorge, Glacier National Park, Montana.
No better post-backcountry meal than Serrano’s in East Glacier!
Fear of heights? Studying pikas in Glacier National Park may NOT be for you!
Jessalyn and Gavin lead a descent from the summit of Mt. Reynolds in Glacier National Park, MT.
Maloree with a Boreal Toad while Rat LePika looks on from her shoulder pouch in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Jessalyn Ayars, Maloree Barbera, Dani Owens, and Lexie Bingman pause for a photo at the summit of Bishop’s Cap in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Ruby the Rubicon rests near team pika headquarters.
Gavin holds an adult Mexican spotted owl on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico. GPS tracking data from this bird will be used to inform habitat conservation.
Jones labbers at an Albuquerque Isotopes baseball game.
Nick Kryshak works his creative and engineering magic to design and construct foot snares for capturing Mexican spotted owls.
Gavin and Michaela sit in the woods and wait for the owls to wake up.
Ceeanna Zulla and Nick Kryshak look on as Shaula Hedwall marks up a map during a Mexican spotted owl survey coordination meeting in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Shaula Hedwall examines bear tracks on the Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona.
Gavin, Ceeanna, and Dana (L-R) on the Coconino National Forest, Arizona.
Jessalyn Ayars presents her research during a symposium at the 2022 Wildlife Society meeting in Spokane, Washington.
Gavin with Andrea Chavez and Josh Brunk in the Manzano Mountain Wilderness in New Mexico.
Ceeanna Zulla shades her eyes from the sun on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico.
Looking at landscape-level fuels reduction treatments in Mexican spotted owl habitat on the Kaibab National Forest, Arizona.
If you’re in the Jones lab long enough, you might just turn into Smokey Bear!
Jones labbers listen as Leah White presents on her Master’s research, focusing on effects of wildfire and management on mammals in the Jemez Mountains.
Jessalyn Ayars poses with a recently deployed acoustic recording unit on the Black Range Ranger District of the Gila National Forest.
Paige and Andrea pose with the first-ever acoustic recording unit deployed on the Cibola National Forest as part of a collaboration with RMRS.
Gavin holds a Madrean alligator lizard on the Gila National Forest, New Mexico.
Dr. Jens Stevens walks ahead of Gavin on an outing to Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico.
Gavin got to catch up with emeritus labber Jessalyn Ayars when visiting Oregon State University for a seminar.
A day above the clouds in Glacier National Park.
In the American Southwest, Mexican spotted owls often occupy rocky canyonlands with steep cliff faces.
A stunning view of the long ridge of the Sandia Mountains from mile ~18 of the Sandia Crest trail just east of Albuquerque.
Kari Norman descends the ridge from Mt. James in Glacier National Park.
Walking through a snow-dusted ponderosa pine forest on the Mogollon Rim in search of spotted owls.
Lab photo op while sleuthing for pinyon jays northeast of Albuquerque.
Exploring canyonland bird habitat in the Chiricahua Mountains near the Arizona-New Mexico border.
Another day at the office in Glacier National Park, MT.
Dani Owens makes a cameo as part of National Park Service promotion of our group’s pika project.
Sometimes, it really does feel like you’ve ascended into the heavens in Glacier National Park, MT.
Field technician Michael Cushing doesn’t need a freeze-dried backcountry dinner, he’ll catch his own!
Up, up, up! Team Pika ascends a steep talus field in Glacier National Park, MT.
Juniper Vane (L) and Dana Reid (R) work on attaching a tail-mounted GPS unit on a Mexican spotted owl.
Love is love! Mutual preening is a pair-bonding activity in many birds, including Mexican spotted owls.
Team Pika takes a rest before surveying a talus patch near Piegan Pass in Glacier National Park, MT.
A perfect reflective moment at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico.
Is it supposed to come like that? It can’t be fieldwork without a few mishaps!
Labbers and friends (mostly University of Wisconsin colleagues) enjoying a homemade taco dinner at TWS Western Section in Rohnert Park, CA.
A sun-soaked snack break during a lab hike in the Sandia Mountains.
Dana poses with a beautiful sunset in one of the most remote areas of New Mexico.
Ronan Hart showing off his Google Earth Engine wizardry in the lab.
It’s always a good day when you get to hang out with long-time collaborator, mentor, and all-around good dude Rocky Gutiérrez!
Now THAT’s what I call hay, volume TBD. Fresh hay collected by pikas will cure in the sun and provide winter rations.
Gavin captures an adult Mexican spotted owl on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico, as part of a GPS tracking study.
The pika crew (Lexie, Jessalyn, Dani, and Maloree, L-R) embarking on an 8-day backcountry trip to look for pikas in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Maloree on her way to getting a mullet at the hands of Jessalyn.
The pika crew traverses alpine country near Piegan Peak in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Backpacking to Red Eagle Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Lucas becoming his Animorph during a bushwack in northeastern Glacier National Park, Montana.
Team Pika (Maloree, Jessalyn, Dani, Lucas, Lexie, L-R) taking a breather on their way to a summit in Glacier National Park, Montana.
The pika crew walking the long ridge between Pollock Mountain and Bishop’s Cap above the Garden Wall in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Team Pika shuffling the deck for a rousing night of Sheeps-head in the cabin.
Pika team mascot Rat LePika on another summit cairn – the big showoff!
Jones lab hike in the Sandia Foothills in Albuquerque (Gavin, Josh, Marilyn, Jessalyn, Arianna, Ronan, Anna, L-R).
Michaela Gustafson prepares to release an adult Mexican spotted owl that she just captured as part of a GPS tracking study.
Gavin attaches a GPS transmitter to a Mexican spotted owl on the Tonto National Forest in northern Arizona while Ceeanna Zulla holds the bird.
Nick Kryshak holds “Count Mayhill”, which the team uses to practice attaching GPS units to the “tailfeathers”.
Gavin holds an adult female Mexican spotted owl on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico, while Nick Kryshak prepares his bird banding equipment.
The Jones lab hosts Dr. Mike Schwartz (far left) during a visit to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Lunch is best when eaten on the forest floor!
Nick Kryshak places a uniquely colored leg band on an adult Mexican spotted owl, so that future surveyors can identify the bird from afar.
Hiking in a Mexican spotted owl Protected Activity Center on the Coconino National Forest, Arizona.
Gavin, Jessalyn Ayars, and Leah White (L-R) during a poster session at the 2022 Wildlife Society meeting in Spokane, Washington.
Ceeanna Zulla ‘twinning’ with the fall foliage on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico.
Listening to Shaula Hedwall discuss Mexican spotted owl habitat on the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico.
Gavin and Shaula Hedwall snag a selfie during a Mexican Spotted Owl Leaders Forum meeting in Arizona.
Andrea Chavez, the Forest Biologist for the Cibola National Forest, New Mexico, pauses on the crest of the Manzano Mountains.
Jones labbers and RMRS friends look on as Lisa Bryant discusses the role of the Science Applications and Communications staff team.
Ron Maes and Jack Williams deploy an acoustic recording unit on the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.
Acoustic recording units are ‘go for launch’ as part of a pilot acoustic monitoring study in Arizona and New Mexico.
Gavin and Paige Handley snap a selfie on the Manzano crest trail on the Cibola National Forest, New Mexico.
View into the Aldo Leopold Wilderness from Lookout Mountain on the Black Range Ranger District, Gila National Forest, New Mexico.
Gavin, Jessalyn Ayars, Jack Williams, Paige Handley, Andrea Chavez, and Rene Guaderrama pose in front of housing quarters during a field trip to the Gila National Forest.