Join GBBO biologists on this community science outing. We will be looking for cones! On July 10th, GBBO biologist, Kelly Colegrove gave a webinar presentation about the relationship between pinyon pine cones and Pinyon Jays. The Pinyon Jay is extremely well-adapted to capitalize on the unique ecology of the pinyon pine. Kelly detailed this relationship and updated viewers on an opportunity to help researchers learn more about it. Every fall, Pinyon Jays harvest and cache as many pine nuts as they can from ripe pinyon pine cones as a strategy to survive harsh winters. Pinyon pine produces variable amounts of cones and nuts from year to year. Tracking the availability of this important food resource is one important piece of the Pinyon Jay conservation puzzle.

On this trip we will go over the Survey1,2,3 form for collecting data on pinyon pine cones. If we are lucky we may even see Pinyon Jays in harvest mode! You can view the recording of Kelly’s presentation here!

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