[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[DUCKS QUACKING]
Today we're coming to you from an airplane?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hello everyone.
Welcome back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services
Conservation Connect, where we learn
about conservation careers, wildlife species, and all kinds
of technology that are used to study and protect wildlife.
We're meeting pilot biologist Steve Earsom with the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
Now Steve spends a good deal of his time
in the cockpit of a plane, doing his part for conservation.
Let's meet up with him to find out
just what his job is really like.
Steve, it's so very nice to meet you.
Thank you so much for having us at your airport.
And I've got to ask you, how did you
become interested in a career in conservation
as a pilot biologist?
Well, I grew up just running around in fields and streams,
and hunting and fishing.
So I really grew up outdoors.
And that was sort of the basis from for my love of nature.
And then I started studying biology,
and as things went along, I found out
that you could actually combine careers
of Aviation and Biology.
And that's what brought me to where I am today.
What exactly does a pilot biologist do anyway?
Oh, it's amazing.
It's really cool.
So a lot of biologists get to do things out in the field.
So they will walk or hike out in the field
to collect information.
Others may drive a truck, or a boat, or an ATV, things
like that.
I actually get to collect information
on wildlife for it's conservation from an airplane.
But a lot of what we do is actually
surveys for migratory birds.
So migratory birds are things like ducks, and geese,
and eagles.
Anything that spends part of its life in a given
year in one part of the world and goes somewhere else
for another part of its life.
Well, so what we do is we fly the airplane
really low and really slow.
So we fly our surveys at about 150 or 200 feet
above the ground.
So right above the tree tops.
That gives us just a second or two to see a duck or a goose,
and allows us just enough time to identify that bird.
Would you mind giving me and some of the viewers
a little lesson on how to identify some of the birds
that you see?
Right, sure.
So we start out with a habitat.
So we know that there are some bird species that you'll
find in big lakes or out in the ocean where
there is no land around, anywhere at all.
And then there's other species that you'll
find in little, tiny wetlands.
So we like to call them puddle ducks.
And then the second step is how the bird takes off
from the water.
So if the bird flies off the water
and they are a puddle duck, they take off like a rocket.
I mean, it's like almost straight up.
The third area of refinement to keep
moving more and more birds out of the possibility
is, how they actually look.
So some of the birds they look like footballs.
They're big, fat, and they've got these little stubby wings.
And they look like they can't hardly fly.
For other birds are really long and slender,
have these really slender wings and they have a slower wing
beat.
And then finally, you get to actually the markings.
You know, what's the bird got on?
So for example, a mallard.
He's got a big, green head.
And if you see a mallard flying, he almost
has this white horse shoe on the tail.
Makes it really easy to identify from the air.
A present that I brought for you, it is a flight suit.
And let's see how that works for you.
Yeah, that looks like a perfect fit to me.
So this is basically-- this is a flight
suit that you see a lot of people who fly airplanes use.
And it's made out of a special material,
and it's the same kind of material
that firefighters wear.
And it just helps protect our body against fires.
Next, Steve treated me to a quick flight,
to check my new identification skills.
And as we flew over a wetland, I was
able to make out the telltale markings of mallard ducks
below.
But all too soon, it was time to come back down.
Steve, that was awesome.
I just had the time of my life.
Thank you so very much.
And I know everyone watching is pretty
jealous of the type of job you do,
so I have to ask on behalf of them,
what can they do to get a job just like yours?
You know, the key is just spending time outdoors
in nature, and learning birds, and learning all the animals
that you can learn.
You don't have to live out in the country to do that.
Even if you live in a neighborhood,
there's always a park around or even
if you can't get to the park, you can always
look out your window.
There's an amazing number of birds
that you can see out your window.
And start learning to identify them.
And the two things that you can use to really help you
in identifying birds is a field guide,
and that has all the markings of the birds
and it talks about the habitats that they use,
and what times of year that they're
going to be in your neighborhood.
And then also, if you can get a pair of binoculars,
that can really help you identify the specifics
on the bird.
And that gets you a long way down the way
to becoming a biologist pilot.
Well, I think this is fantastic advise, Steve.
Thank you so much again.
Great meeting you.
Great to meet you.
Remember, any of you guys watching
can have a job just like this.
How awesome would that be?
Thanks everyone, and we'll see you next time
on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Conservation Connect.