Conservation Commons: David Skinner

To follow a falconer into the field is a lesson in communication, passion and good old fashioned hard work.

Partnering with a 4-year old Gyrfalcon and a young Peregrine, wildlife biologist David Skinner is a devoted falconer, out in the field almost daily with both his falcons and his English pointer.

Skinner unloads gear with the helium balloon tied to his truck.

Our first stop during my visit with him was an agricultural field to try out David’s large helium balloon. Sending it over a thousand feet into the air, it’s a training tool that looks like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss story. In the valley floor the morning was calm and cool, great conditions for flying. As the balloon gained elevation we noticed that a slight wind picked it up, dragging it lower and away from where we stood. Not ideal. We changed course to plan B.

Driving toward the gray-green of the sagebrush hills, we both smiled as we notice a large group of sage-grouse in a grassy field. They’re impressive birds, larger than a normal chicken and standing out unmistakably in the open field. We continued down a two-track BLM road and found a spot to pull to the side and get out the falcon and dog. It was David’s new Peregrine’s first time flying in the open sagebrush and with not a truck or person to be seen in any direction, it was the perfect spot. His English pointer careened through the sagebrush with a grace that only these nimble bird dogs can demonstrate, perfectly in her element. His falcon flew almost a mile to our south, a black dot in the sky.

“HO! HO!” He yelled, trying to get her attention as a few sage-grouse flushed in front of his dog.

A few moments later a dove caught her eye and just like the intensity of the pointer in front of us, the falcon locked onto her target with primal desire. Her wings pressed hurriedly up and down in the high desert air as she sought to catch up with the dove.

“HO! HO! HO! HO!”

David released a small pheasant and immediately the falcon switched targets, gaining speed on the larger bird. As she neared the pheasant they both disappeared behind a depression in the landscape and didn’t come back up. The morning’s work between man, dog and falcon had been successful and the hunt was over.

B: So tell me a little bit about your background and how you got into both biology and falconry.

D: When I became interested in becoming a biologist was around the same time that I became interested in falconry. I was 15 and taking a class by a teacher who had been a Peace Corps volunteer in South America and had such great stories of the fisheries work he’d done that made me think “Man, that’s what I want to be doing.” But really falconry has been the source of a lot of my interest in conservation and my interest in raptors and sage-grouse, too. It’s all related to falconry. I’d say it’s definitely connected, being a biologist and a falconer. I’m unique as a biologist in that I don’t have a master’s degree. I started off fighting fire for the BLM during my undergrad, worked for Fish and Game for two seasons, did raptor surveys for the BLM, then worked for the Forest Service in Council on the Payette NF. Ever since then I’ve stuck with the Forest Service.

B: What about hunting, how did you get into that?

D: Growing up, I wouldn’t say my family were big hunters but there was definitely hunting involved. Looking back, it was more just walking through the woods with a gun. My dad would let me tag along as a boy, carrying my BB gun and just having a ball. What was great about it, looking back, is that the hunts weren’t about killing an animal. It was about my dad taking his sons out and, as much as anything, just spending time together in the woods. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that we even got anything. But it influenced me hugely. That time spent in the mountains was a lot of what turned me towards wildlife biology. I’m a proponent that hunting creates conservation, both in terms of money and value. In Idaho, if you want a species to have value, you hunt it. As a biologist, it helps that I hunt because I’m out there even more often, immersing myself in the habitats that I’m working with.

B: You have two daughters, do they hunt as well?

D: My daughter who is up in Alaska does a bit of waterfowl hunting and trapping with the Inuit tribes. I wouldn’t call her a hunter, but she absolutely appreciates it. And my other daughter doesn’t hunt but her favorite meat is duck. That would thanks to the falcons.

B: While in the field, either for work or with the falcons, what have been some memorable wildlife encounters?

D: It happens to me regularly, that’s what I would say. I’ve had it where I’m just sitting there doing wildlife surveys and a bear cub walked right up to me and it didn’t see me until it was only a few feet away, not spooking until I would say something if it got too close. I think it’s the time of year, too. During winter when they’re really focused in on getting food is when I’ve been lucky enough to see mountain lions. Lots of raptor experiences too. I have to say, getting attacked by a goshawk is pretty cool.

B: Who has been a big influence in the path you’ve taken through both wildlife biology and falconry?

D: I read My Side of the Mountain and the themes in that book were huge for me. The author of that book was the sister of John and Frank Craighead. They were falconers who traveled to India in the 40’s and really helped spark falconry in North America, among other things. I also got to meet Maurice Hornocker who was one of the first people to put telemetry on animals, mountain lions to be exact. One time I was in Moscow using telemetry to try to find my bird and this guy was walking down the road towards me. He asked me what I was tracking, and he said, “You know I was one of the first people to ever use one of those.” It turned out to be him. It was pretty cool.

B: You also were one of the few to partake in the ongoing wolverine project in Idaho, right?

D: I was very lucky in that I got to help with a lot of the bait stations, snowmobiling into some deep, rugged terrain. I never actually saw any wolverines while working on the project, but I would see tracks and lots of sign. We also did a study on how winter recreation affects wolverines which has been a bit controversial. It did come out a little harsher on recreation than we thought to begin with. What we found is that they would become habituated to trail riding, but dispersed riding, where people go off trails, can cause functional habitat loss. This means certain percentages of their home range they weren’t using anymore because of the snowmobiles.

B: What do you see as being some of your most influential work?

D: Hands down, the educational work I do with the falcons is my most influential conservation work. Bringing a falcon into a room full of kids and telling stories really sticks with them, and I truly believe can direct some towards a love of and devotion to conservation.

David Skinner is a wildlife biologist on the Sawtooth National Forest, a father, a falconer and a conservationist. He resides in a small town where he has more elk for neighbors than people.

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