What The Hell Was This Helicopter Doing Over Salt River Fields?

Tuesday, St. Patrick's day (March 17, for those unconcerned with gratuitous excuses to hit the liquor), I was at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, watching a split-squad Angels team demolish a hapless Rockies team in more or less like their regular season configuration. Mike Trout's two home runs and a surprisingly strong pitching effort by Drew Rucinski were the highlights of a crushing 11-0 shutout. What really bugged me — perhaps, literally — was this:

This helicopter flew overhead and hovered low over the stadium. As I had my long lens with me, I took a couple shots of it. Here's an even closer shot:

What is that thing the guy's dangling out of the helicopter? And why all the pointy things on the boom? Antennas? Maybe a stingray they bring to the park? And if so, why?

The hull number, N204LC, correctly identifies it as a Robinson R44 II, but based in Missoula, MT, a bit of a haul for a chopper with a 350 statute mile range.

This is very weird.