In summer, the song sings itself.

While driving to Mattamuskeet, after a thunderstorm.

With orientation completed, I hit the ground running with the Bio-technician by aiding her with a variety of tasks. Weekly water quality monitoring utilizing the Hydrometer and Sonde I mentioned in the prior post, taking a boat out on the East and West sides of the lake for Osprey Productivity Surveys, and driving around each impoundment around the lake to conduct Shorebird surveys. I was able to see a few species I had not seen before, such as the Glossy Ibis! This refuge was founded for the purpose of providing migratory bird habitat, emphasizing why we conduct surveys for birds and take care to monitor the water quality of the lake.

Osprey Productivity Surveys

Although these surveys may not sound like much, it actually took a decent amount of time/effort to complete everything we needed to during the two and a half week time span but it was all necessary for our data collection efforts. When not working on these three tasks, I had miscellaneous other jobs. These included preparing for the week long outreach program, Dragonfly Detectives (mentioned below), and assisting the crew wherever I was needed. We helped out with an Air Quality Monitoring station on one day (technically I was meant to help on two days but I ended up getting a terrible sunburn after going to the beach a weekend prior which resulted in missing a day of work, oops). We just switched out the filters and jot down data for the another scientist to later examine.

One task I was given alongside the SCA intern and Biotechnician is taking pictures and typing out posts for the Lake Mattamuskeet facebook page. You can actually scroll through and see some of of the pictures and posts I had written up (some were edited). [Click]

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On the weekends I found myself helping out the other refuges on occasion. During my trips I would sometimes take packages to/from one refuge to the next. Don't worry mom, it was not out of the way so I didn't waste gas. 

Dare Days - I am the red wolf.

One weekend, I dressed up as a red wolf (above) for a little while for Dare Days! It was a good time and an awesome festival, I ate fried pickles and looked around at a lot of booths with the other interns. Cannot forget those delicious pickles.

As you can see from the pictures above, I attended Pea Island's annual Crab Rodeo. A group of us went and caught a bunch of blue crabs. Some of us bought corn, mussles, clams, shrimp, and potato salad. As you can also see, we had a delicious feast!!!! I took a thanksgiving nap after this.

 

The aquarium finally opened so we took the time to visit that. Very well done and I loved the interactive displays that had recently installed. There is a Sea Turtle rehabilitation center attached to the facility so we got to see a few sea turtles up close. Interns assist with monitoring turtle activity in the outer banks area, making this experience a treat.

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A very memorable experience was when I assisted the biologist with a week long outreach program known as "Dragonfly Detectives". I admittedly did not know much about dragonflies - beyond their life cycle, diet, and how they're different from damselflies - so preparing for it was top priority for me. I read numerous articles, looked through the field guide a few times, and dug through all the agendas and resources that were provided to us via the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, NC State Parks, NC Center for Afterschool Programs, and the program educator and scientists.

The six week long program was condensed down to 5 days for us with a basic layout that easily carried us throughout the week. Together, the biologist and I helped the kids collect real scientific data during the one week program for three citizen science projects - Dragonfly Detectives, Pond Watch, and Dragonfly Project Swarm. If you're wondering "what in the world are these about", click the links below to read up before continuing in this post, otherwise stuff may not make sense:

Dragonfly Detectives
Pond Watch
Dragonfly Swarm Project

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Day 1 was admittedly rough, but that's because we had to have the students (3rd-6th) fill out a few forms for the project and had to go through basic terminology to set them up for the rest of the week. Name a child that enjoys paperwork despite it being necessary. Thankfully we managed to find some time outside to practice our field studies, which they very much enjoyed, and this set us up for the remainder of the week! Making Day 2-4 a breeze.

Every day the students arrived and filled out a required journal entry, that each were given on Day 1, and had time to look around the visitor center before we started. They were then rallied into the conference room where we gathered all of our supplies for field work - journals, pencils, field guides, water bottles, bugspray/sunscreen, Kestrel (an instrument for wind speed/direction, temperature, humidity and barometric pressure), and a light intensity unit (for gauging the intensity of the sun's rays) - and head out to our nearby boardwalk trail.

Once we arrived in the field we started off with observing a defined area for Pond Watch. This was done for 10 minutes while looking for four of our five dragonfly species: Green Darner, Black Saddlebag, Spot-Winged Glider, and Wandering Glider. They could point out any dragonflies they saw and used their personal field guides to see if they could identify any species they weren't sure about. Unfortunately we never saw any of these species, but we at least were able to explain why during Day 3's lesson! Dragonflies migrate like birds! Did you know that? Our species were present in the spring but apparently vanished, suggesting they moved on. The kids weren't sad though and honestly this was good data! After all, the purpose of Pond Watch is to study migration patterns and this merely aids the scientists in seeing that the dragonflies were not present in this area during this particular week.

After Pond Watch was over, we started working on Dragonfly Detectives data. The group was separated into two groups for this. Group one would spend two sessions, which lasted three minutes each, sitting quietly as they sought after our fifth required species - the Common Whitetail (which was changed to Eastern Pondhawk day 3 and 4). Meanwhile group two spent their two sessions with me doing weather data collection. They used to the kestrel for this and would observe whether or not it was raining, wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and light intensity. They would collect two sets of data with me while the other group would observe for dragonflies for two sessions, then both groups would switch. This way both groups observed weather and dragonflies two times each; providing us with four sets of data per day.

Once data collection was finished, we would let the kids try to catch dragonflies with their net. On day 3, we starting marking any dragonfly caught to see if we could recapture any species - and we actually had! Markers do not hurt the dragonflies wings, which are very durable and tough, making capture and marking quite fun for both myself, the staff, and kids. They started learning how to identify each species they caught using their guides. We never saw our five species, minus the eastern pondhawk which we added on, but we saw at least a dozen others that each of them were able to ID on their own! There was plenty of damselflies noticed as well.

Every day after data collection, we would head back inside for lunch and follow that up with a lesson.

Day 2's lesson included: dragonflies vs damselflies - the differences between each and how they can be confused, life cycles - dragonfly life cycles and information about each stage, and learning how to identify aquatic insects. The aquatic portion was done by having them dig through a bucket of micro-invertebrates I had collected the morning prior and placed them in containers for them to view the unique species. They used blue binders with field ID pages to try and see what species was what, special facts about them, and later drew their favorite species in their journals.

Damselfly species.

Day 3's lesson included: dragonfly behaviors, migration, water quality monitoring with micro-invertebrates, and how to capture/mark/release dragonflies with a sharpie. Dragonflies exhibit different types of behavior I had seen but didn't know much about. Females lay eggs by dipping their tails into the water (link). Males with hover in place to patrol their territory. Males will attach to the female during mating and females typically deposit eggs shortly after, they create a sort of circle at times (link). How dragonflies see the world and why it can be hard to catch them sometimes (link). How dragonflies catch their food in the air (link). How the larvae eat (link).

The later half of Day 3 was spent teaching the students how to assess water quality based on what aquatic species they found. We collected them that afternoon from the canal. After assessing each species, the quality came back excellent and the kids had a blast!!! Literally, we couldn't keep them out of the bucket.

Day 4's lesson was actually joined in with Day 3, so we spent the morning collecting data and then the afternoon was spent kayaking the canal. So they gained more kayaking experience with the fellow staff members. I was too much of a chicken to actually go kayaking so I spent time copying journal entries, collecting data per student, and other necessary paperwork for the citizen science project. By the time they had finished the day was almost complete for them and I had most of my paperwork done - so we finished it off by playing their game "Bug Crushers Tag". It was the group name they had chosen and a variation of tag. We would dedicate two people as dragonflies and the rest were insects. The dragonflies could follow three directions: normal (walk normally), hover (fly in one spot), and propel (run to catch insects). The insects were allowed to walk normally and run when propel was yelled. Last two students left were dragonflies or we hand picked those so create a fair environment. They wanted to play once or twice a day, making their week that much more fun and giving staff a good laugh on some occasions too when they had to be insects with the students!

Finally, day 5. We did not collect data on this day but, instead, I made linear regression equations utilizing scatter plot graphs in excel with the data they collected. The linear regression line shows whether or not there are positive or negative correlations between the two items they were trying to study. In this case we compared the number of dragonfly flights against each weather parameter: wind speed (locally and regionally), temperature, light intensity, barometric pressure, humidity, raining. We then predicted which of these parameters proved that an increase in flights was because of an increase in x parameter (or decrease due to a decrease in x parameter). If this doesn't make since look at the graph and comment on this post with your question.

Specials thanks to Rob Hopkins from Uni. of Rio Grande for teaching me how to do this with excel!

As temperature increased, we noticed an increase in the average number of dragonfly flights (based off the trendline and linear regression equation associated with said line).

Aside from looking at the data, we actually helped the children understand the scientific method by going through the process itself. The purpose of this was to create a poster at the end of the day that they can actually present at Bug Fest in Raleigh, NC. This is held in September if anyone is interested in attending! Day 1 they made a hypothesis on how they think dragonflies are affected by weather activity and on Day 5, we utilized their individual hypotheses to create six new ones that could be used for the poster. There were so many due to the amount of data we had collected. Mind you, this was all just for the dragonfly detectives portion of the project - counting Eastern Pondhawk species and collecting weather - not the pond watch data.

After they determined their hypotheses, they then wrote up a "Methods" description. This involved the equipment they used and how they studied the dragonfly flights. We skipped the objectives section which normally goes between hypothesis and methods - it wasn't required by the citizen science project I promise! After methods was determining their results and conclusion sections based on the data they had discussed earlier. This may sound hard to grasp but the 3rd-6th graders had it! They worked together as a team to write everything out, understand the data, and at the very end of it all they made a wonderful poster seen below!!! I know it's hard to read what was written but it looks nice right?! Creative kids indeed and I hope they all go to BugFest to present this poster.

When the program was finished we all said our goodbyes and they were allowed to keep all their materials from this week - bug nets, journals, water bottle, tweezers, and field guide. Some spent time after their week was over trying to catch dragonflies at the refuge. Of course, being a refuge, they could not keep any specimens without a permit but some were excited about catching species at their house! To think, on Day 1 these kids were shy, quiet, and weren't sure about dragonflies. They were definitely enthusiastic upon leaving and the parent surveys suggested that they were definitely learning! This is something I very proud of and yet another reason I believe I have chosen environmental education as my career path.

Yep, you read it right, I think I finally decided on what I would like my career path to be!


You can also check out more information about the project by Clicking this Link
There's a blog available as well! Our group will be featured in it eventually so pay attention!

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After dragonfly detectives had ended, I spent the weekend at Alligator River once again. Surprisingly I have a little side story to include for this particular weekend; and it involves a Northern Flicker.

On the way to Alligator River, I came across a Northern Flicker lying in the road. I actually swerved around and stopped, not dramatically, but noticed it was still sitting in the same spot. My first thought was maybe it was a juvenile and so I was going to move it off the side of the road - till I noticed blood on its wing and felt around. I believe it had a broken bone but I could be wrong. Looking back, the bird probably was a juvi, but the blood on the wing still concerned me all the same. Long story short, he ended up going to a local rehabilitation facility in Hatteras and a group of us had delicious seafood in Buxton. It was a great weekend!

They might hate me for this picture.

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Pelicans in flight

 Finally, something I have long waited for since I first heard of it - Pelican and Tern Banding! I had never imagined having this opportunity so I had been anticipating on attending both banding sessions for weeks!! When the chance finally came, I put up my thrift shop clothes and head out the door around 5am with the Alligator River interns and our SCA intern I mentioned prior. We met up with the Pea Island/Pocosin interns, staff members, volunteers from USFWS and the Park Service, and the actual bird banders at the Coast Guard docks around 6:30-7am and were out on the boas in no time. I got to rid in the Coast Guard boat, which absolutely made my day! They were nice folks and I think we gave them a good laugh when I helped an AR intern off the boat and through the water, we had to tread, via piggyback; she couldn't get her foot wet. We started on a good note to say the least!


One by one we had to carefully grab the birds and hold them to where they would a) not injure us or the bander and b) so the bander could put a band on. Teamwork and communication were key! When we finished with pelican banding, the banders estimated that in roughly 3 hours with 33 people, we banded 2 adult Brown Pelicans, close to 1,000 pelican nestlings, and 3 Double-crested Cormorants hatchlings. That's a lot of birds banded but we even saw more birds! A few eggs, some newly hatched pinkies, and more. There were chicks of all ages and sizes. I was lucky to get the chance to grab the beak of one of the adults, seen above, and was thankful for a picture as well. By far one of the best experiences! Part of the evening after pelican banding was spent with the Mattamuskeet bio-technician, biologist, and SCA intern. We discussed what we had completed in the month of June and what our schedule would look like in July. I have a list of duties to complete and boy am I excited to complete them! I hope to talk about them more in my next post!

Day two of the banding days was spent on a different island but with terns instead. Tern day was cleaner than pelican day so the thrift shop clothes were left sitting outside due to their pelican-y stench and I was able to wear a t-shirt and shorts. Adult terns are generally smaller than the pelican chick featured above, so you can imagine how small their own chicks were. In case you aren't sure, just check out the picture of me holding one. Fear not, the bird was not hurt during the banding process. Which, something different from pelican banding was the fact each of us were actually able to band the terns ourselves! I lost count after banding 50 terns and can't even begin to give an estimate besides "a lot of birds". Overall, I heard we banded 1673 royal terns and unknown Sandwich/Caspian but also saw an estimate of 600 Royal tern, 100 Sandwich Tern, and 4 Caspian Tern. The biologists were the only ones to band Sandwich and Caspian, I believe, but no matter the number - it was a lot of birds.

Flock of Royal, Sandwich, and Caspian Tern

Sine some of you have already seen some pictures and have asked "which was your favorite", I figured I may as well post it here too. Honestly it was a hard call between Pelican and Tern banding, but I think I enjoyed Pelican banding more. The pelicans were messy and the tern were smaller, fluffier, and absolutely adorable; but I think I enjoyed how challenging it was to grab the pelicans. However, as I had said, both were very fun and I definitely will never forget the experience!!!


The remainder of the week was spent tackling July items of business, which were discussed at our meeting we had after Pelican banding was finished. I will talk about this stuff more in the future :)



If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or message me on FB. Thank you for reading!