This week was the last week of bird surveys. Because the weather was so cooperative, we were able to get all of them done (3 rounds on each of the 19 sites) in addition to the playback surveys! *sweet victory plays in the background*
By far, the best part of our week was having the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew join us on our natural resources escapades. The YCC are a group of 15-18 year-olds who work in the park doing hardcore maintenance of trails and anything else that pops up. It’s nation-wide and operates every summer around the country. The other interns and I started out with a brief intro to natural resources (history of the park, tree ID, invasive species) then went on a nature walk to geek out over birds, bugs, and scaly things.
The crew helped us with bird surveys and deer exclosure vegetation surveys. Their energy was infectious and brought out our own enthusiasm for what we do!
Kaleigh Keohane 