For this week, we spent a lot of time doing things we don’t usually do. We worked on our outreach/extension projects for the PALS event the following Monday. We will be working with groups of 8-14 year old kids and teaching them what we know about birds and their habitats.

In order to create our very own project, it took a lot of discussion and a combination of both Garret and I’s ideas. We wanted the kids to understand that different habitats: wetlands, upland forest, grasslands, etc., all play a huge role for birds and their diet preference. There are some habitats that offer a unique food resource for some birds. For example, the wetlands are key habitats for herons as they provide fish, which is a part of their diet. For our activity, we got the change to get all crafty! We created models of acorns and blueberries using model magic clay. We also painted poster boards of the different habitats. It was nice to get a chance to do something other than being out in the field for once. It was a good way to rest up and recover from last week’s craziness!

Aside from working on our own activities, I also enjoyed testing out the other interns’ activities for PALS. Below is a picture of us testing out the herps group’s “Edge Escape” activity. We were divided into preys and predators and in order to escape the predators we had to run to the circle. It is very similar to capture the flag.

On Friday, Garret and I went back into the field at 7AM and conducted our bird surveys. We had Tom, the photographer for the College of Agriculture, joined us and took pictures of Garret and I while we did our surveys. It was nice to get back into the field. I didn’t realize how much I missed being out and doing field work!

Pictures of the week:

Our usual bowling activity when we had the

high school kids over! Mae, Mia, Reese, and I make a good team of bowling buddies.

A fallen bird nest near one of our transects

at Martell.

The sun peeking through the woods early

in the morning.