WMNF Bear Patrol: Week Four

Monday (06/08) and Tuesday (06/09) we had off for rest days. Wednesday (06/10) Emily and I attended a workshop in the warehouse woodshop. We were introduced to the machinery that was available for us to use, proper safety protocol, and where our wood supply was. A lot of the power tools used in the shop are mainly for making/painting signs but we will be using the drill press, band saw and skill saw for building duck, bat, butterfly and bee boxes.

After the woodshop meeting, we convened with Clara and revised the older versions of the picnic table bear notice. The language needed updating, a reinforced/more austere tone, in order to better communicate proper food storage. We were able to print 150 copies, laminate them, and distribute them to priority campgrounds; Hancock, Big Rock, and Jigger Johnson.










We also launch one of the pyrotechnic deterrents for bear hazing, "Bird Banger" at Campton Day Use Area. They can shoot up to 35 feet and should be aimed at a 45 degree angle above a nuisance bear. It should only be shot off in open canopy and away from people. It's very similar to a flare gun or firework and makes a loud "pop" noise after the cartridge is released.














Thursday (06/11) we searched for an extra Bear Alert poster because our district printer was out of use... The day consisted of a lot of driving along the Kancmangus Highway. We even went to the Saco district to see if it could be sent to there plotter and laminated, but no luck. We stopped at some of the campgrounds along the way and didn't find any major problems. Lastly, we stopped at Lincoln Woods Trailhead and found a spare sign to put up at Hancock Tentsite Parking lot.

Friday (06/12) and Saturday (06/13) we spent majority of our time patrolling Tripoli Rd and Russell Pond Campground where there was an incident last weekend because of improper food storage. An LEO was not available until Saturday, so all of the name and photo documentation we recorded on Friday was given to the LEO after meeting up at Russell Pond Campground in the afternoon Saturday, sites were revisited, and citations were distributed. 

Sunday (06/14) we visited Tripoli Rd again to make sure everyone camping this weekend left clean sites. Then we made our way to Dolly Copp Campground which is a little over an hour north. It has 175 sites and only 23 of them were occupied, many with hard sided RV's which usually don't pose problems (people are able to store their food easily in their hard-sided RV's). Even with a small amount of campers, we made some good contact and familiarized ourselves with another side of the forest. 

Wild baby rescue week 2 (June 9th)

To begin with, this week was CRAZY busy. On Tuesday we got in a few injured fawns and some neonatal opossums, as well as had some orphaned skunks and groundhogs that people were attempting to trap. On top of all these newcomers, the woman at an animal shelter that normally takes care of the wildlife ended up having to be admitted to a hospital. 8 raccoons needed to go to a rehabilitator, or else they'd be euthanized. So, we ended up taking them on.

One of the admitted fawns, named Loki, had some unusual coloration- his eyes were blue, despite the rest of his body being normally colored. He came in infested (inside and out) in maggots, severely dehydrated. Despite taking days to comb out the maggots and giving him subcutaneous fluids, he passed away. The neonatal opossums also passed shortly after arriving. While these deaths are sad, one must keep in mind that all you can do is try. Not every animal will make it.

In lighter news, I mentioned in my previous post that we put live fish in the fox kits’ pond to see if they would eat them. They actually did! It was surprising to everyone that they actually consumed them. At least one fish was already dead when they ate it, but the other one may have been alive and they might have even fished it out of the water!

This week I continued to practice charting on a baby skunk named “flash”. Charting is writing down how much an animal eats, as well as noting any physiological, anatomical, or behavioral changes. For example, during this week teeth began to emerge, and he started to refuse to go in his “nest”. He also started making sounds in anticipation of eating whenever I entered the room.

On Tuesday, nine more rabbits were released. We prepared the outdoor enclosure for one of the groundhogs named “Boomer”, which he will be released into this Tuesday.  Four of the larger baby squirrels were also released into one of the outdoor enclosures, and there are plans to release a chipmunk this week.

On Sunday, a bat rehabilitator came in to give a talk on bats- what to do when they’re admitted, how and what to feed, how to clean parasites, how to treat injuries, signs of rabies, and how to prepare for release were some of the topics she covered.  I found the talk very informative, and now that we have several baby bats, this will definitely come in handy. Additionally, when she left, she took our older bat “Spike” back to her facility, to teach him how to fly and prepare him for release at the end of the summer

Wild Baby Rescue, Week 2

This week at Wild Baby Rescue, more and  more baby animals continue to be admitted to the facility. This week, we added new fawns, opossums, rabbits, and bats. Some new animals arrived as well, including skunks and raccoons. One in particular was admitted by Grace Wilson and myself after we found it in the middle of the road. It seemed to be abandoned, and we couldn't find the nest, so we managed to capture it and bring it to the facility, where he is now doing well.

In addition to feeding and charting the baby groundhogs and opossums, I fed the baby squirrels, assisted with the raccoons, and fed the fawns. The fawns take milk out of a bottle, and they always love it when we come into their pen to feed them.

We continue to feed the foxes that we let out into their pens last week. They seem to be quite at home there and are very active. This week, we are preparing a pen for one of our orphaned

groundhogs. He will be in a shorter enclosure with lots of spaces to hide in and burrow. This will prepare him well for his life in the wild.

The bat that I am in charge of is doing well also. It is my job to make sure he has a full belly and to help him locate his food via echolocation. During his feeding, I was surprised when he was able to detach himself from the wall of the flight cage and flap down to the floor. He did this a total of three times, which is more than what he previously did with my help. This is good progress for him because it teaches him that he needs to hunt for his food and go after it, rather than just sitting there and waiting for it to come to him. Exercising his wings is another crucial aspect of raising a bat. His wings need to be strong enough to carry him through the air. I help him exercise his wings by making him climb up the side of the cage multiple times, and enticing him to flap and get wind under his wings. He should be flying soon, hopefully.

WMNF Bear Patrol: Week Three

We anticipated some lousy weather for the beginning of this week and planned to take rest days on Sunday (5/31) and Tuesday (6/02). Monday which is one of our usual rest days was the formal bear hazing training with Forest Biologist, Leighlan Prout. It was a great opportunity for networking as Leighlan is a highly revered individual in the wildlife field. She's done work with the Bicknell's thrush, a species listed as vulnerable because of habitat loss. They are ground foragers and summer in montane fir forests. The monitoring that has been conducted has led to minimal evidence of their presence in parts of the Whites... Along with Clara, she has also had input on the status of the Northern long-eared bat, a species now listed as threatened due to White Nose Syndrome (WNS).

So Monday (6/01) we had bear hazing training. The term 'hazing' seemed comical to me at first, like we were going to perform rituals to revert the bear back into the wilderness... But its much more professional and, actually, an acceptable form of conditioning wildlife to stay, well, wild. It's a type on non-lethal bear management that keeps bears from becoming habituated to humans. Only certain individuals are put on the 'Hazing List' and are allowed to participate in these hazing events if the opportunity ever arises. Our job as wildlife interns is to patrol campgrounds and promote proper food storage, which the negligence of causes these unnatural behaviors of habituated bears.

Wednesday (06/03) we worked from home since we don't have access to the network at HQ. It's a pain but it also means we can comfortably work on our portfolios without having to get out of our PJ's! 

Thursday (06/04) we attended the rec meeting for the Pemi district at Lincoln Woods Trail Head. This experience was helpful for identifying who to report issues to and who has authority in which shop. After lunch, we helped clean up the trails at the beginning East/West Fork and spruce up the landscaping around the kiosks at the bridge to Lincoln Woods Trail.                            

Friday (06/05) we returned back to usual campground patrol starting at Hancock. We always stop in to the host site before attempting rounds in case the hosts know of any incidents that might be of our concern. Just our luck, there was a bear incident the night before because coolers were left out. We confronted the campsite and informed a group of older gentlemen, uncooperative and cement in their ways, that they needed to keep their 5 coolers away at any time they are not actively eating. When asked for descriptions of the bear and the incident they were very short and didn't give much detail. We took what little notes we obtained and wrote up an incident report. We traveled to the other campgrounds along the Kank; Big Rock, Passaconway, Jigger Johnson, Blackberry Crossing, and Covered Bridge and patrolled there without conflicts or food storage negligence. We returned later to Hancock in the afternoon before we returned back to HQ and found that the gentlemen at the same campsite had not put their food away. We radioed an LEO and he came to give them a citation. They also were ignorant towards him and left the campground. If we hadn't been there to patrol the camps, the first bear incident of the season would have been lately assessed or the campers may have left the area.

Saturday (06/06) we patrolled again, as the weekends are the target times for influx of campers. We stopped by Hancock and spoke to the host. That morning he found evidence of a bear incident. A car was not locked and an animal (most likely a bear) opened the doors and strew out a pack and grocery bags. An empty bread bag was found on the ground. We wrote this up in another incident report, but the party had left the camp before we got there. The second incident of the season.

     

Sunday (06/07) was the greatest day of the job thus far. We had a 0330 report time at Old Bridle Path to conduct a High Elevation Bird survey with Clara on Mt. Lafayette. We climbed the ridge about 1.5 hours in before we got to our first survey point at about 3000 ft up. At each waypoint, we documented % canopy closure, sky, wind, temp, moisture descriptions and listened for bird calls to identify the species heard within a 50ft radius of the marker tree. Before making it to the peak at survey point 9, where the AMC Greenleaf hut was located, we heard 3 Bicknell's Thrush. A total of 15 waypoints, with about 660ft between each point, we had to finish by 11. We finished at 1030 and were out of the trail at exactly 1200. A little over 4000 ft elevation at the top of the ridge and a total of 5.6 miles of trail. Some species that we were able to identify were the American Redstart, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Winter Wren, Bicknell's Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Blue Jay, and Boreal Chickadee.

I'm glad the way the season is turning out. I feel I'm making a lot of progress for the Forest Service and doing my part to minimize the nuisance bear problem. I can't wait to go on more high elevation bird surveys and ride the tramway up Cannon Mtn. I'm learning to manage other people's stress along with my own...and am really testing my ability to tolerate crew dynamics for the sake of an awesome experience.

Wild baby rescue internship- week 1 (June 1st)

This was my first week as a wildlife rehabilitation intern at wild baby rescue! There was no orientation or previous training, we just jumped right in! As my supervisor says, the best way to learn how to do something is to do it.

Within the first half hour of arriving, I was hand feeding baby squirrels. There were approximately 15, ranging in age from 3 to 6 weeks. Many did not even have their eyes open yet. They were fed a specially blended formula made for squirrels through an oral syringe with a hard plastic nipple at the end. After being fed, they were “pottied”- we rubbed moistened q-tips over their genitals until they urinated and/or defecated. After, they were cleaned up and placed in an incubator while their main incubator was cleaned.

In addition to squirrels, I tube fed a baby female opossum. Opossums are tube fed because they do not have a suckling reflex, unlike most of the other babies at the center. A long orogastric feeding tube is threaded down her esophagus, then warmed formula is fed through the tube. At the end, the tube is removed and, like the squirrels, she is pottied and has her incubator cleaned.

After the squirrels and opossum are fed, we moved on to the fawns. There are currently 12 young fawns at the center! They also get a formula specifically made for fawns, which is mixed with warm water and pumpkin to keep their stools normal. Each fawn is fed an 8 ounce bottle of formula, cleaned, looked over for ticks and injuries, and pottied in a similar fashion to the smaller animals.

The smaller, younger animals are kept indoors in incubators, while the older animals are in outdoor pre-release enclosures and the fawns are in a barn. The barn stalls and enclosures are spot cleaned when the fawns are fed (which is three times a day), and completely cleaned every other day.

On my second day (June 3), I helped prepare an outdoor enclosure for a pair of orphaned foxes. The inside had to be weeded and cleaned; enrichment items were added as well as a shelter, small pond, and hay in and around the shelter. Tarps were attached to the roof and two sides to provide protection from the rain and sun, as well as to block their view of the center to farther distance them from regular human interaction to prepare them for release. A second enclosure was also prepared for a younger pair of foxes who will be transferred outdoors when they are old enough.

June 4^th was relatively uneventful, aside from getting in a new baby skunk and releasing three rehabilitated eastern cottontails.

Aside from feeding babies, pottying infants and cleaning enclosures, there were some more mundane things that had to be done; one of which was laundry. In every incubator and indoor enclosure, the floor is lined with cloth diapers, towels, fleece blankets and knitted nests to keep the animals warm, dry and safe. This means that every time one of the dozen or more incubators is cleaned, at least 6 things need to be washed. During each my 6 hour shifts, at least 4 loads of laundry is done.

Preparing food and formula is another one of the less extraordinary occurrences at the center. The formula comes in powdered form and must be blended with hot water (and in the case of fawns, pureed pumpkin) before it can be used. It is prepared in large batches, stored in labeled containers in a refrigerator, then poured into smaller containers to be used as needed. The older animals need to have food bowls prepared twice daily. For the squirrels, their food bowls contain sunflower seeds, peanuts, walnuts, and any produce has been donated- this week it included apples, pears, strawberries, watermelon, cucumbers, and carrots. The foxes at the center eat a mixture of chopped chicken gizzards, dog kibble, watermelon, and strawberries. As foxes are omnivores, we attempt to teach them to eat anything that presents itself. So, this week we added live sunfish to their pond to try to teach them how to fish! If this will work or not only time will tell.

Wild Baby Rescue, week 1

The internship That I am taking part in this summer is an internship at the Wild Baby Rescue Center in Blairstown, NJ. This facility is a wildlife rehabilitation center that specializes in caring for sick, injured, and orphaned mammals. My duties at this facility will involve feeding baby mammals, cleaning their enclosures and cages, administering first aid, charting animals as they are admitted, preparing animals for re-release into the wild, and releasing them in an appropriate manner.

In my first week at the Wild Baby Rescue Center, I learned many aspects of what I will be doing while I'm working at the facility. The very first duty that I was assigned to perform was to hand feed baby Gray Squirrels. These squirrels were only a few weeks old and had not opened their eyes yet, so they needed my help, along with the other interns at the facility, to be fed. These squirrels were fed with specialized formula designed for baby squirrels. There were 11 baby squirrels in all that needed to be fed 5 times a day. Other babies that I was in charge of feeding included groundhogs, bats, and foxes.

During the night shift, which was on Thursday, June 4th, I helped with flighting the bat, which involved putting him into a tent and seeing if he was able to stretch his wings out. He was still very young, so he was only able to get in a few crash landings, but he will soon be able to fly with his full strength.

One of the most exciting events that occurred this week was the release of 3 rehabilitated Eastern Cottontail rabbits. These rabbits all had broken legs, and had all recovered nicely. They were released in an area that had good cover and was accessible to the rabbits.

Another exciting event that occurred was the relocation of two rehabilitated Red Foxes from their enclosures inside the rehab center to outdoor enclosures. These enclosures were complete with cover, fresh water, and shelter. The foxes seemed content in their new home, and we are continuing to feed them and care for them as they recover. We plan to educate them on how to properly hunt for food, and how to eat omnivorously. This will make them fit for survival and reproduction in the wild, and they should be successfully rehabilitated soon

WMNF Bear Patrol: Week Two

Second week of the adventure was an exciting follow up to the first week of training. My partner, Emily, and I are gaining a little more independence with routine rounds and are exploring more of the developed camping areas to familiarize ourselves with the forest.

Sunday and Monday (Memorial Day weekend) was exciting with many visits to Tripoli Rd, joining two FPO's, Candace and Joan. Tripoli Rd is an infamous dispersed camping area. Because this is not a developed campground but rather a roadside congregation area, many generations looking for a lax recreational environment come here and set up camp with little consideration for low-impact camping or Leave No Trace principles. This area is under supervision of the White Mountains' concessionaire, ProSports, and they do their best to maintain awareness of camping and food storage guidelines. Tripoli Rd has been a problem camping area and is known to be frequented by bears in early June as they await the ripening of the berries and find easy access to human food rewards. We ended Monday afternoon by distributing garbage bags and gloves to visitors so they leave a clean campsite at their departure.

We are adhering to the "Day of Rest" protocol, which states that for every five days of continuous work we must have a full day of rest. So, Tuesday (5/26) was one of our days off.

Wednesday (5/27) we joined one of the bio techs, David, on the second grouse survey on Long Pond Rd in Benton, NH. For this one, we had to report to HQ at 0340 hrs, a little earlier because of traveling time. Jeffers Brook was nearby and detracted only moderately from the survey at some intervals. We were able to hear 6 drumming events and, again, did not hear any gobblers. We visited Jeffers Brook Shelter which is part of the Appalachian Trail, that was pretty neat to experience right off the roadside. Inside the shelter we saw some equipment and journals that the thru hikers share amongst themselves. Really establishes the trail relationship. Something that was also thought provoking but not as gratifying was the bag of "trail magic" hanging from the roof of the shelter.

Shared equipment at Jeffers Brook Shelter, AT

Trail Magic at Jeffers Brook Shelter, AT

Spices, water, gorilla glue, matches, aluminum foil, lighters, duct tape, dominos, cards, rope. (Also two journals in a plastic bag on the wall documenting hikers' experiences).








"Trail Magic" is basically a congenial sharing of snacks for other hikers coming through this part of the AT. This soft sided beach bag, however, is not bear proof and the Trail Crew was contacted to prevent these from being another attractant for the bears. There were many other hooks to hang food from so the mice and other rodents wouldn't get into it, but this is not a good example of proper food storage especially in bear country. What seems like a friendly gesture can actually become the problem and hikers don't always see the importance of participating in proper food storage.



Thursday (5/28) we were involved with the Visitor Information Services tour through Lower Falls and Bear Notch. Lower Falls is a scenic area that was recently renovated as a response to the hazardous areas that pose a risk to the public. Many visitors sunbathe and walk out on the rocks that are very slippery and at times very populated. There is a swift white water current and it can be a high risk for those in the wading pools or those who use the rocks for a better look at the falls. A scenic outlook was added to allow visitors a safer viewing opportunity. The parking lot was also lowered below the height of the Kancamagus Highway and a three tiered septic pool was installed to aid in run-off pollution that used to flow across the highway and into the Swift River during heavy rain periods.

Lower Falls Scenic Area

The same day we also visited Crawford Notch State Park, Fabyan Cabin (which used to house rangers on patrol, as the district offices were a great distance apart. YCC groups recently restored the foundation and shimmied in boards where the log siding was deteriorating), Willey Historical Home (Where a landslide occurred and killed the Willey family, their home was still intact), Cherry Mountain Rd, Fourth Iron dispersed camp, Edmund's Trail, Webster Ridge, Ripley Falls, and Arethusa Falls. We also visited the Highland Center Lodge which is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. 

Friday (5/29) was the night time bat survey that we conducted with Clara. We reported to HQ at 1500 hrs and headed to Haystack Rd in Bethlehem, NH around 1740 hrs. We learned how to record the standardized surveying info; temp, wind, sky. Also, we set-up specialized acoustic surveying equipment that would supplement the visual observation. A Titley SD1 Anabat was used to detect any high frequency vocalizations given off by the previously detected maternity roost of Northern long-eared bats. Based on D. Sasse's previous work on locating the historic roost sites in 1995, we observed presence/absence of a maternity roost. The last survey was conducted in 2010. At Roost Site Sasse #15 (Black Cherry), we began the survey at 2015 hrs and ended at 2110 hrs with no observations of bat activity. 

Black Cherry Historic Roost Site #15 (Sasse)

Titley SD1 Anabat

Recording Temp/Sky/Wind Data

Saturday (5/30) we continued to familiarize ourselves with other campgrounds and introduced ourselves to other hosts, of Big Rock and Wildwood campgrounds. Because of the incoming rain and because these campgrounds on the edge of the forest usually fill up last, there were not many campers occupying sites. There were a 2/3 in Big Rock in use but at the time unattended and the one which was attended, we spoke to them about proper food storage and they seemed to have a good understanding of the protocol. At Wildwood we were able to stop in and say hello to the hosts. I gave them a stack of food storage handouts to distribute to their campers and notified them of one of their campsites performing improper food storage (coolers left out and unattended).