Fuglebloggen Fra Follebu-Toppengård (Week 2)

This week has been incredible! The chicks have grown so much, and so many of the nests have begun to hatch. This means more work for us but there isn't a single moment where I am not enjoying what I'm doing. Learning how to measure the chicks, handle them, and watching them grow has been an incredible experience and it's just the beginning! This week has been very busy overall. Monday work was canceled because the weather on top of the mountain was too bad to be walking around for long periods of time. Tuesday we walked along all the upper forest paths to check all the nests, we measured some of the nests then and recorded the new babies, all of which are Great Tits. Wednesday we did the nest checks for the lower pastures and measured more chicks that had hatched. Thursday was a fairly simple day. We checked some more nests and I discovered that a female Blue Tit sitting on her nest had a band on her leg, but when I returned later with my supervisor she wasn't in the nest. Friday was extremely busy though. We started by checking up on the Blue Tit again, this time she was on the nest so we caught her to read her band ID. We weighed and measured her bill, head, tarsus, foot, and wing lengths. She had a nest last year that was extremely close to the nest box she is currently in. We continued checking nests, then we measured chicks all day.

We happened to find a nest of Field Farrows tucked away in a spruce tree, we recorded their measurements and weight. They weighed more than the adult Tit and Flycatcher species!

The Coal Tit chicks are almost ready to leave the nest. These birds only need about two weeks before they are old enough to fledge. They all have bands on and are doing great! They are so big compared to the new babies that are hatching. Even though the difference isn't huge the Coal Tits are the smallest of the species we are studying. The chicks started off weight 1-2 grams their first 2 days, and now they weigh between 8-9 grams.

Fuglebloggen Fra Follebu-Toppengård (Week 1)

                      Bird Blog From Follebu, Toppen Farm.

My first week in Norway has been incredible! I arrived in Øyer on May 14th and had a few days to adjust to the 6 hour time jump. I met my two supervisors, Kathy and Even shortly after arriving (May 16th) and was taken on one of the lower routes, named "Our Bette". The loop walks down the road and around the lower pasture. It just so happened that a Coal Tit was sitting in Nest Box 100 on 7 eggs that hatched that following Saturday (May 21st). I didn't officially start until May 18th since the 17th of May is Norway's National Day. So In this post I will cover from the 18th through the 27th of May. 

At the beginning of the day Kathy and I go over which routes we have to walk and which boxes need to be checked. There are four major routes with smaller mini routes attached to them, there is a total of about 110 nest boxes to check. We alternate the upper forest/mountain routes with the lower pasture/forest routes where we check boxes that have eggs regularly and do complete nest checks once a week. We then grab the GPS and the ladder and head out for the routes of the day. We are researching the growth of four different species of birds: Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Greater Tits, and European Pied Flycatchers. We have to open the nest boxes and check whether it is empty, the birds are in the process of building a nest, it is a nest (there is a circular indent that indicates the bird has finished building and will begin laying eggs soon), there are eggs (and how many), whether a bird is sitting on the nest, or finally, if there are chicks (which then includes more work but more on this later). We write what we find in each nest in a journal and then continue on the route. We walk each day for about three hours and then head back to input and look over data. 

Once the Coal Tits in nest box 100 hatched there was more to learn. Kathy taught me how to measure their weight, culmen, head, tarsus, feet, and wing. To make sure we didn't mix the chicks up we painted their nails to be able to track their growth until they are old enough to be banded. We repeat these measurements every two days. The second time we went out to measure the chicks we sadly discovered that the Orange-Green chick had passed away, it had previously been the largest chick weighing in at 2.06 grams. 

A second study being conducted includes Northern Lapwings. Kathy and I travel to a field where they have been found nesting recently. We have to use binoculars to spot where the Lapwings sit on their nests, then one of us takes the trap while the other keeps their eyes on the spot that the bird is sitting. The one with the trap runs out to the spot to try to find their nest on the ground. Their nests are extremely hard to see so finding them is quite difficult, especially in longer grassy areas. The trap is placed over top of the nest with the opening facing our direction, so when the parent returns to the nest they can't escape because they try to fly away from us. This process takes a very long time, a lot of it involving long waiting periods as these birds are very timid and shy, they don't immediately return to their nests after they are originally scared off. So far we have only been able to catch, band, and draw blood from two Lapwings. The blood samples will be sent to another research partner who is studying relations to Lapwings nesting in this field since the population of them in Norway has decreased significantly. 


So far I have learned a lot about the different birds we have been working with, and it's been such a great experience! On Friday (May 27th) we noticed that most all the nests we checked that had eggs had birds sitting on them. We believe they should hatch this coming week, which will increase the amount of work there is to do, but I look forward to it!

Wild baby rescue week 11 (August 11th)

This was my final week here at Wild Baby Rescue, and it was almost as crazy as the first week! We had over 40 baby grey squirrels come in. Squirrels, in case anyone doesn’t know, have two breeding seasons, one in early summer and one in late summer. More than half of the new babies arrived as pinkies, with the oldest only being a couple weeks old. We also got in some more interesting animals- flying squirrels! There was one adult who had evidently been poisoned, as well as four pinkies. Seeing the webbing between their limbs even at this young age was very interesting. 

The fawns had their last bottles this week, and are now eating entirely on their own. Most of them have either lost their spots or are in the process of shedding them out. The foxes and skunks were planned for release in the coming week.

The baby opossums were all eating out of bowls and growing quickly; some of the older ones in their pre-release enclosures will be released in the coming weeks. Several rabbits were released, and now the nursery is filled to the brim with squirrels and opossums.

Thursday night was my last shift at the center, and it was very bittersweet. While I will not miss having to drive over an hour every day, I already miss getting to take care of all the animals. It was an outstanding experience- I learned more than I ever expected to, and had a wonderful time. I will miss the animals and my coworkers, and will never forget this internship. 

WMNF Bear Patrol: Week Eleven

Tuesday (08/04) we were invited to go electrofishing with the Forest Fisheries Biologist on a survey section of the Wild Ammonusac River. We caught 83 fish in total, out of which I caught two! Because this was such a low sample count and also because we didn’t have enough battery power to keep a consistent voltage, we only completed two runs instead of three. Fortunately, the population estimate curve from this depletion sampling would be significant enough to provide data. Out of the many Brook Trout spawn, we also collected two Brown Bullheads, which are freshwater catfish. They have barbs along their dorsal fin and pectoral fins that they erect for defense. We were told not to handle any of the fish, mainly for the technicalities of the bullheads but, to develop better netting skills. I held the bucket that collected all the specimens and followed the shocker down a 100 meter corridor in hip waders. It wasn’t as successful a sample as expected but interesting data was still collected and I gained a lot more knowledge about fisheries surveying methods and techniques.

Wednesday (08/05) our last opportunity to do some bat work for the N. Long-eared with one of the bio techs. We travelled 1.5 hrs to one of the stands located in N. Chatham, ME. Part of the White Mountain National Forest flows into a portion of Maine just west of Fryeburg. We had to travel down a forest service access road and realized that the culverts were washed out so we decided to park the vehicle and walk in. On our trek in through high grasses and ferns, we had to be careful of the tiny toads that were everywhere. Once we entered the woodline, we used the GPS, map and compass to navigate towards the two sites (34 & 37) within stand 25. Where we mount the Pettersson detector can be anywhere within the stand but the two sites must be 200 meters away from each other. We found two suitable down sloping corridors with dense, low canopy. We recorded the orientation details, took our set-up photos and made our way out, counting 13 moose calf scat piles as we went.

Thursday (08/06) was All Employee Day held at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. The SCA, YEL crew, and interns were all acknowledge for our diligence this season. We were showed multiple videos about professional careers. During the awards ceremony, those working under the federal government (5yrs, 10yrs, 15 years etc.) received recognition, a certificate, a pin, and a sweatshirt! Then we had mini workshops for “Resume building” and “Taking your career to the next level”. Many people shared their stories about how they began their career with the Forest Service, which was a great perspective to consider in my own professional journey. Then we had a huge barbeque with lots of food. Following the cook-out we had district jeopardy that showed everybody’s competitive side and actually, how much each district depends on one another to complete similar goals.

Friday (08/07) was our last day with the White Mountain National Forest Service. In the morning, our supervisor went over our resumes with us and gave us advice about navigating through the hiring process with federal careers. We received a Forest Service mug and “Bear Poop” chocolates as a parting gift and then we had pizza for a goodbye lunch. As I was giving everybody their cards, I hit a wall of realization and gratefulness. Departing is definitely a reality check and helps with the internalizing process. With everyone’s goodbyes and sincere recognition, I realize now how important of a role I had for the forest, that I was a great outlet for not only the success of the Forest Service, but for the public and also the Black Bears. This time last year, they were trapping a bear in Hancock Campground and I had just completed my first actual hazing procedure to deter and safe a juvenile bear. I am filled with gratitude and a heavy heart for having to leave my mentors and such a beautiful place. 

Wild baby rescue week 10: (August 4th)

As the summer progresses and the animals grow up, there are less and less events to report on at Wild Baby Rescue. The fawns have had their temporary ID tags removed, and they have moved into a larger pasture. They no longer go into the barn at night, and are only getting one bottle in the morning. They also get hay and sweet feed, in addition to anything they graze in their enclosure. A few of them have already lost their spots, and the rest of the fawns’ are quickly fading.  One of the groundhogs was released, as well as one of the squirrels.

The nursery is now home to a large amount of rabbits, pinky squirrels, and opossums. We also still have the young adult fox indoors for the time being. Once the kits in the outside enclosures are released, she will be moved to one of their enclosures until she is fully recovered from her injuries. An influx of baby squirrels is expected in the coming weeks. The youngest skunk (Esmeralda) has fully recovered from her pneumonia, and is no longer in an incubator. The opossums are growing quickly, and many of them are in their outdoor enclosures or will be moved soon.

On Monday, we attended a lecture on zoonotic diseases. We were taught how to properly sanitize and disinfect, protect ourselves for diseases, which animals carry which diseases, symptoms of each ailment, and how to treat them. Many diseases were covered, including rabies and Lyme. 

Wild Baby Rescue, Week 10

This week at Wild Baby Rescue, the groundhog Boomer who was here for a long time was released. I was especially proud of this moment because he was my responsibility most of the time, and I am happy to see that he's grown up and become a big healthy groundhog. Hopefully, he'll be able to find his way around in the wild and find a nice place to settle down and make a burrow. Skittles, the other groundhog that I was in charge of, is now moved to an outside cage. There, she can run around and dig whenever she wants, and it grants her much more freedom than an inside cage. She seems much happier now that she has more room to herself.

The baby opossums are growing up nicely as well. They are now all in larger cages, except for the smallest ones. Everyone still eats out of dishes, so there's no need to hand-feed them. Their food is a combination of yogurt, baby food meat, fruit, and vegetable, cat chow and formula. This combination of ingredients provides just the right amount of nutrients for these guys so that they can grow and stay healthy. Some of the opossums have grown big enough to be put into outside cages. This makes their feeding and maintenance much easier and prepares them for life in the wild.

 We have an abundance of baby cottontails at the facility. These rabbits are very common in this part of the country, and breed 3-4 times per year with an average kit size of 5 babies. This means that if the mother is ever killed or taken, there are a lot of babies that are orphaned. Since one female rabbit can have up to 35 babies every year, depending on population sizes and temperature, it's no surprise that we have this many baby cottontails to take care of. Nearly all of them are being hand-fed, and they should be large enough to release soon. 

Wild baby rescue week 9 (July 28)

This week was fairly uneventful- we got in a few pinky squirrels and bunnies, but that’s about it. All but the two youngest skunks have been weaned off of formula, and they are scheduled to be released next week. The younger two will be kept until this fall, when they will be released onto the property. One of the groundhogs was released, and the younger one was put in her outdoor enclosure. The foxes will also (hopefully) be released next week! The fawns are now only getting one bottle a day.

As one can imagine, there is a much lighter workload now that the animals are nearing release. Instead of hand feeding and cleaning incubators in the nursery, much of my time here is spent preparing food and enrichment, feeding the animals and cleaning enclosures. As more and more get released, we will be cleaning out the enclosures and organizing and storing all the bowls and enrichment items for next spring.

There has been a recent influx of baby rabbits, which all need to be carefully hand fed. In addition to the rabbits, we still have a large amount of opossums, one squirrel that’s almost ready to go outside, one skunk, and several pinky squirrels.