It’s been a busy first couple of days here in NJ, but I’m loving it! I started off on Tuesday with a boss-led tour of the sites I’ll be responsible for and had some fun looking for American Oystercatcher nests.
My shoes, scalp and ears were full of sand at the end of the day!
I was rained out on Wednesday, but Thursday found me helping out (carrying and holding stuff) on a beach-nesting bird habitat survey and fixing fencing damaged in Wednesday’s stormy weather.
Today I was on my own for a couple of site visits and had the chance to spend a few hours at Sandy Hook counting Piping Plovers for a migration survey. It was a beautiful afternoon and I learned my first important lesson for field work – always have an extra pencil!
I was carrying so much stuff on the death march out the Fisherman’s Trail to the survey site and don’t yet have my scope sherpas (student interns) to help me. I lost track of my pencil three-quarters of the way through the census and had to use moon shells in various pockets to keep a tally of the birds I was seeing!
🙂
Moon shells. That made me laugh! Your office looks terrible. 😉
I’ve read your blog for years but never commented. Glad you’re back in Jersey, and just wondering: is your position a paying job or a volunteer position. Whatever the answer, I was glad that reading about your job made me look at the Fish & Wildlife site to check out volunteer activities. I might sign up for something.
So happy your first day at the office was so lovely! xo
Hi Kathy: Someone called me today “the official birdwatcher”! Mine is a paid seasonal position; there’s lots of opportunities to get involved as a volunteer, too. Glad to hear you’re considering it! What town do you live in? I might have some suggestions…
Wow. What a fine gig. And worthwhile to boot.
(We do surf smelt spawning surveys weekly on beaches here in Puget Sound. We carry our pencils in one of those dandy Chopstick bags Crafty Green Poet makes from recycled fabric. It is a great conversation piece and works well.)
I love your new job!