TRC Volunteer Guest Blogger: Nickie from Education

Nickie M. and Zefa.

This week is National Volunteer Week.  We hope our TRC volunteers know how much we deeply appreciate all they do year-round, but we wanted to take this moment to extend our sincere thanks.  Every one of them is vital to the work that we have accomplished in the last 40 yeas, and we look forward to what we can all continue to do together.
 

Each day this week we are featuring a volunteer as our guest blogger, from five different areas available in which to volunteer.  Today we feather Nickie M., Education crew volunteer.  Nickie celebrates three years as a volunteer in June this year. 

"From growing up swimming, boating and fishing in the Ottertail lakes area of Minnesota, to a young adulthood searching for orca whales in the San Juan Islands of Washington as a marine naturalist, to now exploring the beautiful Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix river valleys, I have always had a deep connection with nature.

Nature is a web that connects us.  We seem to forget about that in the chaos of our lives. That is why I have been a volunteer in the Education Department at The Raptor Center since June 2012. When we teach people about raptors, we remind them of the remarkable beauty of nature, their connection with nature, and the impact they can have on nature. We have the amazing opportunity to create a spark of curiosity in the minds of people of all ages which then might ignite into a life of learning and discovery. This wonderful opportunity is made even more exciting and enjoyable by the people I get to work with.

We have a wonderful team at The Raptor Center. I look forward to seeing them each week and working with them to care for the birds and learn new things.  I am looking forward to the new construction in the education department and all the new interpretive adventures that await anyone who wants to come in for a tour."

Max and Pi the Bald Eagles - Ready for the Minnesota Twins!

Interpretive naturalist Mike Billington and Max.

Maxime and Pi the bald eagles will be at Target Field on Monday, Home Opener for the Minnesota Twins.  They will appear on the field during the National Anthem.  We thank the Minnesota Twins organization for again arranging to have the eagles and human staff come out to practice before the game on Monday. 

Education Program Manager Gail Buhl and Pi.

The Raptor Center: Update on Construction from Whisper the Barn Owl

"I went outside recently to enjoy my mouse lunch, and could see the progress on the new housing for me and my fellow TRC education ambassadors.  I was told where my "mew" (individual housing) would be.  I think I will like it quite a bit.  Some sun, some shade, and some moon at night!  There is such careful attention to the dimensions and to make sure there are no sharp corners anywhere.  It also looks very sturdy.

I was told that the housing/ holding areas for the wild raptor clinic patients is also coming along nicely.  The very long eagle pen is easy to tell from the smaller pens for the other species.  The different sizes are just right for each raptor species, and are a combination of a place for them to get acclimated to outside temperatures as well as room for exercise.

This large area is the eagle rehabilitation housing.

I hope you all come and visit this summer once they are complete.

Because the staff and volunteers have been so busy focusing on getting the new facilities ready, and managing the education and rehabilitation birds in our care, we will not hold the Spring Raptor Release event next month. We know it is a favorite event of our friends, therefore, we look forward to sharing the Fall Raptor Release event with you on Saturday, September 26.”

These are the outlines for the rehabilitation raptor
holding areas.

You can see the covered walkway in the middle; the
education bird housing areas are taking shape!

Soon our friends will be able to walk that sidewalk
and say hello to all of the education birds!

TRC Salutes a Young Scientist

Knowing that lead poisoning is a problem that bald eagles face in the wild, Avery Sampson, high school senior at Middleton High school in Middleton, Wisconsin, proposed to develop a field test for detecting lead in bald eagle excrement for the Badger State Science Fair competition.    Avery’s rationale was that there needed to be a way to monitor the health of a specific nest site in the wild.  If a protocol was developed, it would allow a fast, noninvasive way of checking a bird’s lead states.  She hypothesized that one could better predict if a bald eagle will need human assistance. Capturing and drawing blood can be a difficult and stressful activity for both the eagles and the field personnel. While lead levels in fecal samples can be determined in a laboratory, with this test you could more easily identify eagles that need treatment for lead intoxication.

Avery contacted TRC Staff veterinarian Dr. Michelle Willette for consultation on this project. Her study involved collecting bald eagle excrement from along the Wisconsin River below the Prairie du Sac Dam.  Excrement was collected from the sand below several trees where the bald eagles perch. While her proposed protocols were ultimately not successful in testing the excrement, it did prove that her idea was possible.

She received Third Place in the Environmental Sciences category. She also won three specialty awards, one from the American Society of Quality and one from Alpha Chi Sigma for the top award in Chemistry. Avery also received an invitation to the Genius Olympiad in New York this summer. There she will have the opportunity to compete in an environmentally focused science fair.

Congratulations, Avery!