24 Jun My Intern Responsibilities

I am now in my fourth week of interning with the Ventura Audubon Society, I have been learning so much! I have been going to Ormond beach multiple times a week to do work with my supervisors and with other interns. Over the past few weeks I have gotten into a weekly routine of my scheduled duties for each week.

My Weekly Schedule

For the weekdays, my team conducts tideline surveys and nest surveys. When we conduct a tideline survey, we look for Snowy Plovers and Least Terns. For the Plovers we count the amount of males and females and if any of the birds are banded. When operating a nest survey, we carefully walk through the habitats checking up on established nests, looking for new nests and retrieving trail camera footage from the hidden cameras. The weekends are designated to public outreach since most of Ormond’s visitors come over the weekend. Alex (another EFTA intern) and I set up a table at the entrance of Ormond beach and make conversation with visitors about the Snowy Plovers and Least Terns. We give out pamphlets and stickers to visitors as well.

In addition to my in-person activities, I also have some online work making outreach materials for beach visitors. I am currently working on posters and materials for the kiosk located at the beaches entrance. I have been designing posters and pamphlets ranging from various topics such as beach ecology, bird predators and more. These projects have been very interesting to research. I have been enjoying using my creativity to make these materials out of the box.