7/2/12 by Kris Vargos USFWS
Our crew is dynamite this year – I want to introduce them to you .
Here are some updates:
- The American oystercatcher (AMOY) egg that was in the common tern nest hatched. We took a photo of the common tern chick (first born) and the AMOY chick together. Unfortunately but expectedly, the AMOY chick disappeared. We have not seen it since L
- One of the willet nests hatched a chick; the other was not incubated long enough…maybe due to tern interference.
- We’ve seen a few common terns with orange flags on their right legs – the flags are small and act as a color band so that the birds can be identified. We suspect that they may have been banded in Argentina. I will let you know what we find out about them.
- We are well into hatching for the common and roseate tern chicks. The parents continuously bring back long, silver fish for their young to eat.
Meet the Falkner Island Crew:
My name is Max Maloney, and I am working on Falkner this year as a Biological Science Aid. This is my second summer working for the refuge. Last year I worked a variety of positions at the refuge, anything from island keeper to YCC. I am currently going into my senior year at Unity College, located in rural Unity, Maine. I am majoring in Conservation Law Enforcement with hopes in one day starting a career in refuge law enforcement. I have a strong passion in helping conserve wildlife for future generations to enjoy. My hobbies consist of pretty much anything outdoors, such as hunting and fishing to camping and kayaking. I am looking forward to living on Falkner this summer to continue our ongoing efforts in helping both the Common and Roseate terns.
My name is Olivia Bailey, and I am working on Falkner Island this summer as a Roseate and Common Tern intern. I was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, and graduated in 2011 from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina with a degree in Biology. Since graduating, I have worked as a research assistant, banding passerines in New York and as an SCA intern at Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Florida. In Florida I worked with the reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes, as well as with the endangered Florida Manatee. I’m very excited to be working on Falkner this summer, and I hope to continue working towards seabird conservation in the future.
Hello, my name is Victor Koos and I am one of the USFWS employees living in the Falkner Island tern colony this summer. My job is to monitor the productivity of the breeding populations of common and roseate terns on the island. I was born in 1990 and I grew up in Ossining and Mount Kisco, New York. I graduated in May 2012 from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with my B.S. degree in wildlife science. Last summer I caught the field ornithology fever after completing a mist-netting and bird banding internship with the Institute for Bird Populations. My goal for the next couple of years is to travel and work as many different seasonal wildlife jobs as I can before going on to graduate school. My hobbies include hunting, fishing, camping, snowboarding, skateboarding, and soccer. I also consider myself to be an advanced amateur wildlife photographer, my favorite subjects being birds.