Out in the field

So I went to do the invasive research on Garrett Island. It was completely unihabited and we had to take a kayak to reach it. You can look at my pictures and tell that I wasn't having the best of days. My wisdom tooth decided that now is the best time to make its entrance and its not pleasant at all. But I'm working through it and tomorrow is the last day of my first official week on the job. We're planting trees and mapping more invasives

Eagle Release

So there is a woman who rehabilitates injured birds and then releases them back into the wild. She has released hawks, owls, and eight (8) bald eagles. Have you ever seen a bald eagle up close let alone take off like a jet...I have. Its pretty awesome I put pictures on my website under Animals of the Eastern Shore. Here's the link...http://picasaweb.google.com/sankofa1867

Finally uploaded pictures

So I have finally gotten my pictures online for everyone to view. There were just way too many to email to everyone.

So I have uploaded them all on the internet and I will be adding more and providing captions so you can see what I'm doing out here. I will probably be adding pictures weekly I will let you know.

Here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/sankofa1867

They Have Reinforcements

So today I learned that there are a lot more invasives on this island than just Mile-A-Minute. There is phragmites, an invasive that was also a problem at the Parker River NWR, canada thistle, johnsongrass, and a few others. The problem is it takes research to know which are invasives and which are natives. To any person just coming to enjoy the island its hard to tell the difference between good and bad. Its my job to destroy them LOL. I'm the terminator of the plant world.

What is an inasive plant

So my internship is about studying a plant that isn’t natural to the refuge. Its called the mile-a-minute weed, rightly so due to its growth rate. My job is to study the effects of a bug called a weevil on the growth rate of the weed. This plant is called an invasive species because it an import from a different location that takes root in an environment and stunts and sometimes even stops the growth of native plants by occupying their land.

It was a while before I understood how damaging a plant could be. I mean if its green its good, it doesn’t really matter what kind of plant is growing, right? Wrong. Although the invasive plant is still capable of providing oxygen and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment by reducing the natural plants it reduces the natural habitat; this in turn makes it harder to inhabit for the creatures who live in that habitat.
These native plants are not just oxygen providers and air filters; they provide food, shelter, and sometimes even camouflage for the native creatures, so it is necessary that they be maintained and that invasive species be removed.
The use of the weevil is another very important aspect of the internship. Invasive plants are kept in check by various methods; herbicides, mowing, and controlled burnings are the most common ways to reduce invasive species growth. The problem with current methods is that they can be just as damaging to native plants and with controlled burning they can sometimes get out of control and become a hazard to near by neighborhoods. There was a controlled burn conducted in Georgia that got out of control and it left the city in a blanket of smoke for about two days. A mishap like this makes the development of biological controls important.

A biological control is an agent such as a bacteria, bug, animal, or any other natural agent used to control an invasive species. These controls can be the most beneficial way to stop invasive growth. They are chosen based on their ability to specifically target the invasive growth while doing minimal to no harm to native plants. The result is an environment that allows for the natural plants to regain control of their habitat. As well, the population of the control reduces with the reduction in invasive plant preventing the control from getting out of control. Biological controls do come with risks; if not properly researched biological controls can be the most dangerous. Most biological controls for foreign plants are foreign themselves. If the control is attracted to more than the invasive plant it could remove both invasive and native plants and in effect the biological control will become an invasive species with no source of control or containment. I will be researching the effectiveness of this biological control and moreover its effect on native species.

LoJack for Birds

Not really in a bad sense though :). I discovered on a visit to the Parker River NWR in Newburyport, MA a little station nestled inside the refuge that does bird banding. I don't think that is the technical term, but in a nutshell they capture the birds in these little nets called "mist nets" because they are hard to see even with the naked eye. They are then taken back to the station where they are identified by species and sex, weighed, there age is determined and then they are given a unique number attached to an extremely tiny band around their leg. After all the information is taken down they are released back.

I was a little concerned about the little band being put on that the bird's leg would be accidentally broken, but the workers at the station are extremely gentle and watching them interact with the birds it is obvious that this isnt their first rodeo.

I called it bird LoJack all the bird banding information is collected by the USGS or United States Geological Survey. So if that bird is ever captured at another refuge or anywhere for that matter the group can contact the USGS and find out where the bird has been and where it was originally banded. This allows for people to track the migratory pattern of birds and to also find out what kind of birds are residing in their area.

I will be adding more photos shortly

Green Acres

I keep hearing that dun-dun....dun-dun-dun....dun....dun... tune in my head that's probably not the best representation but use the Heading and deduce. I have always liked nature but I have lived in downtown Atlanta for 5 years now and I was not a hop skip and a jump away from nature now I living in the middle of it. Its an excellent experience and I think it will be a benefit in terms of letting people from the city know what is out here. There are some great things to see. Yesterday we took a tour of the Merrimac River in Massachusetts and it was extremely peaceful and serene...and COLD, but worth it. We went to a Seafood Restaurant right off of the water and that was the BEST clam chowder I have ever had, although it was my first time trying it as well. Seafood up here is great I can say in Atlanta I was not the seafood connoseiur but here I am a little more daring. This is defintely an experience everyone should at least try, but I will say that I definitely won't be setting up camp here for the long haul.