Turtle Release
June 29th
June 28th
June 23
June 21st
Still at the field site. Just found out this morning that the Oakland Zoo’s turtle release is happening on Thursday, so we decided to just stay up here a couple of extra days, instead of driving back today and back again on Thursday. Plus, there should be plenty of turtle stuff to do. We found eleven turtles out of the water last night, which I think is the most any team has ever found in a single day. Pretty cool, especially since there were just three of us – me, Kristi, and my son, and he wasn’t working the whole time.
Tonight we have a big team, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we find even more. Yay turtles! Other than that, not much to report. It’s kind of quiet up here, so it’s not like I have a lot of adventures to detail. Well, I guess I could give more details about the turtle research.
Last night, most of the turtles we found were in the small meadow, but my son and I found one really exciting turtle in the far wooded meadow. Earlier in the day, I had removed an exclosure from one of last year’s nests, thinking that it would be good to get it out of the way in case another turtle, or even the same one, wanted to nest there. Guess what? We found a turtle nesting less than one foot away from the old nest. I don’t know yet if it was the same turtle, but if it is that is really exciting.
The other cool thing is that we found the turtle right after she finished nesting, so we didn’t have to wait around for her to finish. I love that turtle. #228. Bless her heart. Turtles are awfully cute.
In other news, my son and I held a king snake today, caught by Erika. Super cute! My son wants to get a snake as a pet, and I’m thinking about agreeing to that one. Oh, and I have lost the cables and charger for the field camera. That does not make me happy. I hope they turn up soon. We’re off to the field site in a few minutes, so I think I’ll call this one a wrap. Is that how they say it in Hollywood?
Cobb Mountain
Student Helps Songbirds Take Flight
Originally posted in the Sonoma State Star; reproduced here in its entirety as it is no longer available on the newspaper’s website. (Archival information here: http://library.sonoma.edu/specialcollections/ssuarchives/studentnewspaper/student-helps-songbirds-take-flight).
By Ronald Pierce
When Sonoma State University senior Wendy St. John is not playing video games or spending time with her son, she volunteers her time at The Songbird Hospital (SBH) based in Sebastopol, CA.
St. John, a biology major focusing on ecology and evolutionary biology, began volunteering at the SBH two years ago for director Veronica Bowers, who runs the SBH on her home property. The organization operates on the US Fish and Wildlife and California Department of Fish and Game licenses of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.
St. John plans to return to SSU after her upcoming graduation to receive her master’s degree, and is currently working on an ongoing project with assistant professor Nicholas Geist involving western pond turtles.
“I started really young. My mom rescued and raised birds at home back in the 70’s – that’s not legal,” said St. John, describing the beginnings her lifelong passion for birds as well as other animals. “I’ve just always loved birds.”
St. John was volunteering with Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue when she discovered a sickly, baby crow that she took to Bowers at the SBH. Having heard of Bowers’ work but never visited, she took the opportunity to drop by.
“My poor baby crow died; he had intestinal parasites,” said St. John.
The SBH specializes in the care of passerines, a wide classification of songbirds based on vocal structure that includes sparrows, finches, swallows, crows and ravens, although the SBH does not care for crows and ravens. Over 500 injured, orphaned and ill birds pass through the SBH every year from both local and migratory species.
“Our birds don’t get the same care in bigger hospitals for their specialized needs,” said St. John. The SBH works with the small, fragile birds that require more intense care than the average creature.
Babies, which arrive en mass in the season between May and August, require feeding every 30 minutes to two hours while still young. Other jobs St. John performs at the SBH include cleaning the outdoor aviaries, basic medical examinations, releases, and management in Bowers’ absence. An average week for a volunteer, like St. John, between May and August is four to ten hours of work in one or two shifts.
“Cliff swallows, like the ones at SSU, are Veronica’s favorite,” said St. John about the flock of cliff swallows that nest annually on the outside of Salazar Hall. “Their mud nests may have babies already.”
The birds build their dried mud nests on the high walls due to the similarities to the cliffs for which the birds are named. The school is very cooperative with the birds, only washing down the nests after they have all flown south for the winter to prevent the growth of parasites, as it is illegal to destroy the nests of native birds in a way that would interfere with breeding.
Bowers said that several cliff swallow babies pass through her hospital from SSU each year, saying that any cliff swallow baby old enough to leave its nest should already be able to fly. In any other case, the baby will need care as soon as possible.
Bowers spoke highly of St. John as one of her key team members.
“Wendy’s strong intelligence in the natural world and academic studies are an asset to our work at the SBH,” said Bowers. “Her high energy and good humor is a welcome aspect of her personality when getting work done.”
The Song Bird Hospital, located at 8050 Elphick Rd. in Sebastopol, welcomes all potential volunteers. Those interested should visit their website at www.songbirdhosptial.com. Any student who finds a baby bird should call the SBH at 707-484-6504 and not attempt to care for the bird themselves.
Western Section Poster
Me and Nicole Christie, coauthors on “Timing of Nesting and Nest Site Selection in a Northern California Population of Western Pond Turtles (Emys marmorata),” presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society, in Riverside, California.
Richard Dawkins – Beware the Believers
This is my one of my favorite YouTube videos. The song is catchy, and it’s SO freaking hilarious, especially if you’re familiar with arguments about evolution vs “intelligent design.” This came out, IIRC, around the time of the Scienceblogs kerfuffle about the film “Expelled,” and honestly, I don’t know if it’s meant to lampoon ID creationists or Richard Dawkins and other atheist scientists (including P.Z. Myers and Eugenie Scott who are “featured” in the video) – but it does a great job of poking fun at both sides. Best of all, hip hop Charles Darwin! As someone who identifies as a methodological materialist (but not a philosophical one), I adore this video. Geeky science humor doesn’t get any better than this.