Week Seven- Observation Deck & Water Control 6/26/17 - 6/30/17
The observation deck is located at Cane Ridge for the viewing purposes of shore birds including the threatened species, the Least Tern. The deck is used for education about different species and needs proper maintenance to keep it up and running for the public. Working with the YCC, we took an entire day to stain the observation deck in order to keep it safe from the rain. We also replaced a couple of warped boards and looked to see if the binoculars needed to be cleaned. The other task that was given to Kirby and I was to go and pull a few boards at a different water control structure at Dillon Station. By pulling boards, we allow water to flow into different areas of the wetlands and create a different habitat for species. While we were at Dillon, we got to observe a breeding pair of bald eagles perched on a dead tree.
Week Eight
Week Eight- Breeding Bird Survey 7/5/17 - 7/7/17
A shortened week does not stop the work that goes on at Patoka. This week we had to do a breeding bird survey which involved us getting up with our supervisor, Heath Hamilton, at 3:30AM. The survey started at 4:00AM and took us around five hours to complete. In those five hours we had to listen and look for birds in the area and write down all the data we collected. When getting up early in the morning, you get to see other wildlife besides birds. We witnessed a beautiful sunrise, multiple deer in fields, and even a fawn that got very close to us.