#sciencewoman

[usfwspacific]

Wings, Wings and More Wings

By Melinda Alexa Martinez - Alexa is a Wildlife Biologist at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside of Burns, Oregon. She shares with readers her impressions and take-aways from a first time experience at the Wing Collection Survey known as the Wingbee.

Photo: Alexa at the Wingbee

Honestly, I had no clue what I was getting myself into when I signed up to attend Wingbee. You hear all these amazing things about it, but hearing stories does not do this event justice. Being there in person was just incredible! But before I get too carried away, maybe I should explain what the Wingbee is and why it is important.

The Wingbee to me, is a riot of a good time and an incredible learning experience as a rookie. At the core of it though, Wingbee is a data collection survey. Made possible by waterfowl hunters who voluntarily send in wings and parts of birds from that year’s hunting season, Wingbee participants examine and catalogue all those feathers sent in to gather data points such as species, age and sex to answer a very important question: do the real-world results from waterfowl hunters fit with the population models and regulations set forth by the Service at the beginning of hunting season? The results from data collected help close the loop on the year’s hunting season and are vital components in developing next year’s population models. Ok, back to the story…

It all started on a beautiful sunny day at Coleman National Fish Hatchery. I’m not going to lie I was extremely nervous walking in. You would have never guessed it because I am such a loud person when you meet me, but yes - I can get shy!

When I got there, I totally went up to someone I had seen in a webinar once. She probably thought I was a crazy fan girl from the regional office or something. But, it was the start of a beautiful friendship.

As I was walking through the fish hatchery where the Wingbee was located, I saw a large group of people. Some faces were new to me while others were familiar. As people began to gather round, we had an introduction of the logistics of what would be happening throughout the week. Shortly after, we separated into groups and got down to business.

What does “getting down to business” mean, you ask? What are you supposed to do during a Wingbee?

MALLARDS! Yup, of course this would be the first one up. I like to think I have handled plenty of mallards during duck banding with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), at both Summer Lake and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, but I never really realized the finer details the mallard may hold. I was super nervous to get the sex and age wrong, so I would check with my ODFW buddies before sending each identification off to the head honcho - the checker, “Dun, dun, duuuuNNN!! I did this with almost every species. Every time the checker would agree with my ID, sex and age, I would do a victory dance in my head, but every now and then, a dance would just pop out. It was like receiving a blessing from the waterfowl gurus! It also didn’t help that I had a checker who has been doing this for the past 54 years! Yeah, no pressure right?!

Most of the week was like this. We saw a whole variety of birds: Pintails, American Wigeon, shovelers, American green winged teal, and so on. Day to day we had maybe two or three species until we hit the very last day where most tables were each processing a different species.

My favorite moment was actually looking at the canvasbacks and red heads side by side. I got pretty good at ID-ing the two and distinguishing their differences. I felt so proud! By the end of that week I just felt this load of confidence, it was amazing.

I must have been super focused on my species identification, age and sex perfected that I swear I had dreams about tertial feathers EVERY NIGHT! Even when I got back home, that whole weekend I still had dreams about feathers!

One day someone at my table had a brilliant idea of collecting certain feathers from each species and taping them to his ID book. Smart right?! But, for some odd reason he was so picky on the American green wing teal sex feather, it just drove me nuts. I plucked so many sex feathers and none of them was good enough, so I gave up.

That night, I think either I had too much sun or too many feathers or both, but I had a dream about someone getting married at the wing-bee. Honestly, I cannot remember whom, but I do remember their flower bouquet was not made out of flowers. Oh no, it was made out of feathers! Vermiculated, primaries, tertial feathers you name it.

You know, that was the beauty about the wingbee, it was just an amazing time for everyone. To get together with really good company, learn new things you would have never known, and eat the best duck you will ever have in your life. The best part was everyone was welcome to attend. No waterfowl or biological skills required. It was opened to everyone that was willing to learn and help.

Being able to spend time with some really amazing and passionate people reminded me of why I got into this field in the first place. It was a very beautiful reminder.

I would like to thank Migratory Birds and my supervisor for letting me partake in this incredible experience. I hope I have the opportunity available to me again in the future!

[lelaorca-blog]

Heróis de verdade vestem jaleco e disseminam conhecimento. Cientistas e professores minha gratidão e respeito. #educação #mulheresnaciencia #biologia #ciencia #science #womaninthescience #sciencewoman #teacher #professora #euamoserprofessora #professoradebiologia (em EEEFM Professor Bolivar Bordallo da Silva) https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1tyoal9g7/?utm_medium=tumblr

[iloveyouquimica-blog]

Dia 8 é o dia delas . #iloveyouquimica #cientistas #mulheresnaciencia #química #science #sciencewoman #quimicas #mulheresnaquimica #mulheresnaexatas (em Salto, Sao Paulo) https://www.instagram.com/iloveyouquimica/p/BusNP-rgFqq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1upkmvz3n0gdj

[bristolaggieecd]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bristol Aggie ECD (@ecdbristolaggie)

#BristolAggieNRM banding eaglets with the crew from @mass.wildlife. #thankyou #masswildlife #bristolaggie #unique #Massachusetts #vocational #highschool #conservation #science #curriculum #sciencegirl #sciencewoman #baldeagle #ornithology #animals #wildlife #birds #baldeagle (at Bristol County Agricultural High) https://www.instagram.com/p/BjKSQr_g4H8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=372riznko4gi

[htecnologicus]

Happy International women’s day We give you thanks in the name of humanity, science and technology, for your immense contribution throughout our existence. —————————— Feliz día internacional de la mujer Gracias te damos en nombre de toda la humanidad, ciencia y tecnología, por tu invaluable aporte a lo largo de nuestra existencia. #happywomensday #happyinternationalwomensday #felizdiadelamujer #felizdiainternacionaldelamujer #mujer #womens #sciencewoman #mujeresdeciencia

[geekoftomorrow]

She's becoming obsessed with Science! Second day in a row she's wanted to come here. #stemgirls #sciencewoman (at Museum of Innovation and Science)

[benznote]

Dress for woman in science 💖 #sciencedress #dressforwomaninscience #math #biology #physics #mybenznote #benznote #dress #blackdress #clothes #scienceart #scientistlife #daylilifeofscientist #sciencewoman — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2Ch0DzA

[emeraldforce]

Nicole Rankin, #ScienceWoman

A few nice managed services images I found:

Nicole Rankin, #ScienceWoman Image by USFWS/Southeast I am a Coastal Ecologist with the Southeast Inventory & Monitoring Network and located at the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in Awendaw, South Carolina.

Although I grew up as an Army Brat living all over the U.S. and Germany, I call Alabama my home since I have lived in almost every corner of…

[materialrevolution]

Ayer fuel el día de la mujer científica! En #Enjambre la historieta de @m_atelier habla de una chica muy molona que fue la precursora del lenguaje de programación. #mujerescientificas #mujer #woman #diadelamujercientifica #mujerinformatica #comic #autorascomic #sciwoman #sciencewoman (en Material Revolution)

[yarelitakaki]

#Caleidoscopio #Marco #Museum #LastWednesday #LoveHer😍 #NoSe #MeFascina🙈❤ ##ScienceWoman

[usfwspacific]

Intern Adventures, Part XI: From Monotonous Job to Conservation Career

Blogger’s note: Partnerships play a critical role in forwarding the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service conservation mission. This partnership the Lemhi Regional Land Trust and Salmon Valley Stewardship is a great example, with service interns making positive contributions towards habitat restoration and monitoring while gaining career building experience.  When they aren’t busy learning about conservation easements or getting their boots soggy, they take a minute to write about their experiences.

Spending the summer in Salmon, Idaho means hiking, rafting, biking and eating local foods for the entire season. It also means monitoring conservation easements with friendly ranch dogs, attempting adventurous stream crossings and reminding myself to look up to enjoy the incredible views. I’m Madison Harper and I’m interning for the Lemhi Regional Land Trust and Salmon Valley Stewardship this summer. I am fortunate enough to have received an internship through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife internship programs.

So, how did I find myself in this wonderful town working as an intern at the age of 24? Funny you should ask.

I graduated from The University of Montana two years ago with a Bachelor of Science in resource conservation and a minor in dance. After college, I found myself working at Absaroka Ranch, a rustic dude ranch, in Dubois, Wyoming for a few seasons. Then I moved back to Missoula last winter to attempt to be an “adult” in the real world. I ended up in a job that was monotonous and dim-witted for a year, but it paid my bills. So what did I do next? I floated The Grand Canyon for 23 days in September 2014.

After floating The Colorado, I was reenergized and ready to turn my life around. Once I got the confidence to move on from my dull job this past winter. I decided a trip back to my roots in Arkansas would inspire me to follow my dreams. After consuming all the fried food in the South and getting endless hugs from my family I happily accepted the internship in Salmon and got back out West. It has been a windy, bumpy road out of college but who would want to take the smooth, straight, boring road? I am extremely happy to be interning with LRLT and SVS this summer because I am working with phenomenal people who love what they do.

I have to say, only working one month here I have all ready learned an incredible amount. I have the utmost respect for the women in both organizations. They are all fiercely independent, highly intelligent and overly adventurous. Both organizations work in different ways, but have incredible outcomes. I cannot wait to see what the next two months have in store. I’m sure it will include soggy boots, infectious giggles and endless summer days. To start July off, I get to enjoy a 5-day trip down the Main of The Salmon, which I couldn’t be more excited about! After that, I’ll get back to work. Happy 4th of July!

Madison’s blog originally appeared on the Lemhi Regional Land Trust’s site. Check it out here: http://www.lemhilandtrust.org/meet-madison/

[bristolaggieecd]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bristol Aggie ECD (@ecdbristolaggie)

#BristolAggieNRM banding eaglets with the crew from @mass.wildlife. #thankyou #masswildlife #bristolaggie #unique #Massachusetts #vocational #highschool #conservation #science #curriculum #sciencegirl #sciencewoman #baldeagle #ornithology #animals #wildlife #birds (at Bristol County Agricultural High)

[berta-fly]

Your #ScienceWoman Heroes

[itsybitsyvetstudent]

Guess who made it into the #ScienceWoman video project by itsokaytobesmart and Amy Poehler's Smart Girls! Thank you so much for including my little clip!  Try and find my suuuper awkward face and then check out the playlist they've compiled. Does this mean Amy Poehler may have actually seen my face??

[russianb-tch]

For a school project we had to make videos for the #sciencewoman campaign. Sylvia Earle is amazing and I hope you enjoy. 

#sciencewoman Bibliography: MUSIC: New Slang by The Shins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pffMwC__qDs Oceans by Coasts (Twice as nice remix) https://www.yout...

[benznote]

Chemistry is like cooking🍳 just don't lick the spoon 🥄 #chemists #womeninscience #scienceart #sciencewoman #chemist #girl #womaninlab #laboratory #organic #chemistry #joke #cooking #spoon #quote #chempics #mybenznote — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2KwIw9M