#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

[bristolaggieecd]

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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…

[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??

[usfwspacific]

#ScienceWoman: Making the World a Better Place

March is Women’s History Month, when we celebrate the women who have committed their lives to making this planet a better place.

Here at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we have amazing women making a difference in the world everyday. During the month of March, we  are highlighting some of these women and those who inspired them to pursue a career in science.

There are many famous women who inspire us to pursue a career in science:

Rachel Carson: A trained marine biologist, Rachel Carson worked as a writer for the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService. She went on to write books like a Sense of Wonder and Silent Spring, that transformed how theworld looked at environmental issues. She is consideredthe founder of the modern environmental movement.

Amanda Pollock, Deputy Superintendent, Pacific Islands Refuges and Monuments Office, conducting a fish survey. Photo credit: USFWS

Sally Ride:  An astronaut and astrophysicist, Sally Ride was the first woman in space and laterserved as President of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego. Her contributions to space exploration and science are innumerable and her company Sally Ride Science inspired women and girls to pursue their interests in science and math.

Marie Tharp: A geologist and oceanic cartographer, Marie Tharp wasn't allowed on ocean going vessels to collect the raw data she needed. Instead, she worked by interpreting and visualizing the data collected by a male colleague. Her work revolutionized the world's understanding of the topography of the ocean floor. Previously supposed to be flat and muddy, she exposed the oceanic basins, ridges and canyons, and mountains that were previously unknown.

Barbara McClintock: A pioneer in the field of cytogenetics in the 1930s, she identified transposable elements or "jumping genes" with her experiments with maize. These "jumping genes" make up 50% of the human genome. Her work finally received a Nobel Prize for her discovery of mobile gentic elemet in 1983.

Gail Collins, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, Sheldon-Hart National Wildlife Refuge Complex, preparing for aerial survey. Photo credit: USFWS

For each of these famous women, there are countless teachers, college professors, aunts, mothers, and colleagues who inspire each of us to pursue our interest in science, math, and technology. By knowing these women personally, it makes a career in those worlds seem possible.

By introducing you to each #ScienceWoman we are featuring from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we hope girls and women can see themselves in these roles someday.

If you would like to join the conversation, share photos of you, your work, or a story about someone who inspired you by using #ScienceWoman on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. 

Heidi Newsome, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, Mid-Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, working with burrowing owls. Photo credit: USFWS 

[thatssoscience]

REALLY YOUTUBE. REALLY. 

[meganleestudio]

Finished another sketch. "Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated" - Rosalind Franklin

[karoo-kid]

Recently I submitted a video for the #sciencewoman special project. More information on the topic can be found following the link below if you would like to submit a video as well.

http://amysmartgirls.com/2015/02/sciencewoman/

[smartgirlsattheparty]

Smart Girls is proud to partner with It's Okay To Be Smart for this super-special project! We want you to make a short video telling us about your favorite #ScienceWoman -- tell us which female scientist inspires you, and why! It can be someone from history, someone from today, even someone you know in real life. Upload + tag your videos #ScienceWoman here or visit our site for more information (link in profile) 🔬🍃🌻🔭