I am a high school graduate from Newton, MA, who decided, belatedly, to take a gap year before starting college at Yale next fall. I’m interested in birds, biology, and the natural world, as well as history, foreign languages, writing, and reading. Here is my plan for the year:
June-August 30, 2015: Summer at home in Newton. Babysitting, seeing friends and family, taking a part-time Spanish class, and volunteering in the bird conservation department at Mass Audubon headquarters.
August 30-November 1, 2015: Hawk Migration Count Traineeship at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, MN. In the fall, millions of raptors (and other birds, too!) migrate from their breeding grounds in the northern US and Canada down to wintering grounds in the south. This is one of two annual migrations; the birds fly the reverse route in the spring. Avoiding flying over the Great Lakes, the hawks skirt the edges and are funneled down along the shore of Lake Superior. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is located near the lakeshore, making it an ideal spot to observe migrating raptors. I’ll be learning from head counter Karl Bardon to identify and count these amazing birds.
November 12-December 12, 2015: Volunteering at Pook’s Hill Lodge in Belmopan, Belize. I’ll be at the owners’ disposal to do chores, talk to guests, and help with ongoing scientific monitoring projects. I will also be borrowing audio recording equipment from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to record the vocalizations of Belizean birds for the Lab’s Macaulay Library.
December 12, 2015-January 15, 2016: Home for Christmas!
January 15-February 17, 2016: Travel to Rodez, France, to stay with a Workaway family. Workaway is a program that allows people to stay with host families worldwide, helping around the house, babysitting, or performing some other task for the hosts in exchange for room and board.
February 18-Mid March, 2016: At home
Mid March or early April-July 15, 2016: Acorn Woodpecker field assistant position in Carmel Valley, California. Acorn Woodpeckers live communally and breed cooperatively. I'll be assisting with a study on group composition and cooperative breeding behavior on a color-banded population of Acorn Woodpeckers at Hastings Natural History Reservation. More info to follow!
June-August 30, 2015: Summer at home in Newton. Babysitting, seeing friends and family, taking a part-time Spanish class, and volunteering in the bird conservation department at Mass Audubon headquarters.
August 30-November 1, 2015: Hawk Migration Count Traineeship at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, MN. In the fall, millions of raptors (and other birds, too!) migrate from their breeding grounds in the northern US and Canada down to wintering grounds in the south. This is one of two annual migrations; the birds fly the reverse route in the spring. Avoiding flying over the Great Lakes, the hawks skirt the edges and are funneled down along the shore of Lake Superior. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is located near the lakeshore, making it an ideal spot to observe migrating raptors. I’ll be learning from head counter Karl Bardon to identify and count these amazing birds.
November 12-December 12, 2015: Volunteering at Pook’s Hill Lodge in Belmopan, Belize. I’ll be at the owners’ disposal to do chores, talk to guests, and help with ongoing scientific monitoring projects. I will also be borrowing audio recording equipment from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to record the vocalizations of Belizean birds for the Lab’s Macaulay Library.
December 12, 2015-January 15, 2016: Home for Christmas!
January 15-February 17, 2016: Travel to Rodez, France, to stay with a Workaway family. Workaway is a program that allows people to stay with host families worldwide, helping around the house, babysitting, or performing some other task for the hosts in exchange for room and board.
February 18-Mid March, 2016: At home
Mid March or early April-July 15, 2016: Acorn Woodpecker field assistant position in Carmel Valley, California. Acorn Woodpeckers live communally and breed cooperatively. I'll be assisting with a study on group composition and cooperative breeding behavior on a color-banded population of Acorn Woodpeckers at Hastings Natural History Reservation. More info to follow!