Photo: Bryan Stokes
Volunteers
Since our original 5-year study plan has now been completed, we will not be seeking new volunteers this year but we are looking for an intern for 2024. Keeping our staff small helps us comply with the mission of the Warren Land Conservation Trust to minimize the human footprint at Jacob's Point. We will be pursuing limited follow up studies to monitor the continuing health of the Saltmarsh Sparrow population on the marsh and aid in conserving this threatened species. Below are some example of the fine work our volunteers and interns did during our past field seasons.
What Did Volunteers Do?
Volunteers helped carry and set up mist nets on the marsh to capture birds safely. As shown above, running through the saltmarsh to coax birds into the nets takes teamwork and some grit. Volunteers in the field needed to move quickly, but carefully, on uneven terrain. (For people with limited mobility, you could help with data entry at the banding station and later via computer into the BANDIT database.)
Once in the net, birds were quickly and safely extracted by staff members Evan Lipton and Katie Christ.
Other opportunities for volunteer work included photographing the movements of banded birds throughout the marsh and plotting their locations on a grid map.
photos: Bryan Stokes
SALSri volunteers (left-to-right) Evan Lipton, Andy Eckerson, Matthew Eckerson (holding an Eastern Phoebe), Joel Eckerson, and Jonathan Eckerson at the Block Island Banding Station, April 28, 2019. Photo: Kim Gaffett