A Summer to Remember

I only have 7 weeks left to be an intern at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge for this summer, and I'm already certain that this is a summer to remember. I've gotten to experience and be a part of so many opportunities already, and there are so many more in the near future. I haven't been documenting my days in anyway lately, but I wanted to make a blogpost with some of the photos taken over the past week or so. 

I've been successfully leading guided walks at Holgate beach, and the busiest day so far has been Friday, July, 5th, interacting with 204 people in all. There's been rain, sun, wind, and fog. A beach is susceptible to many different kinds of weather, so I have to keep an eye on the radar every time I go out. I was able to go out with the biology interns yesterday, and we took down water salinity at the refuge and pulled invasive plants out. It's exciting that I get to have a chance at a new experience every week, but I do wish it occurred more often. I just know that I want to make the most of what time I have left!  

Findings on one beachcombing walk: crab claw, jingle shell, and cow vertebra.

I was so excited to find a jingle shell!

Photo of Holgate beach during one of my walks, originally posted on Friends of Forsythe Facebook.

A foggy day at the beach.

Box turtle seen sunbathing in the road. 

Lily Lake during a bird walk I attended.

Fowler's toad. I love these guys, but I wish they weren't so small and all over the roads!

Another Fowler's toad I'm holding. Different color morph. Originally posted on Forsythe NWR Facebook.

Beachcombing

Today, I led my first walk on the topic of beachcombing at Holgate. I had known of the hobby vaguely, but I knew nothing of its past before this internship. Originating in the south Pacific, the process of hunting through the soft sand for shells was first done by sailors who were unemployed. They would often times search for flotsam and jetsam rather than simply shells, which is the wreckage of a ship and the belongings of a ship thrown overboard, respectively. The shells and other items found would be used for trading among Native people. Today, beachcombing is considered simply looking for what the sea may hold rather than parts or items from a boat. Those who are truly dedicated will monitor tide charts and other factors of an area in order to time when is best to go out and search. I led a group of 8 people along the beach, identifying as many shells as I had learned, spouting out fun facts to keep them engaged. There were scallops, clams, mussels, horseshoe crabs, and moon snails. Each and every shell has once been or housed a living creature, and they are more part of the ecosystem than many of us realize. I hope to have more pictures to show as the summer continues, since I will be leading this walk every Sunday. Below is a photo of what was a crab and a knobbed whelk shell I found a few days prior on a different beach.

  

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

I have been in New Jersey for 5 days now, and I've enjoyed every moment so far. I am currently interning at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge for the summer as an outreach intern stationed at Holgate. I will be spending the majority of my summer sitting at an exhibit on the beach to inform the public of the protected wilderness area for nesting birds. The picture below shows our display for piping plovers, which are an endangered species of bird, and a variety of shells and brochures.

I will also be leading two of four guided nature walks down the beach throughout the summer. I'll be in charge of the Wilderness Walk and the Beachcombing Walk. The walk will allow the public to walk into the protected wilderness area, albeit only for a short time. 

The refuge headquarters itself is beautiful, located in Oceanville, NJ. The Visitor Center is amazing, housing many interesting displays and a live video feed of osprey chicks. There is an 8-mile wildlife drive overseeing many salt marshes and a forested area. I drove along it for the first time just yesterday, and I was able to see a diamondback terrapin laying eggs, two deer, and many birds, including willets, laughing gulls, great egrets, snowy egrets, canadian geese, and an american oystercatcher. While at Holgate, I also got to see my first wild Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, one of which jumped out of the water! Below are some pictures of the refuge itself.

 I hope to have many more amazing experiences as the summer continues!