SEAnet and Volunteer Opportunities

There are always lots of volunteer opportunities at Wellfleet Bay and this past Thursday morning a talk was held for volunteers and other interested persons at the sanctuary. Cynthia Franklin, our energetic and busy volunteer coordinator has this to say about the program.

SEANET

This past Thursday Wellfleet Bay hosted more than 50 people for a training session for SEANET, the Seabird Ecological Assessment Network based at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. www.tufts.edu/vet/seanet

Volunteers for SEANET walk assigned beaches once or twice a month, and identify and record information on bird mortality along the coast. Dr. Julie Ellis, the Program Director, spoke about threats to seabird populations, and how the volunteer data is used to study causes of seabird mortality and to target specific conservation measures to alleviate threats to these birds.

She walked through the procedures for beach surveys, and then talked about how to identify any birds found (often by their feet if not much is left of the carcass.)  She showed the volunteers how to measure parts of the bird, how to take photos (with a ruler in the picture to show size), and discussed the data that needed to be collected on each bird, as well as on general beach and weather conditions.

Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary has lots of other opportunities for volunteers to participate in “citizen science” – collecting data and working with our staff on various research projects. We are looking for people for this spring to monitor piping plovers and terns, ospreys, and diamondback terrapins, and to census and tag horseshoe crabs. No experience is necessary; we will provide the training – you provide a curious mind and the willingness to learn and help out. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Cynthia Franklin, for more information by calling 508-349-2615 or email cfranklin@massaudubon.org

Photos by Carol "Krill" Carson of NECWA.