One important part of Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory is environmental education! Whenever visitors come to the platform, we love to talk to them about our jobs and why we are conducting a hawk watch at Kiptopeke. In addition to that, we are participating in Kiptopeke State Park's Outdoor Exploration Day, which is this coming Saturday, September 28th. The event is at the picnic area between 9:00am and 3:00pm. Anna Stunkel and I will be at the Hawkwatch Platform, hosting a "mini" Kiptopeke Challenge (with bird coloring pages!). Additionally, I will be leading the weekly early bird hike at 9:00am. Michael Ferrara will be assisting with the butterfly enclosure by the butterfly garden, where visitors can see local species of butterflies and chrysalises. We are looking forward to seeing many of you there!
The butterflies and chrysalises arrived at the park yesterday and were released into the custom enclosure built by the park. Inside they have plenty of flowers, such as mist flower, for the butterflies to feed on. One of the park rangers made a time-lapse of the butterfly release into the enclosure, click here to see the video! Anna Stunkel helped make signs that are displayed in the enclosure that describe the life cycle of Monarch Butterflies.
Butterflies inside the enclosure in front of sign illustrated by Anna Stunkel.
Besides special events, our daily activities typically involve education. Below are some photos and descriptions of some of the research and education opportunities we have provided so far this season.
The Educator/Intern Megan Murante shows kids at the platform one of our brochures that has life size images of the most common butterflies on the Eastern Shore.
Our Monarch Biologist, Michael Ferrara explains the Monarch Migration to Visitors by the Butterfly Garden.
Megan Murante explains why we are counting hawks at Kiptopeke and shows what species we see using the platform sign.
Michael Ferrara tags a Monarch at the platform in front of visitors, and discusses the importance of tagging butterflies on the migration route.
Tagged Monarch butterfly right before Michael does assessment of fitness. He checks weight, wing condition, and sex.
Educator/Hawkwatch Intern Megan used the Park's "limo" to give a tour to participants of the University of Virginia's conference on coastal issues, held nearby this past weekend. One of the participants, with an interest in Monarch migration, wants to partner with the CVWO and the State Park on a project to record wildlife sounds.
-Megan
