Meet Ashley Hansen, CVWO's 2020 Monarch Biologist!

Ashley is a recent graduate of Otterbein University with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, with minors in Sustainability and Earth Science. Within her department Ashley was involved in a number of research projects including pollinator presence within zoos and comparison studies between species as they respond to environmental factors. Ashley has extensive field experience in projects ranging from reestablishing wetlands, to prairie and wetland surveys and assessments, to Monarch rearing and testing within a zoo environment.

Ashley has a passion for the natural world and for communicating the importance of conservation issues.  She will be a great asset to the CVWO team and we welcome her knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm. Ashley will begin counting and tagging Monarchs September 15, 2020. She'll be based at Kiptopeke State Park but will monitor several sites on the lower Delmarva peninsula thoroughout the fall. WELCOME, ASHLEY!

Black Swallowtail Laying Eggs at CVWO Garden

 As they've done every year, Black Swallowtails lay eggs on the garden's Golden Alexander.  Today Brian spotted this happening for the first time this year.

 

Pre-Hawkwatch Greetings

Greetings, friends of CVWO and Kiptopeke State Park, hawkwatch enthusiasts, and whoever else may happen across this blog! My name is Bridgett Brunea, and I will be the Hawkwatch Intern/Environmental Educator for Fall 2020. The Hawkwatcher this year is Karl Bardon, who brings a wealth of experience to the CVWO team. I'll be offering this blog post today as a little "pre-season" introduction.

 

A bit about me: a registered nurse for five years, I began the transition into field biology in January of this year. My first position was monitoring and banding birds at a biological field station in Sonora, Mexico - a wonderful experience! My friends have told me I've officially reached "bird nerd" status, which, apparently, can be defined approximately thus: "One who carries a pair of binoculars everywhere they go, stares wide-eyed into the distance at random intervals, muttering things like, 'Is that a common nighthawk roosting on that tree branch?' and who may attempt life-threatening contortions over railings, cliff edges, etc. simply to gain a better view of a bird." Ahem...yup, guilty as charged. So, here I am, eager to learn the ropes of hawkwatch while offering you folks whatever information I can (and hopefully having a little fun along the way!). 

 

As far as this hawkwatch season goes, we'll be gearing up to begin the official count on Tuesday, September 1st. Clearly, with all the changes and precautions around Covid-19, this year may look a little different than previous years (if you would like to know what Covid-19 protocols we are following, we're going by Kiptopeke's rules - please check their website for guidance.) But not to worry - Brian Taber and I have been scheming a number of potential ways to keep folks in the loop. You will be far from stranded and informationless as hawkwatch begins this year!

 

Considering what a challenging year this has been for everyone, my hope is to provide you an engaging and informative natural-world respite here on our blog, Facebook page, and (potentially) through other digital avenues, as well - stay tuned to the blog for more details!

 

I look forward to meeting any and all who get to make it to the platform, and for those who are choosing to stay at home this time around, please feel free to introduce yourself virtually!

 

Here's to a great season!

 

-Bridgett