The Forest Bird Technician will support our research and conservation project to benefit Prothonotary Warblers and other bottomland hardwood forest songbirds. The goals of the program are to deploy nest boxes within suitable habitat to increase local nest success of forest songbirds, reduce predation risks, and reduce nest-parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds. The technician will help build, deploy and monitor these nest boxes, track nest success, band nestling and adult Prothonotary Warblers, and coordinate volunteer project days. The technician will also help relocate banded birds, retrieve geolocators that were deployed during the 2017 breeding season, and deploy nanotags during 2018.
The position will start on approximately 19 March 2018, and will require working a minimum of 40 hours per week over the course of 18 weeks. The position will require work to take place during early mornings, and late evenings and weekends as required.
Supervised by Audubon Louisiana’s Avian Biologist, and working closely with our Director of Bird Conservation, the Forest Bird Intern will assist Audubon Louisiana staff to:
- Monitor nesting activity and record detailed data on nest productivity;
- Band adults and nestlings, and record morphometric information;
- Resight color-banded birds and retrieve geolocators;
- Set up video cameras to record nestling provisioning;
- Enter data and prepare interim reports;
- Coordinate work duties with Audubon WINGs interns and volunteers;
- Engage local communities, organize volunteer events, and use social media to increase awareness of the need to protect a species of conservation concern;
- Help organize and facilitate nest box building workshops;
- Interact with citizen scientists and provide guidance in nest monitoring protocols;
- Plan and execute specific tasks, sometimes independently of a direct supervisor.
- Experience in monitoring birds;
- Nest searching, bird banding, and nest productivity monitoring;
- Knowledge of conservation methods in forested habitats, such as conservation easements and restoration techniques;
- Experience implementing new projects and engaging volunteers;
- Excellent interpersonal as well as written and oral communication skills;
- Self-motivated and reliable; ability to work unsupervised;
- Must have strong organizational skills and great attention to detail;
- Ability to both lead and work as a team;
- Must be comfortable interacting with the public and staff of multiple partner organizations;
- Must be willing to work long hours outside under physically demanding conditions (hot, humid, biting insects);
- Proficiency using the Microsoft Office suite (e.g. Excel, Word, Access and PowerPoint);
- Must have a valid Driver’s License and personal vehicle.