First two weeks!

So I've been working at the Species at Risk (SAR) office for about two weeks now, and I've already seen so many cool things!

Blanding's turtles are one of the main species that are monitored by the SAR office and it's a really busy time for them! The eggs that were laid in June are now hatching so there is a lot of time and effort being put in, to make sure we document all of them! This means that I get to go out with volunteers to check out all the nests around the park. I don't get to go everyday, but the volunteers do! Last week I had the opportunity to process and release 5 babies and this week 6! They are so small (about the size of a toonie), and sometimes hard to find.

Me with a hatchling

Two released hatchlings

Another project that I'll be working on is the ribbon snake project. Right now all I'm doing is going out into the field and looking for snakes. We measure, weigh and document every snake we find. I've been out a few times and I can say that I'm not very good at spotting the snakes in the tall grass! I walked around for an hour this afternoon and didn't see one! On monday we took out a class of first year student from NSCC in Lunenberg and found a whole bunch that day! 

Here are some of the students searching!

This is a baby snake!

I'll be spending a lot of time working with the ribbon snake project. The fall is a really active time for them because the move from their summer habitat to their wintering spots. I'll be trying to find/monitor the winter habitats.

We also monitor Monarch Butterflies in the area and we have a live display at the visitors centre. Here we had some live caterpillars, which are currently going through their transformation to becoming butterflies. Today one of the last ones emerged and i got to release it! They are so beautiful! 

We received 11 new caterpillars from the valley yesterday, so there will be lots more butterflies coming out of the display in a few weeks. 

So that's what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks! There will be lots more to come!

Here are a few nature shots I took during my travels!

Mersey River

Reflection on Keji Lake

Across Keji Lake

Mersey River Falls

Welcome to my blog!

A couple of weeks ago i found out that I was lucky enough to get an internship at the Species at Risk Office in Keji National Park! In 10 days I will be starting this six month adventure! After a long summer of sending out my resume to countless companies and not hearing anything from anyone, you can imagine how excited I was to hear this amazing news!

In a week I will be moving (not too far!)  to the country, leaving behind my friends, family and boyfriend. This is why I decided to start this blog. I want to keep in touch with everybody, and I want to keep everyone up to date with all the adventures this internship will bring!

With my brand new video camera (Thanks Trev!) and my trusty old camera, I will try to share as much as I can as often as I can! 

That's all for now!

=)