By Press
Staff
Published 4:47 pm
EDT, Friday, July 12, 2019
Rachael
Finch ‘21, a biology major at Eastern Connecticut State University from East
Haddam, has spent the past five weeks working with the endangered birds in
Massachusetts’ Buzzards Bay.
WILLIMANTIC
— Rachael Finch, ‘21, a biology major at Eastern Connecticut State University from
East Haddam, has spent the past five weeks working with the endangered birds in
Massachusetts’ Buzzards Bay.
As the
recipient of an Eastern Summer Research Fellowship, she is working to help
restore the population of roseate terns — an endangered, migratory seabird that
nests in the Northeast, according to a press release.
Under the
supervision of Biology Professor Patty Szczys, and in collaboration with Mass
Wildlife, Finch’s field work occurred on Ram and
Bird Islands in Buzzards Bay. Each morning, she’d take a boat
ride to either of the islands and spend the day monitoring the birds, the
release said.
“Being on
the island every day is exhausting,” she said of the early mornings and long
hours in a prepared statement. “However, the work we’re doing for the birds is
crucial to help their survival.”
Among her
objectives, Finch is assessing whether leg banding — the traditional method of
tracking and monitoring terns — is in fact harming the already endangered
birds.
“The
bands may cause an increase in mortality on their wintering grounds, thus
potentially contributing to their slow population growth,” said Finch, who is
comparing survival rates in banded versus unbanded terns.
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