Every June, the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) staff and partners conduct a multi-day tern census on South Monomoy Island (see photo above), which is off the southeast corner of Cape Cod. Due to risks posed by sea level rise and increasing shoreline erosion, this refuge recently demolished their visitors’ center and staff dormitory, making overnighting nearby for field work even more challenging. Those working tern census therefore had to either camp on the island or take the FWS boat on and off each day. I joined for the second day of the tern census and enjoyed the scenic boat ride until my arrival, when I was shocked by the sheer number and volume of the terns (last year, nearly 20,000 nests were found)! These coastal birds viewed us as a threat to their nests and constantly scolded us and flew at our heads (hence, we wore hard hats with flags taped on). The small strip of beach on either side of the island and the established staff camp provided the only respite from terns during a long day of nest counting across the island. This experience was a unique one, and by the end of the day I’d learned a lot about terns, laughing gulls, willets, and why tracking their nests is important for management. 

The following week I assisted with invasive species work at Assabet River NWR and Blanding’s turtle surveys at Fort Devens. Assabet NWR is a beautiful place, but like many wild lands, is plagued by an overwhelming number of invasive species. A volunteer, another intern, and I spent the morning searching for a small and hard-to-spot species of rock cress, which has been spreading likely from hunters’ boots to other areas of the refuge. The volunteer leading us has been working on invasives at Assabet NWR for 10 years and shared a wealth of knowledge. 

At Devens, I unfortunately didn’t spot any Blanding’s turtles during our evening survey, but did see a great-horned owl, Fowler’s toad, painted turtle, and killdeer and heard a whip-poor-will! The scarce number of visible turtles was likely due to the time of year, as these turtles are most active earlier in June. Nevertheless, I gained a better understanding of how/where to spot nesting turtles and how military installations are protecting this state-threatened species. 

Getting to head out for some “boots-on-the-ground" days helped put my climate change research into better perspective, as I can now visualize more of the places, species, and conservation efforts I often read about in INRMPs. Participating in field work also gave me more hope that there are a lot of people working to conserve natural resources and that actions like these do make a difference.