We're Hiring!
Black Swamp Bird Observatory is accepting applications for the following seasonal position:
Banding Field Crew Assistant
*Please submit applications by April 1, 2022
Click here >>> for the BSBO Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy
Banding Field Crew Assistant
*Please submit applications by April 1, 2022
Click here >>> for the BSBO Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy
Position: Banding Field Crew Assistant
Location: Oak Harbor, Ohio
Duration: April 4 through June 7
Expected Schedule: ~6:00 a.m. to ~1:00 p.m. daily, 5 days per week
Compensation: $140/day with shared lodging provided
Position Description: Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) is hiring a Banding Field Crew Assistant for the spring passerine migration season. The position works closely with our Staff Ornithologist and volunteers throughout the banding day (banding, extracting, and training volunteers) and reports to the Staff Ornithologist. This position will be expected to safely manage the banding station and lead the field crew on days without the Staff Ornithologist (up to two days per week). Hours vary throughout the season (depending on bird volume in a given day) but will typically be five days per week, pre-dawn to about 1:00 p.m. Time will be primarily spent in the field but will include data entry in the office including banding, recapture, and point count data entry. Field responsibilities include opening and closing the station, banding, performing morning point counts, supervision of research technicians and volunteers, training volunteers in bird extraction and passerine banding techniques, communicating with volunteers prior to the banding day (in the event of bad weather), maintaining mist-net lanes and station infrastructure, and assisting with mist-nets and bird bags maintenance. The ideal candidate will enjoy working closely with a large and diverse volunteer base and work well under pressure. The candidate should expect to walk about four miles per day on net rounds over flat terrain, encounter biting insects (e.g. mosquitos, ticks), and be prepared for weather conditions ranging from 30 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees throughout the season. Shared housing will be made available. A personal vehicle and valid driver’s license will be required. Over-time and benefits are not included.
Project Description: Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie in northwest Ohio, BSBO’s passerine migration station is located in the Navarre Marsh unit of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. The marsh region of northwest Ohio is designated as a Globally Important Bird Area and sees a tremendous number of migrating birds passing through in spring. BSBO’s long-term monitoring station studies the population status of neotropical migrants to better understand the relationship between stopover habitat and breeding ecology, and better inform local land managers and lawmakers on best practices for conserving birds and their habitats. Due to the station’s location on the lakeshore, most banding days are high-volume. About 100 passerine/near-passerine species and an average of 7,000 birds are banded in the spring, with peak migration days typically surpassing 300 birds a day. This area is closed to the public with the station located in a remote area of the marsh accessible by car via dike-top road.
Qualifications:
Required
Location: Oak Harbor, Ohio
Duration: April 4 through June 7
Expected Schedule: ~6:00 a.m. to ~1:00 p.m. daily, 5 days per week
Compensation: $140/day with shared lodging provided
Position Description: Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) is hiring a Banding Field Crew Assistant for the spring passerine migration season. The position works closely with our Staff Ornithologist and volunteers throughout the banding day (banding, extracting, and training volunteers) and reports to the Staff Ornithologist. This position will be expected to safely manage the banding station and lead the field crew on days without the Staff Ornithologist (up to two days per week). Hours vary throughout the season (depending on bird volume in a given day) but will typically be five days per week, pre-dawn to about 1:00 p.m. Time will be primarily spent in the field but will include data entry in the office including banding, recapture, and point count data entry. Field responsibilities include opening and closing the station, banding, performing morning point counts, supervision of research technicians and volunteers, training volunteers in bird extraction and passerine banding techniques, communicating with volunteers prior to the banding day (in the event of bad weather), maintaining mist-net lanes and station infrastructure, and assisting with mist-nets and bird bags maintenance. The ideal candidate will enjoy working closely with a large and diverse volunteer base and work well under pressure. The candidate should expect to walk about four miles per day on net rounds over flat terrain, encounter biting insects (e.g. mosquitos, ticks), and be prepared for weather conditions ranging from 30 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees throughout the season. Shared housing will be made available. A personal vehicle and valid driver’s license will be required. Over-time and benefits are not included.
Project Description: Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie in northwest Ohio, BSBO’s passerine migration station is located in the Navarre Marsh unit of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. The marsh region of northwest Ohio is designated as a Globally Important Bird Area and sees a tremendous number of migrating birds passing through in spring. BSBO’s long-term monitoring station studies the population status of neotropical migrants to better understand the relationship between stopover habitat and breeding ecology, and better inform local land managers and lawmakers on best practices for conserving birds and their habitats. Due to the station’s location on the lakeshore, most banding days are high-volume. About 100 passerine/near-passerine species and an average of 7,000 birds are banded in the spring, with peak migration days typically surpassing 300 birds a day. This area is closed to the public with the station located in a remote area of the marsh accessible by car via dike-top road.
Qualifications:
Required
- Extensive experience handling, banding, and taking of biological measurements of eastern passerines (minimum 1,000 birds handled and banded)
- Extensive knowledge identifying, aging, and sexing eastern passerines
- Demonstrated experience with avian fieldwork
- Extensive knowledge of eastern passerines and non-passerines by sight and sound
- Strong sense of ethics and knowledge of safety practices for mist-netting, banding, and photographing birds
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a diverse team toward common goals
- Excellent critical thinking and writing skills
- Experience performing point counts (with the ability to both visually and audibly identify eastern species)
- Experience managing a field crew
- North American Banding Council (NABC) Certification as Bander or Trainer
- Strong interest and expertise in ornithology, applied ecological research, and avian conservation
- Experience fitting/deploying nanotags using leg-loop harness and glue-on methods, application of color-bands, and feather sampling
- Hummingbird banding certification