Avian Care Intern – apply by 2/22
The Raptor Trust, 1390 White Bridge Road, Millington, NJ 07946
Position Dates: Approximately May 16 – August 22
Housing: None available; interns must provide their own housing.
Number of Positions: 5 internship positions at 32-40 hours weekly, 2 internship positions at 24 hours weekly. All include some evenings and weekends. Volunteer positions are also available for 4-12 hours/week.
This is an UNPAID internship: Qualifying interns
receive a modest stipend only to help defray travel and equipment costs. This
internship is a learning opportunity for students in the fields of Ecology,
Biology, Animal Science, and Wildlife Conservation.
Mission: Each year from
mid-May through August we are inundated with nestling and fledgling songbirds,
sometimes hundreds at a time. When citizens find these birds injured, orphaned,
or displaced during the spring and summer months, The Raptor Trust admits them
into our care to be raised, rehabilitated, and ultimately released back into
the wild. Because of the volume of birds admitted during these months and the
variety of specialized care which they require, The Raptor Trust sees this time
as most opportunistic and valuable in our goal to provide experience and
education to students who wish to learn about wildlife care and rehabilitation.
In
addition to participating in workshops, field trips, weekly meetings, and
completing workbook readings and assignments, interns are responsible for
practicing the skills they learn through assisting the staff in maintaining
standards of care for injured adult birds, help with general upkeep of the
center, and by feeding orphaned/displaced nestling and fledgling songbirds.
Internships include observation of raptors but do not necessarily offer
opportunities to assist with any raptor care or handling.
Specific Opportunities will include, but are not limited to:
- Hand-feed fledgling songbirds both indoors and in outdoor aviaries
- Prepare specially formulated diets and food bowls for a wide variety of bird species
- Admit new patients and beginning medical notes using our online database system
- Monitor patient health and behavior and reporting any concerns to senior staff
- Support volunteers in tasks such as dishes, laundry, sweeping, and other general upkeep to ensure cleanliness.
- Assist with answering phone calls, visitor inquiries, and public education
- Provide critical support to senior medical staff with capture and restraint of patients during medical procedures.
- Attend weekly meetings, seminars, workshops and/or field trips related to all aspects of wildlife rehabilitation.
- Observe examinations, diagnostic testing, treatments and surgeries.
- Learn, observe, and practice evaluating minimum release standards for a variety of songbirds and waterfowl.
- New in 2016: Participate in a visiting intern program with our neighbors at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge to assist with bat surveys, duck banding, turtle conservation, land surveys, trail maintenance, removal of invasive plant species, etc.
General Learning Objectives
- Learn how to use sound, size, field markers, and the context of season, relative age and breeding period, and antidotal evidence to identify various species of nestling songbirds, waterfowl, and raptors.
- Develop and practice skills in teamwork, communication, time management, and task prioritization.
- Understand how the natural history of a species affects its care and rehabilitation in captivity as related to diet, necessary accommodations in captivity, and species specific minimum release criteria.
- Appreciate the ethical, moral and legal debates regarding avian rehabilitation, rehabilitation of nuisance species, rehabilitation of non threatened species, and the use of euthanasia.
- Become familiar with medical diagnostic practices such as phlebotomy, radiography and microscopy.
- Strengthen awareness of issues facing wildlife and specifically bird conservation both in the US and globally.
To apply, please submit a letter of interest, resume, copy of
transcript/coursework (optional), and selection of 2-3 references whom
we may contact (at least 1 teacher/professor and 1 previous employer
recommended). Applications are due by February 22, 2016.
Mail: Attn Shari Stern, The Raptor Trust, 1390 White Bridge
Rd., Millington, NJ 07946
Email: education@theraptortrust.org. (Resume and cover letter attached as one document
please) or Fax: 908-647-8211