Taylor Austin '09 spent last summer on 14,000 acres of beach as an intern with the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. His primary job was monitoring piping plovers, a threatened shorebird, but he was also on the lookout for the Delmarva fox squirrel and the tank-like tracks of loggerhead turtles.
The biology major from Midlothian, Virginia helped with the annual pony roundup. Doing crowd control meant he had a front-row view of the spectacle that draws thousands to the beach each year.
Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge is one of the top five shorebird-migration staging areas in the country. Taylor was one of only five interns who spent 12 weeks on Assateague Island, searching for eggs and counting how many hatched.
"This experience provided a taste of what the real world will be like in the field of biology," Taylor said. "It helped clarify my decision to be an advocate for the conservation and preservation of our wildlife and natural resources."
The easiest way to find a nest was to watch females luring spectators away from their nests, then move back several yards and spy through binoculars as the birds returned to their chicks. The challenge was addictive. "We couldn't leave without finding the chicks," Taylor said.
The harsh reality of nature quickly set in, however. A devastating storm and wily foxes took their toll. Out of 161 piping plover eggs, only 94 produced chicks. Out of the 94 that hatched, only 27 chicks fledged. Predators took 24 eggs and weather damaged eight. Others failed for unknown reasons and infertility.
"The connections that I have made and the experience and knowledge that I gained as an intern with the refuge will hopefully increase my chances of having a career in wildlife biology," Taylor said.