Looking for a way to spend a summer in the woods?
Consider a project studying
birds or mammals of the forest ! !
My field research looks at the behavior and ecology of cavity nesting birds (e.g.: house wrens, bluebirds, screech-owls, etc.) and small mammals (e.g.: voles, mice, squirrels, shrews, etc.). Most of this research is being conducted in forests owned and managed by the Mead-Westvaco Paper Corporation.
Our home base is at Windy Hill Farm in Greenup County,
Kentucky. It's a 2 hour drive from Northern Kentucky University,
so we spend a lot of time in the field and living at the base camp.
It's a lot of work but it can also be a lot of fun. This can be a
great place for students who are interested in careers in field biology
and environmental research.
Some of questions I'm investigating:
1. How
do different forest harvest practices (clear cutting, selective cutting)
effect the diversity and productivity of cavity-nesting birds?
2. Do
secondary cavity-nesting birds (birds who don't excavate their own nest
cavities) vertically partition trees for nest sites?
3. Do
different forest harvest practices (clear cutting, selective cutting) effect
the diversity of mammal species?
This isn't for everyone. Lots of early mornings
and late nights in the field. A project each week to maintain the
base camp. No running water in the cabin. Best of all, no telephones
or television.
Contact me
if you want more information.
In the mean time, here are some images of the base camp
at Windy Hill, just to get you thinking. Click on the thumbnail images
for a full image.
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