Nest Box Training at Eagle Marsh

Spot Light on Volunteers: Nancy Kilduski
Carl: What did you do before you retired?
Nancy: Oh, a lot of stuff! …and more… I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire (now the DRC), a computer programmer in Chicago and Fort Wayne, and an occupational therapist at Parkview and at Fort Wayne Community Schools.
Carl: Did you go to university and if so, what did you study?
Nancy: I have a bachelor's degree in math, and master’s degrees in intercultural communication and in occupational therapy.
Carl: How long have you been a LRWP volunteer and what other projects have you worked on?
Nancy: Not long enough! I became an Indiana Master Naturalist in 2019 and then began volunteering with LRWP. I helped a bit with turtle projects, then moved on to birds and monarchs. I am also a trail steward.
Carl: How did you get involved in citizen science.
Nancy:  Citizen science, while it has been around for a while, was a new idea for me when I started volunteering at LR. And at first, I did not pay that much attention to the “science” idea. But it is a brilliant way to enlist help with data collection and foster deep connections with nature. I love it for the opportunities it provides to get up close and personal with the natural world as well as for the chance to contribute to human knowledge and understanding.
Carl: Do you volunteer with other organizations?
Nancy: Yes! I help with the Little Turtle Seed Library, FWCS Study Connection, and Whitney Young Garden Club as well as the Fox Island Feeder Watch Project. Somehow, I still have time to do backyard birding, gardening and reading.
Carl: How did you get involved in all things birdish?
Nancy: My dad was a biologist at heart and a huge backyard birder, always at war with the squirrels who ate bird seed and the large birds that bullied the smaller ones. My first binoculars were a pair of his cast-offs! He sparked in me a deep and long-lasting interest in birds.
Carl:  Any involvement with the state or national nature groups, IMN, boards etc.?
Nancy:  Not yet.

Volunteers at Eagle Marsh and indeed all Little River Wetlands Project’s preserves participate in citizen science projects. Citizen Science is a resource magnifier. We are not all research scientists, but we can assist in the research projects they design. At Eagle Marsh that includes the study of plants but also: weasels, bats, turtles, Monarch Butterflies, all other butterflies, and birds. 

Citizen Science projects have lead scientists and institutions that design the project. This includes the questions that are asked or hypothesis, the methodology of collecting data and the related standardized methods of collection, recording, and reporting data. Each project has different universities or institutions that guide and evaluate the projects. For the Nest Box Project that institution is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, part of Cornell University. 

Before becoming a Nest Box monitor at LRWP volunteers must attend a training session. The session provides history and context of the project, an introduction to the expected Code of Conduct of Nest Box monitors, an introduction to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and an introduction to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. That is a lot of material. Luckily the session recorded was presented by Nancy Kilduski who brings the material to life.  

The training elaborated on the expectations of monitors. That includes how to approach a box, how to identify the nest, eggs, and birds, how to record the data, and how often to do this. Part of the behavior of the monitors is guided by the Code of Conduct of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This is intended to keep the birds safe and the data collection objective.  

Part of the Code of Conduct is also in compliance with the Migratory Bird Treat Act. This federal law lists all protected birds and the behaviors of humans in relation to the birds. Not all of the protected birds at Eagle Marsh are migratory.

 Nancy stressed that if you are interested in becoming a Bird Nest monitor then you need to become certified through the Cornell Lab’s Nest Watch program. This is an easy but mandatory expectation.
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 After the training the volunteers joined Nancy outside as she demonstrated Nest Box monitoring. This was interesting because the first box already had a nest in the process of being built in it.  The second box was filled to the top in Cat Tail stuffing and housed six mice. Nancy demonstrated how to gently remove the mice so the box could be used by birds. All in all, it was a very useful training session.

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