Job: Island Supervisor

Jobing Description

*7 positions available*

Audubon's Seabird Restoration Program manages seven island research stations off the coast of Maine that include active and former restoration sites for Atlantic Puffins, Black Guillemots, Razorbills, Arctic, Common, Least and Roseate Terns, Laughing Gulls, Common Eiders, Leach s Storm-Petrels and wading birds. Work includes, but is not limited to: seabird diet studies, productivity monitoring, chick growth, seabird survival, telemetry and vegetation and predator management studies.

Primitive camping and working on offshore islands are required. Interns will move between at least 2 field sites throughout the summer. Island research teams are comprised of 2 to 6 people and are determined by island size, seabird colony composition and workload. The work week may stretch across seven days, weather permitting, but working hours are limited to 35 per week. Weekend work may be required. Days are long (0600 to 2000 hrs) and include a minimum of two 3-hour observation stints each day in a small wooden blind, weather permitting. All participants camp in the bird colonies. We have field conditions (no electricity or running water; composting toilet only). Food and worker s compensation are provided. Interns must provide binoculars, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and 2-person tent.

Island Supervisors will spend approximately 7-21 days at a field station before returning to the mainland where housing, showers and laundry facilities are available.

Essential Functions:

* Manage multiple concurrent (seabird) studies as directed by the Sanctuary Manager, which may include, but are not limited to: bird banding, observations, bird trapping, nest censusing, laptop computer data entry; mist-netting; blood or specimen collection, vegetation management;
* Train interns and volunteers on essential field and computer skills and proper use of binoculars and spotting scopes;
* Train interns and volunteers as needed to perform activities required for implementation of workplans;
* Draft a daily work and staff schedule;
* Oversee data collection and management and completion of daily journal entries;
* Conduct visitor education;
* Protect the seabird colony from human disturbance;
* Conduct predator management or control as necessary;
* Responsible for personnel safety at a remote field camp;
* Responsible for safe use of power or row boats, assuring all personnel wear personal flotation devices as required by NAS;
* Responsible for proper care of NAS-issued equipment, including but not limited to: spotting scopes, GPS, cell phones, radios, and other research equipment;
* Responsible for keeping equipment, such as solar power systems, sound broadcasting systems and rifles in working order, and inventorying equipment at the end of the season;
* Responsible for informing the Associate Director of any equipment loss, breakage or failure, and of any facility maintenance or repair required;
* Responsible for winterizing and securing the field station at season s end.
* Prepare a field season summary for oral presentation at the August Gulf of Maine Seabird Working Group meeting;
* Write an end of season report summarizing results of field work, data collected and management activities, including an equipment inventory for submission to the Sanctuary Manager by the specified date.

Island work schedule and daily duties are determined by the Island Supervisor and vary based on weather (no entry into the seabird colony is permitted during inclement weather to protect the nesting terns) and time of the nesting season (when tern chicks are fully feathered, entry into the colony is less restrictive). Daily schedule may include, but is not limited to the following: island-wide morning bird count and weather data collection at 0600 hours, two 3-hour stints in the observation blinds for data collection each day (weather permitting); seabird trapping and banding sessions lasting ½ to 1 hour (weather permitting); trail maintenance; invasive plant removal (depending on location); computer and field notebook data entry; daily journal log entries; maintenance of camp facilities.

Qualifications and Experience:

B.S. degree with several years of experience conducting field research or M.S. degree in conservation biology or related area. Career goals should include graduate studies and work in field of seabird conservation or conservation biology.

Required: Previous experience supervising field data collection and other staff; bird handling and banding experience; small boat handling experience (outboards/rowboats); wilderness or primitive camping experience; dedication to wildlife conservation; a sense of humor; a passion for seabirds and isolated islands.

Experience with the following equipment: Spotting scopes, bird banding and trapping equipment (mist nets etc); outboard engine care/basic maintenance, inflatable boat repair, boat safety equipment; camping equipment (e.g. tents, composting toilets, etc), solar power systems, basic hand tools (e.g. hammer, drill driver, etc); PC operation (MS Word, Excel and Access programs), Bandit or Band Manager; communication equipment (cell phones, CB and VHF radios).

Highly desirable: Prior experience managing a seabird field program; predator control (including avian and mammalian control programs); hunting experience.