science in my backyard

In the summer of 2020, I joined the Cayuga Lake osprey (Pandion haliaetus) monitoring project, whose primary objectives are to build a catalogue of active nests in the region, and monitor the behavior of nesting pairs & their fledges.

My primary responsibility was to create an ethogram of fledgling behavior— from hatching to their first migration— through the use of 24 hour nest camera footage, and in situ observations at the study nest. I was the primary field observer for the 2020 and 2021 fledge season.

The research group is heavily involved in community outreach. Nest cam footage is uploaded to YouTube (right) so the public can connect with the osprey family— Orpheus, Ophelia and their chicks. Further, project lead Dr. Candace Cornell is heavily involved with the local nonprofit, Discover Cayuga Lake (DCL). In addition to my time in the field, I joined DCL on community eco-cruises to communicate our research, and help develop educational curricula for ecology and ornithology eco-tours, where the primary learning target was primary school children.

Follow the Cayuga Lake Osprey research by tuning into the Salt Point Osprey Camera