For my SGC Practicum, I interned at Save Our Seabirds in Sarasota, Florida, during the summer of 2022. Save Our Seabirds is a non-profit avian hospital/sanctuary that focuses on the rehabilitation and release of sick or injured seabirds. Nearly 1000 birds make their way through the SOS hospital each year, and those that are deemed unreleasable join the 120+ avian residents that are cared for in the SOS sanctuary. Save Our Seabirds strives to promote conservation and public education through its rehabilitation center and public sanctuary. My summer experience with SOS was a massive step toward my career goals, and I consistently utilize many of the skills and relationships that I built from this internship.
I became aware of Save Our Seabirds because of their location and inviting atmosphere. Having family in Florida, I would often visit Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium during the summer. Mote happens to be located next to Save Our Seabirds, and with their free admission and my love for birding, I was enamored as I walked around the SOS sanctuary. Once back in Maryland, I contacted SOS to ask about internship opportunities, which was quickly rewarded with a phone interview. At this point, I had already been declined from numerous internship opportunities, so waiting for the final verdict on my SOS application was stressful. If I were to give one piece of advice, it's to not become discouraged by rejection. Take the feedback from your rejection and use it to improve your abilities and your applications, and continue searching for new opportunities. There's no harm in reaching out for an opportunity that you believe may be a stretch because the worst that can happen is someone says "no". If that's the case, don't be discouraged, just pick yourself up and keep trying.
During my internship at Save Our Seabirds, I assisted in medical procedures in the hospital as well as maintaining enclosures in the sanctuary. I was trained to handle a wide variety of bird species, such as raptors, large seabirds, and songbirds (as well as infant birds which were so so cute but also sometimes really ugly in a cute way). Some medical procedures I assisted in were administering oral medication, physical therapy, surgery, or euthanasia. We took part in a few wet labs, one of which was bandaging training and the other was necropsies. Conducting an avian necropsy was very cool as bird anatomy is very different than human anatomy. Other practices I was taught were diet preparation, cage cleaning, enrichment exercises, and enclosure maintenance. The internship had an even split between working inside the hospital and working outside in the sanctuary. I had an incredible time learning these skills and working with a variety of bird species.
Before this internship, I was unaware of the many threats to seabirds (as well as birds as a whole). One of the main threats to seabirds turns out to be fishhooks. Large flocks of seabirds will gather around fishing docks or fishing boats in hopes of snagging some easy lunch, however, loose fishhooks or fishing lines will often get impaled/tangled around seabirds. Fishhooks that were stuck in fish will be ingested by seabirds, impaling the inside of their mouth or digestive tract. Other threats to seabirds are impact with cars or windows, attacks from cats or dogs, ingestion of rodenticides (mostly an issue for carnivorous birds like raptors), Harmful Algal Blooms, or Avian Influenza. One of the most interesting threats that I learned about was Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), in which toxins from the algae that make up the bloom (K. Brevis) are ingested by seabirds and cause neurological effects or damage. This was interesting to me because it plays largely into anthropogenic climate change, where human-induced eutrophication will cause these massive damaging algal blooms. This is a subject that has very little research behind it, and I would be interested in learning and researching more about how HABs affect seabird populations.
The relationships that I built during this internship have opened a world of opportunities for me. First of all, I am very thankful to SOS for having a welcoming environment where your coworkers quickly become your friends. Being one of two interns at SOS, I worked with the other intern to a great extent and we became great friends who still talk to this day. Working at a small non-profit organization allowed me to network with individuals that share my goals and values, and I am very grateful for the relationships that I built.
From this experience, I have a newfound appreciation for small conservation organizations. The extent to which SOS provides education and conservation is incredible, and once you consider that this is done by around 15 staff on average it is breathtaking. To maintain a small non-profit that still provides so much to the community is an insane amount of work, and my site supervisor is extremely dedicated to ensuring this status. I admire the work of the staff at SOS, as they go above and beyond to provide for their community and the natural environment.
This internship has allowed me the opportunity to to solidify and refine my future career plans. I have always known that I wanted to end up doing work related to marine or coastal ecosystems, however this internship introduced a term that I have never considered. Convervation. I had originally planned on going into the field of marine biology, but have found that marine conservation better fits my interests. To advance my career towards marine conservation, I utilized my skills and relationships built at Save Our Seabirds to secure an internship at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, where I will be apart of their Sea Turtle Research and Conservation Program during the summer of 2023.
My summer internship at Save Our Seabirds has greatly influenced my future career, and I am very thankful for the experience. I would not have pursued this opportunity if not for the SGC Practicum, and I would have missed out on a truly life-changing event. I appreciate the support and guidance from Dr. Holtz and Dr. Merck, encouraging students to pursue incredible opportunities.