Introducing K.E.ST.R.E.L.'s Interns

He came, he saw, he counted

Brian Sullivan arrived at Kiptopeke from New Jersey in mid-August 1995, an unknown 24 year-old. By November 30, when he left the hawk watching platform for the last time, he had amassed 966 hours of hawk migration data, tallying 79,208 raptors of 17 species. Visitors from up and down the Atlantic coast and throughout Virginia were amazed at the observational skills which this quiet, extremely astute student of raptor biology brought to his work. Brian documented seasonal record numbers for all raptor species, including a record of six Swainson's hawks for the season. He put up with mice in his Oyster home, a hurricane that had officials abandoning coastal dwellings, and countless hours observing empty skies.

Brian is an example of the excellence that Kiptopeke attracts. We expect him to migrate back to us next fall.

She came, she caught, she counseled

Mary Arginteanu, longtime Kiptopeke volunteer, served as K.E.ST.R.E.L.'s first songbird banding intern. In two months she helped the volunteer banders capture, band and release over 3,800 migrating songbirds. She explained the operation to over 1,200 visitors --- teaching first-graders to identify "Butter Butts," explaining migration corridors to seventh-graders and training new volunteers to handle the birds safely and record the data accurately. Mary will be back again this year. Her personal goal is to increase the public's understanding of the magic and science of bird migration.

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