City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
Raptor Monitor Internship
Organization: City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks (OSMP)
Address: PO Box 791 City: Boulder State: CO Zip: 80306
Questions: Halice Ruppi, OSMP Volunteer Services VolunteerOSMP@bouldercolorado.gov
Recruitment open in November. Apply here:
https://countmein.bouldercolorado.gov/d/OSMP/App/RaptorMonitorIntern
Number of interns requested for spring/summer: One
Salary: Unpaid internship for credit
Summary:
OSMP is offering one raptor monitoring internship with the CU Environmental Studies and EBIO Programs. OSMP manages site-specific closures to protect cliff-nesting raptors (i.e., Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagle) as well as grassland raptors (i.e., Bald Eagles, Osprey) during the breeding season.
Objectives:
The successful candidate will assist with all aspects of OSMP’s raptor monitoring program, including but not limited to: raptor nest-site observations during the breeding season; collecting, entering and performing quality control on volunteer-collected data pertaining to raptor nesting status; working with volunteer raptor monitors (this program has a large volunteer component); surveying new sites for raptor breeding activity; and public education and outreach projects.
An end-of-the-year presentation will be required as part of this internship. The student may select the subject matter, with help from OSMP staff.
Time Commitment:
Internship = Spring Semester (January-May)
To satisfy the internship requirements, ~10 hours per week from mid-January to early May must be completed. This equates to about 6 hours monitoring raptor activity and 4 hours entering data, depending on time of year.
Raptor breeding season begins in February/March and the young are usually independent by mid-July. If the student meets the qualifications of the internship, they are eligible to apply for a paid extension into July.
Training:
OSMP holds volunteer training in late January; the training is followed by visits to monitoring sites in early February. The successful candidate should be able to attend orientation dates and, ideally, commit to participating in the program thru the nesting period (3/1 – 7/31).
Requirements:
The successful candidate will show excellent attention to detail, an interest/background in avian ecology and the desire to interact with the public. To reach monitoring sites, the successful candidate must be able to hike alone over rough terrain for an extended period and have an acceptable mode of transportation to monitoring sites. Knowledge of Microsoft Office products will be required to enter and organize data and produce an end of the year presentation.