The Internship

I interned at the Oregon Coast Aquarium during the winter (November 2012-February 2013), so there obviously wouldn't be any sort of breeding season duties going on. Not that I ever found myself wanting for things to do at work. For sure.

The aviary.

Obviously, the first and biggest portion of the day was spent taking care of the aviary. Open-up started early,  and since it was winter, that often meant walking to work in the dark, only rarely having the moon to greet me as I woke. Food prep was often the first duty of the day, though this would  alternatively get handled by volunteers or other interns. Thawing and sorting fish was the name of the game here, since the aviary's food required the most time to prepare, though I would later be preparing food for our lovely pair of Turkey Vultures. This involved cutting up rats, quail, and later chicks (as in young chickens). Other morning duties included hosing the aviary, pool maintenance (brushing algae and poop, sucking it up with an underwater vacuum, or setting up for divers), and cleaning the windows that allow underwater viewing. Before, after, or during all this, the birds would be fed. Bowls are available for the birds throughout the aviary, and I would walk through, stopping at various points to encourage birds to hand feed. It was really fun to see birds starting to get more and more used to me, and birds who I never would have dreamed of hand-feeding at the start were soon regulars. I would repeat this process during the afternoon, but with a twist, namely the visitors in the aviary who would watch and listen to me interpret the birds' behaviors and life histories as I fed. This was a point of great anxiety for me at first, but I slowly got more comfortable with my routine. Doesn't mean I wasn't relieved when it was just me, the volunteers, and the birds, though. There were also some fun opportunities for enrichment, namely in the form of ice treats (shaped blocks of ice with food coloring and krill). It was always fun to see the birds go at the colorful floating blocks with gusto, and equally fun to watch people's faces as they did so.

Doing a public talk.

A puffin enjoying a heart-shaped ice treat on Valentine's Day.

It wasn't all about the aviary, though; we also have two Turkey Vultures, if you recall! As I mentioned, Olive and Ichy's food are prepped early on in the day. Duties at the vulture exhibit included changing out their water baths, raking, and pulling weeds, all with the vultures watching me carefully. It was a little unnerving at first, as I had never worked with raptors of any sort before, but before long, I got more comfortable with their watching eyes, as they did with my being around. I also made enrichment for the pair. The little dorks enjoy anything they can tear and pick at, so a lot of enrichment involved paper towels or newspaper wrapped around or stuffed in other toys, like wiffle balls or Mega Blocks. The fun doesn't stop there, though: colored ice cubes, twirling shiny pinwheels outside their exhibit, and on a hot day where we know they'll melt, big ice cubes with a special treat of salmon inside! It was a job I took to with a childish glee, and I was always eager to see if they had played with the toys or treats I had made. My favorite thing to do with the vultures, however, was basic feeding sessions. Basically, it was just operant conditioning, calling whoever I was working with from station to station and reinforcing the behavior with a food reward. It was a lot of work to get the motions and technique down, but opened doors to do a bunch of other cool things with them, like painting. If you go to the aquarium gift shop, you'll find a few canvases painted by master artists Olive and Ichabod (with a little help, of course) in the rare abstract footprint style that you can purchase.

A basic session with Olive.

The last part of the job was taking care of birds behind the scenes, both birds from our collection and wild birds brought to the aquarium by the public (and in one memorable case, by me). As part of my internship, I helped restrain and hold birds for various procedures, including tube feeding for tired, starving birds brought in from the wild. This winter, a lot of birds passed through, some that can be seen on the coast every day (gulls, Western Grebes, and even a loon) in addition to birds that are usually found far from the mainland this time of year (and sometimes year-round), like Common Murres and a Northern Fulmar. This was one of the coolest parts of the whole experience for me, as I was interacting with and helping to rehabilitate wild birds, from a tiny phalarope that could probably have fit in my pocket to massive Brown Pelicans.

I learned so much from this internship, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to come work at the aquarium, even if it was only for a short time. I definitely learned lessons that I'll carry with me in my (hopefully) future career in animal care, and made friends with co-workers who will be quite hard to forget.

My time in Newport, however, wasn't all work and no play. Next on New Adventures in Newport, I explore Lincoln county, from forests to food and everything in between.

Blog time! Hoohah!

So I know I was going to do this a long time ago, and update throughout my internship. As it were, this is more of a life update about me that'll be a couple of installments for you folks who don't have Facebook, and even some of you who do.

As many of you know, I was an intern with the Birds department at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Based in Newport, Oregon, the aquarium is nestled in Yaquina Bay, from which the aquarium draws all its water. All wildlife at the aquarium is native to Oregon (with the exception of its sea otters, who were hunted to local extinction on the Oregon Coast). It's one of the biggest tourist destinations in Oregon, and originally rose to fame when it housed Keiko, the orca star of Free Willy, from 1996 to 1998. A lot has changed about the aquarium since then, but it's definitely a top aquarium, in my humble and totally unbiased opinion, especially for a nonprofit organization.

The aquarium sports a lovely nature trail that offers excellent views of the estuary habitat that occurs naturally  in Yaquina Bay. It's an excellent place from which to watch bird life, including Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, and countless (I literally mean countless) gulls and waterfowl.

Most people are interested in the aquarium's fine exhibits, though. Its indoor aquariums demonstrate examples of marine life from the sandy shores, rocky coast, and coastal waters, and cover habitats from tide pools to jetties to kelp forests. There's also an interactive area, mostly geared towards children but definitely enjoyable for an adult. Called "The Sea and Me," these exhibits feature some of the aquarium's smaller and more colorful fish, including clownfish, sea horses, and other charismatic coral reef fish, in addition to cichlids and cleaner shrimp. Some highlight animals include various species of rockfish, spider crabs, moray and wolf eels, and small sharks (Filetail Catshark and Horn shark). There's also a Giant Pacific Octopus who can be found outside in a secluded cave exhibit.

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Then, it's outside to explore some of the Oregon Coast's charismatic megafauna. The aquarium is home to 3 species of marine mammals: California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Sea Otters. These are incredibly popular places to be, especially around feeding time. The otters certainly make their presence known throughout the day, sounding like squeaky toys that can be heard from outside the aquarium. In fact, I thought they were dolphins when I heard them as I walked to the aquarium for the first time (goes to show how well-educated I am about marine mammals).

Harbor Seals

Female California Sea Lion

Sea Otter

We move on to my personal favorite part of the aquarium, the birds. The OCAQ is home to an almost 8000 square foot, 34 foot tall aviary, which mostly houses seabirds of the auk family (Alcidae), but also a pair of Black Oystercatchers. The auk species represented here are the aloof but beautifully colored Pigeon Guillemots; the noisy and social Common Murres; everybody's favorite, the Tufted Puffins; and the silent but adorable Rhinocerous Auklets (easily my favorite species in the aviary). There's ample room for the approximately 95 seabirds that live here, and the exhibit is carefully tended by staff (I should know).
Those aren't the only birds who call the OCAQ home. Outside of the aviary, there's a smaller exhibit where Olive and Ichabod, the aquarium's brother and sister pair of Turkey Vultures live. Many who come here question why Turkey Vultures are featured at an aquarium, but they're a very important part of the coastal ecosystem, not just in Oregon but throughout the New World.

Winter plumage Pigeon Guillemot

Breeding plumage Pigeon Guillemot

Common Murre

Halfway-into breeding plumage Tufted Puffin

Rhinocerous Auklet

Ichabod, one of the OCAQ's Turkey Vultures

Finally, we come to the Passages of the Deep. This area used to house Keiko, but has since been developed into several walk-through exhibits detailing life deeper in the Pacific Ocean. Orford Reef is home to bull kelp forests, where rockfish of a wide variety of sizes and colors can be found. Next is Halibut Flats, home to (perhaps unsurprisingly) the Pacific Halibut, but also to skates, lingcod, and a few massive sturgeon. Finally, the Open Sea is perhaps the most popular section of Passages of the Deep, because it's home to a creature that mystifies, surprises, and unfortunately in many cases, scares us: sharks. Broadnose Seven-Gill sharks, Leopard Sharks, and Spiny Dogfish all call the Open Sea home, and they share it with magnificent Bat Rays, as well as schools of anchovies and mackerel. 

The aquarium offers many opportunities for the public. Volunteers form an integral part of the OCAQ force, as one might expect for a nonprofit organization, and can be found just about anywhere in the aquarium during open hours, interpreting for the public. They can also be found behind the scenes, helping prepare animal diets and keeping husbandry areas tidy. Students studying Marine Biology often come here to learn practical animal care. The husbandry departments (Mammals, Birds, and Fish) also offer 3-month long husbandry internships year-round.
That, of course, is where my story begins.