The SCCF Coastal Wildlife Department welcomes 2022 Shorebird Intern Elsa Wilson, who started work earlier this month. Wilson graduated in December with her bachelor’s degree in ecology, evolution, and environmental biology from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Prior to this internship, she worked as a technician studying tree swallows and Eastern bluebirds in North Carolina. While working on that project, she conducted an independent research project on plumage characteristics and survivorship in both species. Though she has visited Florida many times, this is her first time on the Gulf Coast.

While at SCCF, Wilson will be responsible for helping the shorebird biologist locate, monitor, and protect the nests and chicks of beach-nesting shorebirds, including Wilson’s plovers (Charadrius wilsonia), killdeer (C. vociferus), and state-threatened species such as the snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus), and least tern (Sternula antillarum). While out on the beach, she will be educating the public about the threats facing these sensitive species, and how beachgoers can be respectful visitors and help protect our coastal wildlife. Wilson will also be helping out with various other SCCF projects including: swallow-tailed kite nest monitoring, sea turtle nest monitoring, and our ongoing monofilament collection, recycling, and the “Mind Your Line” education program.

“I’m very excited to be spending the summer on Sanibel learning about shorebird biology and conservation,” she says. And we are excited to have her here, too!