This Saturday I had the amazing opportunity to participate in the 20th Annual Butterfly Count at Big Oaks. I had no previous experience with butterflies- in fact before this event the only butterfly I was able to confidently identify was a monarch. Turns out it was fal...

As I walked out to the Louisville International Airport curb I was greeted by my supervisor Joe Robb. He would be my mentor and supervisor for the next 11 weeks of my summer fellowship at Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge. Prior to coming to Big Oaks, I had worked at G...

This Monday evening we held an ice cream social at the historic Oakdale School House located on the refuge. As the clock struck 5:00 and families began to trickle in, Dave Bear, Chairman of the Oakdale School Project, began with some opening remarks and the promise of...

Tonight marked the first night of the 2018 Bat surveys conducted on Big Oaks NWR. The surveys are acoustic and take 3 days to complete. A refuge staff member mounts an ANABAT device on the top of one of the refuge vehicles. After the acoustic device is in place, we dri...

Today marked the first day of the 2018 Henslow's Sparrow surveys at Big Oaks NWR. Each year, Big Oaks does 2 rounds of surveys for the Henslow's Sparrow. Each day of the survey, we must be at the site by 6 am, where we listen for the Henslow's Sparrow's call, and mark...

Today marked the 14th annual Outdoor Women at Big Oaks. This is one of the largest events to take place on Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge. This is a one day event, where women ages 12+ can participate in various outdoor classes and activities. The purpose of this ev...

Today I assisted Eldon Cutter setting up Gypsy moth traps around Big Oaks. Mr. Cutter works for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. He is part of a state-wide project geared toward the eradication of the Gypsy moth in the state of Indiana. Big Oaks NWR is just...

Today, Big Oaks hosted a Field Day for Madison Junior High. The students began their day at Karn's Pond, located in a grassland patch along the eastern perimeter, seen from Route 421. Karn's pond was built to help improve the population of the state endangered Crawfish...

Tonight during the weekly BOCS meeting, Rob Chapman, gave a presentation on the infamous black bear that wandered into the refuge in 2016. Rob has been with the Big Oaks for 2 years. He began his presentation with a little humor and background on his past experiences w...

Today we had the opportunity to go mushroom hunting around Big Oaks. It was my first time really going mushroom hunting, and I'm pleased to say it was a success! We found over 30 mushrooms! All yellow morels. When we started, I feared we wouldn't find more than a handf...