The Start of a New Journey

The Start of a New Journey

Hello! My name is Brian Fedak, and I have just started interning at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary as a conservation research intern. 

I graduated from Florida Atlantic University in December 2018 with a degree in Biological Sciences. At FAU, I had the privilege of working under Dr. Rindy Anderson, assisting her laboratory with Bachman's Sparrow research. I have also had experience in leading shorebird surveys for FAU’s ecology club. 

I have lived in south Florida all my life, and I am passionate about the conservation of our unique local ecosystems. My main interest is bird conservation, and I usually spend my free time bird watching and hiking all around Florida. Some of my favorite Florida birds are the Snail Kite, the Roseate Spoonbill, and the American Bittern. I also enjoy photographing birds while I'm out birding.

Last week was my first week interning at Corkscrew, and I love it here already. Some days I spent in the lab working on organizing daily bird sighting data that dates back to 1997. I find extremely interesting to see what birds have been seen here throughout the past couple decades using such a large citizen science data pool. Other days I spend in the field helping with wading bird surveys, trail cam checks, and even Wood Stork nest surveys conducted from a plane!

In short, I am very excited for what the future holds while working with Audubon here at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.