Not long after her relase, one of the female pheasants laid an egg at the Safe Harbor Preserve.  Odds are this egg will not hatch.  However, it is an interesting observation.

This is a pilot project where undergraduate students learn ecological principles and field techniques by conducting applied research. Students are responsible for tracking released pheasants at a local wildlife preserve, gathering data on these birds and then analyzing this data. The goal is to determine if applied learning can be conducted as a research project to benefit student success in the STEM fields.  Click below for video.

Millersville Pheasant Project

During this weeks lab, the Ornithology class got to help in trapping and banding House Sparrows on the Millersville University campus.  Students also took measurements on the birds such as weight, tarsus length, bill length etc.  Pictures below provided by Melissa Sell.

On Saturday Match 7th,  Millersville University Ornithology students took a trip to the Middlecreek Wildlife Management Area run by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  The visitor center had a great collection of bird mounts to peruse and the outside bird feeder had a large number of visitors.  In addition, students got a great look at a rough-legged hawk (photo below by Kira Klassen), a rare winter visitor that breeds in the tundra.