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The birds of Pine Island are all aflutter with the arrival of Sara Marschhauser, who is joining ̽����ѡ North Carolina as our Senior Coordinator of Habitats and Facilities. Along with managing ongoing operational projects, Sara will be helping to implement to protect and rebuild Currituck Sound marshes, contribute data to a , and survey for , among many other tasks.  

Pine Island is home to 2,600 acres, including globally rare habitat, supporting hundreds of species of migratory and resident birds year-round. We’re excited to have Sara join our team and help move our conservation of this important sanctuary forward.  

Read on to learn more about Sara... 

Do you have a specific memory or occasion that sparked your enthusiasm for birds and the outdoors?  

I have memories of being about 4 or 5 years old, watching my grandparents fill and clean their bird baths. They would set up chairs in the backyard and watch the birds and all I can remember thinking was “how boring!” Little did I know what would become of me. I had always loved nature and animals, but my interest in wildlife peaked with an animal behavior class at UNC-Wilmington, when I learned about bird behavior. Their adaptations, intelligence (they use tools…what?!), and courtship/reproductive behaviors were amazing to me. Then, in graduate school at North Carolina State University, I enrolled in an ornithology class and was instantly hooked. I’ve been a self-proclaimed bird nerd ever since. 

Describe your work with ̽����ѡ at Pine Island. 

I am the Senior Coordinator of Habitats and Facilities. I’m working closely with the Center Director and Educator, Robbie and Pamela Fearn, on all things. I will help manage everything from the 1913 hunt lodge and hunt program to coordinating master plan projects to land management to BioBlitzes to research projects with local colleges and universities, and the list goes on! It’s a great mix of operations management and natural resources conservation.