Maya Vernick, Owl Bander

Maya grew up in Boston and graduated from Bates College in Maine in 2023 with a B.S. in biology. She has always had a deep love for animals and conservation, so following graduation she pursued a variety of internships and seasonal field work. She has done wildlife rehabilitation work in WI, sea turtle rehabilitation at the New England Aquarium, and nesting tern monitoring off the coast of MA. She gained experience in bird banding as a spring migration intern and a fall migration banding assistant with Berkshire Bird Observatory in MA. Most recently, she has completed field work focused on macaw conservation in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, and Lance-tailed Manakin cooperative breeding behavior in Panama. In her free time Maya enjoys hiking, art, and cuddling with her very cute and fluffy dog Kayla.