Would you like to come work side by side with, and learn first-hand from, world renowned researchers?

            Would you like to further develop one of the largest behavioural & ecological databases in the world?

                  Would you like to see your work translate into real conservation policies and actions?

We might have a position for you as a volunteer in the Arabian Babbler Research project in Shezaf nature reserve!

 

Volunteers will contribute to a massive long term database begun by Professor Amotz Zahavi in 1975, walking among the babblers and recording basic behavioral data. Volunteers will develop valuable research skills, including methods for noninvasive observational research, habituating a population of wild animals, research design, and database management.

 

Preferred Qualities:

Volunteers with a background in biology, psychology, or field ecology will have an advantage. 

Work requires moderate physical fitness and endurance, as well as good interpersonal skills.

The early bird gets the worm, and the early ornithologist gets the bird: you will be required to wake up on time to reach babbler groups as they wake up, which is before sunrise. A commitment of six months or more is expected.

A valid driver's license is preferred. 

 

What your day will look like:

Rise before dawn, and drive to (or be dropped off by a driver at) an assigned babbler group. Observe for three hours in the morning, return to the field school, and enter data into the database. Two hours before sunset, you will visit another babbler group and observe them until they sleep (after sunset). Record the location of the roosting tree, return to the field school, and enter data. 

 

Accommodations: 

Free lodging is offered to volunteers in an apartment at the Hazeva Field School.

Apartment includes:

Electricity

Hot and cold water

Wireless internet

 

Nearby (five minute drive):

Supermarkets

Swimming pools

Tennis courts