By Joan Tupponce

As birds prepare to fill the air with their daily chorus at dawn, Emma Cummings is out with them.

“Being able to work with birds is one of the greatest joys of my life,” said Cummings, who earned her environmental studies degree in 2024 from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Life Sciences. “Waking up while it’s dark, getting out into nature before sunrise and monitoring or capturing birds is truly so fulfilling.”

Cummings currently serves as a biological science technician at Yellowstone National Park, a five-month seasonal position through the National Park Service. Among her duties, she monitors raptors such as golden eagles, bald eagles, peregrine falcons and osprey as well as waterfowl, and she runs a MAPS bird banding station – part of the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program.

“This is my first time working out West, so I am extremely happy to see so many new species of birds,” Cummings said. “This is also my first time monitoring raptors as well, so I am glad to get that experience.”

An intensive internship

Cummings previously interned at Assateague Island National Seashore off the coast of Maryland, where she embraced the park’s varied aspects. Cummings assisted with the MAPS banding station, conducted counts for the International Shorebird Survey program, collected daily data for a loggerhead sea turtle conservation project, and surveyed for endangered tiger beetles and seabeach amaranth, a native plant.

She assisted with the wild horse census during the internship and participated in ride-alongs with researchers who were capturing peregrine falcons.

“I also joined the aquatic ecology crew several times collecting bay water samples and phytoplankton. All in all, I was given many great opportunities through my Scientists in Parks internship at Assateague,” Cummings said.

The 26-week SIP internship required long hours and endurance, especially for projects like the biweekly International Shorebird Surveys that started around sunrise. Cummings was featured in the National Park Service's "Outside Science (inside parks)" video series during her internship.

“We would drive the entire length of the island identifying and counting each shorebird we observed,” Cummings said. “I helped with colonial waterbird surveys where we would take a small boat out to several bay islands and count how many eggs or chicks were there in order to track productivity for Forster’s terns and great black-backed gulls.”

Tami Pearl, a biological science technician at Assateague who worked with Cummings, was impressed with her fortitude.

“Coming into this field out of college, she already had a wealth of knowledge about this program. That says a lot. Her expertise was greatly appreciated on this project,” Pearl said. “Her work ethic was stellar.”

A passion takes flight

Cummings has long loved the outdoors. She and her sister used to walk through the creek behind their house almost every day.

“I have wanted to study animals since I was a kid,” she said, which powered her desire to “protect natural resources and leave the Earth a better place for generations to come. I hope that my current and future work will create change for the better.”

The native of Northern Virginia’s Leesburg area became interested in birds after taking her first environmental science class as a senior in high school. She learned to identify 25 birds by sight and sound.

“Birds are a great indicator of habitat health and show researchers where conservation is needed most,” Cummings said. “All four of my field seasons so far have contributed to long-term datasets that can be analyzed to see how birds respond to climate change, habitat loss and human disturbance.”

At VCU, Cummings participated in internships through the Bulluck Avian Ecology Lab at the Rice Rivers Center during the summers of 2022 and 2023. The center is part of the continentwide MAPS program that tracks avian population trends to highlight where conservation efforts are needed the most. Cummings’ work was focused on collecting reproductive ecology data about prothonotary warblers along the lower James River.

“Prothonotary warblers readily nest in artificial boxes along the river, which meant I was able to canoe through beautiful cypress forests to collect data on these amazing birds. After my first day on the river studying the warblers, I was hooked,” said Cummings, who conducted her own research on how different climate variables may relate to reproductive success in the birds.

The internship was her first experience mist netting and banding birds as a part of a bigger study.

“I learned how to identify, age, sex and take measurements on a variety of songbird species,” Cummings said. She also surveyed bird abundance and diversity in multiple habitats south of Richmond.

The internship gave her new insights into the world of ornithology, and “it inspired me to pursue a career in bird research,” she said.

Cummings is grateful for the support of Lesley Bulluck, Ph.D., associate professor in environmental studies.

“I am forever thankful for the day that I went into Dr. Bulluck’s office to ask about internship opportunities, because I know I would not be where I am today without her,” she said. “I learned so much by taking her data literacy and applications of conservation classes. Then, through my two internships, Lesley inspired me more than I could have imagined.”

Cummings also has high praise for Dan Albrecht-Mallinger, assistant professor of environmental studies, who helped “ignite my passion for the environment.” And she said Catherine Viverette, Ph.D., director of student engagement at the Rice Rivers Center, was an impactful mentor who “set a great example with her care and gentleness of the birds she handled.”

A career committed to the environment

Cummings believes everyone should be more concerned about environmental health.

“Clean water and air are vital,” she said. “Green spaces and forests have proven to release aromatic compounds that decrease anxiety and depression rates. The inherent beauty of our natural world also deserves to be protected along with the plants and animals that depend on it.”

For a dream job, Cummings would like to research a migratory bird, following it from its breeding to nonbreeding grounds to learn about the species in full.

“I would want to take reproductive health data and other measurements to observe how the species population would change over time,” she said.

“Other than that,” she added, with a nod to her current role, “working at Yellowstone is certainly a dream.”  

In five years, Cummings sees herself still working with birds.

“I would like to be the lead bander at a station and hopefully conduct my own research,” she said. “As long as I am working in the field with birds, I know I will be happy.”