The birds in this specific forest have been studied for many years, so each of them has a unique combination of tiny tags on their legs for identification purposes. The idea is that flocks will be “fission-fusion” during midday, when predation pressure is reduced. This means that birds will forage as individuals and not necessarily as a flock. We would expect there to be birds at all five feeders in the midday, but we would expect only one or two feeders to see action in the morning and evening, when pygmy owls typically hunt.
As you can see, we have plenty of studies going on, and I am really happy that we got matched so early during my grant. This means that as we do more studies, you can follow along right with me and see how the scientific process works, all the way from project brainstorming to project publication! The questions we seek to address will ultimately be used to make educated conservation decisions as the world’s forests are inevitably manipulated. In understanding the behavior of organisms, we can seek to protect and conserve their environments in a way that keeps them alive and healthy.
Most importantly, I hope this journey shows each of you that you can go almost anywhere and do almost anything. Just like you, I’m from Gray. I went to UTK, a (relatively) affordable state school. And now I’m here in Latvia on a Fulbright scholarship because I want to explore and learn more about the world. Even if you don’t think STEM is for you (which is totally okay!), hopefully you’ll leave this experience with some bold and inventive ideas about what you want your next steps to be. I mean, hey, I’m studying birds called tits, so I think almost anyone will get a kick out of that.
