Free as a bird

Wow it's been a while since my last post so some updating is in need. Firstly, I finally finished my MSc dissertation mid-August and I must say the sense of accomplishment I felt after handling in 4 months of work was indescribable! Initially, it felt weird to actually 'have fun' but I've now adjusted to enjoying the remainder of the Edinburgh fringe and all the +200 venues have to offer. I'll be leaving Edinburgh at the start of September: a step I am both excited and terrified to take. On one hand, I'll be setting off on a month-long journey around continental Europe  with my wonderful friends. Yet, it also means saying goodbye to some of the best people I've ever met and the beautiful city I have called home for this past year. Saying goodbye to this experience I cannot help but reflect on how I felt first entering my MSc last fall. The remember the induction experience went so smoothly. I first got to know my 20 odd classmates over a full day of touring the Easter Bush facility and enjoying lovely snacks while meeting my future instructors. Later that week, the programme coordinators even organized an afternoon with a public speaking coach to improve our confidence presenting in front of an audience. While daunting at the time, this experience proved to be very helpful. Outside of the programme, the university's fresher's week offered a wide variety of talks and social events (like traditional Scottish Ceilidhs) specifically targeted to post-graduate students to keep us busy and get us adjusted to life as a student in Edinburgh. It was literally impossible not to make new friends during this week! To the next year of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare MSc students, the best advice I can offer you is to fully immerse yourselves in the course material and don't get deterred if you find the coursework overwhelming, that's normal. Best of luck to the AABAW class of 2011/2012!

Well, I'm off to explore the sights of Dublin. I'm calling this a mini trip before the serious backpacking begins.

Take care,
Hillary

Red, white and birds.

Hello!

Long time no talk! Although it is currently torrentially raining outside the library, which closes in half an hour, and I have no rain jacket, I cannot stop myself from smiling when I think back to the awesome Canada Day celebrations last Friday. Beaming with patriotism, I even made a cake and cleverly decorated it to resemble  the Canadian flag using strawberries and whipped cream!

A truly patriotic cake

That evening, all of my friends, Canadian or otherwise, came out in red and white to celebrate Canada by listening to Bryan Adams, drinking caesars and snacking on dill pickle-flavoured chips. A few of our Irish friends even tried to sing along to the Canadian anthem, even though I'm pretty sure they were just mumbling nonsense! Later that week, I tired my best to honour my American friends who graciously took part in our Canada Day festivities. I played Frisbee and filled my belly with hot dogs and a piece of delicious, home-made apple crumble at a sunny Independence Day barbecue in the Meadows.

Well it seems as though the rain has stopped. I must make the most of this patch of clear skies and get home to make dinner. Since I didn't have a chance to elaborate on my dissertation progress, I'll give a full update in my next post.

Take care!

Once upon a zebra finch...

Hello!

How exciting: my first official blog post! Since my day-to-day now consists of long hours staring at my computer and consuming caffeinated beverages, I will start by reminiscing about the highlights of my June thus far. Academically, I finally wrapped up the data collection period of my dissertation. Hooray!  The roughly three hour daily commute to Glasgow is definitely one element of my research I am more than happy to leave behind. Still, I must admit I already miss hearing the energetic chirps of my zebra finches as I entered the lab each morning. By the end I was able to identify all of my 70 birds individually. Over the last few months, I would spend more time each day watching my zebra finches than with other human beings. Not that I’m complaining! I’m a bird enthusiast after all.

The festival main stage set in front of the Loch

Now enough of work. Earlier on in June, my friends and I traveled up to Loch Ness for a music festival. Thankfully, the Scottish weather cooperated and allowed us to remain relatively dry and mud-free during our three nights of camping. Rain or shine, the weather this June has never stopped my friends and I from enjoying the outdoors. We'll often spend the weekends enjoying a barbeque or tossing around a Frisbee in the Meadows, the vast park adjacent to the University's main library.

Now I find myself busy inputting, analyzing and extracting meaning from the hoards of data I collected. Admittedly, not the most exciting part of my dissertation, but if I see any clear trends, the late nights will be worthwhile. Right now I’m analyzing thermal images taken of my birds during exposure to a routine laboratory stressor. Getting an accurate reading of body temperature on a bird is tricky given the insulating properties of a bird’s plumage. The photo I've attached shows how I take a measurement from the finch’s eye to get a correct internal temperature reading. Using this thermal data, I’m trying to see if finches kept in complex cage environments have a lower physiological response to handling compared birds kept in a typical, barren cage. A normal laboratory bird cage usually consists solely of two rigid perches, a drinker and a feeder. In contrast, the ‘complex’ cages in my study also have a suspended stalk of millet seeds, a piece of coloured twine to peck, and a sand bath, along with a natural branch and a flexible twist perch to fly between.

In my study, I’m also recording the birds’ behaviour to see if the behavioural repertoire of birds kept in the two cage set-ups differ.  To put it briefly, the primary objective of my research is to examine if a complex environment improves the welfare of small birds kept in a laboratory setting. Fingers crossed I actually see a significant difference between the two treatments!

Now back to my data. Until next time!