Virginia

Hello. I haven't written for a while as I have been adjusting to life in the USA and staying very busy with my dissertation research. The research is going well, so I'm taking a short break this evening to write a blog post and share a few photos from Virginia. 

This first photo is a Wood Duck feather sitting on the root of an old Oak tree. Wood Ducks are extremely beautiful and very rare birds. They nest in hollows in large, old trees. It is incredibly important to preserve old growth forests because many bird species (including the species that I'm researching for my dissertation, African Grey Parrots) nest in holes in trees. Large species of birds require large, old trees, especially trees with some decay - the birds can nest in the hollow area that is left after termites eat some of the wood or some of the wood has decomposed. I've been researching bird nesting behaviour, and I am constantly reminded of the importance of old growth forest ecosystems for the survival of beautiful birds. 

 This picture is a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly which is the state insect of Virginia. I have seen many beautiful Tiger Swallowtails in the past month. More animal welfare research is showing that insects may be sentient, cognitive beings. This research has led to discussions whether we prioritize animal (e.g. laboratory rodent) welfare over insect welfare due to biases in our thinking. Seeing beautiful butterflies and thinking about the conservation work that has been done to save butterflies like the Monarch, makes me wonder if we have a bias to protect insects that we find aesthetically pleasing. If bees looked like Tiger Swallowtails, would it be easier for us to save them? We should remember that insecticides impact beautiful insects too.

This is a picture of pink Dogwood blossoms on a sunny day. The Dogwood is the state tree of Virginia and is a native flowering tree. The blossoms are usually white, but there are pink varieties. I really like trees, especially the Dogwood. I think that my love of animals contributes to my love of the Dogwood Tree because the word "Dog" is in its name. 

This is the Rappahannock River. I sat at a table looking over the river and entered dissertation research data into spreadsheets. I watched Osprey and Crows and Herons fly over the river. I believe the osprey and crows were playing in the breeze - feeling the wind under their wings and somersaulting around each other. I would like to research this play(?) behavior someday. One of the assignments from the taught portion of the MSc was on Play Behavior and I read a paper about corvid play. Animal welfare and behaviour scientists are increasingly interested in studying play behaviour as a positive welfare indicator. 

 This is a picture of my own very high welfare chickens, engaging in natural foraging behaviour. My dissertation research involves foraging behaviour of African Grey Parrots.

Finally, this is a picture of a hardwood forest of native trees after a rain. There are frogs living in that water who probably have very high welfare. I recently saw a couple of foxes in this spot. There are many native Virginia reptiles, birds, insects, fish and mammals that live as part of this woods.