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. 

Thinking about America

Hello! I have recently finished writing a paper about sheep welfare assessment. :)

My last post included a link to a lovely livestream of manatees in Florida, USA. I hope you enjoyed that because wildlife camera livestreams are my favorite way to relax at the moment.

I just found a really nice livestream of beautiful bald eagles in Washington DC:

http://www.eagles.org/dceaglecam/

I assume that a lot of people reading my blog are my friends and family members in the USA. If so, you might not be very excited about all this American footage, but I am enjoying it as I plan my trip home to the USA.

I think that the US does a very good job working on wildlife conservation. (Shout out to anyone who worked on saving the California Condors!!) I am really looking forward to hiking on beautiful trails in the many wonderful American national and state parks.

I really love hill-walking here, but there is something special about old-growth hardwood forests that have never been felled for farming.

Scotland is unbelievably, incredibly beautiful, but it is shocking how much men have changed the landscape here. I like the move to "re-wild" Scotland by reintroducing plants and animals that were here centuries ago but have gone extinct in the wild. I think the Scottish did a great job reintroducing the beaver, but as someone who has a beaver living literally in her own back yard in the USA, I have a new appreciation of how many native species still live in the US.

I have heard encouraging news about mountain lions making a comeback on the East Coast. (They are stunning animals and will help control the deer population and help our ecosystems.) I really hope that more Americans will realize how lucky we are to have native species of plants and animals and continue to work to preserve them. I know that I have a new appreciation for animals such as beavers and skunks that are often considered to be "pests" in the USA after seeing them displayed in the Edinburgh Zoo and hearing zoo visitors excitedly exclaim about these amazing creatures. Beavers help the forests and broader environment. Every species of plant and animal plays an important role in the ecosystem. Animals like the Mountain Lion, Bobcat, Wolf and Bald Eagle are awesomely gorgeous and majestic.

We honour animals like bald eagles by using them as symbols of the US. Unfortunately, we need to remember that we almost killed all of the bald eagles in the USA and they are only just starting to make a comeback after lots of work and dedication from American wildlife conservationists and rehabilitators. Extremely tragically, thirteen bald eagles were recently found dead in Maryland .Work still needs to be done to protect even this iconic species.

 I hope to become a licensed wildlife rehabilitator at some point in the future, and for now, I am doing my part to conserve American species by owning and preserving 10 acres of pristine hardwood forest. I have "liked" a lot of parks and conservation groups on social media and I sign petitions and write to legislators to protect threatened species.

I have always loved the beautiful forests in the USA and felt patriotic about 'America the beautiful'. The trees, streams, grasslands and wildlife are what I most look forward to seeing again when I leave the UK. I really look forward to visiting national and state parks. I think that the incredibly diversity of our natural environments is the most wonderful thing about the USA. (Although, I admit that the main reason I travel to the UK is because I find it so incredibly beautiful here, too!)

I worry about our ecosystems, especially the smallest and most important parts of the ecosystems upon which everything else relies. We need to protect and value our insects. Wild animals, especially amphibians, are extremely threatened, and they need insects to eat. Larger animals eat smaller ones, so it could be catastrophic if amphibians actually became extinct.

We also need little creatures like bees and worms so that we can have food to eat (although we could actually eat these, I mean that they provide us with food indirectly by pollinating our crops and fertilizing our soil). Students from my MSc course will be doing important research with bees in America.

Even though there are many challenges to protecting wildlife which can make our work feel incredibly overwhelming at times, we can always start in our own smaller, local environments. I plan to work in my own country after I go home because I believe that bio-diversity makes America beautiful.

I believe that human diversity makes America beautiful too!