For the past three years, I have earned a living by watching birds.
Since graduating from the University of Chicago,
I have worked as a field research technician on a variety of avian
ecology projects.
Through my work, I have had the opportunity to live in a diverse
array of habitats: the rolling hills outside of Monterey, California;
the mountain forests of Western Idaho; the tall-grass prairies of northern Illinois;
and the mallee scrub of southern Australia.
These experiences have provided me with valuable training for a
career as an avian ecologist.
In the fall, I will enter graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. in ecology.
My intent is to apply science to real life issues concerning avian populations
and the ecosystems of which they are a part.
I have not always wanted to become an ecologist
but have always been fascinated by biology.
In college, my plans were to apply my degree to the medical profession.
Two experiences, however, changed my ambitions.
One was an independent research project I conducted during my final year of study.
This work gave me a comprehensive introduction to important
aspects of scientific research.
I found that I enjoyed the challenge of asking a critical question,
and then using skill and methodology to determine the best answer
from an array of possible solutions.
The second was becoming acquainted with faculty members in the
Ecology and Evolution department. Within a city university,
I was surprised to discover a group of scientists who spent
field seasons outdoors, across the globe.
They studied a diverse array of organisms,
from baboons and banana slugs to lupines and bower birds.
Their research was similar though, they were all investigating
the complex functioning of natural ecological systems.
I found this type of research to be intellectually stimulating
and pertinent to an understanding of the natural world.
Through a field ecology class, I also discovered birds.
As part of this class, I spent a spring break in central Florida and
the Everglades, learning field research techniques.
There, I was awed by the diversity of bird species pointed out to me.
For the first time, I saw a Roseate Spoonbill, a Loggerhead Shrike,
a Crested Caracara, a Yellow Warbler, birds I had never imagined to exist.
Following that trip, I continued to watch birds.
I taught myself to notice details: a wing bar, an eye ring.
Eventually I began to connect voices to the birds I saw.
I learned the difference between a trill and a warble.
Knowing birds has given science greater meaning.
Birds have allowed me to connect my academic training with a
real world experience. When I read a scientific paper or analyze data,
I form a vivid picture of the life that those words and numbers represent.
Likewise, when I watch a bird I also consider its habitat, behavior,
and interaction with other species.
I plan to focus my research on the area of avian ecology
I find the most interesting; namely, reproduction.
Successful reproduction is a crucial element in the
continuation of a population and an element that
is highly susceptible to increased levels of predation,
parasitism, and habitat loss.
I would like to determine means by which populations
can maintain their viability in the face of increased
environmental pressures; and in cases where they lack such
methods of compensation, determine means by which human
beings can restore their ecological system to a state
of balance.
For my graduate work, I will study the reproductive ecology of
tropical birds. Of theoretical interest, tropical birds differ
from temperate ones in many aspects of their reproductive life history.
Additionally, tropical forests are being destroyed at a rapid rate,
greatly impacting the bird communities that reside in them.
By gaining a greater understanding of the reproductive needs of tropical birds,
I hope to contribute to their conservation.
Through my field research experiences, I have realized that the
career of an ecologist is not just a job - it's an entire lifestyle.
The field season is a strenuous, rapid-pace scramble to collect as much
data as possible within a three-month breeding season.
The rest of the year consists of long hours spent reading publications,
analyzing data, writing papers, and designing new studies to answer new questions.
In the ecologist's world, weekends do not exist. However, one of the reasons that
I enjoy this work is because it overlaps with my leisure activities.
A morning spent searching for birds' nests is a morning spent bird watching.
I find being an ecologist to be a challenge mentally, physically,
and emotionally. But this challenge is invigorating. Instead of
just observing the world, I am able to use science to help
understand it.
Jennifer Nesbitt
is managing the field work at the Midewan National Tallgrass Prairie this summer
in conjunction with an ongoing grassland research project.
She has worked the last three years as a field research technician on
avian ecology projects in California, Idaho, Illinois, and southern Australia.
She will start the work on her Ph.D. in ecology this fall at the University of Illinois
at Champaign-Urbana.