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My work has taken quite a change recently! From having always worked outdoors, on my feet all day studying plants and animals, I am now very office based…but I still love it! The PhD I began last year largely involves analysing twenty years of data collected on an endangered bird, the Echo parakeet, and this means I am teaching myself a lot about statistics and maths at the moment. Eek! This is great though, because as important as it is going outdoors collecting the data, it’s pointless if we don’t use it! Scientifically studying this information can tell us lots of thing about the birds we didn’t previously didn’t know or understand. For example, how regularly do they produce chicks? What are the chances of these chicks surviving? Does weather have an effect on their growth and survival? So many questions to be answered!

The echo parakeet is already intensively looked after in the wild to ensure their survival. They are provided with nest boxes, extra food, and given medical care when needed, but we really want these birds to be able to survive without our help, and to do that, we need to understand them. That’s my job!

For now I am based in an office at Reading University, but soon I will go out to Mauritius for 6 months to visit these birds in the wild, and collect some more information. When I return, I will continue studying this massive data set and produce a plan of how we should look after these parakeets in the future….one of the many stepping stones towards me becoming the next David Attenborough…female of course.

Did I mention I like to keep busy and active?! So what a better way to start the day than getting the blood going to brain, ready for lots of hard work and learning? As a PhD student I am pretty much my own boss, so can work where I like, when I like, as long as I am achieving what I need, but since I have a great office where help is always at hand (and a good gossip too) I generally prefer to work 8.30 to 5pm.

Each day can vary. I have a lot of background reading to do about my subject so I can increase my own knowledge, and find out what other research scientists go about their work. I usually attempt some analyses with my huge data set, making graphs and charts, often crying for help from my colleagues – i’m just learning at the moment! I attend seminars where other scientists talk about their work, meet with my supervisors and discuss what I have achieved so far and what goals to set next.  Right now, i’m planning my trip to Mauritius in August, which means buying lots of cool field kit like binoculars, clothes, tents, GPS units….exciting!

So after copious amounts of tea drinking, and lots of staring at the computer, I head out for another activity – the legs need a stretch after so much sitting still. Whether climbing, a run, a stroll through the park or time at the gym, I finally head home to my lovely house mates and catch up on the day. Hmmm, I might make a cake if there’s time……