Go easy – I’m new here!

This is my first blog post here. So please go easy on me!

I started my PhD some time ago now – on Valentine’s day in 2011 in fact. Indeed, I thought that starting my PhD on the 14th of February might cause me to fall in love with my project. And, in many ways I did. But, as with any relationship, there have been ups and there have been downs. Sometimes, I am madly in love…. At other times I wish that ‘we’ could break up, and I have come dangerously close to ‘dumping’ my PhD! But, I think I have found that happy medium – I enjoy the good times and know that the bad times don’t last, and that ‘we’ don’t always see eye-to-eye (especially on how speedily things should be progressing!). I accept that ‘we’ simply agree to disagree on some things.

But one thing is an unrelenting source of happiness – the robins. Although their co-operation in the data collection process is not always perfect, they provide an endless supply of cuteness-factor and “ooooh, aaahs”. And that, for the most part, makes what I am doing worthwhile. Of course I am always striving for robust science, with clear, logical reasoning and efficacious methods. But, in order to maintain my sanity and day-to-day satisfaction, I must allow myself to revel in the wonders that working with wildlife provides.

That is what I would like to share with you here. Thus, I will not be concentrating too much on the science behind my work, although at times I may touch on it to illustrate a point, but rather I hope to provide an insight into the daily life of a wildlife researcher.

I hope you enjoy!