Watching Young Scientists Learn

I have been mentoring young students for more than 30 years, but to watch them grow as they progress through their first real research experience never ceases to bring a smile to my face. As we near the end of our field season here in Arizona I find myself reflecting on a couple of interactions with both Nathaniel and Elliot that brought a smile to my face.

Today I had to drive to Tucson to take my wife, who had joined the team for the past week, to Tucson for her flight home. That meant that while I was available to help Elliot trap hummingbirds for his work this morning, I would not be here for most of the day. So yesterday I told Nathaniel that he might have to take a break from his work to help make sure Elliot had birds to work with throughout the day today. Nathaniel seemed disappointed suggesting that he had hoped to collect more data for his project today presumably to fill some holes. I absolutely do not take such a response as defiance to my request, but rather it was a response that shows how much he cares about his project. It not only warmed my heart, but also motivated me to look for ways that would minimize the time he would have to commit to Elliot's project today. When Nathaniel and Elliot joined the lab many months ago I told them both that the lab is a family and that we help each other out when there is need. Even so, I worked to create scenarios today that would honor Nathaniel's desire to be all in with his work. His dedication is amazing.

 

Nathaniel spending one of many many hours tracking perch use by hummingbirds.

This morning as Elliot and I were walking to our trapping site to get hummingbirds for his morning work I asked him what was the most important thing he has learned during our time in Arizona. He said something to the effect of being flexible enough to adapt to required changes in your experimental protocol to get the data you need. If you have followed the last few lab notes you know that he has had to make several adjustments. I told him that this was a great thing to learn as this is the way science works. Also, this morning we caught two blue-throated hummingbirds for his morning trials. One of the adjustments we made was to place all of our experimental birds in holding cages until they showed a willingness to use artificial perches and feed from feeders. This has improved our ability to get data. When I asked Elliot after breakfast how the blue-throats were doing his response was "they are acting like blue-throats." This also causes me to smile because two weeks ago Elliot didn't even know what a blue-throated hummingbird was.

 

An infrared image of a black-chinned hummingbird that Elliot tested me.

The above photo is one that Elliot texted me yesterday after we instituted this new acclimation protocol telling me how well the birds were behaving during our trials.

Nathaniel and Elliot get a day off tomorrow. They deserve it. Both have worked hard and I could sense the the grind of data collections was wearing on them. I expect that they will take the day tomorrow to get some rest, have some fun, and recharge for our last few days.