Hope MartinJunior Computational Biology major Having only recently become set on a major, I have had a lot of back and forth exploration throughout the biology department through my years at Pitt. One thing that really stood out to me before even trying to pick a major was how excited I was by living things, whether they were amoebae, plants, or rats. Due to this interest I decided to apply to a vet internship last summer at the National Aviary. I applied not because I wanted to be a vet, but instead because that department at the Aviary seemed to be the most hands-on with the birds. I applied for position explaining my situation and how I liked the idea of doing some observational research on the birds, whether very scientific or not. I think I stuck out having this unique interest others did not have. Everyone else I worked with there was either a vet student or pre-vet student. I got to help out with many different tasks including husbandry as well as medical procedures. Since the birds that we saw daily needed special medical attention, we had to make sure everything was clean for them and that they got the right treatment at all the proper times of the day. Treatments differed from patient to patient, but the birds that were really old or had a chronic illness lived in a fancy “old folk’s home” for birds. The hospital was in charge of the “bird old folk’s home”, so soon enough I learned all of their treatments by heart. Since the birds that live with the hospital always are too unwell to go back to the free flight areas, they get really used to the hospital staff and their personalities really come out. I had never thought of birds to have unique personal traits or attitudes before this job, but they really do each have very distinct personalities. One of my favorite “residents” we had was named Buddy. He was a European Starling which is a very common bird I had recognized from laying in Schenley plaza on the warm days of the semester. Buddy did not have anything chronic going on, he was just extremely old. He would yell at me when I brought him his food and fall asleep while he was exclaiming. Another one of the birds we had on full time care was named Hermie. He was a hybrid bird and made really unique noises at set times of the day. Hermie had anxiety when things were changed around, when they had renovated the hospital center and he got a big new enclosure he got really upset and anxious so they had to put him back in his original smaller home with his silly bird toys from the pet store instead of the new natural elements they have in the renovated area for playing. I did not realize how each bird individually had needs aside from what is suggested of their species. His enclosure was “too small” in terms for the species he was but with more space he got very ill and upset and pulled out his feathers. Every day at a vet hospital is different, there can be emergencies, there can be births, there can be routine check-ups, and procedures. This made the internship really exciting and left me with so much new knowledge and respect for what goes into caring for birds. I hope from sharing just a few things about my amazing experience this summer, people can get an idea of how wonderful and top of the line the care is at the National Aviary. I could talk about so many things that went on there and how amazing it was forever, but I won’t right now (I feel like birds deserve a HIPPA form too!). Come and see me at my office hours to learn more!
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January 2022
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