Growing up, she saw the destruction of nature up close. Now she hopes her job can help counteract the destruction.
Anne-Marie Austad (29) has always been near nature. Growing up in Malta, she saw the destruction of nature up close. Now, she works at the Dokka Delta Wetland Centre, where she reports on bird species.
“My brother and I saw the destruction of nature and unregulated hunting of birds very early on. It was very painful. Our parents took us out into nature as often as they could. We grew up with fields, because our grandfather was a farmer and always tried to keep in touch with nature. That is why my interest in birds and nature came early on.”
That led her to study ecology at NMBU, and on to the job she has now.
A practical job
Anne-Marie wants to be the voice of nature, which is put under unnecessary pressure by humans. But most of all, it’s important to her to spread knowledge about the nature around us.
“A big motivator for me is to convey the joy of nature and contribute to a better future for nature.”
She started her job as an ornithological advisor at the Dokka Delta Wetlands Centre, a nature information centre and consulting firm in the fall of 2022.
Anne-Marie's task is to be a consultant for various clients with advice on birds. She is employed as one of four ornithologists in the company, but all of them deal with more than just birds. It can be anything from studies, with reporting for various projects, to assistance and risk analyses where birds come in.
“It's a very varied workday, and there's also some nature guidance, which is very exciting. Even though I'm employed as an ornithologist, I contribute to other people's projects. I may also be involved in management work in connection with the restoration of, for example, hayfields, and clean-up projects. It's a very varied and practical job, which is absolutely fantastic and rewarding.”
During the field period, which is when they are out in Norway mapping birds, it's busier. It can be filled with surveys, maintenance, cleanup and various other things.
“Then there can be several projects at once, so it's a gamble that has to be made.”
Mapping common scoter migration
The project Anne-Marie is currently working on involves mapping the migration of the common scoter duck.
"Common scoter is not a species that many people know and see. It breeds on mountain lakes and in the mountain birch forest in water there, and in the alpine zone. We’re not very familiar with where the Norwegian common scoters migrate, but from local knowledge here and digging into species observations, we can see that they gather along Randsfjorden on the autumn migration before they fly on to the coast. The project therefore involves reporting how many common scoters gather on Randsfjorden during the autumn period."
Furthermore, Anne-Marie explains that the ducks tend to arrive around October-November. They have been reporting on the ducks since the beginning of October and will be counting them until the end of November, once a week. They have fixed counting points from the Dokka delta down to Gran.
"Then we count the common scoter. So far, we haven't seen that many, so it will be exciting to see how many we end up counting. It is possible that we started a little early, but it is difficult to know exactly when to start. In that case, it is better to be a little early than to suddenly discover that you are too late."
The project to map the common scoter is to contribute to monitoring and to gain better knowledge about the populations in Norway. Scientists are unsure exactly where the common scoter come from. Anne-Marie explains that they assume that those migrating through Randsfjorden are ducks that breed in the surrounding mountains.
A red-listed species in Norway
The common scoter is currently one of many bird species that are considered vulnerable on the Norwegian Red List. Being on the Red List means that the species is at risk of extinction in Norway if ways are not found to preserve it.
"It is estimated that the population has been reduced by more than 10% over three generations. To get on the Red List, you look at population development over three generations. Three generations vary in relation to the species. For the common scoter, one generation is five years, on average. So over 15 years it has been assessed as a 10% decline. But there is a great lack of knowledge about the species, which is one of the reasons why the Norwegian Environment Agency has announced a need for a total census. That is where this project contributes."
Nature Days
We ask Anne-Marie if there are any other projects she is working on. She explains that in the field of communication they have a project called Naturlige Hverdager (Nature Days). It’s a collaboration project with Mental Helse, where the goal of the project is to be a social platform where people can connect with nature and spread the joy of nature.
"Being out in nature works to better your mental health. We communicate about nature in a social setting, which can contribute to a brighter and more natural everyday life for more people, especially lonely young people and the elderly, but of course everyone is welcome to join the events!"
NMBU challenges your knowledge
Anne-Marie looks back on her time at NMBU with fond memories.
"Those were some fantastic years, and there is also a very nice social environment there. I came from Malta and moved to Norway, and I didn't have that network in Norway, but when I moved to Ås I experienced that everyone wanted to make friends."
In terms of academics, she explains that you are challenged on your knowledge and are encouraged to learn more. She also encourages even more interdisciplinary work.
"I think it's incredibly cool that you can just show up in the professors' corridors and strike up a chat with those who had time. You are seen as a person who has knowledge from those you look up to. You could have conversations about many different topics with your professors, so I miss that."
"One of the best subjects we had was in restoration ecology, because at the time we were in a group with students who studied ecology and students from landscape architecture. Then there was a collaboration across different disciplines. Getting the different perspectives in was incredibly interesting. It's something that could have been done even more."
Are you interested in studying ecology? Then you can read more about NMBU's study program in Ecology and Management of Natural Resources.