WATCH THE BIRDIE

Employee serves as resident bird expert

Denise Vitale is one Jefferson Lab employee who is definitely for the birds. She has had two articles and several pictures published in three international bird magazines. She's also the owner of two love birds, six Amadines, and seven Javas. Vitale says being a bird breeder is her way of giving back to the bird community.

"There is not very much written about Javas, and a lot of people have not hand fed them. So when I did it, I kept a diary. I thought it was information that would be valuable to other bird breeders," said Vitale.

Recently Vitale had two articles published, one in the June issue of Bird Breeder magazine called, "Diary of a Java Rice Bird Breeder," and the other which will soon be released in Bird Talk magazine,called "A Bird at Work." Pictures of birds taken by Vitale are featured in the article. Vitale also had pictures of her birds published in the April and July issues of Bird Talk magazine. At the request of the magazines, Vitale will continue to submit pictures of her birds as she takes them.

Her large collection of birds has also won awards. "I've placed in the top 10, three times with my British Finches and Javas. My goal was to show birds that I've had the parents of, so I've raised those babies. I accomplished this goal last year," said Vitale.

When Vitale started at Jefferson Lab, four years ago, she worked as secretarial support for the Accelerator Division. Vitale now assists the Division Operations Manager, creating and maintaining numerous databases for the division, and serving as a recorder for the Suggestion Committee, Technical Stockroom Quality Improvement Team, and the Technical Education Enhancement Team.

"What I'm doing now is a bigger challenge," said Vitale. "I feel that being a recorder on the committees working with other divisions, helped me to get a broader perspective of the lab, and I feel like I'm contributing more to the lab as a whole."

Although Vitale has no plans of becoming a professional bird photographer, she is extremely pleased with the response she has received from her articles and pictures.

"Lot's of times when people here find out that I know a little about birds they will come to me with questions or ask me if I have an article or something on a specific type of bird," said Vitale.
For Vitale, writing about birds is a second hobby that came about unexpectedly. "I didn't expect all this to come from it, so it's really nice," said Vitale. "I never planned on breeding either, I just wanted a bird to look at and listen to. The birds made the rest happen."

Camille White, Director's Office Intern

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