Have you meet Gisela Kaplan in real life? (And Pumpkin?) All the research helped me to know which questions to ask. I asked her dozens of questions about her life and work. Most importantly, I had lots of phone calls with Gisela. To immerse myself in what Gisela’s early life might have been like, I watched documentaries and movies about Germany in the 1940s to 1960s, and I spent hours and hours walking by the river near where I live so that I could observe to birds, listen to their sounds, and make notes on their behaviour.
I searched the internet for research articles that she’s written, and I also found a clip from a documentary about her work rehabilitating birds (google Compass: Paws For Thought if you want to see some clips of Gisela with a tawny frogmouth and some juvenile magpies). She’s written several books on birds and animals so I got those out of the library and made plenty of notes. The first thing I did was to listen to a radio interview in which Gisela Kaplan talks about how she became so interested in Australian birds that it changed her life (Conversations, ABC: Talking magpies, grieving tawny frogmouths and canny galahs). I love research and all the different pathways it can take you down. How did you go about your research for writing about Gisela Kaplan? Professor Kaplan is on a mission to spread the word about how intelligent and surprising birds are, before time runs out for many of them. Kaplan a world-leading expert in animal behaviour, especially of Australian birds. Her captivating, ground-breaking scientific research on Australian magpies, tawny frogmouths and other iconic bird species, as well as primates, make Prof. Despite incredible challenges as a child, she retained a profound curiosity, care and compassion for all living things. Gisela Kaplan’s story begins in post-World War II Germany. (L) Gisela Kaplan: Bird and primate scientist (R) Emily Gale, photo by Aaron Smith
Emily Gale’s latest book is Gisela Kaplan: Bird and Primate Scientist, part of the Aussie STEM Stars series. You might have read her the Eliza Bloom’s Diaries series, or the novel The Other Side of Summer. Today’s visitor is author Emily Gale, author of books for children and teenagers.
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