The RSPB bumblebird crop on Out Skerries today. Few migrants, but a Quail which presumably summered, Snipe still displaying so probably on second broods, and a Minke Whale on the crossing. #BirdingScotland

A productive day in Northumberland included eclipse male Mallard x Eider at Seahouses, ageing Caspian Gull at Amble, and Roseate Terns at Coquet where they have had a successful breeding season (155 pairs). #UKBirding

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Genetic analyses uncover a hybrid population between Brent Goose subspecies avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2024/05/29/g... #ornithology

Genetic analyses uncover a hybrid population between Brent Goose subspecies

A potential reservoir of genetic and behavioral diversity.

avianhybrids.wordpress.com

Where Have All the Tufted Puffins Gone? Researchers are trying to solve the mystery of why these adorable seafaring birds are disappearing. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/where... #conservation #biology #ornithology #ecology #science #SciChat

Where Have All the Tufted Puffins Gone?

Researchers try to solve the mystery of why these adorable seafaring birds are disappearing

sierraclub.org

The Long-tailed Shrike at Eastleach was showing well this morning. Many thanks to the locals, whose management of parking was exemplary. #UKBirding

My daylight encounters with Tawny Owl are few and far between, so this one at Woodwalton Fen, Cambridgeshire, was a rare treat. #UKBirding

Kinoulton church, south Notts, home to one of several successful Swift projects in the UK. If a fraction of what some people invest in fantasies of life on Mars were redirected to conserving life on Earth, we would be in a much better place. #UKBirding

An Arran Brown recently in Norway. Named following its claimed discovery on Arran in 1804, it is one of several butterflies for which there are historical records which lack any confirmed modern equivalent. See Salmon’s ’Aurelian Legacy’ and Eeles’ online ‘History of British Butterflies’.

Roof-nesting Kittiwakes in Tromsø, Norway, where they arrived as recently as 2015 and despite initial controversy have been accommodated partly by building Kittiwake hotels. Not enough to compensate for losses of former big colonies, but something. Also of interest to #UKBirding

Since seeing my first in Rutland in 2016, Purple Emperors have increased and are no longer difficult to find - here two of at least four at Pickworth Great Wood today. @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

New in #BirdStudy When ringing birds, measurement error is fairly common and is greater for larger species and when taking weights. Evidence for a relationship between bird body size and uncertainty in individual morphological measurements at ringing: doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology

Check out the publication in @natecoevo.nature.com here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... #insects #landuse #climate #timeseries #lepidoptera #coleoptera @agroscope.bsky.social @wslresearch.bsky.social @vogelwarte.bsky.social @unibas.ch @usyseth.bsky.social @ebdonana.bsky.social

Ninety-year trends reveal sharpest insect declines in the mid-twentieth century - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Assessing the magnitude and drivers of recent biodiversity losses requires informative, long-term baseline data. Here the authors reconstruct the temporal trajectories of butterflies and saproxylic be...

nature.com

NEW on #theBOUblog from Chris Batty and Alexander Lees Revision of Category E of the British List bou.org.uk/blog-batt... #ornithology 🪶

After a spring notable for low numbers of migrants, early June has brought a sprinkling of Marsh and Icterine Warblers and Red-backed Shrikes, including this male which graced our garden. #BirdingScotland

Some interesting discussion about Italian type sparrows outside their normal range: www.dutchbirding.nl/dbactueel/21... Similar birds have occurred in Britain. #UKBirding

Nightjars are increasing in Shetland. For example in 2024 there were 13, mainly May-June but also one in October. This male at Grutness today wasn’t well-concealed and moved its position twice for no obvious reason. #BirdingScotland

Oystercatchers in Shetland quite often nest on posts, presumably to avoid sheep and some ground predators. Meanwhile in Venice, 7% of the population now use poles to avoid flooding (Avocetta 48: 2024). One for wadertales? #BirdingScotland #ornithology

Fascinating example of the workings of modern social media, togging and AI 'editing': the same photo of a Turtle Dove that's clearly been run through AI in some way before being posted on two different Facebook groups three days apart by two apparently different people (we've blanked out the names)

Questions, questions. Thanks to Tim Birkhead we know that a pale Merlin egg in a 2023 clutch will have been laid after the others. But what about the browner egg in this Snipe clutch today? #BirdingScotland #ornithology

While some of our later migrants are still arriving, earlier breeders already have young: here Greylag (left) and Pied Wagtail. #BirdingScotland

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l... Don’t be deterred by the opening banter - after about 25 minutes some inspirational stuff about Bar-tailed Godwit migration in here. Relevant to #UKBirding

The expanding science of avian perception with Ed Yong

Podcast Episode · Life List: A Birding Podcast · 11 May · 1hr 18min

podcasts.apple.com

My walk this morning began in 4 degrees and sleet, which must be a challenge for migrants and breeders alike. Nonetheless they are getting on with it: here are clutches of Greylag (left) and Snipe. #BirdingScotland

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! The reticulated evolution of the Bean Goose complex avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2023/01/25/t... #ornithology

The reticulated evolution of the Bean Goose complex

Hybridization partly erased the phylogenetic patterns of three goose taxa.

avianhybrids.wordpress.com

Interesting paper on White-winged Lark in France and Europe (in English) #UKBirding marcduquet.com/wp-content/u...

The closing days of April have brought a light passage of Whimbrel, which are now back on territory. Numbers of most passerine migrants have been low, but there have been some scarce migrants including Stone-curlew on Skerries (24th) and Great Egret at Brow (28th). #BirdingScotland

Announcing The Bird Guide: North America! This landmark field guide, published in association with @cornellbirds.bsky.social, will set a new standard for North American bird identification. Publishing in early 2027, the guide is now available for pre-order from booksellers everywhere. 🐦‍⬛ 📙

Short article I wrote about some goose hybrids and their parents maavianrecords.com/a-returning-...

A Returning Barnacle Goose and its Hybrid Offspring – Massachusetts Avian Records Committee

Barnacle x Cackling/Canada Goose hybrids in North America have long been the source of speculation. Where are these birds coming from? Which parent represents a

maavianrecords.com

This may be of interest in relation to increasing winter records from Cornwall and elsewhere. Some exchange between Cornwall and western France during winter wouldn't be too surprising. #UKBirding marcduquet.com/wp-content/u...

More shocking results on UK Butterfly decline. an amazing dataset covering 50 years gives us a unique insight to the fate of these invaluable indicators

UKBMS@ukbms.bsky.social · 4mo ago

UKBMS results out today! Results from fifty years of butterfly monitoring! The UKBMS data reveals declines in 33 species over the last 50 years. Check out the full story below butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo... And the full 2025 statistics can be found here: jncc.gov.uk/our-work/off...

This infographic summarizes the key elements of our paper "Acoustic differences persist in urban Parus major (Great Tit) over two decades of declining anthropogenic noise in Paris, France" in Ornithological Applications. #bioacoustics #ornithology @amornith.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social 🧵8/8