Centre for Animals on the Move at Western
@animalsonthemove.bsky.social
Located on the Western U campus in London, Ontario, Canada. We study animal migration and dispersal and other forms of movement. We figure out the how, when, where, and why of movements, working from genes to ecosystem levels. https://uwo.ca/cam/index.html
Over the past few months, many of our CAM members have been in the field. Spotlight on Ingrid Tello-Lopez who is studying threatened Eastern Whip-poor-wills in the beautiful Carden Alvar. Some animals are so hard to catch... including this beautiful female. So many bug bites and kms walked...
Listen to our very own Beth MacDougall-Shackleton interviewed on BBC's Unexpected Element talking about Song Sparrows engaged in rap battles! Click link and skip to the 14:00 min point! www.bbc.com/audio/play/w... @westernu.ca @isbe2026.bsky.social
BBC Audio | Unexpected Elements | Bald caps, sparrow raps and lightning claps
A record at a Pitbull concert has us exploring baldness, fireballs, and rapping sparrows.
bbc.com
CAM is at @isbe2026.bsky.social ! If you are there, check out the excellent research done here (although sadly, you’ve missed Beth’s talk!)
Hey! Check out this great NYT article featuring CAM researcher Carrie Branch! Chickadees are so smart… share.google/SdSN6eE9dojs...
share.google
We get it, #climatechange is a massive issue. While you may not be able to change when or where rain falls, you can still make an impact, especially when it comes to saving our #songbirds. 🎙️ @westernu.ca @birdfiddler.bsky.social @animalsonthemove.bsky.social
We are so VERY proud of our grads! A person very near and dear to many of us successfully defended his PhD recently! CONGRATULATIONS Scott Walters! (So so so ❤️ the #GobletOfKnowledge tradition at @westernu.ca )!
Very cool new #review of #migration in dragonflies! (& awesome title too)! We know so little about insect migs compared to vertebrates so this = big contribution. Turns out that altitudinal migration is the only form of single-generation return mig in Odonata! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Check out this podcast in which CAM's @birdfiddler.bsky.social talks about the impacts of rain on wildlife
Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Centre@salthavenwildlife.bsky.social · 2mo agoWhen you think of climate change, you probably picture heatwaves. But for birds, the real danger might be the rain. 🎙️In our next episode of Wild About Wildlife, researchers share a surprising threat to global bird populations.👇
Check out this story of 2 incredible human athletes in a "race with nature" (except that we know the birds will win!). From the arctic to S Chile, following the tracks of Whimbrels tagged by CAM's Chris Guglielmo & colleagues. @westernu.ca @birdscanada.bsky.social globalnews.ca/video/118891...
Edmonton expeditioners to depart on ‘world-first race with nature’ | Watch News Videos Online
Watch Edmonton expeditioners to depart on ‘world-first race with nature’ Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca
globalnews.ca
Major projects should not come at the expense of safeguarding communities & the environment. CSEE President Julia Baum, VP Marc Johnson & incoming VP Sarah Otto explain why in their @ca.theconversation.com article: theconversation.com/canadas-majo... @juliabaum.bsky.social @evoecolab.bsky.social
The Conversation Canada@ca.theconversation.com · 2mo agoCanada’s ‘major projects’ should not come at the cost of the environment
#NewPaperAlert! From the Coltman lab... the genomic impacts of rapid range expansions. Animals moving in ways that we don't always appreciate... cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
The genomic impacts of rapid range expansions
Human-mediated change has resulted in the expansion of many species into novel habitats. Range expansions have been described demographically as either pulled or pushed, depending on the number of ind...
cdnsciencepub.com
we can finally go public with this news! CAM researcher Alice Boyle named one of Western's newest Canada Research Chairs! news.westernu.ca/2026/05/west...
Western gains two new Canada Research Chairs, three renewals - Western News
Western gains two new Canada Research Chairs with the appointment of Alice Boyle as CRC in Global Animal Movement Ecology and Amir Mirzaei, CRC
news.westernu.ca
Speaking of animals on the move, one of our CAM members is doing a huge nomadic peregrination around the prairie provinces right now. Check out this stunning landscape where she will be working in coming years!
Alice Boyle@birdfiddler.bsky.social · 3mo ago@mikekaspari.bsky.social , you will like this video better than the last one. South eastern Alberta is pretty amazing.
Congratulations to one of our amazing CAM grad students, Evelyn Petro—BEST POSTER at CSEE!!! Yeah Evelyn!
Wow! another great feature on the new collaborative partnership between the CAM and @westernu.ca and @birdscanada.bsky.social! Let's keep the momentum going... great things are afoot. news.westernu.ca/2026/05/bird... #ornithology #migration #partnerships
Western-Birds Canada partnership powers science birds and nature need to thrive
Western and Birds Canada formally signed a renewed memorandum of understanding, reinforcing a research partnership that has shaped migration science in Canada for nearly three decades.
news.westernu.ca
@cbcnews.ca featured our agreement with @birdscanada.bsky.social yesterday! Read all about it here: sl1nk.com/71ldpva
Yesterday, @westernu.ca and @birdscanada.bsky.social signed an MOU that will promote a future of closer collaboration and integration as we work towards a future with thriving birds & other wildlife. Thanks to all that marked this special event!
What scientists do when they go looking for woodcocks... take a thermal camera! We need to perfect technique (and find somewhere with fewer shrubs) but Chris captured some imagery of these cool birds last night!
Wishing all our undergrads success in their exams next week and huge luck to CAM folks heading to the field already! Spring is really here!
Look who just joined our team at the CAM? Welcome to Dr. Ben Sonnenberg (@sonnenbird.bsky.social)! We are so happy you are here! Learn more about Ben's work on his beautiful website: www.bensonnenberg.com/home
Ben Sonnenberg
Benjamin Sonnenberg, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher - Oregon State University
bensonnenberg.com
Post-doc opportunity at the CAM! Come and join our vibrant and collegial community! @westernu.ca !
Alice Boyle@birdfiddler.bsky.social · 4mo agoI am super excited to share that Yolanda Morbey and I at the centre for @animalsonthemove.bsky.social are recruiting for a postdoc with expertise in analysis of #Motus data! Please help us get the word out! Deets here: www.uwo.ca/cam/research...
When Australians poison dingos, they call them wild dogs. When Canadians poison ground squirrels, they call them gophers. Awful stuff, will kill hawks, foxes etc. that eat poisoned squirrels. Weirdly, Health Canada claims that there is a 'safe level' of strychnine 🤡 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Ottawa authorizes emergency use of strychnine in Alberta, Saskatchewan to address gopher infestation | CBC News
Ottawa is authorizing the controlled and time-limited emergency use of strychnine to address millions of dollars worth of damage in Alberta and Saskatchewan caused by an infestation of Richardson's gr...
cbc.ca
Check out this podcast! Grad student, Alex Muth, explains how #chickadees have dialects! He also gives us insight into how he studies this, why it is interesting, and his life in grad school. Go Alex! fmjzxvm.short.gy/my-link #ornithology #academia #birds
We are super lucky to have another out-of-town #MovementMonday seminar speaker today! Dr. Eva Fischer form UC Davis speaking about parental care in the coolest little #frogs! #smallisbeautiful #parenting101
Fantastic reporting on mind-blowing #migration of tiny animals! Love the descriptions & graphics showing how scientists figured out where and how far these little butterflies flew... from Western Europe, across the Sahara, refuel in the Sahel, and then on to South America! tinyurl.com/wkjs4xen
Butterflies crossing oceans, moths navigating by the stars: unravelling the mysteries of insect migrations
Trillions of insects embark, largely unnoticed, on epic journeys every year across mountain ranges, deserts and seas, and it is only now, as their numbers suffer huge declines, that scientists are tra...
tinyurl.com
Its #MovementMonday! Sooooo looking forward to this talk by Jamie Cornelius (@cornelius_littlebirdlab). Rain, unpredictable movements, changing world, Crossbills... what more could you want? #ornithology #migration #climate #physiology
#TheGooseVideo is here! do you know how to #MakePeaceWithTheGeese? Created by CAM grad students for the @westernu.ca students and the whole Western Community! @westernualumni.bsky.social Check it out here! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUKQ...
Making Peace with Canada Geese
YouTube video by Animals On The Move
youtube.com
How to #MakePeaceWithTheGeese? We want to tell you how... #TheGooseVideo is coming on Monday! #ornithology #birds #CampusLife #HumanWildlifeInteractions @westernu.ca
a close up of a goose 's head and neck
ALT: a close up of a goose 's head and neck
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