Ellie Owen

@ellingbry.bsky.social

Posting about the #seabird conservation work of the National Trust for Scotland. #citsci #puffarazzi #NTSseabirds

The first drone census of the St Kilda gannet colony is now published in Scottish Birds! We counted 59,205 AOS in 2023 - similar to previous years. The overall impact of #HPAI appears less than at some other colonies, with notable declines in flatter areas 🧮 #ornithology #seabirds #NTSseabirds

(PDF) The first drone census of the Gannet colony on St Kilda, 2023

PDF | An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (hereafter drone) survey of Gannets at St Kilda was carried out in June 2023. The survey was the first census at St... | Find, read and cite all the research you need ...

researchgate.net

“Rich Grenyer, a biologist at the University of Oxford, said de-extinction is a “dangerous” distraction and that gene-edited animals are “at best a sort of simulation, rather like those unnerving animated AI portraits of dead relatives some… people create”.” www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Scientists claim they’ve made ‘pivotal step’ in bringing back the dodo for first time in 300 years

Thousands of dodos could return within a decade according to Colossal Biosciences, a ‘de-extinction’ company – but experts warn of ‘moral hazard’

theguardian.com

These two studies do not contradict each other but reinforce the desperate need to get strongly regulated and strictly enforced MPAs in place - not just boxes on a map with little effect

Bild

On Monday there were a number of sightings of minke whales in the area. Marine Station staff and volunteers were lucky enough to get some great views and even captured this wee bit of video footage. Especially exciting for some, for whom it was a first!

A dark day for Scotland’s seabirds. We're incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for the Berwick Bank offshore windfarm, which could catapult some of our most vulnerable species toward extinction 🚨 We will carefully scrutinise the details and consider our next steps.

“This is a very dark day for seabirds.
Berwick Bank would be catastrophic for Scotland’s globally important seabirds which are already facing alarming declines. Its impacts are so damaging it will make it very difficult for other, less-harmful windfarms to come forward. We are incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for a project which could catapult some of Scotland’s most-loved seabird species towards extinction.”Gannet pair courting

Results from the 2023 #StKilda Gannet census are to be published in the December issue of #ScottishBirds, revealing relative stability in what is once again the world's largest colony, despite fears that #HPAI may have had a greater impact on the population #NTSSeabirds @scottishbirding.bsky.social

A bird’s-eye view of the gannet colony at St Kilda

The first drone census at St Kilda has revealed the islands are now home to the world’s largest gannet colony.

nts.org.uk

Really pleased to have contributed to this epic survey of >59,000 pairs of gannets! The St Kilda colony was less impacted by HPAI than other colonies, perhaps because steep cliffs reduced disease transmission. Flatter areas of the colony suffered greater losses. #ornithology #seabirds #NTSseabirds

St Kilda World Heritage Site NTS@stkildawhs.bsky.social · last yr.

Results from the 2023 #StKilda Gannet census are to be published in the December issue of #ScottishBirds, revealing relative stability in what is once again the world's largest colony, despite fears that #HPAI may have had a greater impact on the population #NTSSeabirds @scottishbirding.bsky.social