Applications open for Quantitative Raptor Biologist postdoc at FitzPatrick Institute Call for applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in quantitative raptor biology; deadline 15 May 2026

Post-doc opportunity in raptor conservation at The FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology in Cape Town, South Africa - with @megmurg.bsky.social and me.

South African Citizen or have a valid work visa.
science.uct.ac.za/fitzpatrick/...

#Ornithology #RaptorResearch #AfricanOrnithology

#RaptorResearch

⏰ DEADLINE TOMORROW!

Would you like to play a central role in delivering our journal IBIS and engaging with the #ornithology community?

Join us as our Journal and Engagement Manager!

⏰ Apply by 09:00 BST 14 April

bou.org.uk/vacancy-j...

🪶

It’s official (get it in your diary!) 📅 🦅

The 16th Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC16) will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, from 12 to 17 April 2027.

The website is being updated—check back for details on symposia and abstract calls soon: paoc.africa

#Ornithology #AfricanOrnithology

White-backed vulture close-up in tall grass, with inset journal header about breeding population in western Serengeti.

A new study published in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology documents a steep decline of breeding in White-backed Vulture in western Serengeti. https://bit.ly/3PZIsXv

📷 Munir Virani

#RaptorResearch #Ornithology 🪶

🔈 BOU COUNCIL NOMINATIONS

We are seeking nominations for 5 positions on Council, for appointment at the 2027 AGM

A great opportunity to be involved with the governance of the BOU

Nomination deadline: 15 June 2026

bou.org.uk/about-the...

#ornithology 🪶

Poster advertising the Arican Raptor Leadership Grant - African antionals applying for MSc or Hons courses at AP LEventis Ornithological Research Institute (Nigeria), Fitzpatric Institute of African Ornithology (UCT, South Africa) or Mohammed V University (Morocco) are invited to apply via https://raptorresearchfoundation.org

Are you a national of an African country? Looking to study birds of prey at one of three leading ornithological research university across the contient? This might be for you! raptorresearchfoundation.org/grants-award...

£1 Million government funding to explore re-establishment of Golden Eagles in England The UK Government has announced funding of £1 Million to explore the feasibility of re-establishing Golden Eagles in England. Golden Eagle (photo by Pete Walkden) Here is the Government’s pre…

£1 Million Government funding to explore re-establishment of Golden Eagles in England.

Govt press release and my commentary ⬇️

#RaptorResearch #Ornithology #BirdingLinks #BirdingEngland

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/04/12/1...

Innovative Behaviour Is Associated With Increased Collision Incidence in Birds Collisions with human-made structures cause billions of bird deaths annually, yet risk factors remain unclear. By analysing large datasets of collision incidence and innovation rates, we show that, b...

Innovative Behaviour Is Associated With Increased Collision Incidence in Birds - Boycott - 2026 - Ecology Letters - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

PAOC: Pan-African Onithological Congress PAOC16 will be held in the ancient city of Marrakech, whose famous medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is home to numerous religious and cultural sites, and sits in the Tensift River Valley in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.

It’s official (get it in your diary!) 📅 🦅

The 16th Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC16) will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, from 12 - 17 April 2027.

The website is being updated—check back for details on symposia and abstract calls soon: paoc.africa

#Ornithology #AfricanOrnithology

Looking for a postdoc on bird migration and have computer science or remote sensing skill? 🌍 🧪 🦑 #Ornithology

Ornis Fennica Vol. 102 No. 3–4 (2025): Ornis Fennica Volume 102 Issue 3–4

A new issue of Ornis Fennica is now available! The issue has articles of Eagle Owls in Finland, Goldcrests & Firecrests in Poland and bird assemblages in the West Carpathians. ornisfennica.journal.fi/issue/view/1... #ornithology #OpenAccess

New paper in IBIS: I surveyed GenAI policies across the top 20 ornithology journals. 40% had no discoverable policy, and the rest varied widely in what’s permitted. Authors need clearer guidance.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.70054

#ornithology​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

#RaptorResearch

Long-term road surveys reveal widespread declines in South African birds of prey A comprehensive study has revealed substantial declines in many of South Africa's birds of prey (raptors) over the past 16 years, raising fresh concerns about the conservation status of several iconic...

Press release associated with our new paper on the decline of many species of raptors in central South Africa, revealed by road transects
phys.org/news/2026-03...

paper here: doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

photo by @megmurg.bsky.social

Road counts expose widespread declines in South African raptors underestimated by atlas data Checklist-based citizen science surveys are becoming increasingly popular, as they may provide a means to monitor species' distributions and populatio…

NEW PAPER: Using almost 400,000 km of road transects, conducted over 16 years, we reveal declines in 13 species of raptor and other large terrestrial bird species across central South Africa #ornithology #AfricanOrnithology #RaptorResearch
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A new study from our Aplomado Falcon Recovery Program examines how sea level rise and development could impact habitat in South Texas: https://bit.ly/412LsEB

Aplomado Falcon 📷 Paul Juergens
📊 Figure 5, McCabe et al., 2025

#RaptorResearch #Ornithology

AI helps discover rare lesser spotted woodpecker’s call in Sussex Artificial intelligence helped process more than 30,000 hours of recordings to track down the birds.

Passive acoustic monitoring and AI
surveys reveal far more threatened Sussex Lesser spotted Woodpeckers than we thought.
Much bigger @lesserspotnet.bsky.social and @sussexornitholo.bsky.social underway this spring should give a fuller picture. Exciting times!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New paper just out in Bird Cons Int:
'Bird monitoring in Africa: present state and future prospects', ably led by Phil Atkinson of
@btobirds.bsky.social

#Ornithology
#AfricanOrnithology

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Thanks!
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Help put a stop to the illegal killing of birds of prey | RSPB YouTube video by RSPB

Please watch this and consider writing to your MP about licensing Grouse Moors. A skydancing #HenHarrier is a wonderful sight that sadly very few people ever get to see. @friendsofthedales.bsky.uk
#raptorpersecution
#Skydancer

youtu.be/0zNIzsNAwNY?...

Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’ Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits

Achieving UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, says CCC:

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

New paper just out in: 'Bird monitoring in Africa: present state and future prospects', ably led by Phil Atkinson of @btobirds.bsky.social

#Ornithology
#AfricanOrnithology

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Book Review Click on the article title to read more.

The first book review section of my time as book reviews editor for Ibis @bou.org.uk is out; thank you to all the reviewers for these excellent reviews. Books received & contact details are at the bottom of the section for any potential reviewers #ornithology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

EARLY VIEW in IBIS

Environmental correlates of spatio-temporal patterns of colour variation in a bird of prey: The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) | onlinelibrary.wiley....

Kaspar Delhey, Elena F. Kappers, Mihai Valcu, Christiaan Both, Bart Kempenaers | #ornithology 🪶

@mpiforbi.bsky.social

Really great opportunity here!

UK Government confirms ban on sale & use of toxic lead ammunition for ‘live quarry shooting’ from 1st April 2029 Following the announcement from Defra in July 2025 that the Government aimed to introduce legislation by the summer of 2026 to ban the sale and use of toxic lead ammunition for ‘live quarry s…

UK Government confirms ban on sale and use of toxic lead ammunition for live quarry shooting from 1st April 2029.

Good news for the environment & wildlife (especially raptors!)

New blog ⬇️

#RaptorResearch

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/03/05/u...

Acabamos de publicar uno de los artículos que mas bonitos nos han quedao analizando algunas causas y consecuencias de de la migración parcial de los juveniles de buitre leonado.... #RaptorResearch #Ornithology @bou.org.uk onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Rise of the Eagle Owl population due to rat-rich refuse dump sites and fall when closing them: a large-scale long-term “supplementary feeding experiment” Food-supplementation experiments conducted on terrestrial vertebrates have usually shown the importance of food as an agent in increasing reproductive success. However, to date, the number of large-sc...

New article published in Ornis Fennica! Tornberg et al. Rise of the Eagle Owl population due to rat-rich refuse dump sites and fall when closing them: a large-scale long-term “supplementary feeding experiment” ornisfennica.journal.fi/article/view... #ornithology #OpenAccess #RaptorResearch

#RaptorResearch