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Posts by Wouter Vansteelant

Het verdient een mooie naam, zo'n kleurrijke troep #kemphanen en -hennen. Een menigte kemphanen? Een gala? Een karavaan? Verschillende aspecten van de soort roepen verschillende connotaties en woorden op. Wie kan wat moois bedenken?

1 week ago 5 0 2 0
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Dutch Spoonbills are in the air and on their way to Netherlands. These are the days to visit www.globalflywaynetwork.org/tracks/speci... and enjoy the antics of spoonbill #migration.
Cool story by @wmgvs.bsky.social about these tagged birds, including joint flights www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

2 weeks ago 21 9 3 0
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NEW PUBLICATION!

Long time coming — now out: the results of our pilot spring raptor counts in Batumi! Read about seasonal contrasts in raptor migration, the eastern Black Sea coast as a principal spring flyway, and much more. 🦅

Paper: doi.org/10.5253/arde...

#ornithology @batumiraptorcount.org

1 month ago 27 14 0 0
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Classic agricultural methods boosting biodiversity!

Soils of surface-drained grasslands retained more moisture than soils of deeply drained grasslands. Moisture caused earthworms to contribute to soil processes and being available as food for meadow birds.

Open Access: doi.org/10.1016/j.ag...

2 months ago 4 6 0 0
Bird with a long bill surrounded by tall grass.

Bird with a long bill surrounded by tall grass.

EARLY VIEW in IBIS

Free-living Black-tailed Godwits maintain constant intake rates across varying grassland habitat conditions by adjusting their foraging behaviour | doi.org/10.1111/ibi....

Renée Veenstra et al | #ornithology 🪶

2 months ago 13 5 0 0
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Just noticed these upside down spikes in the corners of my hotel room in Spain. What a shitty way to keep the swallows and martins from nesting here. 😪

3 months ago 6 0 0 0
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YOUNG GODWITS, GRAND FLIGHTS - Last autumn two young godwits that we feared to have died suddenly sent amazing data from Senegal. They had flown to West Africa in a non-stop flight. Among them W1WCCG, who achieved an AVERAGE speed >90km/h. 😳🤯

Read the story at: www.birdeyes.org/young-godwit...

3 months ago 9 1 0 0
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In Memoriam: Gerard C. Boere (1942–2026) | AEWA The AEWA Secretariat is deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Gerard C. Boere, Honorary Patron and Founder of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). Gerard ...

It is so sad that we lost a major player in our field, actively interested involved until his last days, Gerard Boere.
Many thanks, Gerard, for so many years of great support to migratory waterbirds around the world and to people who care. RIP.
eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

3 months ago 11 6 0 1

Looking for a PhD project in Movement Ecology or animal migration? This is an exciting project with an experienced team. #migration #Ornithology #GPStracking

3 months ago 5 6 0 0
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Meta-analyse or perish ;)

3 months ago 0 0 1 0
Graphical abstract.

Graphical abstract.

Ecological barrier crossing strategies in small migratory birds depend on wing morphology and plumage color | iScience | doi.org/10.1016/j.is... | #migration #ecology #ornithology 🌏🪶

3 months ago 16 6 0 0
A blue and red feathered parakeet? with a simple bar magnet illustration overlayed on it, and yellow lines of force radiating out from the head.  It also has the word "yes*" underneath it.

I stole this from a cover photo for a video on the topic from YouTuber "Learn with Kay" with title "Birds navigte with Magnets in their heads ??" [sic]

A blue and red feathered parakeet? with a simple bar magnet illustration overlayed on it, and yellow lines of force radiating out from the head. It also has the word "yes*" underneath it. I stole this from a cover photo for a video on the topic from YouTuber "Learn with Kay" with title "Birds navigte with Magnets in their heads ??" [sic]

We know that birds can sense magnetic fields for navigation. But how does that work?

Do they have little magnets wired up to their brains?

The most likely answer is 1000X times weirder than that, and involves quantum spin.

Let's talk about 'cryptochromes' & magnetic sensing.🧪

3 months ago 155 41 6 10
Short-toed Eagle. Photo by Nikolina Bukovac.

Short-toed Eagle. Photo by Nikolina Bukovac.

Recommended read: our 2025 Autumn Report is out!

As part of our tradition and commitment, we’ve compiled a comprehensive overview of the season’s highlights and phenological peculiarities — complemented by many beautiful photos of both birds and people!

👉 batumiraptorcount.org/autumn-report-2025

3 months ago 18 12 0 1
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"Gewapend met verschillende netten togen we op 21 december, de kortste dag van het jaar, naar de geul waar Nala de laatste weken foerageerde. Een standaard garnalennetje bleek het perfecte net te zijn om lepelaar prooien te bemonsteren."

werkgroeplepelaar.org/nieuws/2025/...

3 months ago 5 2 0 0
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Vacature: Interim Hoofd Fondsenwerving (16-24 uur) Stuur je korte motivatiebrief en CV naar Hesje van der Meer.

Mooie (interim) job bij de Waddenvereniging voor een ervaren fondsenwerver. Om zuinig te zijn op dit kwetsbare UNESCO werelderfgoed vind jij gulle gevers om de natuur te beschermen én te herstellen.

waddenvereniging.nl/organisatie/...

4 months ago 0 4 0 0

And you for the nice discussion! Best of luck with all the exciting stuff you are developing.

5 months ago 0 0 0 0

On the train back home, still buzzing from some great days at @vogelwarte.bsky.social where Hans Schmid wrote "Getrennte Wege" - a classic synthesis of Honey Buzzard migration. A quarter century later the species has revealed a few more, but still not all of its migratory "Geheimnisse". #ornithology

5 months ago 15 2 1 0
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Great day exploring the hills around Sempach ahead of a work visit to @vogelwarte.bsky.social. Good practice wt woodland birds of which I've seen very little since moving to Fryslan few yrs ago. Lovely soundscape wt whistling Red Kite, croaking Ravens, ticking Hawfinch, rattling of Mistle Thrush...

5 months ago 20 0 0 1
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Vorläufige Ergebnisse des 8. Internationalen Weißstorchzensus 2024 Der 8. Internationale Weißstorchzensus fand 2024 wieder als ein gemeinsames Projekt von NABU (BirdLife Germany) und BirdLife International statt. Der NABU koordiniert die länderübergreifenden Zählunge...

New funded PhD projects with @marius-somveille.bsky.social, myself and collaborators. Examining migratory connectivity for seabirds www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d... and and the dynamics of seasonal migration www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK742/p...
#ornithology
@ueaceec.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social

5 months ago 9 11 0 0
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Dispersal, maturation and recruitment in a long-lived, intercontinental migrant bird | www.sciencedirect.co... | Animal Behaviour | #ornithology 🪶

5 months ago 14 8 0 0
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The meadows still have to flood, but the winter bird community at Blaugerzen is starting to form. The first Barnacle and White-fronted Geese are back, and mixed flocks of Lapwing, Starling and Golden Plover are on the fields again. They'll define the birding scene for next five months. #birding

6 months ago 19 2 1 0
Steppe Buzzards moving through the cloudy Batumi bottleneck. Photo by Tohar Tal.

Steppe Buzzards moving through the cloudy Batumi bottleneck. Photo by Tohar Tal.

The Station 1 team.

The Station 1 team.

The Station 2 team.

The Station 2 team.

The team of coordinators at station 3 — for a change.

The team of coordinators at station 3 — for a change.

1.5 MILLION RAPTORS! 🦅🤯

For the first time in BRC history, we have recorded a staggering 1.5 million raptors in a single autumn season — a true milestone after 17 years of counting!

Read more here: www.batumiraptorcount.org/brc17/2025/10/15-million-raptors

#ornithology #RaptorResearch

6 months ago 37 9 4 0
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New visual story: Bird migration is one of nature’s greatest spectacles — and scientists are uncovering extraordinary insights into how new threats are reshaping these epic journeys. Follow the remarkable travels of three birds as they fly across the planet. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

6 months ago 56 22 3 3
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The structure of the annual migratory flight activity in a songbird | royalsocietypublishi... | Proceedings of the Royal Society B | #ornithology 🪶

6 months ago 51 14 0 1
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EARLY VIEW in IBIS

Challenges in population monitoring: Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) on the East Atlantic Flyway defy assumed population structure | onlinelibrary.wiley....

Jesse R. Conklin, Roeland A. Bom, Åke Lindström, Pierrick Bocher, Theunis Piersma | #ornithology 🪶

6 months ago 19 7 2 0
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Teenagers SILENE and SPARTINA only reached France and N Morocco on their 1st journey in 2024. Now they caught the wave to W Africa! They flew together for 10h until SILENE split of to land in basins of a phosphate factory. Let's see how far they'll go! 2/2
www.globalflywaynetwork.org/tracks/speci...

6 months ago 3 1 0 0
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Over the past 2 weeks, no less than 10 Dutch GPS-#Spoonbills made the crossing from Iberia to Africa. They did so in classic Spoonbill fashion by starting the ocean-crossing near Cadiz, rather than taking the Strait of Gibraltar. 1/2 #ornithology
www.globalflywaynetwork.org/tracks/speci...

6 months ago 10 2 1 0

GREAT DAY FOR EEL CONSERVATION
The Basque Country is the craddle of glass eel consumption
Today, the Basque Government has announced a ban on glass eel fishing due to eel's critical situation
Similar movements needed in Spanish @miteco.gob.es and EU @ec.europa.eu
www.eldiario.es/euskadi/gobi...

6 months ago 16 6 1 0
Today's totals! See our website for more details!

Today's totals! See our website for more details!

Steppe Buzzards. Photo by Filiep T'jollyn

Steppe Buzzards. Photo by Filiep T'jollyn

After-count team photo - with perhaps the most beautiful rainbow ever seen in the background

After-count team photo - with perhaps the most beautiful rainbow ever seen in the background

170.000 RAPTORS IN ONE DAY!

After yesterday’s heavy rain and a quiet morning, today the sky exploded with Steppe Buzzards and large eagles! Continuing from 10 am until almost the end of the count.

At some point, we counted over 14.000 raptors in less than 20 minutes. THAT'S BATUMI!

#ornithology

6 months ago 34 7 0 2
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After a super intense week with a back-to-back Spoonbill and Wader Study conference, its time to shift to lower gear for a bit. Starting the day with a slow stroll through the fog at Griene Dyk. Hoping for a Yellow-browed Warbler among the plentiful Gold- and Firecrests. #birding

6 months ago 12 0 0 0