Motus Audio Day 1: Vancouver BC.
After a year of designing, planning, and building, today is a big day: Natalie and Madison are starting a cross-Canada trip to launch 100 Motus Audio recorders. Follow us as we build a continent-wide microphone network.
motus-audio.web.app #bioacoustics #ornithology
Thank you!!
Nelsy Niño won the Faculty of Science Ambassador Award! Nelsy exemplifies being an ambassador: she builds bridges between communities and universities, engages community interests with expertise and humility, and elevates #ornithology through her leadership. Congratulations @nelsyninor.bsky.social!
Dan, thank you again for nominating me and for your kind words. I appreciate them!!
Our new article appears in today's issue of Ethology:
"In the Danger Zone: Wrens Respond More Strongly to Experimentally Simulated Predators Near Their Nest"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We presented 3D-printed owls near versus far from nests of tropical wrens. How did wrens respond?
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A white beluga surfacing in greenish-brown waters. Overlaid is the title of a new review published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: Beluga Societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete.
Our new review of beluga sociality and culture just dropped at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology! Some of our key conclusions summarized 🧵
doi.org/10.1007/s002...
@marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org
Thank you, Dan!!
Congratulations to Nelsy Niño @nelsyninor.bsky.social for hosting a #bioacoustics workshop, with co-organizers Andrés Sierra and Fabricio Gorleri. They hosted their workshop in Cali, Colombia in concert with the 8th Colombian Ornithology Congress. 🎤🇨🇴
Think of those tropical wildlife recordings...
On the latest Warblers Podcast, we answer YOUR questions!
Do Northern Lights impact migration? How do Surf Scoters digest clams whole? And more!
Thanks to our guests for sharing their insights!
@evoneuro.bsky.social, @nelsyninor.bsky.social, @jodyallair.bsky.social, @dmennill.bsky.social
Congratulations to Nelsy Niño for presenting her research on the ecology and evolution of female song at the 8th Colombian Ornithology Congress in Cali, Colombia. Way to go @nelsyninor.bsky.social!
Do birds have feelings? 🦉🦚🦅🦜
I'm a guest on The Warblers today, the podcast of Birds Canada. I answer a question about chickadee song. Nelsy Niño @nelsyninor.bsky.social answers a question about mimicry. Thanks for having us @birdscanada.bsky.social!
Listen here: www.birdscanada.org/warblerspodc...
We've launched a Motus Audio Recorder on Pelee Island! Natalie, Madison, and Nelsy launched our 10th recorder, which will survey migratory birds passing over Pelee Island this fall.
@ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social @peleeislandbird.bsky.social
Assisting the outstanding bird banders at Holiday Beach Migration Observatory, Nelsy, Natalie, and Madison have been helping to band fall warblers at Holiday Beach. @nelsyninor.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
Small but not defenseless 🦇
In our latest paper, we describe a behavior in disc-winged bats that is endearing and a little fearsome. When threatened, these bats shake the leaf, producing a loud drumming-like sound. This display likely signals to predators that the bats are aware of their presence.
Photograph of a group of University of Windsor students on a Study Abroad field course in Paris, France. We're giving the "thumbs up" next to a Song Meter we used to record birds in urban parks. Superimposed over the photo: the title of our new paper in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology: "Avian biodiversity in the urban green spaces of Paris: higher bird species richness in larger parks and park centers."
Our new paper is out: "Avian biodiversity in the urban green spaces of Paris: higher bird species richness in larger parks and park centers". Co-authored with 14 UWindsor students from a Study Abroad field course. In Avian Conservation & Ecology: ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
Here's our story...
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How loud is a sparrow? Our new project involves measuring the amplitude of Savannah Sparrow songs.
This is a team investigation with @jaclynaubin.bsky.social, @sdobney.bsky.social, @nelsyninor.bsky.social, M. Bygrove, N. Emerick, and our sparrow collaborators, with funding from NSERC.
Quick, it's not too late to participate in #Birdathon! Help us protect birds by donating, or raise money yourself and do a big day! Our team, The Windsor Warblers (www.canadahelps.org/s/jmhwMw) had so much fun on our big day! @nelsyninor.bsky.social @jaclynaubin.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social
Ground nest with four eggs, hidden under blueberry bush.
The Savannah Sparrows are officially nesting on Kent Island! Our team found the first nest yesterday with 4 eggs 🥚. The happy couple is N.WB & B.RN, returning birds from 2024. Check in as we find more! @dmennill.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @jaclynaubin.bsky.social @nelsyninor.bsky.social
Our team assisted visiting scientists banding Herring Gulls and Greater Black-backed Gulls on Kent Island. Thank you Rob and Laura from Birds Canada and Environment Canada for letting us be gullible.
@nelsyninor.bsky.social @jaclynaubin.bsky.social @sdobney.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social
In the fog on Kent Island at Bowdoin Scientific Station, Savannah Sparrow banding is underway. Great research Sarah, Nelsy, Madison, Natalie, and Jaclyn! @sdobney.bsky.social @nelsyninor.bsky.social @jaclynaubin.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
"Exploring Bird Sounds with Dan Mennill." What an honour to be interviewed on The Warblers, the Birds Canada podcast.
Listen here:
Spotify: tinyurl.com/2skkart8
Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/2stnm5ak
Birds Canada: www.birdscanada.org/warblerspodc...
@birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
Image of LO.N in the hand (handled and banded with permits). Photo y Natalie Emerick.
Image of spectrogram of LO.N's song, recorded by Natalie Emerick in May 2025.
Meet LO.N, a male Savannah Sparrow living on Kent Island, NB, Canada. We know he hatched ~11 mon. ago, on this very island. We know his parents. We know his song. We even know the exact male he learned his song from! Can't wait to learn more about LO.N as the season continues! #longtermdata #birds
Nelsy Niño Rodríguez passed her Comprehensive Exam today! She expertly answered a wide-ranging set of questions from six examiners. Congratulations @nelsyninor.bsky.social! Our whole lab is very proud of you!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for helping me prepare for the exam! I'm so grateful to be part of a collaborative lab like ours! 🪶
Thank you so much 🥰🦜
We are celebrating Dr. Natalie Sanchez @natingui.bsky.social. This week marks the end of Natalie's three year postdoc in our lab. She has been such a productive and collaborative colleague and an outstanding mentor on our team, I can scarcely imagine what we will do without her! [🧵1]
Nelsy brought us stickers and bookmarks from her new short film: "Mingoya: Tierra de Ornitólogos". Nelsy co-directed and co-produced this colourful documentary about tropical #birds and #ornithology in Mingoya Colombia. 🇨🇴🦜
Thank you @nelsyninor.bsky.social!
Check it out: youtu.be/EwV-REW2liw
Dan, thanks for sharing it!! 🦉🎬
Dan, thank you for your kind words :) ☕
Alejandra, I’m looking forward to meeting you soon!
Dan, thank you for all your support! 🪶🎶
