It was a lovely weekend in Dartmoor chatting to piedfly folks about the other flycatcher 😁

A Spotted Flycatcher perches on a piece of wood. White writing over the green background reads: Rivers vital for Spotted Flycatchers according to new research. Image credit bottom left reads: Spotted Flycatcher by Edmund Fellowes/BTO.

1/ Spotted Flycatchers are in trouble, declining by 92% in the UK between 1967 and 2020. New work led by @cateden91.bsky.social & involving BTO has revealed the importance of rivers for the survival of this Red-listed migratory species. ⬇️ #Ornithology

📖 www.bto.org/Spotted-Flyc...

Role of freshwater availability and terrestrial land‐cover change in the distribution of a declining, terrestrial, insectivorous bird Insectivorous, Afro-Palearctic migrant birds provide cross-border ecosystem services, but many are declining rapidly. The complex life cycle of migrant birds makes their conservation difficult, but u...

New paper alert 🙌.

Second paper from my PhD shows that river density supports persistence and colonisation of the declining Spotted Flycatcher over a 20 year period in the UK.

Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

#ornithology

Big up to the team for working into the small hours last night 🌙We thermal-drone-imaged farm reservoirs across Fenland to better understand the role these vital, unprotected wetlands play for the Icelandic Whooper Swan population 🦢🌍

#Wetlands

Cross-system transfer of fatty acids from aquatic insects supports terrestrial insectivore condition and reproductive success - Oecologia Cross-system fluxes of aquatic insects rich in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 LC-PUFAs), specifically eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may subsidise ins...

Super excited to share the first paper from my PhD! 🎉

We found that rivers don’t just matter for wetland birds - they also help support terrestrial insectivores, thanks to the flow of energy and nutrients from aquatic insects. 🌊🦟

Read more here: 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

EARLY VIEW in IBIS

Seasonal, environmental and individual determinants of double-brooding in the White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) | onlinelibrary.wiley....

Noelia D. Álvarez, Peter J. Mawby, Stuart P. Sharp | #ornithology 🪶

I had fun rambling on about aquatic insects and their benefit for insectivorous birds at #EOU2025 yesterday. Going home with lots of cool bird research in my brain & joy from catching up with friendly faces 😁 (even if it does temporarily drain the life from my introverted soul) 🫠

Scarcely spotted flycatcher Why is the once-common Spotted Flycatcher becoming so hard to find in the UK? Catrin Eden profiles the stark decline of this species over recent decades and ponders what the future might hold.

Scarcely spotted flycatcher

Why is a once-common summer migrant becoming so hard to find? Catrin Eden profiles the stark decline of the UK's Spotted Flycatcher population:

A painting of a bird next to the words "when did I stop giving a fuck?"

Habitat heterogeneity from lidar and hyperspectral data: Implications for bird guilds and restoration management of coal mines | doi.org/10.1111/1365... | Journal of Applied Ecology | #ornithology 🪶

Looking for a PhD in #agroecology? Check out this position opening up as part of the www.grassbirdhabitats.eu project. Hosted by University of Groningen in collab wt University of Gaston Berger and NDC in Senegal. West African students are especially encouraged to apply!

www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...

Annual paddle in the Lake District for Barnacle Goose nest counting & monitoring. Lots of nests found, GPS'd, colour-marked adults identified & lots of eggs counted, measured, and weighed. Fun day with @cateden91.bsky.social #monitoring

Our PhD level course Ecology of Animal Migration at @biologylu.bsky.social is now open for applications! The course will run this November (3-14th) and cover various theoretical and practical aspects of migration ecology.

See: www.biology.lu.se/phd-studies/...

NEW JOB in #ornithology and #conservation to work on an ambitious #telemetry project aiming to understand #wildlife movement in human-modified landscapes: buff.ly/g2eQjP7

Bold new plan to reverse the decline in freshwater wildlife Freshwater Habitats Trust has a bold new plan to reverse the decline in freshwater wildlife within 10 years.

Today, we've officially launched the Freshwater Network: freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/news/bold-ne...: if you're interested, get in touch and we can work together.

🙌🙌🙌

I wonder if they're dragonfly nymphs and have spiky/biting parts? A bit like killing and picking the sting off a wasp... So cool that it goes to fish in the pond, wonder whether any other species have been noted doing that. 🤔

Want to be a field assistant in Sweden this summer?!

📑 Applications should include a motivation letter (1 page), a CV (detailing relevant experience), and contact information of two references. Send the above as a single PDF to b.tschirren@exeter.ac.uk by May 1st 2025.

🌍 #ExeterCEC #Internship

Thanks Rob ☺️

Female mallard with three ducklings

Any day now, ducklings will begin to appear, and we need your help to monitor them. We are asking for records of mallard broods anywhere in the UK this year to help us understand how many ducklings make it to adulthood. Submit your sightings here: citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch
Please share!

Lead author Auke-Florian Hiemstra holds the oldest known caddisfly casing containing microplastic, dating to 1971. Photo: Liselotte Rambonnet.

A caddisfly casing with pieces of blue microplastic, dating 1986. Photo: Auke-Florian Hiemstra

NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀

Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯

A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛

Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x

🧵 1/2 The fishing Wren - who knew? I'm playing in slomo so it's easier to see what's going on.
In fact the Wren is catching amphipods (happy to be corrected on species).
This shows the value of a weedy pond & providing access to it by placing branches over the surface.
@bto-gbw.bsky.social

@jeremybiggs.bsky.social unfortunately I have no current plans to try it on ponds as my PhD is up in 3 months & the opportunity is yet to have shown itself!

🤣 epic! Add it to the Duck duck goose Ltd accreditations!

So nice that we finally got to do a conference together 😍

Had a wonderful time at #BOU2025, so much cool research and awesome catching up with old and making new pals! Very nice to have received an award for highly commended ECR talk as well, a lovely confidence boost 🥰 #ornithology

🧵1/5 Freshwater ecosystems are among the most diverse and threatened, with 22% species 📉 , including the White-throated dipper.

I'm presenting at #BOU2025 today looking at environmental factors influencing freshwater system's declines using dippers as model species.

#ornithology #Conservation

🧵7/7 None of this would have been possible without the funders & multitude of people who have helped me out with expertise, land access, field work and motivation 💚

🧵6/7 A moment of appreciation for ponds!!!

Although our study was focussed on rivers, ponds present an achievable way to introduce HUFAs into a terrestrial system e.g. farmland. Future work should aim to test whether ponds can replicate the benefits seen in our study!

🧵5/7 Our results suggest that healthy functioning aquatic systems could have a positive influence on population trends and may help buffer from declining terrestrial insects... highlighting the importance of aquatic habitat conservation / restoration / creation for terrestrial species!