🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day! After 15+ years studying Canada Jays, it's exciting to see Bill S-221 (the proposed National Bird of Canada Act) pass the Senate. Next stop: the House of Commons. Here's hoping the Canada Jay becomes our national bird! 🍁🐦 www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en...

🦋 NEW FIELD JOBS! 🦋 We have two field positions available for this summer to work on endangered Mottled duskywing at Pinery Provincial Park. Open to students enrolled at a Canadian university in Fall 2026. Closes July 3. Positions can also be viewed at: norrislab.ca/opportunities/

🦋 PhD position! 🦋 Join a newly funded research partnership working to conserve endangered butterflies in Canada. Details can be found below. @onehealthuofg.bsky.social @uofguelph.bsky.social

Excited to share that our team has received a $2.4M NSERC Alliance–Society Grant to help recover some of Canada's most at-risk butterflies! Thanks to our incredible partners, including Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory, NRSI, Wilder Institute, @savingspecieswpc.bsky.social, and many others. 🦋🇨🇦

I completed my annual bioacoustic survey of the forest birds of Kent Island, with a little help from some friends. We collect these long-term data to study changes in breeding bird populations at Bowdoin Scientific Station. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @wildlifeacoustics.com @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

Brown plumages are social signals that reduce aggression towards young seabirds! doi.org/10.1016/j.an... Out now in @asab.org Animal Behaviour, ft. real gulls, plastic gulls Led by amazing undergrad Molly Hill, Lily Fanburg, @sdobney.bsky.social, and @dmennill.bsky.social

Our first night recording with a Motus Audio recorder in Petit Rocher. It was windy, but Motus Audio detected a Spotted Sandpiper. (The left image is a screen grab from our live dashboard.) Now look who I photographed foraging 20m from the Motus Audio recorder: a Spotted Sandpiper!

Motus Audio Day 37: Prince Edward Point, ON. Madison and Natalie launched a Motus Audio recorder with supporter @mikeburrell.bsky.social in Peterborough. Then a recorder at the Motus tower on Prince Edward Point. Our eastern Ontario network grows! @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Motus Audio Day 35: Kitchener, ON. A thunderstorm delayed — but didn't stop — Madison & Natalie from launching 3 Motus Audio recorders in southern Ontario. They launched the final recorder after dark with collaborator Ryan Norris! #MotusAfterDark @birdscanada.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

Motus Audio Day 23: Experimental Lakes, ON. Madison and Natalie reached the Centre of Canada! They then entered Ontario and set up a Motus Audio recorder at the IISD Experimental Lakes Area. Thanks to our Motus Audio hosts and supporters. @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Motus Audio Day 21: Oak Hammock Marsh, MB. Natalie and Madison launched a Motus Audio recorder on the Motus tower at Oak Hammock Marsh north of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our cross-Canada microphone array reaches a new province! @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Motus Audio Day 20: Weyburn, SK. A new Motus Audio recorder is now sampling the night skies above the Weyburn Wildlife Federation. Then Natalie and Madison crossed into Manitoba. Three provinces complete in our cross-Canada trip: BC, AB, SK! 👍🎤🇨🇦 @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Canada still doesn’t have an official national bird. Bill S-221, now before the Senate, would recognize the Canada Jay. Found in every province and territory, resident through northern winters, food-storing, early-nesting, and wonderfully Canadian. www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en... 📷 Brett Forsyth

Recovery strategies are not just paperwork. They help turn concern for endangered species into action. Our work on Mottled Duskywing recovery in Ontario has relied on this kind of public guidance. Transparency matters for species-at-risk recovery. thenarwhal.ca/ontario-enda...

We’re hiring 4 field positions to help reintroduce and monitor the endangered Mottled Duskywing butterfly in southern Ontario. Great opportunity for early-career ecologists. norrislab.ca/opportunities/

The reintroduction of the mottled duskywing to Pinery Provincial Park, led by @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @integrativebiology.bsky.social, is the first successful butterfly reintroduction in Ontario. 🦋 The team’s findings could shape future reintroduction efforts. 🗞️ www.uoguelph.ca/cbs/news/202...

#UofG | Ecologist Dr. Ryan Norris spoke to CBC News about research that found millions of birds are killed by cats each year. @uofgcbs.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

The Bowdoin Scientific Station's 2025 Annual Report has just been published. It's a colourful and vivid depiction of one of the finest biology stations I've had the pleasure to work at. Check it out: indd.adobe.com/view/edcf4d1... @bowdoincollege.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Ryan @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and I are featured on page 25, not for our scientific accomplishments, but for our outstanding distraction techniques during an intense game of Koob.

I just returned from Cornell's Lab of O where I processed 1170 Savannah Sparrows for paternity analysis! I had so much fun learning new techniques and meeting the outstanding people at the Lab of O. Now I can't wait to see who the fathers are! @dmennill.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

"Bioacoustics infrastructure for innovative field studies of ecology and conservation of migratory birds." Thank you, Canada Foundation for Innovation & Ontario Research Fund, for supporting our grant application for new #bioacoustics equipment! With S. Doucet & R. Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social.

Inter-brood interval affects offspring survival and fitness, and reflects timing of breeding and female quality. Our new paper on inter-brood interval appears in the new issue of Ibis, led by Hayley Spina and our collaborative Savannah Sparrow research team. @bou.org.uk @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

Thank you, Nature Guelph, for the invitation to speak about our research on acoustic monitoring of bird migration. It was great to join such an engaged and excited group of birders for the evening.

Birds & Beers V was a big success! Thanks to all who participated, including student poster & club presenters, speakers Oliver Love & Ryan Norris, Nelsy Niño for screening "Mingoya", Natalie Emerick for emceeing, community partners for joining us, and Vortex Canada & Whiskeyjack Boutique for prizes.

How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a... @gowelizabeth.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social 1/6

Double brooding improves lifetime fitness. Our paper "Multigenerational fitness outcomes of double-brooding: a 30-year study of a migratory songbird" appears in the latest Behavioral Ecology: tinyurl.com/3hsyd42m. By @hayleyspina.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and our collaborative team.

I launched our latest Motus Audio recorder just outside Algonquin Park, with a generous assist from Motus collaborator @ryannorrissci.bsky.social. Let's see how many sparrows and thrushes are still on-the-move in mid-October.

I stopped at Henrietta's Pine Bakery in Dwight for Thanksgiving treats. Technically I'm always at Henrietta's, ever since the Google Street View Car captured me here three years ago. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

POV: You’re visiting someone who REALLY likes Canada Jays for Thanksgiving weekend. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

PhD position available to study the migration ecology and year-round demography of blackpoll warblers.

Why do only some Savannah sparrows raise 2 broods in a single season?🪶 Research by Dr. Hayley Spina @integrativebiology.bsky.social shows that levels of a hormone linked to energy use during demanding times may reveal which females are more likely to double-brood 🗞️ www.uoguelph.ca/cbs/news/202...

You know, there is this thing in science where evidence accumulates to such a degree that it becomes accepted as fact. Way to go Ross McKitrick from @uofguelph.bsky.social. Proud to have you on board. www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...

Our lab had a fantastic time at the Soc. Cnd. Ornithologists meeting in Saskatoon last week! Thanks to @sco-soc-2025.bsky.social and the organizers. And congrats to Jelany Duali for winning best student talk! #ornithology #CanadaBirds @passarahformes.bsky.social @jonathanjojochu.bsky.social

Today at the Society of Canadian Ornithologists meeting in Saskatoon: - Jelany Duali and Sarah Mueller, our Guelph collaborators, will present research on sparrow behaviour - I will join the Motus roundtable to discuss progress with Motus Audio @sco-soc-2025.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

Our new paper published today in Current Biology shows that immediate international cooperation is needed to conserve the eastern North American monarch butterfly. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Ha! Love this, Tess!!! Tell us the final poll numbers please….and also when the paper is out.

We've just won two grants! Both are under embargo, but some exciting plans will now come to fruition for bioacoustic studies of wild birds and whales in Canada and beyond. With my awesome collaborators @jaclynaubin.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and S. Doucet.

It's a wrap for our 2025 Savannah Sparrow bioacoustic field studies. Thanks to our sparrow collaborators and the Bowdoin Scientific Station for a great field season in the Bay of Fundy. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @sdobney.bsky.social

Portraits of Savannah Sparrows on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada.

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.

Farewell Kent Island! With an A+ Savannah Sparrow team I helped record songs of 34 males, find 36 nests, and colour band 29 adults & 18 nestlings! More to come as the season finishes. Sad to leave, but thankful to be part of this [email protected] @ryannorrissci.bsky.social #ornithology

I see the @dmennill.bsky.social hammer and the post-hammer but where is the pre-hammer? Maybe @liamtaylor.bsky.social knows??

Today I launched my final Song Meter recordings of the 2025 Kent Island field season. I’m loath to admit that our field expedition is nearing its end.

Herring Gulls are now hatching on Kent Island. This makes our Savannah Sparrow research more treacherous; giant gulls dive-bomb us when we step anywhere near their offspring. #GullOfTheDay #TerrorizedSavannahSparrowResearchers @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @liamtaylor.bsky.social

I wonder if something has been beating up on the Kent Island gulls? This one looks like it had a rough night. Now that he’s here, maybe @liamtaylor.bsky.social knows? #GullOfTheDay

This Gull was hanging out at the singles area on Kent Island. I'm flummoxed on this one. Maybe @liamtaylor.bsky.social can offer some advice! #GullOfTheDay

A special #GullOfTheDay in honour of @liamtaylor.bsky.social's arrival at Bowdoin Scientific Station for the 2025 field season. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

Biologists in the fog. Bowdoin Scientific Station, Kent Island, New Brunswick. #PreyForFog @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @sdobney.bsky.social

Nesting is progressing nicely on Kent Island. We already have one Savannah Sparrow nest with nestlings! These tiny babies will be ready to leave the nest in just 7 more days! @dmennill.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social