"Flying crosswinds slowed them down, but helped facilitate navigation and prey detection through smell.” #seabirds

Non-breeding birds form a large proportion of #seabird populations, yet they are often overlooked in research & difficult to account for in environmental assessments. A new #OWSMRF report highlights why this matters & how we can close evidence gaps 👇 jncc.gov.uk/news/new-rep... 🧵

Colony managers know it The literature ignores it! Many seabirds are young - juvenile, immature, subadult, prebreeder - and we know v little about them! Here's our paper on why you should care about young seabirds for conservation! W/ @ejgnam2.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/fee....

Worrying news from Mousa in #Shetland with sightings of rat on the island. #Mousa is home to the largest population of European Storm Petrel in the UK, a sparrow sized ground nesting #seabird particularly vulnerable to invasive predators. @rspbscotland.bsky.social www.shetnews.co.uk/2026/04/30/w...

Our new research shows that HPAI increased Northern Gannet mortality by a factor of ~6 and ~4 at two of the world’s largest colonies. We predict this impact will take almost two decades to recover from. #biologicalconservation #seabirds #hpai Full paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111887

Newest paper just out, led by PhD student Nick James: Foraging under changing winds: behavioural responses of the black noddy Anous minutus. As you might expect, small tropical #seabirds are highly sensitive to wind speed and direction when undertaking #foraging trips. doi.org/10.3354/meps...

🥳 New paper alert 🥳 The first of the data chapters from my DPhil, and the works from my first few field seasons on Skomer, is out! "Shearwaters make efficient navigational decisions, even at very fine scales" - doi.org/10.1242/jeb.... A huge thank you to everyone involved 🩵

New research gives insight into European Storm-petrel movements and behaviour at sea. Read on for a summary Full paper: doi.org/10.3354/meps... @one-cardiffuni.bsky.social @robthomasbirds.bsky.social @meps-ir.bsky.social 🧪 🌎️ 🪶 #seabirds

Correlation bw HPAI anitbodies + iris changes in gannets. Here, uveitis in 77% of affected birds - melanin deposition and disorganisation, including loss of a distinct anterior layer of melanocytic cells and hypertrophy of melanocytes within the iris stroma 👉 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Protection of #seabirds was also strengthened at #CMSCOP15 by listing on CMS Appendices of 23 species of gadfly petrels, the most threatened group of marine birds after Albatrosses, plus Flesh-footed Shearwater, as well as Concerted Actions agreed for the latter & Antipodean Albatross. #birds 4/12

Duckling season has begun, and DucklingWatch is back for another year! Please submit your mallard brood sightings in GB to citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch and share this post to spread the word 🦆

We’re pleased to announce the release of the 2024 Seabird Monitoring Programme report, in partnership with JNCC, in association with the RSPB. Click here to read the report: www.bto.org/our-work/sci... Read on for key findings ⬇️ #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

Delighted to see our paper out today in Proceedings B @royalsocietypublishing.org! We investigated how kittiwakes adapt their activity patterns across latitudes in response to the changing day-night cycle ☀️🌃 In short - we find that Arctic kittiwakes don't have bedtimes.. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... 🧵1/4

📢 #Postdoc in #seabird #demography Capture-recapture, IPMs and PVA. Analyses underway - great stage to join the project. Hybrid/remote possible. Apply: bit.ly/3P3yAM1 Please share widely, informal email enquiries welcome @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @worldseabirdunion.bsky.social

26 kinds of gadfly petrels are being proposed for listing under CMS at #CMSCOP15. These birds are already threatened or near threatened, they move across 64 countries & territories and face serious pressures both on land and at sea. Read the proposal in EN, SP or FR: www.cms.int/document/302...

I’m fascinated by Black-winged petrels. On Phillip Is, off Norfolk, they over-fly all day with concentrations near sunset. 1,000s of birds into the distance, calling and chasing. In 1967, the 1st nests were discovered. 60 years of unimpeded population growth. Over 20,000 pairs. Just inspiring.

Puffins from the Shiant Isles are having a tough winter of it with an almost unprecedented 'wreck' on European coasts.

Bonnet-Lebrun et al. Post-breeding season behaviour of a threatened population of subtropical brown skuas link.springer.com/article/10.1... #ornithology #seabirds #teamskua

New paper: Most birds use day–night cycles to time activity - but how do Arctic birds cope with nonstop summer light? Male snow buntings keep a daily rhythm year-round, though it weakens during spring migration as flights are scheduled more flexibly ➡️ vist.ly/4rfdw #ornithology #birds 🪶

In this work led by Josh Wilson, we labelled 4824 drone-based images containing 49990 birds from 101 species and trained a bird detection and ID model. The model achieved precision = 0.91 for detection & 0.65 for species/age/sex classification. zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A lovely article about our research on Gannets featuring interviews with #seabirders @heyjooode.bsky.social and @sue-lewis.bsky.social #ornithology

How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

Honoured to appear among these amazing women scientists for #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience Check out the variety of work we get up to 👇 And the best thing? There are many more women scientists working for @rspbscience.bsky.social who are also doing incredible things! 👏 #WomenInScience

Kirsty Franklin – Seabird ecologist Last summer I led an all-female field team on Mousa, Shetland. We had been up all night waiting for our tagged bird to return, and at the end of a successful night, we were rewarded with a spectacular Aurora Borealis!

This #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience meet just six of the inspiring women in our Conservation Science department and hear about some of their most memorable moments at the RSPB 🧪 Read the full story here: www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...

Using data from the International Swan Census, the Goose and Swan Monitoring Programme, and recent GPS-tracking, this paper examines the subset of the Iceland/UK & Ireland population that winters at the Ouse Washes britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...

We're looking for volunteers to join us on Mousa, Shetland this July! 🌊⛺🔊 Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to know more. And perhaps worth looking into @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social's 2026 Training Grants if you need financial support: www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/grants 🔗

Thrilled to share my first PhD publication - gannets put more effort into diving when they are in groups 🐟🐟🐟 Out now in @meps-ir.bsky.social www.int-res.com/abstracts/me... +Thanks to my coauthors who put a lot of effort into collecting the videos! #seabirds #ornithology #animalbehaviour

#Seabird Journal issue #37 is complete and has been sent out to those who requested a physical copy 😊 Remember to check your mailboxes! It is also available to read online here ➡️ www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/seabird-37 #science #seabirds

✨New paper!✨ An individual‐based model to quantify the non‐breeding season impact of wind farms on #seabirds doi.org/10.1002/2688... @ninanatureresearch.bsky.social @seatrackscience.bsky.social @signecd.bsky.social @masden.bsky.social

I am very happy to announce that my first PhD paper has been published today at the Journal of Animal Ecology!!! It is on how three penguin species have been shifting their breeding times in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic in response to climate change. They are the fastest birds in doing so!

Join our Marine Team on an expedition to track the Leach's Petrel 🪶 These birds can travel over 2000km during a single foraging trip, but are only the size of a starling! Watch the full film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrXB... All birds were caught and handled under licence by RSPB staff

Happy to share our new paper published in @cp-iscience.bsky.social We deployed 300+ multi-sensor loggers across 17 species to investigate how different species adapt their flight strategies when crossing deserts and marine areas during migration. tinyurl.com/2c8y8xvf #ornithology #birds

Seabird Group Training Grants are open 🐧⛺🌃 We offer up to £250 to help with travel, accommodation or food during #seabird fieldwork or training! We are encouraging applicants from BAME backgrounds, but all are welcome to apply 📋 For all the info ➡️ www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/grant Deadline: 28 Feb

2026 Training Grants are now open! 📢🕊️ Are you: 📏 Hoping to gain experience with #seabirds via unpaid work? 🧑 From a BAME background? (though others may apply too) 💸 A grant of up to £250 could help! (to cover travel, accommodation or food) Info: www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/grant Apply by 28 Feb 💌

We are looking to hire a Seabird Field Assistant for 2026 for our Manx Shearwater research project. Please share this to anyone who'd like to get out in the field this summer and learn about biotelemetry, bird handling and research into animal behaviour. drive.google.com/file/d/1SGZt...

New Year, new job. Come and join the @ukceh.bsky.social team on the Isle of May ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/CEH_Ca...

Keynote nominations are now open for the BOU 2027 Spring Conference on Avian Disease Ecology! Submit via the conference webpage: bou.org.uk/event/avian-... Also thrilled to announce that Prof. Dana Hawley (@danahawley.bsky.social) will deliver the Alfred Newton Lecture. Please share!

How does chick-rearing affect fledging success in Yelkouan shearwaters? Proxies for diet varied between colonies, while fledglings grounded on first flight were more likely to have been poorly fed. Published in Marine Biology: doi.org/10.1007/s002... Funding by @dornitholges.bsky.social and EU LIFE

Seasonal field staff needed for @rspbscience.bsky.social projects in 2026 - advert live, closing date 11 Jan. Lots of #seabird (& non-seabird) opportunities! Get in touch if you’d like to know more about any of the #seabird roles 🌊🐦 app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car... #seabirds #ornithology

Last month our Conservation Science dept. conference returned! -131 attendees -32 talks -18 posters -9 workshops -1 winning quiz team We heard about biosecurity, breeding waders, biodiversity monitoring, seabird tracking and more. Look out for some exciting papers in 2026...

Can GPS tracking reveal how #seabirds make use of tidal mixing fronts when foraging? 🧪 New research shows a bird’s use of ocean fronts may relate to its regular foraging areas Read on for more Or read the full paper: doi.org/10.1007/s002... @ellingbry.bsky.social

A great opportunity for anyone in a marine or conservation MSc! Work with some wonderful birds, (and wonderful folks) I got to call colleagues this year 🐧 (The project timeline would fit wonderfully with a taught MSc) @exetermarine.bsky.social @exetergses.bsky.social @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk

GREAT NEWS in #conservation: the government of New Zealand has announced that they will include feral cats in their PredatorFree 2050 strategy, aiming to benefit #seabirds and landbirds across NZ by removing feral cats:

Studying for an MSc this year & looking for a #seabird research project? We're looking for a student to help investigate the factors that influence #StormPetrel response rates during playback surveys. 🔊🐣 🔗Do get in touch if you have any Qs: www.rspb.org.uk/helping-natu... #seabirds #ornithology

Another piece of research from team #Shag on Sklinna. Strongly recommended for all researchers working with #biologging data

🌊Investigating where Swinhoe's Storm-petrels go across the north-western Pacific and Indian Oceans 🛰️Insights from geolocators recovered from four birds: doi.org/10.1017/S095... #BirdConservation #Ornithology #Conservation #Research #Swinhoe's #stormpetrel #seabird #tracking #migration

Want to see our conservation scientists in action? Join them on an expedition to North Rona and the Flannan Isles where this summer they were surveying Leach's Petrel populations 🧪🌍🪶 Watch the film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEQm...

Nominations for #WSC4 Keynote Speakers are open! ✨🌊 Early-career voices encouraged! 📍WSC4 In-person & Hybrid: 7–11 Sept 2026, Hobart, Tasmania 🔗 bit.ly/3Jv71c9 #seabirds #ornithology

My first PhD paper is now out! We calculate overlap intensity between African penguins and the local purse seine fishery 🐧🐟 Check it out in @jappliedecology.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...