Do you know someone who does outstanding work on avian pop modelling & forecasting? Or who works at interface of avian conservation and decision making given uncertain futures? Submit a keynote nomination for the BOU conference Avian Futures here: bou.org.uk/event/avian-... . Deadline is next week!

Looking forward to this afternoon’s talk from Prof Nico Smit on the importance of parasite conservation #ICPOW2025

Very much looking forward to this!

New paper in #BirdStudy Field plots scattered with a supplementary seed in summer attracted Turtle Doves with only a low risk of Trichomonas exposure. Good evidence helping to ensure safe actions for supporting Turtle Dove recovery. doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology #ukbirding

Wonderful to have all my lovely lab group in the same place for two weeks at the @wimanet.bsky.social summer school and workshop 😊. Last evening exploring Vilnius before flying home tomorrow.

Wonderful to have all my lovely lab group in the same place for two weeks at the @wimanet.bsky.social summer school and workshop 😊. Last evening exploring Vilnius before flying home tomorrow.

From the 25th to the 28th of August we enjoy the second #Workshop of #WIMANET!

Ever heard of parasite conservation and thought "Why on earth would we want to do that 😱"?! Read our new paper to find out... We cover key questions including: Why conserve parasites? How do you conserve parasites? & What parasite conservation is already happening? doi.org/10.1111/cobi... [1/3]

After a morning discussing wildlife malaria communities and an interview with Lithuanian TV (!) at lunchtime, it’s nice to have an afternoon off, exploring Vilnius city and University (and it’s stopped raining 😊)

Great to hear so much about results from @wimanet.bsky.social funded short term scientific missions during this workshop! Next up Alexandra Corduneanu talking about bat haemosporidian-microbiome interactions

Day 2 of the @wimanet.bsky.social workshop starts with @olofhellgren.bsky.social giving us some fascinating insights into within-infection genetic diversity

Another proud supervisor moment! Claudio Navarette presenting early results from the first year of his PhD studies on using ecological data to gain insights into morphological and molecular characterisation of Leucocytozoon parasites

Proud supervisor moment! Misa Shimizu presenting her PhD research at the @wimanet.bsky.social workshop, on the challenges of identifying Haemoproteus parasites in vultures

Soon we’ll be starting the second session of the @wimanet.bsky.social workshop at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius. We’ll be considering molecular and morphological characterisation of wildlife malaria!

After a wonderful week, the @wimanet.bsky.social summer school has come to an end. Huge thanks to the local organisers and everyone involved! Next week, the second workshop!

Obligatory lab group photo - I think the first time all four of us have been in the same place at the same time!

Obligatory lab group photo - I think the first time all four of us have been in the same place at the same time!

After a wonderful week, the @wimanet.bsky.social summer school has come to an end. Huge thanks to the local organisers and everyone involved! Next week, the second workshop!

WELCOME TO WIMANET!! 🐦🐒🦎🦟🦠 This COST Action investigates haemosporidian parasites in natural populations, providing opportunities for training, collaboration and knowledge exchange to foster an interdisciplinary approach. You can read more in this thread and here 👇 www.cost.eu/actions/CA22...

Hurrah - WIMANET is now on BlueSky! Follow them! 😃

Some interesting slide images from today’s #WIMANET workshop microscopy - including a new species of Haemoproteus identified in yellow-crowned gonoleks from our #KBO Gambia collaboration!

Looking forward to learning about the morphological identification of haemosporidians this morning after a day of haematology yesterday!

Very much looking forward to being a student for a week and learning about morphological species identification of haemosporidian parasites at the #wildlifemalarianetwork #WIMANET second summer school!

Very much looking forward to being a student for a week and learning about morphological species identification of haemosporidian parasites at the #wildlifemalarianetwork #WIMANET second summer school!

New paper: rdcu.be/eyR0w Great to see this one out, concerning findings but a lot more to understand about the ecology and transmission of AMR bacteria in wild bird populations and at bird feeders #ornithology 🧪

New paper: rdcu.be/eyR0w Great to see this one out, concerning findings but a lot more to understand about the ecology and transmission of AMR bacteria in wild bird populations and at bird feeders #ornithology 🧪

🦠 SAVE THE DATE! 🦜 I'm excited to announce that the theme of the 2027 BOU conference is Avian Disease Ecology! 📍 Nottingham, UK 📅 6–8 April 2027 🔗 Full details: lnkd.in/gPvFFDJe Please share widely! #BOU2027 #Ornithology #WildlifeDisease #AvianDisease #EcoHealth

I passed my DPhil viva on Monday with minor corrections. Thank you to my examiners @jennycdunn.bsky.social and Sonya Clegg of @egioxford.bsky.social , and my supervisors @sheldonbirds.bsky.social and Adrian Smith of @biology.ox.ac.uk, and everyone else who has contributed...1/5

L312 hatched in May 2023 at the Brayford and was then ringed on 02/08/2023. Since leaving the Brayford he hasn't been sighted until today he was sighted with 12 other swans at Middlemarsh Farm! Photo Credit: Lincoln Swan Project Data Collector

The Release of Non-Native Gamebirds Is Associated With Amplified Zoonotic Disease Risk | doi.org/10.1111/ele.... | Ecology Letters | #ornithology 🪶 🧪

Emile Michels' first PhD paper published today. Amplification of Borrelia in ticks at pheasant-release sites – an intriguing example how non-native species can increase zoonotic disease risk through spillback. @uniexecec.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

FULLY-FUNDED residential insect ID and field surveying summer school, organised by @oxfordconted.bsky.social, @morethanadodo.bsky.social and @biology.ox.ac.uk, for PhD students or early career researchers. 📅14-18 July 2025 Apply by 9 May: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/inse... 🧪 🌍 #academicsky 🐝

Lovely film about Tim Birkhead's long-term study of Guillemots on Skomer. More than half a century of study of this population: this kind of continuity critical for understanding vitality of these important populations. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... vimeo.com/1063680641/2...

⚠️ Please report all sightings of dead birds for possible testing for Avian Influenza. #UKBirding 📌In England, Wales & Scotland: www.gov.uk/guidance/rep... 📌In Northern Ireland: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/services/dae... 📌In Republic of Ireland: aviancheck.apps.services.agriculture.gov.ie/report

Delighted to share our new pre-proof "Do specialist haemoparasites induce tolerance in their hosts?" published in Parasitology. Really nice undergraduate project work by Cameron that we then followed up in more detail. Still more to be done!! doi.org/10.1017/S003...

Delighted to share our new pre-proof "Do specialist haemoparasites induce tolerance in their hosts?" published in Parasitology. Really nice undergraduate project work by Cameron that we then followed up in more detail. Still more to be done!! doi.org/10.1017/S003...

Rubbish photo, but a red kite over Leeds city centre! Things have changed since I was last here!

🦋 Nominations are now open for fellows to contribute to the second IPBES global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services. ⏰ Interested early-career individuals with academic and/or professional experience in relevant fields are invited to apply by 28 March 2025.

Want to work in another country? The HFSP postdoc fellowship supports proposals for frontier, potentially transformative research in the life sciences and cross-disciplinary. high-risk projects are encouraged LOI opens March 13, 2025 #neuroskyence #academicsky 🧪🧠🪰🌱🧬 www.hfsp.org/funding/hfsp...

Home to two accepted manuscripts in @IntegrativeZool and @JnlParasitology! Clearly I should go away more often... 😀

A huge thanks to the team at ⁦‪@kartongbirdobs‬⁩ for making us feel so welcome over the past fortnight, for their boundless enthusiasm and for catching so many varied and fascinating bird species. A total of 601 birds sampled for our haemosporodian project! Now to the lab… 😊

A huge thanks to the team at ⁦‪@kartongbirdobs‬⁩ for making us feel so welcome over the past fortnight, for their boundless enthusiasm and for catching so many varied and fascinating bird species. A total of 601 birds sampled for our haemosporodian project! Now to the lab… 😊

Brief visit with PhD student Misa Shimizu to the MRC in The Gambia before flying home tomorrow with our extremely unexpected 604 samples (we were aiming for an optimistic 400 and ran out of slides!). Fabulous trip. I’ll be back!!

Very lucky to be spending two weeks in The Gambia working with @kartongbirdobs, continuing our collaboration on blood parasite infections in resident birds. Amazing team, fantastic birds including this Senegal Coucal. Lots of fun science to come!

Applications are now open - contact the email address at the bottom of the poster for more details! Closing date 10th March, if not already a #WIMANET member you will need to join in order to attend

Hey #WildlifeDisease & #conservation folk, please check out our survey on attitudes to parasite conservation. Are parasites important for biodiversity, would you remove them to protect host welfare, or something more nuanced? We want to hear all views to improve guidance for practitioners 🪱🧪🌍🧵1/n

New paper! Out now in #Parasitology, open access: doi.org/10.1017/S003... Paper led by former MBio student Ellie Lebeau - congratulations Ellie! #ornithology #wildlifemalaria

New paper! Out now in #Parasitology, open access: doi.org/10.1017/S003... Paper led by former MBio student Ellie Lebeau - congratulations Ellie! #ornithology #wildlifemalaria

New paper!! First paper from @lincolnswans.bsky.social validating data from our amazing Lincoln Swan Project community scientists available open access here: rdcu.be/d63kG. Great also to have five undergraduate students as co-authors - all worked with the swans for projects or summer internships 😊

New paper!! First paper from @lincolnswans.bsky.social validating data from our amazing Lincoln Swan Project community scientists available open access here: rdcu.be/d63kG. Great also to have five undergraduate students as co-authors - all worked with the swans for projects or summer internships 😊