Nice to welcome my new DPhil students with an evening at St Hugh’s College. Welcome Gayatri Kumar, @smthmpsn.bsky.social and @ghtrabin.bsky.social. The White Stork was not part of the formal evening, but I was pleased to see it and grab a photo earlier in the week.

My first go at a pigeon release. Just 10 mins and they’ll be back home. I like to tell myself they won’t take off unless I give them a verbal instruction. The jury’s still out on whether or not that’s true… Thanks @ghtrabin.bsky.social for showing me the ropes!

Welcome @smthmpsn.bsky.social, both to BlueSky and to starting your PhD at Oxford! Sam will be studying how birds in flocks respond to objects in their flight paths.