What could be better than watching a family of ducklings while gathering valuable scientific data? Hannah Coburn from @universityofessex.bsky.social is leading DucklingWatch, a citizen science project which aims to tells us more about the UK's mallard population.. Find out more 🦆 buff.ly/f0uZmBq

Mary Colwell and Prof Jenny Gill explore gender bias in fieldwork in our latest blog. Read it now: www.curlewaction.org/the-joke-tha...

The deadline to apply to this funded PhD looking at Climate, Land use and Protected Area effects on Migratory Waterbirds is fast approaching! Please do apply/share with your networks. www.essex.ac.uk/postgraduate... @ecoevoenviro.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @universityofessex.bsky.social

DucklingWatch The DucklingWatch citizen science project, led by Hannah Coburn at the University of Essex, returns for its second year. Submitting your records of Mallard ducklings will help improve understanding of duckling survival rates and drivers of population trends.

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 🦆

Two waterbird PhDs starting Oct 2026 - one is rooted in ecological data science asks how and why waterbirds use landscapes the way they do (tinyurl.com/3wx3huht) the other rooted in sociology seeks to understand the social licence of bird hunting (tinyurl.com/4u2r34wc) - please share widely 🦆🦆

Great few days at #BES2025. Lovely to be back in Edinburgh and catch up with so many people, and nice to get the chance to share some results from #DucklingWatch

We are all implicated in this UK-backed genocide & ecocide, against our wishes. We must all stand up for the better world we wish to enjoy and share. #N4P #Naturalists4Palestine 🧵

A huge thanks to everyone involved in #DucklingWatch this year - we received over 950 brood records from across Britain. See our end of season report at www.essex.ac.uk/research-projects/ducklingwatch for more info. DucklingWatch will return in 2026 - stay tuned!

Had a great few days at #BESMove2025 - lots of interesting talks and nice to get a chance to share some of my tagging results 🦆

Very excited to be in Kristianstad for a week of ducks #PEDS7 🇸🇪🦆

Out last week - our #evidence review and assessment for @jncc.bsky.social of the #data and methods for assessing #sustainability of wild waterbird #harvest from recreational #hunting in the United Kingdom #wildlife #people led by @jomadden.bsky.social with Matt Ellis & myself #ecology #policy

Some sketches I did of a few of the mallards I have ringed/tagged for a department art exhibition last week #SciArt #BirdArt

Since 7 October 2023 an average of 27 children have been killed in Gaza by Israel every single day. A whole classroom of children wiped out everyday by a genocidal regime, even while queuing for food and water. And still the UK government sells them weapons. Shame on them.

PJ topped off a long hot day - she is the mother to three teens - at least this year #Essexducks @universityofessex.bsky.social #campus

Nice story from one of our campus mallards. I ringed JI last Sept and she began nesting in a plant pot on campus in early May. The clutch hatched at the end of May but there was no sign of her brood - until yesterday when I saw JI on the Colne (1km from campus) with 3 ducklings

Big thanks to everyone who’s participated to #DucklingWatch for helping us reach 500 records! Please keep sharing and submitting your sightings at citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch 🦆 #birdingUK🪶 #citizenscience

DUCKS: by this time of spring most ducks will have settled at potential breeding sites. So all records of scarce & rare breeding ducks, including Shoveler, Wigeon, Garganey, Pintail, Pochard and Red-breasted Merganser, should be submitted, with breeding evidence, to the relevant county recorder

Duckling season is finally picking up, with new broods appearing every day. Please keep submitting your brood sightings to #DucklingWatch! Submit at citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch #birds #birdingUK #ducklings #mallard

Where do mallards nest? Some nest in woods, including our tagged hen “BJ” whose nest we found today, predated but still gives us data on nesting outcomes & habitat 🦆🪺 Thanks to @ecoevoenviro.bsky.social & Mia for their help! A successful afternoon topped off by a red-footed falcon at Abberton

STATEMENT: 'Not In Our Name: Feminist Academics and Educators Speak Out Against Transphobia' Read the statement online here: tinyurl.com/mud7va29 Co-sign the statement, fill in this form: forms.gle/oDYgnobrMiSc...

We have campus ducklings! 11 in the brood, probably just a day old. Don’t forget to tell us about the ducklings you see at citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch #DucklingWatch #birdinguk

“The genocide we are witnessing today, is something that I recognize from my own experience as a Holocaust survivor… What is happening today in Gaza is an extreme form of repeat genocide, a holocaust in our own time, in front of our eyes.” — Stephen Kapos

Using 40 years of data from Svalbard, our latest study shows that early break-up of sea ice due to #globalwarming contributes to making some of the islands safer for common eider ducks to breed, as Arctic foxes cannot reach them. seapop.no/en/2025/04/s...

tinyurl.com/UoATransphobia ☝️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 im sure many of you are aware of hostility towards #trans staff & students in my department myself & other ECRs have published a desperate call for action on #transphobia from departmental and university management please read, share and SIGN IN SOLIDARITY ❤️

One of the two intersex mallards currently on the campus lakes! This occurs when a female duck begins to develop male plumage in response to loss of ovary function.

PhD AVAILABLE on #Wildlife #harvest and #management policy in the UK - studentship only for Home/UK resident status candidates - Life and social sciences collaboration - deadline 28th May 2025 - get in touch #birds #people #policy tinyurl.com/3vxkzad9

DucklingWatch, a project examining Mallard duckling survival rates in the UK, has launched – and birders are being encouraged to help out:

Duckling season is now well under way, so please keep the brood records coming! Get involved at citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch

1/⚠️ Blackbirds are in trouble & we need your help! Threatened by the Usutu virus, we need you to submit your garden Blackbird sightings so scientists can better understand the virus’ spread & potential impacts on these songbirds. 🌍 Sign up ➡️ www.bto.org/blackbirds #UKBirding #Ornithology

Bit of a new experience for me yesterday - had the opportunity to speak to ITV Anglia about #DucklingWatch

A great week so far @universityofessex.bsky.social Mallard breeding #ecology project, today joined by #Animal #Behaviour researcher and former @wwtworldwide.bsky.social #volunteer @kareemahchopra.bsky.social - spring sunshine and ducks with @hannahecoburn.bsky.social

The nesting season has begun! One of our campus mallards has made herself comfortable in a flowerbed @universityofessex.bsky.social

Who can complain with glorifying days and gorgeous drake Mallards - no hens today (handled and ringed under licence) with @hannahecoburn.bsky.social @universityofessex.bsky.social

🦆Citizen science opportunity🦆 If you can monitor Mallard ducklings during the next few months, why not help in this University of Essex project to understand what drives changes in their populations, by entering your sightings at the link below👇 citsci.org/projects/duc... #CitSci

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!

Happy International Women's Day! Despite the efforts, while much more women enter scientific fields, due to numerous factors, few manage to remain in the field or secure senior positions. Support your coworkers, call out harmful systemic behaviour. 😘

Great week at Abberton - two more mallards tagged for my PhD fieldwork and some teal in the traps as an added bonus

We're getting some cracking photo submissions to the Gulls Eating Stuff project! Here are a few showing gulls predating a coot chick, a vole, a mole (!) and a GBBG that has just killed an adult moorhen. Keep 'em coming! Submit your photos of gulls eating stuff to citsci.org/projects/gul....

A great day with @hannahecoburn.bsky.social at Abberton Reservoir Nature Reserve - our outdoor lab for the study of waterfowl - nice to catch up with some teal and a recatch resident drake Mallard 🦆😍 #ducks

Good start to the fieldwork season this week - deployed my first tag of the year today which will help me explore the breeding outcomes of mallards 🦆

Starting to hear reports of Avian Influenza hitting Whooper Swans. Please report all sightings of dead birds for possible testing. In 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 & 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 contact DefraGovUK, in N Ireland Daera & in Republic of Ireland Dept of agriculture. Please also report to @birdtrack.bsky.social for monitoring

1/ We’d like to shine a spotlight on some of the incredible BTO #WomenInScience who work to save nature. Check out some of their research. ⬇️ 🌍 🧪 📷 Senior Research Ecologist @samanthafranks.bsky.social releasing a headstarted Curlew as part of her work for the Curlew Recovery Project. #Ornithology

Wetlands are vitally important for waterbirds. 🦢 Research involving BTO suggests that the management of protected areas in Europe can aid wintering #waterbirds species in shifting their ranges north as the climate warms. 🌍 Read more ➡️ bit.ly/ResearchWater...#waterbirds#WorldWetlandsDay #Ornithology

Off to London today with @britishecolsoc.bsky.social #England #Policy training in #Urban #Ecology where @hannahecoburn.bsky.social presenting our work on Mallards - Inc Urban Citizen science in #Colchester (credit, Reddit)

Please report all sightings of dead birds for possible testing for Avian Influenza. 📌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 #Ornithology #UKBirding

1/ Great news! 🎉BTO, JNCC and RSPB are making decades of Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data freely available for everyone in the conservation and research community. This includes over 7 million records! 📝 Find out more ⬇️ or read the paper➡️ bit.ly/_BBSData #Ornithology #UKBirding

Very nice surprise finding several hawfinches on the Essex Uni campus earlier (a lifer for me!) @essexbirdnews.bsky.social

Had an amazing time at #BES2024. Met lots of great people and heard about lots of cool research. Lovely to bump into so many familiar faces from my Edinburgh days

Missed my talk at #BES2024? Here’s a summary. 1/6