The gardens of St Hugh’s College looking lovely as always! @sthughscollege.bsky.social

If you are interested in learning to identify the UKs ground beetles there are free guides to download on my website johnwalters.co.uk/publications...

We have a full time permanent technician position open, specialising in fish. Based at the John Krebs Field Station out at Wytham (University of Oxford). @biology.ox.ac.uk my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Our new paper is out in @jexpbiol.bsky.social - about metabolic acclimation to captivity in mole rats (photo by D Kleynhans). You can read it here - journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/.... Males and females respond differently to captivity!

The Heather Bagworm Pachythelia villosella larva in its 3 cm long case. Rare in UK on heathland in Hampshire & Dorset. When climbing it has the amazing ability to construct a silk ladder! It will pupate on a tree trunk so probably uses this ability to find a suitable spot. Thanks to Lucie Aggas.

Your Monday bird read: This story from Scientific American features WOS member Kyle Horton. #ornithology

A new study found 5,000+ records of #non-native #turtles and #frogs across Central Europe, with urban areas as hotspots. Several species, including pond sliders and snapping turtles, pose a high invasion risk, driven largely by the pet trade. Read more here: doi.org/10.3897/neob... #herpetofauna

Feathers and flu: identifying data gaps in avian influenza host dynamics to prioritize wildlife conservation #ornithology wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Lund University is hiring for 9 new positions! Individual job details below!👇 #ScienceJobs

Cool new preprint led by Martins Briedis: Eurasian wrynecks from Germany use very different migration strategies (from S Europe to sub-Saharan Africa). Multi-sensor logger data show long migration trips are costly, but warming winters may soon favor staying in S Europe doi.org/10.64898/202...

If you have a BBSRC Early Independence Fellowship outline in, check your inbox. Please give professional services teams a few days to design demand management processes as we're finding out the same time as you. The outlines per institute data provided is super interesting; 15 awards available 👀👀👀👀

#FossilFriday The sail-backed herbivorous synapsid Edaphosaurus @ummnh.bsky.social

Essex man charged with various offences relating to illegal theft/trade of wild birds' eggs. NB: Comments turned off as legal proceedings are live ⚖️ #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #OperationPulka raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/05/15/e...

An excellent opportunity to join in with research on hedgerows in general, and hawthorn in particular: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/news/volunte...

Exciting postdoc opportunity on, wheatear genomics with Tomas Pärt and others in Uppsala! www.slu.se/en/about-slu...

Behavioral plasticity enables individuals to respond rapidly to changing environments. This study uses simulations to investigate the consequences of behavioral plasticity for the pace and trajectory of evolutionary responses to environmental change. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Burrows dug by animals provide shelter in harsh environments, but who uses them and how they are found remains poorly understood. In a field study of desert rodents, this #RSOS paper examined how different species use gerbil burrows and what cues guide them: doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

Oxford Swift City is looking for volunteers in their bird era to help survey swifts across the city this summer. Swifts are famous for their high-speed flights and distinctive “screaming parties” at dusk, but like many bird species, their numbers have declined rapidly in recent years.

📢 APPLY NOW For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants Funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference Low-carbon travel encouraged ⏰ Deadline: 29 May 2026 🪶 bou.org.uk/funding/m...

Join the Wildlife Health team at the Royal Veterinary College as a Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation/Ecology. We're looking for a new colleague to join our group with interests in wildlife, conservation, ecology, one health and related fields. Deadline: 29th May jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

Last chance to apply to be our Biological Data Manager! Visit www.bto.org/jobs to submit your application! 📆 Full time, Permanent 📝 £32,952 per annum 📍 HQ in Thetford, Norfolk (hybrid role) Deadline for applications: Sunday 17 May #Ornithology

Postdoc en ecología marina y pesquerías (Isla Reunión, Francia) www.bioblogia.net/20... Más ofertas👇 biotapas.bioblogia.net #empleo #biotapas

Sparrowhawk euthanised in Scottish Highlands after illegal trap caused "catastrophic" leg injury. Police & SSPCA appeal for information. Details ⬇️ #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #BirdingScotland raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/05/11/s...

🐵 New paper out today 📄 How is hunting distributed across the primate phylogeny and how is this influencing extinction risk? International collaboration w/ @fabrovillalobos.bsky.social and many others doi.org/10.1111/acv....

@science.org news article coverage of work led by SMRU's @izzylangley.bsky.social: Scientists ID ‘corkscrew killer’ behind gruesome seal deaths www.science.org/content/arti... Read the paper in @marinemammalogy.bsky.social journal here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Grim 😬

Nothing to see here, just 22,400 Sabine's Gulls in one flock... 🤯🇨🇦😍 ebird.org/checklist/S3...

I'm happy to share our new paper showing that gulls transport during the winter 270 kg of plastics (>8 million plastic particles!) @ebdonana.bsky.social @victormartinvel.bsky.social @drandygreen.bsky.social @juliancap.bsky.social @catarinalopes90.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

To trigger lightning, researchers fire a small rocket with a thin, grounded metal wire into a charged thundercloud. The wire initiates a lightning strike on command. www.quantamagazine.org/what-causes-...

theconversation.com/birds-of-pre... Article we wrote about our recent paper. Not good news. Large declines in many raptor species and other large terrestrial bird species in central South Africa.

Thankfully the propellers were moving somewhat faster than they look.

Ant-myrmecophile interaction: Formica sanguinea and the food begging rove beetle Dinarda dentata

Tiree

Fulmars

Found this disproportionately funny

Using genomic data from over 2,700 wild barn owls, this new paper from #ProcB shows that inbreeding negatively affects several morphological traits, including the growth of young chicks doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #Evolution #Genetics #MolecularBiology

These two were sat together. I think it’s a male and a female.

Interested in ant ecology? Have molecular and bioinformatics experience? Come and join the team! 18-month post-doc position at University of York now live: jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/post...

I am hiring a PhD student to join our group in Lund, Sweden working on an ERC-funded project to untangle color and polarization vision in some amazing crustaceans – minute water fleas and pugnacious mantis shrimp! Please forward this to promising students. Apply here: lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

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

New paper coming out soon on these toothy sausages

From the lounge window 👌🏻

Some more Corncrake action. Bloody windy here.

Happy Birthday big D. Been fortunate enough to work with you a few times, and your love of chocolate and red wine means we have three things in common (the love of nature being number one, obvs).

Eiders galore

The fortnight became three weeks, but some of the red #knots from the #WaddenSea are on the way to Iceland, and beyond! CARCINUS is already there. Follow their amazing trans-Atlantic flights at: www.globalflywaynetwork.org/tracks/speci... @niozsearesearch.bsky.social @allertbijleveld.bsky.social

Does transparency make wings fragile? Investigating wing membrane thickness shows that facing conflicting optical and mechanical needs, wings have evolved thick opaque patches around thin transparent patches, like kite frame around fragile sail: Gomez et al. 2026 doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...