... Hearing actual birds is more soothing.

We're hiring an Assistant Professor of Ecology! Come and join me and a great group of colleagues at University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Our job ad: efhc.fa.ca2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid... Message me if you have questions. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @uwindsor.bsky.social

Our new paper is out: "Acoustic differences persist in urban Parus major (Great Tit) over two decades of declining anthropogenic noise in Paris, France." A study of noise and bird song, by me and Hans Slabbekoorn, in Ornithological Applications @amornith.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1093/orni...

Thank you to a homeowner who kindly agreed to host a Motus Audio recorder in southern Ontario. This recorder is now sampling the flight calls of migratory birds passing overhead as part of the Motus Audio network, so we can better understand bird migration: motus-audio.web.app

Windy, cold, winter weather can't stop Natalie and Madison from setting up Motus Audio recorders at Birds Canada headquarters. Thanks for being our collaborative partner with setting up Motus Audio sensors @birdscanada.bsky.social! [📷 J. Dutter]

Thanks to Birds Canada for their collaboration during our launch of Motus Audio recorders across Canada. Sarah, Natalie, Nelsy, Madison, and Jeff enjoyed a visit the Birds Canada headquarters in southern Ontario this week. [📷 J. Sayers] @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Our team launched a Motus Audio flight call recorder at Long Point Bird Observatory. Natalie & Madison added a recorder to the Old Cut Motus Tower, with help from Nelsy Sarah & Jeff, and in collaboration w/ Birds Canada. 🎤🎶🐦👍 #nocmig #bioacosutics @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

The Bowdoin Scientific Station's 2025 Annual Report has just been published. It's a colourful and vivid depiction of one of the finest biology stations I've had the pleasure to work at. Check it out: indd.adobe.com/view/edcf4d1... @bowdoincollege.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Pop songs in science papers! Our new paper is the third time a pop song appears in one of our paper titles: "In the danger zone: Wrens respond more strongly to experimentally simulated predators near their nest" doi.org/10.1111/eth.... 🧵1/3

Good morning for an ornithologist doing the Spelling Bee...

Our new article appears in today's issue of Ethology: "In the Danger Zone: Wrens Respond More Strongly to Experimentally Simulated Predators Near Their Nest" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... We presented 3D-printed owls near versus far from nests of tropical wrens. How did wrens respond? 🧵1

Jeff Dutter is a bioacoustics intern, joining our lab as part of the Master's of Bioacoustics (MoBi) program at U. Saint-Etienne. Today we had phase 2 of testing our Motus Audio microphone horns in our campus studio. Great work Jeff! #NocMig @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @nicolasmathevon.bsky.social

I just returned from Cornell's Lab of O where I processed 1170 Savannah Sparrows for paternity analysis! I had so much fun learning new techniques and meeting the outstanding people at the Lab of O. Now I can't wait to see who the fathers are! @dmennill.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

We're testing out our latest prototypes of Motus Audio recorders in a campus recording studio. Led by visiting research student Jeff Dutter, with support from Natalie, Nelsy, and Madison. What effects do different plastic wraps have on our #nocmig recordings? Stay tuned to find out.

Instead of our usual Thursday lab meeting, today our team is joining the @wildlifeacoustics.com #NocmigWebinar "Dispatches in the Dark." We're learning all about nocturnal flight calls, migration over China and Europe, and the Chirpity #nocmig package. Thanks for hosting, Wildlife Acoustics!

Tough morning for a bassoon player doing the Spelling Bee…

Sarah's visiting the Lab of Ornithology this month, conducting genetic analyses of parentage of Savannah Sparrows. Thanks to everyone at the Lab of O for their hospitality and mentorship. Great work @sdobney.bsky.social!

Madison held her first supervisory committee meeting, presenting her plans for bioacoustic studies of bird migration. Congratulations Madison! I'm excited for the research ahead.

Three cheers for Natalie who had her first supervisory committee meeting today. Congratulations Nat! I’m really excited about your proposed research.

Our new paper is out today in Ethology: "In the Danger Zone: Wrens Respond More Strongly to Experimentally Simulated Predators Near Their Nest" With Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social How do tropical wrens respond to simulated predators near their nest? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🧵1

Our new paper is out today in Animal Behaviour: "Hushed disputes between noisy neighbours: Ovenbirds vary song amplitude during conflicts with territorial rivals." By Connor Acorn, Jenn Foote, & me. @animbehsociety.bsky.social How loud is an Ovenbird's song? It depends... 🧵1

"Belugas travel to warm, shallow estuaries to give birth and care for their young. Knowledge holders inform us that some of these estuaries have been visited by belugas for several hundred years. But not just any estuary will do!" A summary of our new BES paper by @jaclynaubin.bsky.social 👇

A Superb Owl Prowl this weekend for Mennill Lab members and friends at Point Pelee National Park. Touchdown! 🏈🦉 Guided by our lab's own Cam Chevalier, who is also a Park Interpreter at Pelee. @nelsyninor.bsky.social @sdobney.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

"Bioacoustics infrastructure for innovative field studies of ecology and conservation of migratory birds." Thank you, Canada Foundation for Innovation & Ontario Research Fund, for supporting our grant application for new #bioacoustics equipment! With S. Doucet & R. Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social.

Accepted! "Experimental study of social signaling through delayed plumage maturation in a colony-nesting seabird." A playback-and-model experiment coming to Animal Behaviour. Led by Molly Hill & @liamtaylor.bsky.social w/ Lily Fanburg @sdobney.bsky.social & me. Now that's what I call #GullOfTheDay!

Rough week for an ornithologist doing the Spelling Bee...

In our new paper "Beluga societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete" we present a model of beluga sociality across the seasons, with the mother-calf dyad at the core. Read about it here: doi.org/10.1007/s00265-025-03630-3 @jaclynaubin.bsky.social @raincoast.org

We have a new paper out this week "Beluga societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete" led by @jaclynaubin.bsky.social. Our collaborators @raincoast.org have made this cool video highlighting some key elements of our paper. Check it out: 👇

Our newest paper is out! "Beluga societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete" is now published in Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology. doi.org/10.1007/s00265-025-03630-3 Led by @jaclynaubin.bsky.social with our collaborators @raincoast.org & GREMM. Check out Jaclyn's thread 👇.

Our new review of beluga sociality and culture just dropped at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology! Some of our key conclusions summarized 🧵 doi.org/10.1007/s002... @marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org

Hot off the 3D-printers, version 2 of our Motus Audio night flight call microphone. We're revising our microphone with some exciting new innovations, ahead of the spring 2026 migration. With Jeff Dutter, Lincoln Savi of SaviMade @lincolnsavi.bsky.social, Madison Bygrove, Natalie Emerick, and me.

Our latest study is officially accepted! Dan @dmennill.bsky.social and I used 3D-printed pygmy owls to explore predator responses in Rufous-and-white Wrens. Check it out soon in Ethology. 🦉🔊🪺🇨🇷🇨🇦

"In the danger zone: wrens respond more strongly to experimentally simulated predators near their nest." Our new study was accepted for publication! Led by @natingui.bsky.social, we use 3D-printed pygmy-owls to understand Rufous-and-white Wrens' reactions to danger. Coming soon to Ethology! 🦉🔊🪺🇨🇷🇨🇦

Accepted for publication: "Traffic reduction during Covid-19 lockdowns benefited species already tolerant of noise pollution: an acoustic analysis." Our newest paper, led by PhD student Pedro Santos, Gonçalo Cardoso, and Nicola Koper, is coming in 2026 to The American Naturalist. Congrats Pedro!

Congratulations to Nelsy Niño @nelsyninor.bsky.social for hosting a #bioacoustics workshop, with co-organizers Andrés Sierra and Fabricio Gorleri. They hosted their workshop in Cali, Colombia in concert with the 8th Colombian Ornithology Congress. 🎤🇨🇴 Think of those tropical wildlife recordings...

Do birds have feelings? 🦉🦚🦅🦜 I'm a guest on The Warblers today, the podcast of Birds Canada. I answer a question about chickadee song. Nelsy Niño @nelsyninor.bsky.social answers a question about mimicry. Thanks for having us @birdscanada.bsky.social! Listen here: www.birdscanada.org/warblerspodc...

Congratulations to Nelsy Niño for presenting her research on the ecology and evolution of female song at the 8th Colombian Ornithology Congress in Cali, Colombia. Way to go @nelsyninor.bsky.social!

Inter-brood interval affects offspring survival and fitness, and reflects timing of breeding and female quality. Our new paper on inter-brood interval appears in the new issue of Ibis, led by Hayley Spina and our collaborative Savannah Sparrow research team. @bou.org.uk @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

Congratulations to Natalie Emerick for receiving an NSERC Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement. With this support Natalie will expand her studies of migratory flight calls by visiting @nicolasmathevon.bsky.social's #bioacoustics team in France in 2026. Way to go Natalie! @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

In memory of Dr. Keith Hobson, the Society of Canadian Ornithologists is collecting donations to support the Keith Hobson Early Career Research Award. If you have the means, join me in supporting this initiative: www.zeffy.com/en-CA/donati... Details: www.sco-soc.ca/early-career...

3 great words on a Monday morning: Accepted for publication! Our paper "Hushed disputes between noisy neighbours: Ovenbirds vary song amplitude during conflicts with territorial rivals" is coming to Animal Behaviour. 🤫🎶🐦 By Connor Acorn, Jenn Foote, and me. [📷: J. Foote] @animbehsociety.bsky.social

Today I'm putting the finishing touches on our forthcoming paper "Acoustic differences persist in urban tits over two decades of declining anthropogenic noise in Paris, France." By me and Hans Slabbekoorn, and coming soon to Ornithological Applications. 🎤🎶🐦🏙️

Tonight I had the honour of host another Nature Guelph Bird Wing meeting featuring @dmennill.bsky.social It was fascinating learning about migratory bird acoustics

Thank you, Nature Guelph, for the invitation to speak about our research on acoustic monitoring of bird migration. It was great to join such an engaged and excited group of birders for the evening.

My year in music from Spotify wrapped.

Tonight I'll be speaking to Nature Guelph about our team's research on bioacoustic methods for studying bird migration. Join online through Nature Guelph if you're interested: natureguelph.ca/events/eaves...

Dr. Vianney Cupiche Herrera of the Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo was our guest at today’s Mennill Lab meeting. We had a great conversation about playback, loudspeaker design, and conspecific attraction. Thank you for visiting us, Vianney! #bioacoustics @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Birds & Beers V was a big success! Thanks to all who participated, including student poster & club presenters, speakers Oliver Love & Ryan Norris, Nelsy Niño for screening "Mingoya", Natalie Emerick for emceeing, community partners for joining us, and Vortex Canada & Whiskeyjack Boutique for prizes.

24 hours until Birds & Beers V! 🦆🍺🦚🍺🦜🍺 Join us for the most anticipated event of the season: a trivia contest, student research, student art, a short film screening, ornithology lighting talks, and more! Thanks to our sponsors: Vortex Canada and Whiskeyjack Boutique. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

"Grad student takes flight to map invasive plant." Sarika Sharma, an alum of our lab, is profiled in our campus newspaper for her research to map Phragmites in the Healthy Headwaters Lab. Congratulations Sarika! www.uwindsor.ca/news/2025-11... @ecofebria.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social