Andrew Harrop
@ahjharrop.bsky.social
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📥 368
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For sound recordings go to
https://xeno-canto.org/contributor/HNYFHZLJOD
Aesthetically at least, the stars of the show in recent days have been Russian White-fronts. The majority have been in south and central Mainland Shetland, but I’ve also seen them north to Aith and west to Walls.
#BirdingScotland
4 days ago
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Andrew Harrop
BTO | British Trust for Ornithology
6 days ago
Apply for our Young Bird Observatory Visitors Programme grant ➡️
www.bto.org/ybov
Each year the BTO provide a number of grants of up to £250, to support young people looking to visit one of the accredited British and Irish Bird Observatories. Closing date: Sunday 1 March.
#UKBirding
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Andrew Harrop
Peter Stronach
7 days ago
Study 👇 showing ubiquity of microplastics in Scottish Dippers from three rivers; Dighty Water (Dundee), South Esk (Midlothian) and Kelvin (Glasgow)
#birdingscotland
🪶
add a skeleton here at some point
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An interesting discussion of Pacific Diver identification (in English):
marcduquet.com/wp-content/u...
#BirdingScotland
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https://marcduquet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/27-PDF_Plongeon_Pacifique_2015_GB.pdf
9 days ago
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Another Tundra Bean Goose, this time in the snow at Tingwall. For problems in distinguishing between Tundra Bean Goose subspecies from photographs, see Solovyeva et al. 2022 in Wildfowl (72: 152-163) which is accessible online.
#BirdingScotland
12 days ago
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This shy and elusive Tundra Bean Goose has been around Dunrossness for five weeks, though I’ve only seen it three times. Sometimes it looks quite long-billed, but here the comparison with Greylag is reasonably true.
#BirdingScotland
14 days ago
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Andrew Harrop
WildBirdAcoustics.bsky.social
15 days ago
blogbirder.blogspot.com/2026/02/fiel...
Eliminating field recording errors in the field is something I constantly work on. Here, I share my thoughts on this, running through a myriad of common errors.
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Field Recording Technique; Honest Mistakes, Loud Clothes, and the Long Road to Listening Properly.
Field Recording is a wonderful discipline and there is much to learn at all levels. This is one of the things that draws me to it, there is ...
http://blogbirder.blogspot.com/2026/02/field-recording-technique-honest.html?m=1
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This Canada Goose which I first saw on Out Skerries on 16 Jan may have come from the Norwegian feral population, which has proven exchanges with Shetland. Yesterday I discovered its corpse, which showed signs of predation by Otter.
#BirdingScotland
17 days ago
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Andrew Harrop
Jente Ottenburghs | Avian Hybrids
20 days ago
New story on the Avian Hybrids blog! One gene to rule them all: Reshuffling of genetic variants explains plumage patterns in wheatears
avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/o...
Based on the Science paper by Dave Lutgen and his colleagues |
#ornithology
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One gene to rule them all: Reshuffling of genetic variants explains plumage patterns in wheatears
Introgression drives parallel evolution of plumage coloration.
https://avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/one-gene-to-rule-them-all-reshuffling-of-genetic-variants-explains-plumage-patterns-in-wheatears/
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The persistent easterlies and bitter cold of early February have brought a few new arrivals, including Mistle Thrush and a flurry of White-fronts. It’s always encouraging to see family groups, like this one at Exnaboe.
#BirdingScotland
21 days ago
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Andrew Harrop
Dundee Birding (stonefaction)
25 days ago
stonefactionbirding2014.blogspot.com/2026/01/1492...
A wee bonus blog, about the pitfalls of using AI/enhanced/smart editing within photo software when editing bird photos.
#BirdingScotland
#UKwildlife
#Birds
#Naturewriting
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1492 : A Cautionary Tale.
https://stonefactionbirding2014.blogspot.com/2026/01/1492-cautionary-tale.html
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Andrew Harrop
W. P. Mueller
about 1 month ago
#ornithology
academic.oup.com/condor/artic...
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Abundance and distribution of birds from comprehensive surveys of the Canadian Arctic, 1994–2018
Abstract. Abundance and distribution are critical metrics of population status and foundational information for conservation. However, even these basic met
https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/127/4/1/8245289
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Tens of wintering Jackdaws currently in Shetland are likely to be northeastern birds. Note how the pale ‘half collar’ varies from prominent to absent. The underparts of many of these birds look quite dark.
#BirdingScotland
about 1 month ago
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Paul Bloomer’s exhibition at Shetland Museum has been extended to 28 February - well worth a look if you’re passing through for Up Helly Aa.
#BirdingScotland
about 1 month ago
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Well worth reading Carney's speech in full:
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
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Read Mark Carney's full speech on middle powers navigating a rapidly changing world | CBC News
Read the full text of Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech about a shakeup of the global order and role of middle powers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mark-carney-speech-davos-rules-based-order-9.7053350
about 1 month ago
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Andrew Harrop
W. P. Mueller
about 1 month ago
#ornithology
orionmagazine.org/article/lord...
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Lord God Bird - Orion Magazine
Does the ivory-billed woodpecker still exist?
https://orionmagazine.org/article/lord-god-bird-extinct-ivory-billed-woodpecker/
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Another beautiful day on Out Skerries, but the birds including Canada G and this Gadwall weren’t exactly what we traditionally associate with Shetland winters.
#BirdingScotland
about 1 month ago
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Andrew Harrop
Wild Beijing
about 1 month ago
A library of nocturnal flight calls from Beijing, including many eastern species that could be recorded in Europe. See
wildbeijing.org/beijing-noct...
#nocmig
#china
#beijing
#migration
#birds
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Beijing Nocturnal Flight Call Library
This page provides examples of nocturnal flight calls (NFCs), including spectograms and audio files, all of which have been recorded in Beijing. Dates and recording location are given for eac…
https://wildbeijing.org/beijing-nocturnal-flight-call-library/
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Andrew Harrop
RSPB Scotland
about 1 month ago
Gulls are in serious trouble in Scotland. These remarkable birds are facing significant pressures. A recent report revealed licensed control could have contributed to declines ➡️
rspb.org.uk/scotland/news/licensed-gull-control-in-scotland
We must balance the needs of protected species and people.
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Andrew Harrop
Cin-Ty Lee
about 2 months ago
These are the relevant morphometrics to measure on a flycatcher. Although absolute measurements are very helpful, relative metrics, essentially proportions, are just as useful. These are the features that can be measured from photos or what you see, with some training, in the field.
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Andrew Harrop
Bruce Taylor
about 2 months ago
White-wingers have been few and far between here for the past 3 winters, in fact I only saw 1 Glaucous Gull in 2025. Pleasing therefore to find a big adult Glauc on West Beach, Vatersay this afternoon.
#birdingscotland
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This blog post about the Short-billed Gull on Faroe may be of interest to some:
birdingfaroes.wordpress.com
#BirdingScotland
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Birdingfaroes
expect the unexpected
https://birdingfaroes.wordpress.com
about 2 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
Brian Small
about 2 months ago
Finding a confiding first-winter Twite on Reydon Marshes yesterday, just 2 km from home, was pleasing and at an area where large numbers used to winter in Suffolk - I have old video of a flock of over 80. Nowadays, birders twitch them in Suffolk...
#ukbirding
#suffolkbirding
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Some nice sounds from displaying Goosanders in calm conditions at Water of Leith, Edinburgh this morning (quieter male followed by louder female):
xeno-canto.org/1069432
#BirdingScotland
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XC1069432 Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
Calls from displaying birds on river, male followed by female; Magpie in background.
https://xeno-canto.org/1069432
about 2 months ago
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Probably my favourite ‘Times’ cartoon of the year.
about 2 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
Xeno-canto
2 months ago
Check out this write-up on sound producing Grasshoppers in Europe, and their availability on XC
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
.
#bioacoustics
#grasshoppers
#orthoptera
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(PDF) A list of sound producing European grasshoppers and the availability of their sounds in Xeno-canto
PDF | On Dec 8, 2025, Baudewijn Odé and others published A list of sound producing European grasshoppers and the availability of their sounds in Xeno-canto | Find, read and cite all the research you n...
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/398459063_A_list_of_sound_producing_European_grasshoppers_and_the_availability_of_their_sounds_in_Xeno-canto
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Andrew Harrop
Martin Collinson
2 months ago
Ooh, poop sample from the grackle from Calshot, Hampshire, Nov 25, shows it was Great-tailed, not Boat-tailed as thought. Analysis by
@tessaroo.bsky.social
poop by
@wjrpb.bsky.social
@birdguides.bsky.social
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https://Analysis.by
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Ferruginous x Pochard in the rain at Welney yesterday. Note how this hybrid retains Ferruginous traits of white in secondaries and even white spot on chin.
#BirdHybrid
#UKBirding
2 months ago
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Confused by crossbills? The ‘most strongly supported splits’ from Benkman’s extraordinary ‘Crossbills & Conifers’ (2025) which merits close reading and gives due acknowledgement to Nethersole and Alan Knox.
#BirdingScotland
#UKBirding
2 months ago
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The Snowy Owl has been declared Regionally Extinct in Sweden. For the first time in 20 years, the country has officially lost a bird species. -
www.birdlife.org/news/2025/12...
#BirdingScotland
#UKBirding
Attributed to a combination of climate change and disruption to the lemming cycle. A tragedy.
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Sweden has lost the Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl has been declared Regionally Extinct in Sweden. For the first time in 20 years, the country has officially lost a bird species.
https://www.birdlife.org/news/2025/12/11/sweden-has-lost-the-snowy-owl/
2 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
Alan Knox
3 months ago
Picked up an unwelcome passenger today. A
#tick
while outdoors in the suburbs. Even in December. There doesn't seem to be any 'safe' time of the year any more. With so much more
#LymeDisease
around, a constant need for vigilance.
@scottishbirding.bsky.social
@btoscotland.bsky.social
#birdingscotland
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In March 1991 I discovered this Parrot Crossbill at Wakerley Woods following a major influx (photo Keith Stone). Regular visits in recent years have recorded Crossbills of four call types (mainly N4, N6) but no more Parrots.
#UKBirding
3 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
Xeno-canto
3 months ago
... & while you're at perhaps also support the platform & community sharing the sounds used to kickstart and train most of all that passive monitoring wizardry. Which platform? You guessed it:
xeno-canto.org/donate
add a skeleton here at some point
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Andrew Harrop
Simon Gillings
4 months ago
Today I collected an audio recorder I left in the Fens with the aim of getting some nice Wigeon recordings. Incredibly it also picked up this Richard's Pipit flying through on the morning of 6th November!
xeno-canto.org/1053297
#UKBirding
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XC1053297 Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi)
12 flight calls
https://xeno-canto.org/1053297
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Where are they now? More than 10 years on from the initial revelation, it still blows my mind that Shetland’s phalaropes winter in the Pacific (map from Brooke’s ‘Far From Land’). Yet they are short-distance migrants compared with Arctic Terns…
#BirdingScotland
4 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
BTO Scotland
4 months ago
🚨Hot off the press!🚨A very interesting thread here, and follow the link to the summary of the report. Top work from
@ukrbbp.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
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Andrew Harrop
Richard K Broughton
4 months ago
Interesting(!) that these captive-bred ducks for sale in East Yorkshire seem to be unringed in very many cases. Baikal, Blue-winged, Green-winged Teals, plus Garganeys. Dread to think how many end up in the wild and in local bird reports...
#ukbirding
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www.dutchbirding.nl/dbactueel/20...
Well worth a read and listen if you haven't already.
#UKBirding
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Semipalmated Plover at Salinas de Brito, Portugal, in September 2024 and song identification in the Western Palearctic - Dutch Birding
https://www.dutchbirding.nl/dbactueel/2055/semipalmated_plover_at_salinas_de_brito_portugal_in_september_2024_and_song_identification_in_the_western_palearctic
4 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
BOU
4 months ago
Over 30 years decline of an iconic farmland bird, Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio, in a Central European stronghold: meadow loss and shrub succession drive near-local extinction |
doi.org/10.1017/S095...
| Bird Conservation International |
#ornithology
🪶
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Andrew Harrop
Paul French
4 months ago
Short news piece on the Challenger expedition and the Band-rumped fiesta:
britishbirds.co.uk/news/band-ru...
#RareBirdsUK
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Band-rumped Storm-petrels in UK waters | British Birds
The taxonomy and identification of the Band-rumped Storm-petrel Hydrobates castro/monteiroi/jabejabe complex is very, well, complex, as are their previous occurrences in Britain.
https://britishbirds.co.uk/news/band-rumped-storm-petrels-uk-waters
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Andrew Harrop
Anthony Ricciardi
5 months ago
6/ Although some native species can also become superabundant & damaging (but only when triggered by disturbance), non-native species are far more likely to be implicated as a cause of global extinction:
t.co/9NUoV81a54
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Andrew Harrop
German Ornithological Society
5 months ago
Now online in Journal of
#Ornithology
Three decades of breeding bird population changes in a pristine Danish forest: climate-driven shifts and biodiversity loss compared to national trends Open access
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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Three decades of breeding bird population changes in a pristine Danish forest: climate-driven shifts and biodiversity loss compared to national trends - Journal of Ornithology
Climatic changes are causing general ecosystem changes and species-specific range shifts. To increase our understanding of climate change effects on avian trends and range shifts, this study investigates long-term breeding bird population trends in the pristine Høstemark Forest, Denmark, from 1991 to 2024, in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss. Using territory mapping data from unmanaged pristine forest and national point count data, we examined whether climate-group classifications (leading-edge, neutral, trailing-edge) predict population trends and how a high-quality habitat buffers against climate-driven shifts. Results show significant declines in total bird territories since 1991, while forest-specific bird species abundance remained stable in the Høstemark Forest. Trailing-edge species declined both locally and nationally, while leading-edge species increased locally but not significantly at the national level. Climate-neutral species exhibited local declines despite stable national trends. Species turnover rate appeared to occur more rapidly in the Høstemark Forest compared to the national scale, with both losses of trailing-edge species and gains in leading-edge species. However, despite its ecological quality and stability, the Høstemark Forest experienced a decline in overall bird abundance, suggesting that even pristine habitats can be vulnerable to biodiversity loss, potentially driven by climate change, isolation, and edge effects.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-025-02328-7
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It occurred to me that I couldn't think of (m)any photos of Short-toed Larks with other species in the frame for size comparison. So here's one of the recent Yell bird (right) with a Meadow Pipit.
#BirdingScotland
5 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
Alexander Lees
5 months ago
I had missed this well written rebuttal on the purported Ivory-billed Woodpecker rediscoveries; these passages in particular are gold:🪶
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
#Ornithology
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Andrew Harrop
Per Alström
5 months ago
Just published: Conservation genomics of two endangered buntings reveal genetic diversity before and after severe population declines.
doi.org/10.1186/s129...
Despite severe population declines, both species retained high genetic diversity but experienced increased inbreeding.
#ornithology
#birds
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Late September has brought the usual heady mix of brief rarities, misidentifications, and some scarce migrants. Numbers of many 'common' migrants have been low, the only real exceptions to date being Sky Lark and Meadow Pipit.
#BirdingScotland
5 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
WildBirdAcoustics.bsky.social
5 months ago
open.spotify.com/episode/1dlD...
Uncovering the migration patterns of Tengmalm’s Owl in Northern Sweden. Wild Bird Acoustics brings you the penultimate episode of season 2. Now Live!
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The Long Black Veil; Uncovering the Secret World of Tengmalm's Owl
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1dlDQuynJuTAlXvAO3nEVF?si=QH-bK16_Q2WMyQGFBeqvYQ
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Andrew Harrop
Alan Knox
5 months ago
Gosh. That Nathusius' Pipistrelle
#bat
spike just got a heck of a lot spikier! Not seen anything like this in several years of recording.
@nesmammals.bsky.social
@batconservation.bsky.social
@mammalsociety.bsky.social
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The last two days have brought a surge of migrants through south Mainland, Shetland. Personal highlights have included 124 Ruffs at Spiggie (the largest number I’ve seen for years), and a healthy scattering of Wrynecks like this one at Quendale.
#BirdingScotland
6 months ago
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Andrew Harrop
Portland Bird Observatory
6 months ago
www.portlandbirdobs.com/2025/09/6th-september.html
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6th September
There used to be such certainties in life: England were always contenders for a World Cup, you'd marvel at the oratory of the titans of Labo...
https://www.portlandbirdobs.com/2025/09/6th-september.html
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