How sad is it that as soon as I heard of Robert Mueller’s passing, I immediately anticipated an awful post from DJT … and I was correct

Latest from my lab: Rice, A. A., R. L. Curry, and J. D. Weckstein. 2026. Haemosporidians as potential sources of geographic markers for irruptive Black-capped Chickadees. Journal of Parasitology DOI 10.1645/25-5

The queen returns! 👑 At an approximate age of 75, Wisdom the #albatross returned this week to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge for nesting season. She is the world's oldest-known bird. Read about Wisdom at: buff.ly/MFkj4H9 📸 USFWS/ Jon Plissner.

In 2022, something shocking happened to the Hektoria Glacier. Over 16 months, it retreated by 25 kilometers, and it lost a whopping 8 kilometers in just two of those months—the fastest glacial retreat in the modern record. Now, researchers may have identified the worrisome mechanisms behind it.

NoKings.org #NoKings

No Kings protest, 1776.

The Trump administration is preparing to allow oil and gas leasing across the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, a wilderness landscape that has been protected for more than four decades, according to documents reviewed by POLITICO. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Jays!!! … da jankees lose!

Sad news. I was fortunate to meet Jane when I was in high school, an event that contributed to my career plans in animal behavior. She leaves quite a legacy.

We have a 25th amendment for a reason

Sox!

Sox!

**PhD POSITIONS** I am recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work on sociality and cognition in Monk Parakeets, starting Fall 2026. Full ad is here: hobsonresearch.com/index.php/20... (please help spread the word!)

“He (Kirk) did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry.” No, DJT is not sorry: he does not know what that word means.

Iggles! Go birds

A confirmed case of social polygyny in Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) | www.tandfonline.com/... | Wilson Journal of Ornithology | #ornithology 🪶

We are 45 Today! The Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants (CSMD) marks its 45th anniversary today on 13 September 2025! CSMD was established in 1980 when it became the first Mayflower Member Society of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants to be formed outside the United States.

Today, we honor the lives lost and the courage of the first responders who were impacted on September 11, 2001. We remember not only the tragedy of that day, but the deep scars it left on families, communities, and our nation.

I contributed a few data points from back in 1978! Fun to see those old data put to use. Coincidentally, we banded several Black-throated Blue Warblers today!

Nice birb from Tuesday at Rushton: Connecticut Warbler

Apostlebirds are the extroverts of the bird world. Big bold personalities. They get their name from the mistaken belief that they always come in groups of 12.

More than 85 scientists say that a recent U.S. Department of Energy report is full of errors and misrepresents climate science.

Graham Greene has died. A Canadian acting icon, he earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Kicking Bird in Dances With Wolves. He also won a Grammy, Gemini and Canadian Screen Award, along with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. He also earned a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

R.I.P. Graham Greene 💔 GRAHAM GREEN has sadly passed away at the age of 73.

White-faced Storm-Petrel off Southern Nova Scotia for #SuperSeabirdSunday #Birds #Birding

#Behaviour2025 plenary talk Dr. Toshitaka Suzuki is giving the plenary talk on the topic "Animal linguistics: syntax and semantics in the communication system of a wild passerine" at hall 1 (level 4), on the concluding day of the conference #plenarytalk #conference

First chestnuts and elms, now ash and beeches -- America's iconic trees are being killed off at a truly alarming rate.

I can't think of anymore more qualified to present antiscientific climate denial propaganda than these five (www.desmog.com/climate-disi...). And I can't think of anyone more likely to seek out these fossil fuel apologists than Christopher Wright (www.desmog.com/2025/04/21/c...).

Hegseth evidently has never heard of D-day. His boss, the orange felon, probably hasn't, either ... despite visiting Normandy graves (not: "suckers & losers").

New research in #ScienceAdvances confirms the hotly contested age of fossilized human tracks found in White Sands National Park, New Mexico. Stratigraphic records corroborate that the footprints range from 21,000 to 23,000 years old, dating to the Last Glacial Maximum. scim.ag/4lnt5CM

Trumpism is bad, he doesn’t want to end foreign wars and he’s not gonna make things cheaper. Democrats, this is your moment to narrate what’s happening.

Not much of a view but still good to visit Moosilauke summit again. Bicknell’s Thrush always worth a hike.

Powell: Increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity

Mist and fog also show how the rainforest is “breathing” - it’s beautiful and calming to watch.

The Contrarian

I don't think anyone outside of universities, pharma and biotech, independent research institutions have any idea of what is happening right now. If you haven't sounded the alarm among your friends, family and colleagues, now is the time to do it.

In case you couldn't bear to read all the way to the end (understandable), here is the proposed picture for the BIO Directorate.

The President's Budget request as released yesterday will gut scientific research. Why should you care? 1) Science is fundamentally a jobs program. Many 100,000s are employed to do science and work for you, the US taxpayer.

A shameless plug for my exceedingly talented sister's great work ... as part of the renovation of a house that happened to be directly across the street from our own home for 10 years in Westford, MA! www.pbs.org/video/e25-we...

Folks supervising M.S. students doing field projects in ecology/behavior: does your school impose a time limit for thesis completion? My former institution is shortening the allowable timeframe (to ≤ 20 months) in a way that severely constrain thesis work re: breeding biology. Is this an anomaly?

The pattern of ICE waiting outside immigration hearings to arrest people who are following the law is fascism. Trump targeting the 500k immigrants who were part of an asylum program is also fascism. That’s it. That’s the post.

🚨🚨 Friday night news drop from National Science Foundation!! 🧪 NSF just released its detailed budget request for next year: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF... We knew it was going to be bad...and it lives up. Guts direct NSF support for a **quarter million people** 🧵 on some highlights...

I'm just sitting here, drinking my feelings out of this mug. eatf.art/expectations

One small step for a blue tit... #photography #birds

But Miller expects his intended audience—including DJT—to not notice or not care