markeddowes.bsky.social

#BOUasm26 MJE1/6 To me, an amateur in #ornithology, recent #citizenscience data seems to scream out #climatechange — e.g. migrant first-arrival advancement I studied when compiling county bird reports. Advancement, yes, but it’s not keeping pace with spring #phenology at the breeding grounds.

#BOUasm26 MJE5/6 Their spatial and temporal first egg date temperature plasticity of ~5 days/°C shows #Redstart have acute sensitivity to local #phenology, just as strong as that shown by resident tits, but with average lay date around a week later.

#BOUasm26 MJE6/6 But more strikingly, nest spatial distribution shows that arrival constrained #Redstart nest only in cooler areas, in accordance with settlement informed by #phenology. Active territory choice drives localised decline rather than indiscriminate settlement and #trophicmismatch.

#BOUasm26 MJE3/6 Migrant decline is well-covered in the literature - #trophicmismatch proposed as a mechanism in arrival date constrained philopatric migrants. But there is an alternative mechanism – #phenology-related reduced settlement at asynchronous sites and range shift.

#BOUasm26 MJE4/6 Next on to my Derbyshire nest box study site where the range of elevations and southerly aspects provides a range of temperatures, measured at the nest site level using i-Button thermochrons - an ideal place to study the latter mechanism at a fine scale for the #Redstart.

#BOUasm26 MJE2/6 Then the county atlas project, showing passerine migrant #birds disappearing from the Cheshire plain but hanging on or expanding in the hills above Macclesfield, best exemplified by Willow Warbler. Range shift at the local level, up the elevational gradient to later springs.

12 June

And here are some Redstart chicks endoscope in a barn wall during recent fieldwork. In the variable weather over the past few weeks, Redstarts seemed to do mostly OK fledging young whilst quite a few tits lost a lot of chicks. Perhaps the more diverse Redstart diet helps them to be more resilient.

12 June

Redstart fieldwork in Derbyshire over for the season but still plenty to see on holiday. Grey Wagtail nest in the open porch of a corregated shack by Glensax Burn, Peebles.

#BOU2026 MJE 1/6 I am addressing the conflict theme – shooting and conservation. Observing recent habitat deterioration and population declines in the Peak District, I ask the following question: “Can the common interests of conservation and shooting be harnessed for mutual benefits?”

#BOU2026 MJE 5/6 But shooting interests are being driven out in some areas, reducing management activities that have previously supported wider moorland bird communities.

#BOU2026 MJE 6/6 In particular, scrub encroachment is degrading moorland habitat that will be lost without the management previously funded by shooting interests.

#BOU2026 MJE 3/6 I have seen this first-hand, studying breeding success wader of declining wader species in the Peak District in support of a Natural England project that demonstrated the contribution of medium-sized mammalian predators to nest losses.

#BOU2026 MJE 4/6 Longstanding moorland counts indicate that ground nesting birds in general benefit from predator management undertaken to support shooting interests and that populations decline if the cease.

#BOU2026 MJE 2/6 With an ecosystem already imbalanced due to man’s disturbance, it is well-documented that the lack of apex predators provides a basis for “mesopredator outbreaks” that further destabilize communities and may cause local prey population extinctions.

29 June 2025

Last night was one of those rare occasions when the TV licence fee seemed worth paying. England U21s beating Germany in the Euro finals, followed by Neil Young at Glastonbury. Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were. He was great.

Slightly older chicks.

And some nearly ready to fledge.

Various stages of development from incubation of eggs.

Recently hatched chicks.

#BOU2025 MJE 1/6 Pushing back the frontiers of knowledge in #ornithology requires field data. Technological advances can provide new sorts of data and more efficient data gathering in general. We should constantly be on the lookout for such opportunities.

#BOU2025 MJE 5/6 Other recently introduced technologies, such as GPS/GIS, can facilitate fieldwork enormously. Sharing tips on how these tools can be used to advantage will be to the mutual benefit of researchers.

#BOU2025 MJE 6/6 Likewise, camera technologies can assist where researchers develop the field skills to use them effectively. Exchanging experiences in that respect will similarly be of mutual benefit.

#BOU2025 MJE 3/6 Field deployment of thermochrons, calibrated for improved accuracy, also allows for territory-scale temperature monitoring during breeding #phenology studies, providing insights into climate change impacts on breeding success.

#BOU2025 MJE 4/6 The use of thermochrons provides improved estimates of the dependence of the timing of egg-laying on temperature locally and demonstrates how some species are shifting range up the elevational gradient to maintain springtime synchrony with the required environmental conditions.

#BOU2025 MJE 2/6 For example, thermochrons, mini temperature loggers, provide a simple and cost-effective means of continuous monitoring of nests during incubation, pin-pointing nest predation timing and assisting in understanding declines in ground nesting birds.