Tom Finch

Is hayfever season upon us already? Here in Central Scotland I've looked like a bee sting victim / unsuccessful boxer for the last three days. Seen some high forecasts for Cypress tree pollen, but don't think Met Office pollen forecasts start until later this month

What’s it really like to work in science at the RSPB? To mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we speak to six of our Conservation Scientists.

This #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience meet just six of the inspiring women in our Conservation Science department and hear about some of their most memorable moments at the RSPB 🧪

Read the full story here: www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...

marsh tit, www.garthpeacock.co.uk

Very pleased to share #OpenAccess paper, which we think is important to understand woodland bird declines and impact of forestry on native ancient woodland in Britain.
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #ornithology @ukceh.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @mizpas.bsky.social
🧵1/n

Little Egret at confluence of Allan Water and Forth this afternoon @upperforthbirds.bsky.social

RSPB 'shuts down' X account in 'foreseeable future' update The charity felt it had no choice but to protect its supporters and volunteers

Good news - I suspect many other respectable organisations will follow soon....
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...

Looks great - is there an interactive map viewer anywhere?

RSPB Geltsdale nature reserve, Cumbria

Reconciling top-down and bottom-up treescape objectives
Wednesday - 1215 - Tinto

@tfinch.bsky.social
@britishecologicalsociety.org

📷Tom Finch

Woodland proximity limits benefits of conservation land management for farmland breeding waders Where grassland breeding wader assemblages may be put at risk by tree planting, buffer zones >500 m should be implemented to mitigate the negative effect on wader species, with further distances havi...

Trees or breeding waders?
THREAD 1/4
There's little point paying farmers to leave space for breeding waders if their neighbours are going to plant trees.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
New review paper by Emma Sheard et al suggests that forests create ...

#ornithology

Close enough to @upperforthbirds.bsky.social to be of interest?

Sea Eagle just flew over A9 between Greenloaning and Blackford, towards Ochil Hills #BirdingScotland

3 woodcock between Cocksburn reservoir and Dumyat summit this morning #BirdingScotland @upperforthbirds.bsky.social

Are you an MSc student based at a UK university? Or do you know one?
RSPB @rspbscience.bsky.social have just released their list of research projects for 2026:
www.rspb.org.uk/helping-natu...
#ornithology #conservationscience 🌍

Job Opportunity at University of Leeds: Research Fellow in Global Conservation Salary: Grade 7 (£41,064 – £48,822 p.a. depending on experience) This role will be based on the university campus, with scope for it to be undertaken in a hybrid manner. We are also open to discussing...

📣Job vacancy!📣

Research Fellow in Global Conservation at Leeds, working with Dave Williams (and me, a bit) to assess the impact of conservation initiatives on biodiversity, carbon, and people: jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

#ConservationScience 🌍

🦠 SAVE THE DATE! 🦜

I'm excited to announce that the theme of the 2027 BOU conference is Avian Disease Ecology!

📍 Nottingham, UK
📅 6–8 April 2027

🔗 Full details: lnkd.in/gPvFFDJe

Please share widely!

#BOU2027 #Ornithology #WildlifeDisease #AvianDisease #EcoHealth

📢 REGISTRATION OPEN

#BOU2026 | Birds and people | 31 March - 2 April 2026

University of Nottingham & Zoom & Bluesky

Check out the programme and book your place today!

bou.org.uk/event/bir...

#ornithology 🪶

Farming Futures: comparing regenerative and conventional practices on soil, chemical use, and ecosystems in a changing climate at UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology - Lancaster on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Farming Futures: comparing regenerative and conventional practices on soil, chemical use, and ecosystems in a changing climate at UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology - Lancaster, listed ...

📣PhD opportunity📣

Farming Futures: comparing regenerative and conventional practices on soil, chemical use, and ecosystems in a changing climate

With @ukceh.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social and others

🔗 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Anyway. I agree trees are over-sold. They aren't going to solve everything, they bring risks, and are easy to get wrong. But I'm also conscious of throwing the baby out with the bathwater

Yes, peatland restoration is arguably a higher priority. I don't think that means we should do 0 woodland creation until peatlands are 100% restored. Wouldn't we get more diverse benefits from investing in diverse solutions?

How do you judge significance though? Lots of solutions have small effects. Should I just buy a second car? It won't significantly increase global emissions.

Agree about time, but won't we be grateful for a stronger (or less weak!) land sink in 30 years time? Doesn't every tCO2 matter?

Are you saying that growing woodlands sequester no carbon? Or not enough to be considered a solution?

Because new woodlands, if done well, can counteract the decline of the land sink

A Chough sits on a rocky cliff edge at South Stack Nature Reserve, North Wales.

Job vacancy 🧪
Principal Conservation Scientist, RSPB Cymru

Can you provide the evidence needed to save and restore the iconic species and landscapes of Wales?

Deadline: 3rd Nov
Location: Flexible within Wales
Duration: Permanent

Apply here: app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...

📷Jake Stephen

Look at her go!
#invertebrates 🌿

New issue of #BirdStudy out today!
Birds on solar farms
Numbers of released Pheasants & Partridges
Woodlarks & Meadow Pipits in Central Europe
Hawfinch supplementary feeding
Black-billed Cuckoo diet
Serengeti Secretarybirds
Tracking Lesser Flamingos
www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/c...
#ornithology

Fully funded PhD working on insectivorous bird declines with a broad range of stakeholders. Starting ASAP #ornithology #zoology #biodiversity #science #ecology
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...

The Gola Rainforest

New job alert: An amazing opportunity - our International science team are hiring for a 2yr position (initially) for an experienced scientist to work on tropical forest conservation 🌍🧪

Full details here: app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...

📷Nick Williams/RSPB

Operation Turtle Dove’s view on the release of captive-bred Turtle Doves as a conservation measure - Operation Turtle Dove Operation Turtle Dove is a science-led conservation partnership working to reverse the decline of Turtle Doves in the UK by restoring habitat and addressing key threats. Learn why captive-bred release...

Very firm statement on releases of captive-bred Turtle Doves, from Operation Turtle Dove inc @rspb.bsky.social & @naturalengland.bsky.social:
*Doesn't meet IUCN guidelines
*Risk of disease/genetic pollution
*Irresponsible aims
operationturtledove.org/captive-rele... 1/2 #ornithology #ukbirding

Some recent beaver activity too

👀 Green Sandpiper and Kingfisher on the Allan Water, just before it joins the Forth. Bit of a mess down there - loads of giant hogweed and Himalayan Balsam, also lots of cow muck washing into the river from the fields behind the prison #birdingScotland

I've considered it. Interested to know how the data are labelled - e.g. could you filter by season, activity type, year? This paper found a relationship between heatmap intensity and brown bear usage, by screen-grabbing and georeferencing the online heat map: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...