@lucy-wright
Ornithologist, conservationist, bird ringer, mum. Love diversity in all its forms. Work: seabirds, spare time: waders/shorebirds. Head of UK Marine Science at RSPB, volunteer in Wash Wader Research Group, former trustee of BTO and BOU. Own views.
Campaigners outside SSE's offices in Glasgow holding a banner which reads: "Stop Berwick Bank"
Today we gathered outside SSE's Glasgow office to urge them to stop the Berwick Bank offshore wind farm.
Together we delivered a petition signed by 12,500 people opposing this damaging project.
@seabirdcentre.bsky.social @n-t-s.bsky.social @mcsuk.bsky.social @scotwildlife.bsky.social
A Roseate Tern, standing beside a list of seabird jobs being advertised by Birdwatch Ireland.
We are currently hiring for a range of #seabird jobs at @birdwatchireland.bsky.social , with a deadline of 22nd March. If you'd like to join our Seabird team this summer see birdwatchireland.ie/get-involved...
Avian flu has severely impacted breeding seabirds. Modelling study evaluates carcass removal as a tool to manage outbreaks, finding that it offers only limited benefits in reducing mortality in dense breeding colonies 🪽💡
@rspb.bsky.social
Learn more here! 👇
buff.ly/oN6LPsG
Figure showing photgraphs of three seabird species (Atlantic Puffin, Sooty Shearwater and Eider Duck) plus illustration of new paper, a hand collecting seabird eggs and text reading: 'intentional take of seabirds for human consumption'
🚨New global review and next steps🚨
Intentional take of #seabirds for human consumption is happening in at least 56 countries and affects >100 migratory species. Data on sustainability, population impacts, and human health risks are often missing.
Read more: ➡️ tinyurl.com/ypbadzyr
#BLScience
📢 CLOSING ON FRIDAY!
BOU Committee nominations
➡️ Awards Nominations Committee
➡️ Engagement Committee
➡️ IBIS Management Committee
➡️ Meetings Committee
➡️ Records Committee
Plus NEW Committee Shadowing Scheme
Full details: bou.org.uk/about-the...
#ornithology 🪶
Our latest paper on Golden Eagle research in Scotland, using DNA from moulted feathers to assess apparent survival in territorial adults. As ever, data collection from Scottish Raptor Study Group @scottishraptorsg.bsky.social was vital.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#RaptorResearch
Redshank - is this a cry for help?
Icelandic waders are under pressure - roads, summer houses, power lines, forestry are all having effects:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/02/20/i...
Paper by Aldis Pálsdóttir and colleagues summarised in WaderTales blog 20 Feb 2025 🎂
#ornithology
❗🐧👀 Two new "early-release" papers from the Seabird 38 journal are now available on our website 👀🐧❗
1. Kühn et al. 2025 Group feeding of Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis on the hydrozoan Sarsia princeps on Svalbard doi.org/10.61350/sbj...
An Atlantic Puffin stands on a narrow, rocky cliff ledge streaked with lichen and tufts of grass. Its black back and white chest contrast with the pale stone, and its bright orange bill catches the light. The blurred backdrop of steep coastal rock faces hints at a rugged seabird colony, one of the special coastal habitats that provide vital nesting sites for wildlife.
Which is why the habitats they fight to return to must be protected.
Weakening protections for key sites for nature would push our already struggling wildlife closer to collapse.
Yet the UK Government is considering doing just that.
Tell your MP to stop this: action.rspb.org.uk/page/186397/... ‼️
An Atlantic Puffin floats low in dark, choppy seawater, its black and white plumage slick against the surface. The bird’s bright orange bill stands out sharply as waves ripple around it.
Why is this happening?
All winter, Puffins have been far out at sea.
It's thought that prolonged & increasingly unpredictable storms may have made feeding impossible, leading to starvation.
Already vulnerable, our seabird populations have little room left when conditions turn against them...
At this stage, Avian Flu hasn’t been ruled out. If you see a dead seabird, please don’t touch it or move it. ⚠️
Report it to Defra (or Daera in NI) and log it on BirdTrack via the BTO website.
BTO: www.bto.org/get-involved...
DEFRA: www.gov.uk/guidance/rep...
Every report helps build a picture.
A dead Puffin lies on wet sand, its black and white feathers darkened and slick against the beach. The bird rests on its side, wings folded, with its distinctive orange bill clearly visible against the pale sand.
Heartbreaking: Right now, thousands of Puffins are washing up along our coasts and further afield.
It is devastating to see.
These birds are Red-listed in the UK and already under serious pressure.
Mass deaths like this, known as a “seabird wreck”, can take years for colonies to recover from...
A deceased Puffin lies on its back on the ground. Wording above reads: Please report sightings of all dead birds. A graphic showing an exclamation mark in a triangle features.
⚠️ We've had reports of seabirds washing up. Please report ALL species of dead birds ⬇️
📍 In England, Wales & Scotland: www.gov.uk/guidance/...
📍 In Northern Ireland: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/...
📍 In Republic of Ireland: aviancheck.apps.serv...
#UKBirding #BirdingWales #BirdingScotland
Last chance to apply for this PhD opportunity ➡️ bit.ly/CurlewPhD
Closing date: Wednesday 18 February #Ornithology
3. Breeding success of Gannets after the HPAI outbreak is investigated by @sue-lewis.bsky.social and many others: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Again there's a great @bou.org.uk telling this story of hope and the start of recovery: bou.org.uk/blog-lewis-a...
#ornithology
2. Population declines in Gannets and several other #seabird species are documented by my wonderful @rspbscience.bsky.social colleagues Connie Tremlett, Ian Cleasby, Mark Bolton and Linda Wilson, here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
#ornithology
If you're interested in the science covered in the article, here's 3 papers...
1. The paper documenting the spread of HPAI in Gannets and the weird black eyes onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Summarised beautifully by @heyjooode.bsky.social in this @bou.org.uk blog: bou.org.uk/blog-lane-ga...
A lovely article about our research on Gannets featuring interviews with #seabirders @heyjooode.bsky.social and @sue-lewis.bsky.social
#ornithology
Thrilled to share my first PhD publication - gannets put more effort into diving when they are in groups 🐟🐟🐟
Out now in @meps-ir.bsky.social www.int-res.com/abstracts/me...
+Thanks to my coauthors who put a lot of effort into collecting the videos!
#seabirds #ornithology #animalbehaviour
Dunlin needed some good news - @rspbscience.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Red-listed in UK:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/10/04/u...
Rapid decline in Iceland:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/02/20/i...
Really bad in the Baltic:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2021/06/20/d...
#ornithology
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
🚨Great #conservationjob opportunity for a #seabird #scientist here working on one of the world's best long term studies of seabirds with a really lovely team. You'll learn loads along the way. #ornithology #seabirders
Some great PhD opportunities in conservation science/ ecology here.
📢 I'm hiring! 3-year postdoc in theoretical evolutionary ecology at University of Helsinki 🇫🇮 Apply: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki-Postdoctoral-Researcher-in-Theoretical-Evolutionary-Biology/1348955157/
#AcademicJobs #Postdoc #EvolutionaryEcology #TheoreticalEcology #ScienceJobs #AcademicChatter
BirdWatch Ireland is hiring a Marine Advocacy and Campaigns Officer. Deadline Jan 7th 2026. Details at link here:
birdwatchireland.ie/get-involved...
RSPB seasonal positions @rspbscience.bsky.social are live & we are ready for applications!
🌱🪶🌊⛰️🐣 Huge variety of posts available for 2026: seabirds, veg surveys, visitor questionnaires, upland monitoring, wader chick tracking... all listed on the attachments via the link 👇
Deadline 11th Jan 2026 📆
A great opportunity for anyone in a marine or conservation MSc!
Work with some wonderful birds, (and wonderful folks) I got to call colleagues this year 🐧
(The project timeline would fit wonderfully with a taught MSc)
@exetermarine.bsky.social @exetergses.bsky.social @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk
I asked participants for tips attending scientific conferences #BES2025 youtu.be/ow_ickvkvbA?...
📢 APPLY NOW
For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants
Now funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference
Low-carbon travel encouraged
⏰ Deadline: 5 January 2026
bou.org.uk/funding/m...
