Hugo Ferreira

I would like to thank my supervisors and co-authors,
@jocelyn-tdv.bsky.social Thomas Blanchon @tamarlok.bsky.social and @joseaalves.bsky.social for the advice! Also, technicians and field volunteers at @tourduvalat.bsky.social eco_flyway @globalflyway.bsky.social CESAM, and @uaveiro.bsky.social

To concluded (7/8)

The story continues!

We examined chick migratory behaviour based on crossing major barriers:

🟡 No barriers
🟢 Sahara Desert
🔵 Mediterranean Sea

Intriguingly, as the season progresses, the chance of spoonbills crossing major ecological barriers decreases. (6/8)

Later-born chicks were seen to have lower body condition than early born chicks.

Thus, by breeding earlier, older spoonbills have higher likelihood of having chicks with higher body condition. (5/8)

Using camera traps & expert observations, we identified when breeders were seen breeding for the first time in the season.

Our finding: Older spoonbills tend to breed earlier in the season than younger ones.

But how can this impact their offspring? (4/8)

To identify individual spoonbills, since 2008, the @tourduvalat.bsky.social team has ringed more than 5000 thousand chicks with PVC rings.

Thanks, to these individual markings we were able to determine the age of 451 breeders and the migratory behaviour of 105 juveniles. (3/8)

As animals age, past experience can improve their performance of basic behaviours such as foraging and movement.

However, due to the difficulty to follow animals it is often difficult to assess how their performance impacts their offspring. (2/8)

Do older parents do better? Relationships between parental age, chick body condition and migratory behaviour in a colonial‐breeding waterbird Animals' performance of basic functional behaviours, such as foraging and movement, may improve with age as a result of past experiences. In migratory birds, for example, due to earlier or more effic...

Thrilled to announce that the 4th chapter of my thesis is now PUBLISHED in @avianbiology.bsky.social!

"Do older parents do better? Relationships between parental age, chick body condition and migratory behaviour in a colonial-breeding waterbird"👇

nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Tracking - what are we learning about waders?
LOTS!
wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/m...
One Whimbrel made all of these journeys.
The 'Global Wader' project is encouraging scientists to archive this sort of information, so that it is available for future analyses.
#ornithology

Making full use of tracking data This blog has two aims – to share some of the important scientific and conservation stories that are being revealed through shorebird tracking work and to encourage scientists to make their data av…

FAO all those involved in tracking shorebirds.
Please see this new Wadertales blog on the value of making these data (provided to us by the birds) available for current and future research: wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/m...
www.globalwader.org
#ornithology

Happy to join the Wader community! 😁

🌍 If you're involved in wader tracking, research, or conservation, check out our project: Global Wader.

🐣 More than happy to connect and help you to find out more! #Waders #Conservation #BirdTracking

www.globalwader.org

Thank you! @tamarlok.bsky.social @jocelyn-tdv.bsky.social José Alves, @tourduvalat.bsky.social @uaveiro.bsky.social Ecoflyway CESAM

Now that I’ve finally rested, I want to thank all the observers, technicians, volunteers, colleagues, supervisors, friends, and family, who made this thesis possible. The best part of the defense was feeling all the love and support. Obrigado, see you in the next challenge! :D

39% des nids de spatules blanches contiennent du plastique, selon une étude scientifique récente doi.org/10.1016/j.sc... @ferreirahrs.bsky.social

I would like to thank my supervisors and co-authors
Carolina Hadden, @jocelyn-tdv.bsky.social , Tamar Lok, Marion Vittecoq, and José A. Alves for the advice and tremendous help!

Also, Sandra Hodic (fieldwork), the @tourduvalat.bsky.social, eco_flyway, CESAM, and @uaveiro.bsky.social ).
.

Understanding where spoonbills gather ANM and whether they actively seek it is a priority for further research.

Studies such as necropsy or detailed nest temperature analysis could help unravel the benefits and potential adverse effects of ANM on waterbird breeding success. 9/10

Our results suggest other species may be better pollution sentinels in wetland nesting sites than spoonbills.

However, spoonbills could act as #biovectors, potentially transporting materials like sheet plastics from agricultural fields to natural nesting areas. (8/10)

No link was found between ANM proportion and breeder age or hatching success. But it is noteworthy that, despite the high incidence of ANM, there are no documented cases of mortality due to entanglement or suffocation of chicks or adults by nest material in #Camargue. (7/10)

Although it is not clear whether they are used to replace or complement natural materials, an increase in the use of ANM throughout the season coincided with a decrease in the proportion of Halimione in the nest lining. (6/10)

Nest lining mainly contained natural fragmented materials like #Halimioneportulacoides, ANM, and feathers.

Raw data suggests Halimione decreases ~21 days post estimated egg laying, while ANM remains constant. (5/10)

We used photos as a balanced precision/disturbance method to assess ANM in nest lining.

Nests were photographed during each visit (2.3).

Marked breeders were identified and linked to nests (2.5), and hatching success was recorded (2.6). (4/10)

Out of 439 nests observed at the field, 39 % contained at least one ANM (Survey 2.2), usually plastic of sheet-like shape and white-transparent colours (Survey 2.4).

ANM were mainly located in the nest lining and on average represented 1.4 ± 0.87% of the nest total mass. (3/10)

Although commonly found in #Eurasianspoonbill nests, anthropogenic nesting materials (ANM) have never been quantified.

We monitored ANM occurrence in nests in the #Camargue wetland, Southern France, over two breeding seasons. (2/10)

There is no two without three!

Third chapter of my thesis out in #stoten @elsevierconnect.bsky.social

"Presence and potential impact of anthropogenic nesting materials on a colonial breeding waterbird"

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... (1/10)

I would like to thank my supervisors and co-authors Tamar Lok, Thomas Blanchon, Jocelyn Champagnon, Olivier Duriez, Frédéric Jiguet, and José Alves, for the advice and tremendous help!

Also, the Tour du Valat, eco_flyway, Global Flyway, CESAM, and @uaveiro.bsky.social.

Understanding how specific management actions may affect waterbird presence and habitat use is essential not only to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts, but also to promote wetland connectivity and species resilience, particularly in fragmented landscapes. (8/8)

In Marais Vigueirat, a strongly protected area (6), is actively managed to provide optimal conditions for waterbirds, considering climatic conditions, the annual cycle, and the biology of the target species.
This reserve was identified as one of the most important areas. (7/8)

Surprisingly, spoonbills did not increase their use of strongly protected areas during the waterfowl hunting season (late disp. & wintering periods). This could be explained by the variety of hunting practices in Camargue and by the large size of the hunting estates used. (6/8)

Our study shows that privately managed wetland areas play a complementary role to strongly protected areas: they may provide spoonbills (and other waterbirds) with suitable foraging habitat at certain periods of the year when these are less available in strongly protected areas.

We tracked 91 Eurasian spoonbills of different ages throughout their annual cycle and tested for overall differences in the use of strongly protected areas in Camargue between periods and age classes. (4/8)