Adrift Lab (Marine Science)

It’s fledging season. These young birds are inexperienced; they/their parents struggled to find food (likely due to warming waters), became emaciated, and died. It’s important we record where, how many and which species.

#FairyPrions are washing up on beaches in SE #Tasmania, particularly around Hobart.

Please do not touch the #birds. Instead, count how many you see, take photos, and upload your observations to our dedicated #BeachedBird #CitizenScience database

🔗➡️ adriftlab.org/beached-bird...

These are special people coming together in a remarkable place to support science, conservation & discovery. The image reflects the love of a PhD grad for her team & the shared journey we’re on.

Supporting students is about building a community you feel safe with #Mentorship #TeamWork #PhDdone

This one image, designed by the talented illustrator Clemens Birsak, captures what makes us proud to be part of this community.
#ArtSci

On the left you can see Megan & Neal photographing a #shearwater. Next to them are Justin & Caitlin from LHI Marine Parks. Jack & Alix are in the middle, removing #plastic from one of the #birds. On the right are Jenn & Alix, holding the colourful bags we use to catch the birds

On our final day together, Alix did what she always does: overwhelms us with her creativity, compassion, and thoughtfulness. She presented the team with this illustration ⬆️ which shows us together, doing science, in our favourite place #LordHoweIsland.

In November, #AdriftLab gathered for one of our famous #WritingRetreats. This one was a little different, with 2 team members about to relocate after being promoted into exciting research positions in NZ & NY. So, while we wrote & shared ideas, we also prepared for the inevitable separation

Apologies for (another) sad photo. If you live between #Wollongong & #Ulladulla, can you please send us a DM - #birds are washing up on beaches in this area. We need help recording where, how many & which species
#CitizenScience #seabirds #shearwaters #AdriftLab #BeachedBirds

Thanks for sharing

Report beached birds, beach-washed birds, seabird mass mortalities Report beached birds, seabirds, and mutton birds. Help us gather data on seabird mass mortality events as a citizen scientist.

UPLOAD YOUR DATA HERE ➡️🔗 adriftlab.org/beached-bird...

#MarineHeatwave #wreck #shearwaters #muttonbirds #CitizenScience #OzBirds #Australia #ornithology #MarineScience

Report beached birds, beach-washed birds, seabird mass mortalities Report beached birds, seabirds, and mutton birds. Help us gather data on seabird mass mortality events as a citizen scientist.

It’s summer; many of us are planning to visit the beach. If you see #birds, please do not touch them. Instead:
- count how many
- estimate how far you walked
- send us photos (include the beak/head, if possible)

Apologies for the sad photo, but we need your help. Right now, #seabirds are washing up on beaches in SE Australia (particularly around #Newcastle)

Trying to submit a new paper to Nature 🎉 but the lab mascot has needs 🙄

Unfortunately, we’re now getting records of #BeachedBirds further north, between #Eden and #Newcastle. It’s hot, so people are on beaches - we need to know what they’re seeing 🐦🙏 #CitizenScience #shearwaters #seabirds

Thankfully, Australia is HPAI-free (at least for now). We made sure the link provided has strong and clear HPAI advice at the top of the page

That’s correct. Thankfully, Australia is HPAI-free (at least for now)

Thank you. Australia is HPAI-free (at least for now, thankfully) 🙏

Report beached birds, beach-washed birds, seabird mass mortalities Report beached birds, seabirds, and mutton birds. Help us gather data on seabird mass mortality events as a citizen scientist.

🚨We need your help🚨 #Shearwaters are washing up on beaches, particularly around #Tathra. Some #seabirds are still alive. Please do not touch the #birds. Instead, take photos & submit your observations to our new portal ➡️ adriftlab.org/beached-bird... (also, please share this) #ornithology #OzBirds

Some huge science coming your way in 2026 (we are already dreading the revisions… 🤣)
#collaboration #seabirds #PlasticPollution #MarineScience

@alixdejersey.bsky.social
@thelabandfield.bsky.social
@jackauty.bsky.social
@seabirdsentinel.bsky.social

Our tally:
- 2 papers completed from scratch (including data analysis)
- 4 papers already “in progress” were finished & submitted to the journal
- 3 papers at final stage
- 3 meetings with external project partners

#AdriftLab recently completed another #WritingRetreat. The success of this approach - bringing our team together and blocking out dedicated time for deep thinking & writing - has been such a game changer. Gone are distractions like email, and in their place, creativity & productivity abounds

Perfect for #ornithology ECRs (but all career stages welcome!)

Do we know anyone planning to sample blood (>200 uL) from #birds in #Australia in the next 1-3 months? If so, please send us a DM - we’d love to collaborate and have some awesome ideas/kit to contribute! 🐦🩸
@thelabandfield.bsky.social
@seabirdsentinel.bsky.social

Who gets the spotlight? Disparities in seabird research attention at scientific conferences Seabirds are among the most threatened bird groups globally, yet research effort is unevenly distributed among species, with some taxa receiving exten…

Have you ever wondered about the disparities in #seabirds species at conferences? Are we talking about all the species?
Wonder no more. We (@thelabandfield.bsky.social @seabirdsentinel.bsky.social @ingridpollet.bsky.social) have the answer!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A new estimate of number of birds killed by cats in Canada was just published: https://ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/art12/

Congratulations and thank you to all authors including ECCC authors, Elizabeth Gow (co-supervisor of PhD student, Jonathan Chu), Julie Bourque and Christian Roy for this work.

As if Alix doesn’t have enough papers (5 data chapters + 9 bonus papers - yes, that’s 16 in 3 years!), soon we’ll gather for another of our famous #WritingRetreats to smash out 2 new papers. Can’t wait to drink tea, eat 🍰, laugh & write for 5 days with our talented team 😍 #AdriftLab #seabirds

One of our PhD students @alixdejersey.bsky.social submitted her #PhDThesis yesterday 🎉 Thankfully we’ve got heaps of papers to selfishly keep DOCTOR de Jersey around, and immersed in the world of #shearwaters & #plastics #phddone

Beached bird reports

If you’re in Australia, report your #BeachedBird observations here (especially important over the next 4-6 weeks) adriftlab.org/beached-bird...

Over the next few weeks you may see folks posting about how a storm or ‘the wind’ killed the #muttonbirds & that this is why they’re washing up dead on beaches. This is false. #Seabirds have evolved for life on the open ocean & exist in some of the harshest environments on our planet

#Seabirds use a highly efficient method of flight often called ‘slope soaring’ where they take advantage of wind eddies off the tops of the waves to give them extra lift. Rarely do they flap, and yet they’re catapulted forward at great speed
📸 credit: University of Oxford