Swiss Ornithological Institute

🚨 Master’s project!
Curious how birds find their way? 🧭🐦
Analyze decades of ringing data to study abnormal migratory routes and uncover what these deviations can reveal about the mechanisms guiding birds on their journeys. Drop me an email for details! #ornithology

www.vogelwarte.ch/de/wir/mitar...

Restoring habitat quality for Skylarks in winter cereal fields by manipulating the crop architecture Eurasian Skylarks decline is attributed to loss of suitable nesting and foraging habitats, highlighting the need for mitigating in-field measures. The study found that unsown Skylark strips in intens...

More Skylark science: a study with @agroscope.bsky.social tested whether Skylark strips in intensive winter cereal fields improved habitat quality for the species. Short answer: yes! The odds for nest being successful were 12.5 times that of control fields. doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

Skylark, Getty Images

In Europe, the Skylark Alauda arvensis has shown some sever declines. Populations are more stable in the Swiss Alps. To better inform conservation management, our team studied the limiting factors for these populations. Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/ibi....

An adult red kite feeding its nestlings, illustrating active parental care during the breeding season. Photo: Camera trap, Swiss Ornithological Institute.

Fig. 4 from the article: Capture probability in relation to the time since detection of the decoy predator for red kite breeding pairs with different brood sizes.

NEW PAPER: Parental anti-predator investment in red kites shifts with food conditions, reflecting both offspring vulnerability and reproductive value, with their relative importance changing across nestling age.

➡️ vist.ly/45uxb

#ornithology #birds #RaptorResearch @vogelwarte.bsky.social

#EOU2025 Come and join us for the symposium on the importance of vagrancy in ecology and evolution. Lots of great results in the talks from the different speakers!

LR4 - Friday 22 - 10:30

@alexanderlees.bsky.social @joewynnbirds.bsky.social #ornithology @vogelwarte.bsky.social

Excellent talk from @carladreon.bsky.social @vogelwarte.bsky.social in the life history & development #ornithology plenary @eounion.bsky.social evidencing lay date plasticity in alpine swifts with warming temperatures - a heritable adaptation that boosts individual reproductive success. #EOU2025

#EOU2025 #ALAN #migration #policy symposium - LR3 - Tuesday 19 - 11:30h

Then, Simon Hirschhofer will show how light pollution is impacting migratory bird flights at the Adriatic coast.

@vogelwarte.bsky.social
@barbarahelm.bsky.social

#ornithology
#aeroecology
#movementecology
#lightpollution

#EOU2025 Come and join us for the symposium on #bird #migration and #ALAN, aiming to discuss fundamental research and policy.

LR3 - Tuesday 19 - 10:30h

@baptischmi.bsky.social @carburt.bsky.social @jlyr.bsky.social @vogelwarte.bsky.social
#ornithology
#aeroecology
#movementecology
#lightpollution

Radar monitoring showed birds heading south crossing the Mediteranen sea in the Camargue, but migration intensity was lower in the Camargue than further west where most birds follow the coast towards Spain.

Bangor University, Wales UK

#EOU2025 is starting in #Bangor (Wales, UK). Come to see my poster on nocturnal bird migration at the Mediteranean coast in France. #migraLion #aeroecology #ornithology @vogelwarte.bsky.social

A red kite parent calling and swooping to scare away a potential nest predator (c) Patrick Scherler, Swiss Ornithological Institute

Have you ever wondered why parents react stronger to danger with small than with older children? Because they are more vulnerable! This seems to be less the case when children are well fed - at least in red kites 😉 Check out our new paper in #ornithology @vogelwarte.bsky.social tinyurl.com/322wpbp6

Conspecific vocalisations as a Wryneck conservation tool: if you play it, will they settle? Paula Schatte and co-authors share insight from their recent study examining the relative importance of food availability and conspecific vocalisations for breeding habitat selection during both th…

"Conspecific vocalisations as a Wryneck conservation tool: if you play it, will they settle?"
The Applied Ecologist has published a blog featuring our new publication @aer-ese-bes.bsky.social
Enjoy reading!
tinyurl.com/d3cvh9p8

Conspecific vocalisations as a Wryneck conservation tool: if you play it, will they settle? Paula Schatte and co-authors share insight from their recent study examining the relative importance of food availability and conspecific vocalisations for breeding habitat selection during both th…

🔈New Blog Post - Conspecific vocalisations as a Wryneck conservation tool: if you play it, will they settle? appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/08/08/c...

Check out our research summary blogs for more details behind the research ⭐

YouTube video by MyRadar Weather News Surf’s up! What are gravity waves?

Hi William, @andygell.bsky.social shared a useful video to understand what gravity waves are (thanks!): www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Jb...

Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos by Marcel Burkhardt

Combining high-resolution atmospheric analysis and global positioning system tracking data, @matthiastschumi.bsky.social and his team explored the role of gravity waves in soaring golden eagles, with results supporting the regular use of these waves. Read more here: doi.org/10.1098/rsif...

Andrey Gulivanov, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Using data of 49 radio-tracked White-back Woodpeckers, A. Ettwein, M. Lanz & G. Pasinelli provide the first estimates for seasonal and total home-range size of the species. For its conservation, at least 116-350 ha of forest should be present for one breeding pair. doi.org/10.1007/s103...

Croatia serves as a connection point for the 3 flyways in the African-Palearctic bird migration system. Using radar data, @baptischmi.bsky.social @barbarahelm.bsky.social et al. provide quantitative evidence that migratory birds cross the region in a variety of directions. doi.org/10.1186/s404...

Together with @wslresearch.bsky.social & @ethz.ch, we looked at the relation between resource pulses and woodpecker density. Our findings showed a strong increase of woodpecker density with the pulse of deadwood, rather than the pulse of bark beetles. Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Our latest nutcracker paper is out!

In a collaborative effort between @sgn.one and @vogelwarte.bsky.social we show how bird age can affect seed dispersal 🐥🌱

#ProcB @royalsocietypublishing.org Avian seed dispersal function is age dependent
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

@matthiastschumi.bsky.social

Photo credit: Felix Neff.

The #EditorsChoice article for the issue discusses how #moth communities are shaped by season, weather, elevation, and landscape composition
doi.org/10.1111/icad.12835

#Biodiversity #InsectCommunities
@felixneff.bsky.social @agroscope.bsky.social @vogelwarte.bsky.social

Photo credit: Felix Neff

Today is #WorldChocolateDay. Did you know that Swiss people eat the most chocolate per capita? Therefore, we take responsability in making cocoa plantations better for birds. Our project in Africa promotes sustainable cocoa agriculture - for birds and for people. shorturl.at/yg5pp

Comparison of Bayesian Models to Estimate Survival From Dead‐Recovery Alone and Together With Live‐Encounter Data: Challenges and Opportunities Different models in the Bayesian framework for analyzing dead-recovery data, either alone or together with live-encounter data to estimate survival, are presented and compared. Although all but one o...

To estimate survival, a key parameter in population dynamics, ecologists use different statistical models to account for imperfect detection of living and dead individuals. M. Schaub and @jaumebadiaboher.bsky.social studied the performance of these models. Read more here: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

Combining weather radar data with environmental data, @birgenhaest.bsky.social and co-authors found that peak roosting phenology of migrating martins and swallows in the Great Lakes region is paced by both local and distant conditions. Read more on doi.org/10.1111/geb....

Enhanced forecasting of bird nocturnal migration intensity in relation to previous days and synoptic weather patterns - International Journal of Biometeorology Operational bird migration forecast models have recently offered promising perspectives for mitigating the impacts of human activities on avifauna. These models improve on simple phenological expectat...

Bird migration forecast models help mitigate the impact of human activity on avifauna. Using weather dynamics at various spatial and temporal scales, these models can be enhanced, as a new study shows: doi.org/10.1007/s004... @baptischmi.bsky.social

Interview zum Zustand der Vogelwelt: «Mit einer einzigen Massnahme könnten wir zehn Arten von der Roten Liste streichen» Matthias Kestenholz von der Vogelwarte Sempach wirft der Landwirtschaft Ausreden beim Vogelschutz vor. Und der Ornithologe sagt, wie Einzelpersonen den Tieren helfen können.

«Mit einer einzigen Massnahme könnten wir zehn Arten von der Roten Liste streichen» @vogelwarte.bsky.social
www.tagesanzeiger.ch/vogelschutz-...

Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms Aim The urgency for remote, reliable and scalable biodiversity monitoring amidst mounting human pressures on ecosystems has sparked worldwide interest in Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), which can...

Ever heard of the Worldwide Soundscapes project? It's a collaborative network and growing database which contains metadata from more than 400 datasets from passive acoustic monitoring projects across all realms. Read more about it on doi.org/10.1111/geb....

Jynx torquilla, Getty Images

A playback experiment on Wrynecks Jynx torquilla shows that both personal and social information seem to affect habitat selection, but that food availability is the main cue for settlement. More on doi.org/10.1002/2688...

Ja, es handelt sich tatsächlich um einen jungen Kiebitz.

Migration Strategy and Diet Affect the Metabolism of Passerine Birds During Endurance Flight We compared the metabolic profile of 30 bird species caught out of their migratory flight. The degree of fat use depended on migration strategy, diet, and current fat stores. Long-distance night-migr...

Using blood samples from passerine birds caught at our ringing station Col de Bretolet, Susanne Jenni-Eiermann & Lukas Jenni analyzed whether migration strategy and diet during energy deposition are related to the metabolic profile during migratory flight. More on doi.org/10.1002/ece3....

In a new study using down feathers and regurgitated pellets from nestling barn owls from our population monitoring program, mercury accumulation and biomagnification were investigated. Results show that prey composition significantly influenced fur THg levels. More on doi.org/10.1016/j.jh... .

Graphical abstract of: Moth communities are shaped by season, weather, elevation, and landscape composition

A new article in #RESInsectConsDiv shows moth communities are shaped by season, weather, elevation & landscape composition - a dataset of unusually large spatial & temporal extent

Read the article now🔽
doi.org/10.1111/icad.12835

@felixneff.bsky.social @agroscope.bsky.social @vogelwarte.bsky.social