John Allcock

"People go to the park to feed pigeons"
In this case, will they really enjoy seeing goshawks catch and eat those pigeons?

It's along the same lines as Singapore inventing Hainan chicken, isn't it?

This is the correct answer. And the chicks even have a tiny spoon as soon as they hatch. Not only best shorebird, but a serious contender for best bird!

Are these supposed to be 'rewilded' at some point? Where? To feed on what? What will be the impact on existing species?
Or are they just zoo exhibits/pets?

I find it interesting how fast they pivoted from "we need to recreate mammoths to restore ecosystems and fight climate change" to "let's create big GM dogs and pretend they're dire wolves, because of pop culture"

The front cover of a scientific journal titled Ornithologist, dated 1 April 2025. The main headline reads: “BIRDS: DECODED - Groundbreaking New Science.” Below that, a subheading says: “What are the UK’s birds really saying? Pioneering new research provides the answers.”

WORLD-FIRST: Ground-breaking research published today in the Ornithologist Journal has, for the first time, translated common UK bird vocalisations into equivalent phrases in the human language.

The results tell us a lot!

Extracts below... 🧵

Science Talk: Beyond bees and butterflies – why South-east Asia must step up on insect conservation Across the region, insect conservation is under-represented in research, funding and public discourse. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Science Talk: Beyond bees and butterflies – why South-east Asia must step up on insect conservation #insects #entomology #conservation #biodiversity @xinruiong.bsky.social @teelab.bsky.social
www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

Extinction of experience among ecologists Fieldwork-based research and education in ecology are under multiple threats and are progressively declining. We call for greater attention to this ongoing loss of direct field experience within the ecology community, as it could have widespread consequences for science and education, ultimately hindering efforts to address the ongoing biodiversity crisis.

Where are all the field studies?

This ⬇️ important but rather depressing paper describes how conducting, & crucially initiating, field studies is becoming harder & rarer.

A short 🧵 (and a call for more fieldwork)
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

The one that annoys me is the singular use of taxa (instead of taxon).

2025 getting off to a good start bird-wise, with an Asian Barred Owlet singing over the sound of fireworks at midnight!

Sadly, this case is very representative of the HK attitude to EIA recently.

Actually assessing the environmental impact and using that info to make an informed decision is seen as an "unacceptable delay".

Construction is given priority over anything else.

Anyway, Hello Bluesky I guess. Been looking for a while but hadn't posted until now

OK. That was a strange feeling, scrolling through posts and thinking "I'm sure I took that photo"... and yeah, it turns out I did!