Ellie Owen

a woman is holding up a help wanted sign in a window Alt: Gif of a woman taping a "help wanted" sign to a window.

Do you sometimes see/report/handle dead wildlife as a scientist (including volunteer community scientists)?

If so, do you have any strategies for dealing with the stress and grief that these encounters can cause?

I'm building a toolkit for myself and for some other stressed out folks!

context:

A photograph of a Hākoakoa parent with its fuzzy brown chick. The parent is displaying loudly while the chick is looking at you, already planning its next move. Text on the image says "More than a pretty (aggressive) vace, Skua are devoted parents who often form polyandrous family units. Chicks venture out to explore their world quickly." Photo credit Penny Pascoe via Australian Antarctic programme.

It's family values day here at Team Hākoakoa. You'll struggle to find a bird more devoted to its chicks than Skua. Just look at that fuzzy brown face. How could you not vote Skua for #birdoftheyear2025? #Skua @forestandbird.bsky.social

Scientists claim they’ve made ‘pivotal step’ in bringing back the dodo for first time in 300 years Thousands of dodos could return within a decade according to Colossal Biosciences, a ‘de-extinction’ company – but experts warn of ‘moral hazard’

“Rich Grenyer, a biologist at the University of Oxford, said de-extinction is a “dangerous” distraction and that gene-edited animals are “at best a sort of simulation, rather like those unnerving animated AI portraits of dead relatives some… people create”.”
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

This is a game changer for marine conservation. Now we need to build on the momentum and designate high seas marine protected areas to conserve Key Biodiversity Areas @keybiodiversity.bsky.social

Thermoregulation is very important for humans and seabirds alike. Stay hydrated this week people!
#NTSSeabirds

A Fulmar glides through the sunset with Carn Mor beyond. A quiet night up there, with many of our nocturnal seabirds now departed.
#NTSSeabirds
#SuperSeabirdSunday

Coming up online this Friday! 🗣️📓🐦 Deadline to sign up is this Wednesday 3rd September: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #Seabirds

NEW PhD studentship in #ornithology studying foraging distribution of coastal #seabirds in #France: buff.ly/qBWQMVZ

These two studies do not contradict each other but reinforce the desperate need to get strongly regulated and strictly enforced MPAs in place - not just boxes on a map with little effect

On Monday there were a number of sightings of minke whales in the area. Marine Station staff and volunteers were lucky enough to get some great views and even captured this wee bit of video footage. Especially exciting for some, for whom it was a first!

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/o...

The ‘our ocean’ podcast has some great #seabird content including guillemot jumplings and gulls - menace or marvel :)
Find it wherever you get your podcasts.
#NTSseabirds

The Bonxie in the foreground is one of the few remaining ringed birds (WSWR) from an intensive study conducted between 2007 and 2009 here on #StKilda. Great to see this bird, ringed as an adult in 2009, still going strong post #HPAI outbreak.
#NTSSeabirds
@theseabirdgroup.bsky.social

“This is a very dark day for seabirds. Berwick Bank would be catastrophic for Scotland’s globally important seabirds which are already facing alarming declines. Its impacts are so damaging it will make it very difficult for other, less-harmful windfarms to come forward. We are incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for a project which could catapult some of Scotland’s most-loved seabird species towards extinction.”

Gannet pair courting

A dark day for Scotland’s seabirds.

We're incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for the Berwick Bank offshore windfarm, which could catapult some of our most vulnerable species toward extinction 🚨

We will carefully scrutinise the details and consider our next steps.

A bird’s-eye view of the gannet colony at St Kilda The first drone census at St Kilda has revealed the islands are now home to the world’s largest gannet colony.

Results from the 2023 #StKilda Gannet census are to be published in the December issue of #ScottishBirds, revealing relative stability in what is once again the world's largest colony, despite fears that #HPAI may have had a greater impact on the population
#NTSSeabirds
@scottishbirding.bsky.social

Really pleased to have contributed to this epic survey of >59,000 pairs of gannets! The St Kilda colony was less impacted by HPAI than other colonies, perhaps because steep cliffs reduced disease transmission. Flatter areas of the colony suffered greater losses.

#ornithology #seabirds #NTSseabirds

Important to say that some parts of the colony did have big losses, especially the flat dense parts, but the pointiness of st kildas steep slopes may have helped break the transmission of the virus.

‘Gannets milestone for St Kilda’ story on the front page of the Herald

‘St Kilda now has largest colony of gannets in the world’ story on page 7 of The Herald

Front page! It was a real pleasure to work on this story with @craig-nisbet.bsky.social @stkildawhs.bsky.social @ellingbry.bsky.social on the first drone census of the gannet population at St Kilda, which has determined that it is once again the world’s largest colony #NTSSeabirds

shorturl.at/PQxSg

Most Guillemot jumplings will have jumped by now from #StKilda and be heading out to sea with their dads, whilst some Kittiwake chicks aren't far from fledging age now either.
#NTSSeabirds
#SuperSeabirdSunday

Check out the fabulous seasonal highlights board updated today by our amazingly talented biosecurity volunteer, Hebe! Those stormies are incredible 😍
@n-t-s.bsky.social
#NTSSeabirds

intimate views of the #StKilda Gannet colony are a rare privilege, due mainly to difficult access, but we were able to land on Boreray a couple of weeks ago in order to conduct a census, for which the results will be shared when analysed. Glorious seabirds! 😍
#SuperSeabirdSunday
#NTSSeabirds

Out on the seabird cliffs with NTS volunteers Kate and Yvette today. They’ve been completely brilliant at helping to monitor the Kittiwakes on Mingulay. Chicks ahoy! 🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥

#NTSSeabirds

One of many young Fulmars taking shelter under their parents during a grey and drizzly couple of days on #StKilda this weekend. #SuperSeabirdSunday
#NTSseabirds

Fab NTS volunteers Kate and Yvette helping to collect guillemot diet study data.

Sandeels and Clupeids (herring and sprats) seemed to be the most numerous fish being fed to chicks today 🐥 🐟

#NTSSeabirds

The smiling faces of 3 people who witnessed guillemot chicks fledge from the cliffs last night.

SUCH a privilege to follow these birds from egg laying in early May, to hatching, rearing chicks and to see them successfully fledging.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!!

#NTSSeabirds

A day playing the sound of calling European Storm Petrels into crevices in rocky boulder fields. If storm petrels are breeding on Mingulay, there’s a chance the real birds will call back to our portable speaker.

No luck today, but a brilliant way to explore the magical island 🤩

#NTSSeabirds

Woohoo :) thanks!!!

The great news from #StKilda this #superseabirdsunday is that following a significant decline since 1999, our Kittiwake population is creeping ever closer back up to 4 figures this year, with 989 nests recorded last week!
#NTSSeabirds
@smp-seabirds.bsky.social

Seabirds, camera, action! We would love you to submit photos of seabirds carrying fish at any National Trust for Scotland place. This will help us monitor what food seabirds are…

www.nts.org.uk/stories/seab... it would be amazing if you could submit this picture :) thanks #NTSseabirds

Huge WHOPPING thanks to Richard Luxmoore who has counted and mapped ALL of the Great Skua (Bonxie) territories across Mingulay.

Total number of apparently occupied territories is 74 - up from 44 for the last 2 years. Hopefully a sign of recovery from avian flu 🤞🤞🤞

#NTSSeabirds
#SuperSeabirdSunday

Rocky island with grass on the top, viewed from a boat. If you zoom in really close you can just make out some seabirds on the island, including puffins!

Scenic landscape showing grass in the foreground with the sea behind. There are rocky islets in the sea.

Highland cow standing at the side of a quiet country road.

A great 2nd week working for @n-t-s.bsky.social, helping to count #seabirds around Iona! 🐣 Getting accurate counts is an important first step in measuring and understanding long-term trends in seabird populations 📉

#NTSseabirds @smp-seabirds.bsky.social