Rich Francksen

A Great Spotted Woodpecker on a tree, alongside the wording: Be informed join today.

Expand your knowledge with a BTO membership! We're here to support you with all the latest research, resources and training to help you develop your understanding of birds and the challenges they face.

Join today to access exclusive member content ➡️ www.bto.org/support-... #Ornithology

Wise words from Tom.
Some science to emphasise the importance of leaving space for waders:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/d...
#ornithology

📢 We need to hear YOUR thoughts!

The public consultation on reintroducing white-tailed eagles to #Cumbria is open. 🦅

Share your views by responding to our online questionnaire by October 31st HERE ⬇️
www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/CWTEquestionnaire/

Please share this post as widely as possible! 💚

‘It proves this can be done’: Berlin the blueprint to bring goshawks to UK cities Conservationist plans release of 15 each of the apex predators sourced as chicks into Chester and London

More ill thought out 'conservation' translocations 🌍
www.theguardian.com/environment/... - so much to unpack here #Ornithology #UKBirding 🧵

For anyone daft enough to care: today's my last day at Uni of Cumbria. It's been a privilege to lead the Zoology programme over the last few years.

Next, I’m joining @btobirds.bsky.social as a Research Ecologist in-part working on agri-environment scheme impacts on farmland birds. Can't wait!

Image of two Turtle Doves perching on branches over water, one leans down to take a drink. Wording to the left reads: Wild Bird Indicators. For populations in the UK and England, 1970 to 2024. Out now!

1/ The Wild Bird Indicators, using BTO data, have been updated today by Defra! ⬇️

Sadly, the ‘all bird species’ index, comprising the population trends of 130 species, has been in a slow continuous decline in the UK since the 1970s, down by 18% and by 4% in the last five years. 📉 #Ornithology

Ecologists know what the solutions are. Defra knows what the solutions are. But Treasury is stuck presenting nature as the enemy of growth.

With just four years to go, the Government needs to wake up, stop dancing and scale up public and private finance to underpin action.

@wclnews.bsky.social 🧪🌎

Some good info here: stravametro.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sec...

I looked into this for an active travel planning project a few years back - and yes, data are labelled by activity type, time (hour I think), date & direction of travel, so number of trips and unique users is easy to pull out I believe. The global heatmap works on a 13 month rolling basis.

YouTube video by RSPB 'Return' official trailer - the White-tailed eagles' comeback story | RSPB

The wait is almost over. 🦅

RETURN - the breathtaking story of how the White-tailed Eagle was brought back from extinction - premieres this Friday 29th August on our YouTube channel.

Fifty years in the making...

Who's ready?

youtu.be/i_A7_E6vIwQ?...

Positive impacts of agri‐environment schemes on butterflies from multiple evidence sources Our results provide support for positive effects of AES on butterflies in England from multiple sources of evidence, providing confidence that these schemes are providing tangible benefits for butter...

🦋 New UKCEH research with @naturalengland.bsky.social and @btobirds.bsky.social shows the positive impacts of agri-environment schemes (AES) on butterflies.

Paper: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @jappliedecology.bsky.social

🧵🧪 1/

How scientists can contribute to social movements and climate action Collective action on climate is crucial. Scientists play an important role in driving change.

Pleased to announce that @tristramwyatt.bsky.social & I have a new article out in @uk.theconversation.com, based on work with colleagues from @scientistsforxr.earth

We outline "How scientists can contribute to social movements and climate action"

Here's a thread with some background & key points 🧵

Job Advert reads: Work with us! Seabird Monitoring Programme Organsier www.bto.org/jobs With a photo of a Razorbill flying behind the text.

📢Job alert! We’re looking for the next Seabird Monitoring Programme Organiser to join the BTO Surveys Team!🔭📈

ℹ️ For more information and to apply: www.bto.org/jobs
🗓️ Deadline for applications: 8th Sept 2025.

#seabirds #citizenscience
@btobirds.bsky.social, @jncc.bsky.social, @rspb.bsky.social

"Don't ignore dietary shifts" – regen ag is a useful tool, but not enough alone to recover nature.

"We must make space where nature recovery is the primary land use, not a cherry-on-top".

See article by me & @jmbecologist.bsky.social in the latest @britishecologicalsociety.org Niche magazine.

Opportunities and challenges for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity in the robotics age Nature Ecology & Evolution - An expert-elicitation process identifies current methodological barriers for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity, and how technological and procedural development...

Happy to share our new paper in @natecoevo.nature.com on opportunities & barriers of using RAS (robots!) for biodiversity monitoring.

RAS can supplement, not replace, existing methods, work better for some taxa/habitats than others, and data handling is a big bottleneck.

rdcu.be/enhtb

Threats to nature in Labour’s planning bill | Letter Letter: The government’s proposals lack the safeguards necessary to preserve key ecosystems, including chalk streams and woodlands, warns Prof EJ Milner-Gulland

The Government's Planning bill "rests on weak “likely” benefits outweighing harm, ignoring scientific evidence, bypassing existing safeguards and failing to guarantee delivery of biodiversity gains.”

"Nature isn't a 'nice to have' it's all we have"

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

High-resolution naturalness mapping can support conservation policy objectives and identify locations for strongly protected areas in France - Communications Earth & Environment Identifying areas of high naturalness potential and support for nature restoration efforts in France and across Europe is possible with a high-resolution mapping tool that combines spatial data on the...

New paper just out… “High-resolution naturalness mapping can support conservation policy objectives and identify locations for strongly protected areas in France” with Jonathan Carruthers-Jones, Adrien Guetté et al. www.nature.com/articles/s43...
@universityofleeds.bsky.social

End of the brown field? Regenerative agriculture brings ecological benefits - British Ecological Society End of the brown field? Regenerative agriculture brings ecological benefits - BES is the largest scientific society for ecologists in Europe. We're working towards a world in which nature and people t...

Interesting British Ecological Society report on regenerative agriculture

Covers a lot of ground

But, to my mind, makes a misstep in not considering dietary change
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/end-...

Funding crisis for UK biodiversity research?

No ecology-specific funding calls from UKRI, NERC pulled its large grant & highlight topic grant rounds, and very little from Defra. We have not joined the Biodiversa round

At a time of biodiversity crisis, this lack is astonishing & worrying

Someone give the RSPB social-media folk a raise

Well done @btobirds.bsky.social

2024 was the hottest year on record 📈

TV news coverage of climate change decreased by 25% 📉

#EndClimateSilence

You can read our response to this article here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Leakage is an important issue, but we need a wider lens, and it shouldn't stop nature restoration on large areas of unproductive land

@ianconvery.bsky.social @landethics.bsky.social @helenkopnina.bsky.social

Through Skiddaw Forest, we hope to bring the magic of temperate rainforests to the slopes of Cumbria too!

We have nearly reached our goal regarding funding the first phase of the project - can you help?

www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/skiddaw-forest

#Cumbria #LakeDistrict #rainforest

Absolutely. National food strategy states that reducing food production on the least productive 20% of farmland will result in a 3% reduction in total calories produced. Preparing a response now!

John Swinney rules out reintroduction of lynx to Scotland The first minister tells farmers that no carnivorous species will be reintroduced under his government.

Annual release of millions of non-native gamebirds for shooting? Sure, no problem, no licences/permission required, fill yer boots, do what you like.

Carefully managed & licensed reintroduction of a native species? Not if its got sharp claws and teeth.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

1/ The UK government’s ‘growth vs newts and bats’ agenda has sparked a bit of a ‘Team Bat Team Newt’ response

It’s heartening and uplifting, but it plays right into their hands
🧵

Graphic: @rosie400.bsky.social

Barnacle Goose (c) Korall https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Branta_leucopsis_Djurgarden2.JPG

New in #BirdStudy

H5N1 bird flu killed a THIRD(!) of the Solway Barnacle Goose population (11,400 birds) in 2021/2.

Impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on a Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis population wintering on the Solway Firth, UK
doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology #ukbirding

Rewilding’s social–ecological aims: Integrating coexistence into a rewilding continuum - Ambio This paper presents results from a grounded theory study of rewilding aims, addressing calls for broad scale studies of rewilding to contribute to the development of guidelines. The grounded theory dr...

New paper just published:
Hawkins, S., Carver, S. & Convery, I. Rewilding’s social–ecological aims: Integrating coexistence into a rewilding continuum. Ambio (2024). doi.org/10.1007/s132...

Media Release: IPBES Nexus Assessment

We have global crises for biodiversity, climate, water, food and health

So it is good to see this new IPBES report on how they need to be tackled together, and the threat of cascading and compounding of impacts
www.ipbes.net/node/85582