Hugh Hanmer

Off to @nhm-london.bsky.social for @britornitholclub.bsky.social next weekend to talk Blackbirds and Usutu virus on behalf of @btobirds.bsky.social and the Vector-Borne RADAR project www.vb-radar.com

🦠 SAVE THE DATE! 🦜

I'm excited to announce that the theme of the 2027 BOU conference is Avian Disease Ecology!

📍 Nottingham, UK
📅 6–8 April 2027

🔗 Full details: lnkd.in/gPvFFDJe

Please share widely!

#BOU2027 #Ornithology #WildlifeDisease #AvianDisease #EcoHealth

Supplemental Feeding as a Driver of Population Expansion and Morphological Change in Anna's Hummingbirds Bird beaks are highly adaptable, with the potential to undergo rapid morphological shifts in response to environmental change such as climatic variation or food availability. Anna's Hummingbirds (Cal...

🚨New paper alert!🚨
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology

Checking out our meadow today, was surprised to find this single Snakes-head Fritillary! Girls had to pose with it (Wish pre and Freya post bog dog bath!) #GardenDogs #BorderCollies @hughhanmer.bsky.social

Up early for @btobirds.bsky.social #BirdRinging this morning. Wish did a fab job supervising @avutarta.bsky.social extracting one of two Reed Buntings caught and colour ringed. All birds caught and ringed under licence, and properly supervised by @hughhanmer.bsky.social

Distant photo of two Woodlarks.

Did my 1st Woodlark visits for @btobirds.bsky.social Heathland Birds Survey this am. As expected nothing on one square but happily 2 males (1 definitely paired) merrily singing away on the main suitable habitat patch in the other square! Even attempted a dodgy phone photo of the pair. #UKbirding

Queen Bumblebee on a crocus in the early spring sun.

Queen Bumblebee on a crocus in the early spring sun.

Queen Bumblebee on a crocus in the early spring sun.

First garden Bumblebee of the year with @welshlassy.bsky.social on our Crocuses this lunchtime! Buff-tailed Bumblebee queen? @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social @bto-gbw.bsky.social

Two Border Collies sit in a forest clearing watching their human dad watching birds through binoculars

Afternoon dog walk today to check out @hughhanmer.bsky.social's Woodlark square for the @btobirds.bsky.social #HeathlandBirdsSurvey... Didn't expect much but a courting pair, plus flock of four means we'll be back for a proper survey soon!

Image of a Stonechat on a purple background alongside the wording: Work with us! Senior Programme Lead (Bird Atlas). www.bto.org/jobs BTO logo sits top right of the image. Image credit reads: Stonechat © Liz Cutting/BTO.

Job alert! We’ve got a great opportunity for a full time, permanent Senior Programme Lead to oversee the Bird Atlas 2027–31. For the full job description and to apply visit ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs #Ornithology

Data analysis supports dad-joke punchline #toowettowoo

a cartoon owl standing on a tree branch with a yellow beak ALT: a cartoon owl standing on a tree branch with a yellow beak

Why didn't that occur to us at the time we wrote the paper! 🤣

Also seems to be more Nuthatches about this winter at the site which may reflect the availability of natural food.

Probably although it was a new adult so we've no idea of its history. Based on these two different but more typical individuals caught later in the session, I'd still say the upper bird had a shorter than average bill in contrast! Should really have measured them... 🪶

Two Nuthatch with different lengths bills. Ringed under BTO licence.

Big difference in bill lengths on these #Nuthatch ringed this morning for the @btobirds.bsky.social winter #BirdRinging project. Both males but the longer billed bird was 2+ years old with other a 1st winter. ringed under license @welshlassy.bsky.social @greg-conway.bsky.social @avutarta.bsky.social

A quite remarkable study, combining archaeology with foraging ecology of birds of prey.

Image of a Great Spotted Woodpecker on a green background alongside the wording: Work with us! Farmland Research Manager, Birds in Greenspaces Engagement Officer, BirdTrack Organiser, Director of Finance and Governance, Senior Programme Lead (Bird Atlas). www.bto.org/jobs. BTO logo sits top right of the image.

New year, new job? 🤔 We’ve got some great vacancies at BTO, come & join our friendly team & help us secure the future for birds. 🐦 See job vacancies. ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs #Ornithology #UKBirding #Norfolkbirding

For the Director of Finance & Governance role, visit: bit.ly/BTODirectorFi...

Frosty day out with @hughhanmer.bsky.social visiting @wwtworldwide.bsky.social #Caerlaverock. Nice to get the year list off to a good start (it won't last!), highlight being self finding a couple of Snipe on the ground in front of a hide. #UKBirding

Same thing for a few more hours!

Goldeneye on a loch in the snow.

First bird of the day a Wren. Best bird(s) of the day, on a non-birding @welshlassy.bsky.social family day, were several pairs of Goldeneye on a rather urban Strathclyde Country Park Loch in the snow!

Image of a Kestrel on a purple background alongside the wording: Work with us! BirdTrack Organiser. Birds in Greenspaces Engagement Officer. www.bto.org/jobs

Job alerts! 📢 We’re looking for a BirdTrack Organiser and a Birds in Greenspaces Engagement Officer to join our team. 🐦 Find out more and apply ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs

#Ornithology #UKbirding

Over the summer, our BTO research team were out ringing and GPS tagging nocturnal #Nightjars to better understand the challenges that they may face on migration to their non-breeding grounds in Africa. 🌍 #UKbirding #Ornithology

A late winter afternoon trip to the supermarket is always brightened up by seeing and hearing the Pied Wagtails gathering on the roof before dark and then coming out in the dark to them roosting in the trees just outside the entrance. #UrbanBirds #UKBirding #Birds @welshlassy.bsky.social

PhD Opportunity!! Come work with us (University of Exeter, RSPB & BTO) Diagnosing population decline in insectivorous birds. Inkd.in/eG58dQxs
Contact me for more details (s.bearhop@exeter.ac.uk). Please Share
@britishbirds.bsky.social @ibisjournal.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

Come join the team!

Zoomed photo of a Ring-necked/Rose-ringed Parakeet in a back garden tree.

Not the best of photos but a concerning sign of the times bumping into a small flock of Ring-necked Parakeet on my morning dog walk today in our Suffolk town. I've heard them occasionally around here before but never actually seen them until this last week... #UKBirding #Parakeets #InvasiveSpecies

Might as well start actually using this... Anyway, caught my first Brambling of the year this morning - winter must finally be coming! Ringed under @btobirds.bsky.social licence. #Ornithology #birdringing

❓Did you know... ❓

...at #BOU2024 Urban birds we're talking about...

At the bird table - disease spread and supplementary feeding
Hugh Hanmer

bou.org.uk/event/urb...

#ornithology