Hannah Coburn

Map of DucklingWatch 2025 records

Young mallard duckling

A huge thanks to everyone involved in #DucklingWatch this year - we received over 950 brood records from across Britain.
See our end of season report at www.essex.ac.uk/research-projects/ducklingwatch for more info.
DucklingWatch will return in 2026 - stay tuned!

Wow! I thought this was a photo until I zoomed in

Me standing with my poster

Had a great few days at #BESMove2025 - lots of interesting talks and nice to get a chance to share some of my tagging results 🦆

Very excited to be in Kristianstad for a week of ducks #PEDS7 🇸🇪🦆

No problem! Hope you have a good time at EOU

mallards are persistent re-nesters so it’s possible there may be more late broods this year if there are more hens that have had multiple failed broods and are on their 2nd/3rd etc breeding attempts

Mallards have a long breeding season so there will usually be a few broods around in late summer (broods in autumn & winter aren’t unheard of!) but it’s likely the v dry & hot weather has meant high duckling mortality this season

Out last week - our #evidence review and assessment for @jncc.bsky.social of the #data and methods for assessing #sustainability of wild waterbird #harvest from recreational #hunting in the United Kingdom #wildlife #people led by @jomadden.bsky.social with Matt Ellis & myself #ecology #policy

Six pencil drawings of female mallards

Some sketches I did of a few of the mallards I have ringed/tagged for a department art exhibition last week
#SciArt #BirdArt

REAL HOPE. REAL CHANGE. An average of 27 children have been killed in Gaza every day since October 7, 2023. An entire classroom of children murdered, every day, for 646 days. Source: UNICEF Green Party Promoted by Chris Williams on behalf of The Green Party, both at PO Box 78066, London SE16 9GQ

Since 7 October 2023 an average of 27 children have been killed in Gaza by Israel every single day.

A whole classroom of children wiped out everyday by a genocidal regime, even while queuing for food and water.

And still the UK government sells them weapons. Shame on them.

PJ topped off a long hot day - she is the mother to three teens - at least this year #Essexducks @universityofessex.bsky.social #campus

JI with her new set of rings in September

JI on her nest

The remains of JI’s nest after hatching - some eggs successfully hatched while others appeared to have been predated

JI feeding in the mud with her brood

Nice story from one of our campus mallards. I ringed JI last Sept and she began nesting in a plant pot on campus in early May. The clutch hatched at the end of May but there was no sign of her brood - until yesterday when I saw JI on the Colne (1km from campus) with 3 ducklings

DucklingWatch Home Screen with number of members, observations, locations and measurements

Map showing distribution of brood sightings

Duckling scratching its head

Big thanks to everyone who’s participated to #DucklingWatch for helping us reach 500 records! Please keep sharing and submitting your sightings at citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch 🦆
#birdingUK🪶 #citizenscience

A female Shoveler, the focus of attention for five drakes at a wetland in Northumberland this week. She appeared to be paired with one, so that’s a ‘probable breeding’ record.

DUCKS: by this time of spring most ducks will have settled at potential breeding sites. So all records of scarce & rare breeding ducks, including Shoveler, Wigeon, Garganey, Pintail, Pochard and Red-breasted Merganser, should be submitted, with breeding evidence, to the relevant county recorder

Mallard duckling feeding

Young mallard duckling walks along pond shore under the watchful eye of its mother

Duckling season is finally picking up, with new broods appearing every day. Please keep submitting your brood sightings to #DucklingWatch!
Submit at citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch
#birds #birdingUK #ducklings #mallard

Thanks!

Thanks that would be great!

Woods where we located the nest

BJ, a female mallard I tagged in April

Where do mallards nest? Some nest in woods, including our tagged hen “BJ” whose nest we found today, predated but still gives us data on nesting outcomes & habitat 🦆🪺 Thanks to @ecoevoenviro.bsky.social & Mia for their help! A successful afternoon topped off by a red-footed falcon at Abberton

Not In Our Name: Feminist Academics and Educators Speak Out Against Transphobia We call on all trans-inclusive feminist academics and educators to sign this statement: ‘Not In Our Name’ We are non-trans feminist academics and educators. We write in support of trans rights, tran...

STATEMENT: 'Not In Our Name: Feminist Academics and Educators Speak Out Against Transphobia'
Read the statement online here: tinyurl.com/mud7va29
Co-sign the statement, fill in this form: forms.gle/oDYgnobrMiSc...

Newly hatched mallard ducklings amongst vegetation with their mother

We have campus ducklings! 11 in the brood, probably just a day old. Don’t forget to tell us about the ducklings you see at citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch
#DucklingWatch #birdinguk

I can’t say I know much about neoteny in ducks but I think in that case it would have a male type bill unlike this one

An understandable conclusion!

“The genocide we are witnessing today, is something that I recognize from my own experience as a Holocaust survivor… What is happening today in Gaza is an extreme form of repeat genocide, a holocaust in our own time, in front of our eyes.” — Stephen Kapos

Sea ice affects population dynamics in common eiders Sea ice is significant for the ecology of many arctic species. The Arctic is now heating up four times more quickly than any other place on earth, and we need to know the consequences the resulting…

Using 40 years of data from Svalbard, our latest study shows that early break-up of sea ice due to #globalwarming contributes to making some of the islands safer for common eider ducks to breed, as Arctic foxes cannot reach them. seapop.no/en/2025/04/s...

If you see any ducklings this spring please get involved in our UK project DucklingWatch! citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch 🦆

screenshot of open letter page 1 - full google doc available via link in post

screenshot of open letter page 2 - full google doc available via link in post

tinyurl.com/UoATransphobia
☝️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

im sure many of you are aware of hostility towards #trans staff & students in my department

myself & other ECRs have published a desperate call for action on #transphobia from departmental and university management

please read, share and SIGN IN SOLIDARITY ❤️

Thanks! Took it with my big lens last week

Intersex mallard with a female type bill and plumage intermediate between typical male and female plumage

One of the two intersex mallards currently on the campus lakes!

This occurs when a female duck begins to develop male plumage in response to loss of ovary function.

PhD Studentship: Transitions to Sustainable Wildlife Harvest: Evidence Based Management and The Social Licence to Hunt at University of Essex jobs.ac.uk are now advertising a PhD Studentship: Transitions to Sustainable Wildlife Harvest: Evidence Based Management and The Social Licence to Hunt. Discover exciting PhD opportunities on jobs.ac....

PhD AVAILABLE on #Wildlife #harvest and #management policy in the UK - studentship only for Home/UK resident status candidates - Life and social sciences collaboration - deadline 28th May 2025 - get in touch #birds #people #policy
tinyurl.com/3vxkzad9