Richard J. Hall | Lightnews

Richard Hall

@richardlovesbirds.bsky.social

430 followers 290 following 37 posts

Theoretical ecologist based in Athens, GA. Into disease ecology and animal migration. Love birds and native gardening. he/him Lab: https://halllab.ecology.uga.edu/ Wildlife from the backyard: https://www.instagram.com/richhallagram/ .. more

Videos

Environmental science 38%

Biology 17%

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 12h

I am sure one will find your sprinklers eventually!

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 13h

With all of the horrors 2025 has brought I haven't had much enthusiasm to engage with this platform, but warblers help make the world a little bit better, so thought I would share some warbler joy from a few days ago at my backyard birdbath in Athens GA. Migration is amazing!

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Reposted by Richard J. Hall

The Institute for Bird Populations @instbirdpop.bsky.social · Feb 24

🪶 Today, more than 1/3 of the federal grant $$ we were relying on to finance our science & conservation work in 2025 is paused w/ no indication of when, or if, we will be able to access it again. Your tax-deductible donation helps us weather this period of uncertainty. birdpop.org/pages/do... 1/2

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Feb 19

For the past 3 days I've been hosting Georgia's 2nd ever Hooded Oriole in my yard - it showed up right after last weekend's storms from the west. Since then almost 80 people have showed up to admire it. Amidst all the turmoil & bad news it's been nice to share a slice of joy with Georgia birders!

Georgia's second ever Hooded Oriole. This is a young male with an all-yellow body and black bib. DIstinguished from nearby Baltimores by its narrow curved bill and long skinny tail

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Feb 6

Some much needed bird therapy - the huge blackbird/ cowbird/ grackle/ starling roost in a bamboo patch in west Athens. The wheeling flocks were occasionally thrown into disarray by a marauding Cooper's Hawk.

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Feb 5

I hope to be there if I still have funding! 😬

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Feb 5

@mariusgrabow.bsky.social, today we are reading your paper on blood parasite effects on hirundine movement in our graduate journal club on the interface of animal behavior and disease!

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Feb 2

Rare in winter this far north, a Lincoln's Sparrow is overwintering along the N Oconee River Greenway in Athens, highlighting the value of this urban corridor. The video includes comparison with lookalike Song Sparrow in foreground (note fine streaks, slender body & bill, & buffy malar of Lincoln's)

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 31

Nice pics! Although Blackcaps have always been a summer breeder in the UK, these wintering birds come from continental Europe, some even flying north for winter from Spain! Temperate UK winters plus food subsidies in gardens allow them to return to breeding sites earlier & secure best territories

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 30

It's the year of the Great Northern Diver! It's always to joy to see these birds staging in Athens in late March on their northbound migration. Overnight rains can sometimes result in 50+ birds in breeding attire, giving their haunting yodelling calls.

A flock of breeding plumage Great Northern Divers (Common Loons) against a foggy wooded backdrop in Athens Georgia

A close up of a breeding plumage Common Loon showing bright red eye and white neck collar, Athens GA

A Great Northern Diver in flight giving its yodelling call over Lake Chapman, Athens, GA.

Reposted by Richard J. Hall

Benjamin Freeman @benjaminfreeman.bsky.social · Jan 29

cool paper alert!

flower mites use hummingbirds as taxis to move from flower to flower

ok, super cool, but how do they quickly jump onto this taxi?

turns out they sense the hummingbird's electric field and use electrostatic attraction to hop on!

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 29

I just realized that your name in reverse is Dat Sallad.

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 28

We need a caption contest for this photo! If you'll lettuce

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 25

Post-migratory movements in the nonbreeding season are in fact displayed by a surprising number of birds around the world, with diverse resource- or weather-based cues. Two former students in the lab wrote a paper documenting examples of this: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Post‐migratory nonbreeding movements of birds: A review and case study

While many migratory birds are conceptualized as using a single wintering site, technological advances that enable detailed tracking of individual birds are uncovering more examples of post-migratory....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 25

Some local birding cheer - a female Rufous Hummingbird has showed up at a friend's feeder following the recent cold snap. As more Neotropical birds attempt to overwinter in temperate regions, cold snaps may well lead to more mid-winter displacements of migrants.

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 22

The frigid for Georgia 18F/-8C temperatures brought a sprinkling of ducks to Lake Herrick on the UGA campus, most notably a pair of American Wigeon. Supporting cast included 5 Redheads, 3 Hooded Mergansers and a Ruddy Duck.

A gorgeous drake American Wigeon showing his green head iridescence and salmon flanks. The first on UGA's campus since 2009, brought in by yesterday's winter storm.

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 21

Added to the top of my reading list: analysis of nocturnal flight calls of migrants suggests interspecies communication! Social associations across species during nocturnal bird migration: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Social associations across species during nocturnal bird migration

Songbirds have long been thought to undertake migration independently. Van Doren et al. find that songbirds associate with other species during migratory flights, connections that may be maintained by...

www.cell.com

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Jan 9

Asst. Prof Quantitative Insect Ecologist in University of Georgia's Entomology Dept! Great folks at UGA working on insects in this and other units.
www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/406...

Assistant Professor: Quantitative Insect Ecologist

The Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia (UGA) invites applications for a tenure-track position (9 months) in quantitative insect ecology at the Assistant Professor rank.The position ...

www.ugajobsearch.com

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Reposted by Richard J. Hall

Journal of Applied Ecology @jappliedecology.bsky.social · Jan 9

Birds connect places! Using movements of >10K inds of a migratory shorebird, quantified site<->site connectivity across a flyway. Identified 49 highly connected sites 🐦

But, many are unprotected. Considering connectivity improves conservation for migratory species 🌎 🧪

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

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Reposted by Richard J. Hall

Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · Jan 8

20 years on from the start of a novel avian disease epidemic that has led to catastrophic population declines in several UK species we are finally getting some significant movement on advice regarding bird feeding
www.theguardian.com/environment/... 1/2 #Ornithology #UKbirding

RSPB stops selling flat bird feeders owing to deadly finch disease

Feeding birds from flat surfaces such as tables could be contributing to spread of finch trichomonosis, says charity

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Richard J. Hall

Peter Santema @petersantema.bsky.social · Jan 8

New paper out in @rsocpublishing.bsky.social! Research from our group shows that males of the polygynous ruff visit many potential breeding sites within a breeding season, travelling up to 9000 km and visiting up to 23 different sites! royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 1/7

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Dec 25

They do - Baltimore Orioles are my favourite Christmas ornament!

5 Baltimore Orioles in various plumages from a black-and-orange adult male to a pale yellow immature visiting my jelly feeder.

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Dec 20

One of the last birds I saw in the UK before moving to Athens, GA. Now I have a flock of them wintering in my yard!

Steph' Thorpe @stephbirdart.bsky.social · Dec 19

Bit of video of another brilliant bird from this week in history. A male Baltimore Oriole in Oxfordshire on 17th December 2003. #birds #UKbirding #rarebirdsuk

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Reposted by Richard J. Hall

Steph' Thorpe @stephbirdart.bsky.social · Dec 19

Bit of video of another brilliant bird from this week in history. A male Baltimore Oriole in Oxfordshire on 17th December 2003. #birds #UKbirding #rarebirdsuk

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Dec 18

A mugshot of a Nelson's Sparrow sitting on the boat dock during a very high tide on the St Catherines Island Christmas Bird Count.

Nelson's Sparrow, a secretive marsh bird, perches in the open on a boat dock with a coffee mug in the foreground. An incongruous setting for this skulking species, very high tides can push them out into the open.

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Dec 11

Athens super-birder Patrick Maurice found an incredible first Clarke County record of Lapland Longspur today. Luckily I was able to re-find it this morning as my 250th bird species in Georgia's smallest county.

A distant Lapland Longspur found at Athens Ben-Epps airport today. This scarce grassland bird from the north is just about annual in Georgia.

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Dec 5

Another slice of migratory bird joy - more video footage of migrants that stopped by my backyard pond in Athens, GA in fall 2024. Part 2 of 2. #birds #backyardbirds

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Dec 5

A little slice of migratory bird joy - a short montage of some of the migrants that stopped by my backyard pond in Athens, GA in fall 2024. Part 1 of 2. #birds #backyardbirds

Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Nov 24

She asked if she could use my photo of a Blackburnian Warbler from my yard as the inspiration for her painting! I love her interpretation, especially placing the bird in a coffee plant, a habitat this bird might overwinter in, benefiting coffee farmers by eating insect pests. Conservation win-win!

My original photo of a male Blackburnian Warbler perched on a branch above my backyard pond in Athens GA. These stunning birds pass through my yard every fall and I'm thrilled that Julia's interpretation immortalizes the bird on these coffee labels!

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · Nov 24

An extra cool personal connection- GA artist & ecologist Julia Weil was commissioned to create the label art of a Blackburnian Warbler. Julia conducted undergrad research in my lab. We first met when she visited my yard to see her lifer Nashville Warbler.

Julia Weil's stunning artwork of a male Blackburnian Warbler with its fiery orange throat perched in a coffee plant with berries.

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