Ashley Olah
@ashleyolah.bsky.social
Madison, WI native. Postdoctoral fellow at University of Rhode Island, species modelling for conservation. Former UW-Madison graduate student - Kirtland's Warbler habitat use and Argentine bird distributions. Cat parent, D & D player, k-drama watcher.
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Did you ever hear the myth that birds can't smell? Well... here's a fascinating roundup of different ways that birds use their sense of smell! #ornithology
The brilliant and bizarre ways birds use their sense of smell – from natural cologne to pest control
Humans and birds both have an underappreciated sense of smell.
theconversation.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Did you ever hear the myth that birds can't smell? Well... here's a fascinating roundup of different ways that birds use their sense of smell! #ornithology
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Woodlands covered most of Eastern N. America, but #fire exclusion degraded them. Prescribed fire & tree thinning maintain open understory & allow #oaks & #flowers to thrive.
We work in @nature.org managed #BarabooHills oak woodlands studying how management affects #bird, #insect, and #plants.
We work in @nature.org managed #BarabooHills oak woodlands studying how management affects #bird, #insect, and #plants.
February 10, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Woodlands covered most of Eastern N. America, but #fire exclusion degraded them. Prescribed fire & tree thinning maintain open understory & allow #oaks & #flowers to thrive.
We work in @nature.org managed #BarabooHills oak woodlands studying how management affects #bird, #insect, and #plants.
We work in @nature.org managed #BarabooHills oak woodlands studying how management affects #bird, #insect, and #plants.
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Now open: Applications for Field Inclusive's WOS-sponsored fellowship at Cape Fear Bird Observatory! Open to students & early-career professionals from marginalized / historically excluded identities (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, etc).
Field Inclusive - Cape Fear Bird Observatory Joint Fellowship - Field Inclusive, Inc.
Field Inclusive – Cape Fear Bird Observatory Joint Fellowship Accepting Applications. Organization: The Cape Fear Bird ObservatoryLocation: Greater Wilmington (New Hanover and Brunswick Counties)Job…
www.fieldinclusive.org
February 4, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Now open: Applications for Field Inclusive's WOS-sponsored fellowship at Cape Fear Bird Observatory! Open to students & early-career professionals from marginalized / historically excluded identities (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, etc).
Reposted by Ashley Olah
A new way to map species habitat, thanks to WCS-led research funded by NASA.
This information is essential for governments, NGOs, and funders deciding where to invest in conservation and restoration.
🌎 Read more: bit.ly/3LWW2JA
This information is essential for governments, NGOs, and funders deciding where to invest in conservation and restoration.
🌎 Read more: bit.ly/3LWW2JA
January 27, 2026 at 3:40 PM
A new way to map species habitat, thanks to WCS-led research funded by NASA.
This information is essential for governments, NGOs, and funders deciding where to invest in conservation and restoration.
🌎 Read more: bit.ly/3LWW2JA
This information is essential for governments, NGOs, and funders deciding where to invest in conservation and restoration.
🌎 Read more: bit.ly/3LWW2JA
Reposted by Ashley Olah
📣 OPEN NOW! We are now accepting abstracts, Travel Award applications, & Caregiver Grant applications for #AFOWOS2026. The deadline is March 1 — we hope to see you in Rhode Island this summer! afowos2026.org
January 23, 2026 at 4:24 PM
📣 OPEN NOW! We are now accepting abstracts, Travel Award applications, & Caregiver Grant applications for #AFOWOS2026. The deadline is March 1 — we hope to see you in Rhode Island this summer! afowos2026.org
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Funding opportunity! The Road to Recovery (R2R) organization is providing funding to support conservation-oriented work on birds on their Tipping Point Species list (i.e., rapidly declining species not yet threatened or endangered). Applications due 1/30! #ornithology
Funding Opportunities - Road to Recovery
R2R invites responses from existing or emerging multi-institutional Working Groups interested in a grant to accelerate recovery of a Tipping Point Species.
r2rbirds.org
January 7, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Funding opportunity! The Road to Recovery (R2R) organization is providing funding to support conservation-oriented work on birds on their Tipping Point Species list (i.e., rapidly declining species not yet threatened or endangered). Applications due 1/30! #ornithology
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Instead of using a single muscle to control the action, woodpeckers activate every muscle in their bodies and let out short, explosive grunts with each strike
How Woodpeckers Turn Their Entire Bodies into Pecking Machines
These birds’ drilling approach is more like extreme tennis playing than weight lifting
www.scientificamerican.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Instead of using a single muscle to control the action, woodpeckers activate every muscle in their bodies and let out short, explosive grunts with each strike
Reposted by Ashley Olah
New to @bsky.app, so will be sharing few newish publications!
Here, we assessed whether #soundscapes reflect the #BiodiversityChanges – in #vegetation, #arthropod biomass, and #bird #community measured during #restoration of #oak #woodland.
tinyurl.com/5byfab8f
Here, we assessed whether #soundscapes reflect the #BiodiversityChanges – in #vegetation, #arthropod biomass, and #bird #community measured during #restoration of #oak #woodland.
tinyurl.com/5byfab8f
Complex and highly saturated soundscapes in restored oak woodlands reflect avian richness and abundance - Oecologia
Temperate woodlands are biodiverse natural communities threatened by land use change and fire suppression. Excluding historic disturbance regimes of periodic groundfires from woodlands causes degradat...
tinyurl.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:58 AM
New to @bsky.app, so will be sharing few newish publications!
Here, we assessed whether #soundscapes reflect the #BiodiversityChanges – in #vegetation, #arthropod biomass, and #bird #community measured during #restoration of #oak #woodland.
tinyurl.com/5byfab8f
Here, we assessed whether #soundscapes reflect the #BiodiversityChanges – in #vegetation, #arthropod biomass, and #bird #community measured during #restoration of #oak #woodland.
tinyurl.com/5byfab8f
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Here is a #webinar on this newish paper of ours by Maia #Persche @bhrc.bsky.social & Ann Calhoun @nature.org, at the Fire Consortium
@uwmadison.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/yuacrtrd
@uwmadison.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/yuacrtrd
December 6, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Here is a #webinar on this newish paper of ours by Maia #Persche @bhrc.bsky.social & Ann Calhoun @nature.org, at the Fire Consortium
@uwmadison.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/yuacrtrd
@uwmadison.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/yuacrtrd
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Our very own Maia Persche was interviewed about her & BHERC work, and some of the methods we use to understand #oak #woodland management and #biodiversity in the #BarabooHills! #bioacoustics #soundscapes @nature.org
@instbirdpop.bsky.social @uwmadison.bsky.social
www.nature.org/en-us/magazi...
@instbirdpop.bsky.social @uwmadison.bsky.social
www.nature.org/en-us/magazi...
Call of the Wild
Field biologist and bioacoustic researcher Maia Persche listens to the woods, recording soundscapes that can reveal insights about biodiversity and habitat management.
www.nature.org
December 1, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Our very own Maia Persche was interviewed about her & BHERC work, and some of the methods we use to understand #oak #woodland management and #biodiversity in the #BarabooHills! #bioacoustics #soundscapes @nature.org
@instbirdpop.bsky.social @uwmadison.bsky.social
www.nature.org/en-us/magazi...
@instbirdpop.bsky.social @uwmadison.bsky.social
www.nature.org/en-us/magazi...
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Gray-headed Chickadee aka Siberian Tit may now be extinct in North America #Ornithology 🌎🪶 @richardkbroughton.bsky.social
www.aba.org/lost-on-the-...
www.aba.org/lost-on-the-...
Lost on the Frontier - American Birding Association
Conjectures—and some evidence—regarding why the Gray-headed Chickadee may have been extirpated from the ABA Area.
www.aba.org
October 7, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Gray-headed Chickadee aka Siberian Tit may now be extinct in North America #Ornithology 🌎🪶 @richardkbroughton.bsky.social
www.aba.org/lost-on-the-...
www.aba.org/lost-on-the-...
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Satellite images & GPS tracking reveal critically important but unprotected agricultural habitats for Arctic migratory waterfowl in Eurasian drylands 🛰️🐦
Suggests that targeted management is needed to preserve these habitats, & may benefit agriculture too 🌏🧪
🔗
Suggests that targeted management is needed to preserve these habitats, & may benefit agriculture too 🌏🧪
🔗
doi.org
September 23, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Satellite images & GPS tracking reveal critically important but unprotected agricultural habitats for Arctic migratory waterfowl in Eurasian drylands 🛰️🐦
Suggests that targeted management is needed to preserve these habitats, & may benefit agriculture too 🌏🧪
🔗
Suggests that targeted management is needed to preserve these habitats, & may benefit agriculture too 🌏🧪
🔗
Reposted by Ashley Olah
🪶 Need a long sleeve t-shirt for fall? Get a comfy shirt featuring an illustration by @tinylongwing.bsky.social & help support IBP & the MAPS program at the same time. It's like catching 2 birds in one mist net😉. Use link below to check out this shirt at our Bonfire store.
www.bonfire.com/stor...
www.bonfire.com/stor...
August 26, 2025 at 1:28 AM
🪶 Need a long sleeve t-shirt for fall? Get a comfy shirt featuring an illustration by @tinylongwing.bsky.social & help support IBP & the MAPS program at the same time. It's like catching 2 birds in one mist net😉. Use link below to check out this shirt at our Bonfire store.
www.bonfire.com/stor...
www.bonfire.com/stor...
Our local botanical gardens has a Titan Arum, or corpse flower that is blooming right now named Taylor Snift.
August 1, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Our local botanical gardens has a Titan Arum, or corpse flower that is blooming right now named Taylor Snift.
Reposted by Ashley Olah
A monumental taxonomy unification effort has just been published - thanks to all those who've collaborated for years to make this happen!
birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/avi...
birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/avi...
Birds of the World - AviList: A Unified Global Checklist of the World’s Birds is Now Available
AviList, a unified global checklist of birds, that provides the most current and authoritative taxonomy of birds around the world was released today by experts in taxonomy, nomenclature, and bioinform...
birdsoftheworld.org
June 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
A monumental taxonomy unification effort has just been published - thanks to all those who've collaborated for years to make this happen!
birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/avi...
birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/avi...
Reposted by Ashley Olah
Scalogram habitat measures as predictors of bird abundance | doi.org/10.1002/ecog... | Ecography | #ornithology 🪶
June 4, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Scalogram habitat measures as predictors of bird abundance | doi.org/10.1002/ecog... | Ecography | #ornithology 🪶
Happy to have helped with this new paper looking at priority areas for the #conservation of three dominant tree species in the piedmont forest in northwest #Argentina.
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com
May 28, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Happy to have helped with this new paper looking at priority areas for the #conservation of three dominant tree species in the piedmont forest in northwest #Argentina.
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
Reposted by Ashley Olah
A hummingbird chick mimicking a stinging caterpillar? 😳 #ornithology
www.science.org
March 31, 2025 at 9:00 PM
A hummingbird chick mimicking a stinging caterpillar? 😳 #ornithology
New paper! We looked at the landscape scale effects of primary productivity on bird occurrences and abundances, finding that bird occurrences respond to high primary productivity at broad scales, but little effect of primary productivity on abundances.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Landscape scale effects of primary productivity on forest bird species occurrence and abundance in Argentina - Landscape Ecology
Context Approaches estimating landscape effects on biodiversity frequently focus on a single extent, finding one ‘optimal’ extent, or use narrow extents. However, species perceive the environment in d...
link.springer.com
March 19, 2025 at 3:06 PM
New paper! We looked at the landscape scale effects of primary productivity on bird occurrences and abundances, finding that bird occurrences respond to high primary productivity at broad scales, but little effect of primary productivity on abundances.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...