Colin Beale
@cmbeale.bsky.social
Ecologist, ornithologist & nature lover.
Professor of ecology & conservation at the University of York.
Author of 101 Curious Tales of East African Birds.
Chair of A Rocha UK.
Professor of ecology & conservation at the University of York.
Author of 101 Curious Tales of East African Birds.
Chair of A Rocha UK.
New paper out documenting research in protected areas across the African Savannah. We identify the widespread hot, wet savannah sites as understudied with 38% of all parks having no papers associated with them & 5 parks accounting for ~50% of all papers 🧪 1/3
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
November 24, 2025 at 4:23 PM
New paper out documenting research in protected areas across the African Savannah. We identify the widespread hot, wet savannah sites as understudied with 38% of all parks having no papers associated with them & 5 parks accounting for ~50% of all papers 🧪 1/3
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
So, next up is this fabulous project with me and @funkyant.bsky.social on nomadic birds in East Africa. Fieldwork and fancy spatial statistics are on offer here, and who doesn't want birds like this fabulous, nonadic Temminck's Courser?! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
November 6, 2025 at 3:20 PM
So, next up is this fabulous project with me and @funkyant.bsky.social on nomadic birds in East Africa. Fieldwork and fancy spatial statistics are on offer here, and who doesn't want birds like this fabulous, nonadic Temminck's Courser?! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
This afternoons light reading included NERC science's "Forward look". www.ukri.org/publications... I'm loving the brazen audacity with which they claim as their achievements the Paris climate accord, etc. It makes my own occasional hyperbole look positively unambitious! 🧪
October 31, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This afternoons light reading included NERC science's "Forward look". www.ukri.org/publications... I'm loving the brazen audacity with which they claim as their achievements the Paris climate accord, etc. It makes my own occasional hyperbole look positively unambitious! 🧪
Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some fun PhD opportunities. Today, if you're into hydrology, forests and wading 🪶 in Scotland this one might be for you! 🧪 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
October 31, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some fun PhD opportunities. Today, if you're into hydrology, forests and wading 🪶 in Scotland this one might be for you! 🧪 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Colin Beale
So I've been reading the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. There's some good things in there. But when it comes to universities there's very little to cheer. The situation is very tough and will get worse. The last chance to preserve what we've got has passed. Let me explain why. (1/?)
October 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM
So I've been reading the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. There's some good things in there. But when it comes to universities there's very little to cheer. The situation is very tough and will get worse. The last chance to preserve what we've got has passed. Let me explain why. (1/?)
This was an unexpected start to the morning!
A Glossy Ibis at Heslington East this morning at the west end wader scrape. Nice to have time for a quick bike twitch before work. Great find by @cmbeale.bsky.social ringing group
@nybirdnews.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social
@nybirdnews.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 11:27 AM
This was an unexpected start to the morning!
Reposted by Colin Beale
Really glad to see this exciting and fun work from my PhD out - huge thanks to @janehillyork.bsky.social @cmbeale.bsky.social and Dr Blanca Huertas! Next summer, going to go to Sulawesi to link two of these regions with present day surveys! 🦋
Really nice paper from @tiff-ki.bsky.social & co. shows no overall decline in butterfly species richness in Sulawesi over 166 yrs, but changing communities with endemics & forest specialists declining. Short-term trends unreliable measures of long term. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 🌏
October 21, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Really glad to see this exciting and fun work from my PhD out - huge thanks to @janehillyork.bsky.social @cmbeale.bsky.social and Dr Blanca Huertas! Next summer, going to go to Sulawesi to link two of these regions with present day surveys! 🦋
This was a great paper to work with @tiff-ki.bsky.social and great to see it out now!
Really nice paper from @tiff-ki.bsky.social & co. shows no overall decline in butterfly species richness in Sulawesi over 166 yrs, but changing communities with endemics & forest specialists declining. Short-term trends unreliable measures of long term. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 🌏
October 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
This was a great paper to work with @tiff-ki.bsky.social and great to see it out now!
A great choice of someone who has done so much to inspire a new generation of ornithologists!
The Marsh Award for Ornithology goes to Dr. Rob Thomas! @robthomasbirds.bsky.social has made a huge contribution to ornithology through academic research, teaching & mentorship that’s inspired generations of students. He’s also published a monograph on the Storm-petrels. @marshawards.bsky.social
October 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM
A great choice of someone who has done so much to inspire a new generation of ornithologists!
Reposted by Colin Beale
This was a lovely surprise and honour, to receive the 2025 Marsh Award for Ornithology from the British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social, at this evening’s opening of the Society of Wildlife Artists’ annual exhibition.
The Marsh Award for Ornithology goes to Dr. Rob Thomas! @robthomasbirds.bsky.social has made a huge contribution to ornithology through academic research, teaching & mentorship that’s inspired generations of students. He’s also published a monograph on the Storm-petrels. @marshawards.bsky.social
October 16, 2025 at 10:11 PM
This was a lovely surprise and honour, to receive the 2025 Marsh Award for Ornithology from the British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social, at this evening’s opening of the Society of Wildlife Artists’ annual exhibition.
Reposted by Colin Beale
October 14, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Colin Beale
We are looking for a short-term residential volunteer to join the team from the 2nd to 19th October (+/-2 days). Tasks include morning bird monitoring (Point Counts / Visible Migration watches) and afternoon maintenance tasks (habitat/estate work)⬇️
September 28, 2025 at 12:37 PM
We are looking for a short-term residential volunteer to join the team from the 2nd to 19th October (+/-2 days). Tasks include morning bird monitoring (Point Counts / Visible Migration watches) and afternoon maintenance tasks (habitat/estate work)⬇️
Reposted by Colin Beale
Excited to share the preprint of our first @cascade-hei.bsky.social paper on “Potential for academic institutions to support international biodiversity commitments” 🌿 🌍.
Potential for academic institutions to support international biodiversity commitments
doi.org
September 12, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Excited to share the preprint of our first @cascade-hei.bsky.social paper on “Potential for academic institutions to support international biodiversity commitments” 🌿 🌍.
Reposted by Colin Beale
Red-fronted Tinkerbird perched in the sun.
📍Mbuyuni Farm Retreat, Morogoro, Tanzania.
#Birds #NaturePhotography #Tanzania 🪶
📍Mbuyuni Farm Retreat, Morogoro, Tanzania.
#Birds #NaturePhotography #Tanzania 🪶
September 3, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Red-fronted Tinkerbird perched in the sun.
📍Mbuyuni Farm Retreat, Morogoro, Tanzania.
#Birds #NaturePhotography #Tanzania 🪶
📍Mbuyuni Farm Retreat, Morogoro, Tanzania.
#Birds #NaturePhotography #Tanzania 🪶
I fear this bird visitor has had an unfortunate incident. She was sitting on our trellace looking dazed with a thread on her face & ruffled primaries this morning. Very cute, but wishing her well. Scarce locally, Goldcrests have already been turning up at the coast, so who knows where she's from?
September 4, 2025 at 9:11 AM
I fear this bird visitor has had an unfortunate incident. She was sitting on our trellace looking dazed with a thread on her face & ruffled primaries this morning. Very cute, but wishing her well. Scarce locally, Goldcrests have already been turning up at the coast, so who knows where she's from?
This has been my experience too! With my bionic ears these days I can often hear things before the bright young students I hang out with sometimes!
I wrote this short note on birding with hearing aids and thought I’d post the link here in case of interest/relevance to some birders out there
#birding #birdingScotland #birdingUK
chatterstanes.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/b...
#birding #birdingScotland #birdingUK
chatterstanes.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/b...
Birding with Hearing Aids
A startling proportion of the UK population suffers from hearing loss, with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) indicating that one in five adults are deaf, have hearing loss or suffer…
chatterstanes.wordpress.com
September 2, 2025 at 10:25 AM
This has been my experience too! With my bionic ears these days I can often hear things before the bright young students I hang out with sometimes!
Some different #birdringing today, as I'm at @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social on the east coast. It's still early autumn here, but a fantastic variety of #birds ringed this morning, with 8 warbler species including a fantastic wood warbler, and fun birds like this Pied Flycatcher and a young Sparrowhawk.
August 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Some different #birdringing today, as I'm at @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social on the east coast. It's still early autumn here, but a fantastic variety of #birds ringed this morning, with 8 warbler species including a fantastic wood warbler, and fun birds like this Pied Flycatcher and a young Sparrowhawk.
Today marked the end of our @btobirds.bsky.social Constant Effort Site ringing for 2025. We've run a site on campus for 5 years now. I think I might be the first to have a preliminary analysis of the season ready & great news: it has been a cracking breeding season here! #birds #ornithology 1/5
August 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Today marked the end of our @btobirds.bsky.social Constant Effort Site ringing for 2025. We've run a site on campus for 5 years now. I think I might be the first to have a preliminary analysis of the season ready & great news: it has been a cracking breeding season here! #birds #ornithology 1/5
Reposted by Colin Beale
Check out this Senior Research Ecologist- Bioacoustics vacancy @btobirds.bsky.social
britishtrustforornithology.postingpanda.uk/job/734089
#ornithology 🪶
britishtrustforornithology.postingpanda.uk/job/734089
#ornithology 🪶
July 28, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Check out this Senior Research Ecologist- Bioacoustics vacancy @btobirds.bsky.social
britishtrustforornithology.postingpanda.uk/job/734089
#ornithology 🪶
britishtrustforornithology.postingpanda.uk/job/734089
#ornithology 🪶
Reposted by Colin Beale
🎓🎉Huge congratulations to all our graduates!
A fantastic achievement and a lovely day celebrating all your hard work with family and friends.
A fantastic achievement and a lovely day celebrating all your hard work with family and friends.
July 23, 2025 at 1:13 PM
🎓🎉Huge congratulations to all our graduates!
A fantastic achievement and a lovely day celebrating all your hard work with family and friends.
A fantastic achievement and a lovely day celebrating all your hard work with family and friends.
Great to see @charles-cunningham.bsky.social's paper out on the impacts of woodland connectivity on the presence of woodland species in the UK. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Although ecologists talk about connectivity being important to maintain, the evidence that this is true is weak. 1/
May 20, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Great to see @charles-cunningham.bsky.social's paper out on the impacts of woodland connectivity on the presence of woodland species in the UK. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Although ecologists talk about connectivity being important to maintain, the evidence that this is true is weak. 1/
Many congratulations to @helephantmylne.bsky.social on completing a fatastic PhD. It's been a privilidge to have had a part in her work and I know she's going to be continuing on with great things! Looking forward to seeing the papers out soon - standby for all things 🐘 & 🧪!
Massive thanks to @shoalgroup.bsky.social and Julia Ferrari for making my viva a very pleasant experience, and to my super supervisors Dan Franks, @cmbeale.bsky.social, Kate Evans and Jakob Bro-Jorgensen for all your help over the past 4 years 🐘
Was a delight to be external examiner for @helephantmylne.bsky.social's PhD Viva yesterday at @yorkuniversity.bsky.social. A very enjoyable discussion! Congratulations Dr Mylne!
May 9, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Many congratulations to @helephantmylne.bsky.social on completing a fatastic PhD. It's been a privilidge to have had a part in her work and I know she's going to be continuing on with great things! Looking forward to seeing the papers out soon - standby for all things 🐘 & 🧪!
Reposted by Colin Beale
Did you know about these tiny shiny ants (red arrow) living with wood ants (blue arrow)? They are Shining Guest Ants (Formicoxenus) and we have recently discovered that a wood ant nest can be home to several genetically distinct colonies of these 'guests'! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author... 1/5
May 7, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Did you know about these tiny shiny ants (red arrow) living with wood ants (blue arrow)? They are Shining Guest Ants (Formicoxenus) and we have recently discovered that a wood ant nest can be home to several genetically distinct colonies of these 'guests'! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author... 1/5
Another Cardinal that I hope is high up the Vatican's list today is this fine Cardinal Woodpecker. He would stand up for the underrepresented of African woodlands and promote serious headbanging.
Alas, he is also unlikely to become Pope, as he is a #bird. 🌿
Alas, he is also unlikely to become Pope, as he is a #bird. 🌿
May 7, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Another Cardinal that I hope is high up the Vatican's list today is this fine Cardinal Woodpecker. He would stand up for the underrepresented of African woodlands and promote serious headbanging.
Alas, he is also unlikely to become Pope, as he is a #bird. 🌿
Alas, he is also unlikely to become Pope, as he is a #bird. 🌿
With the Vatican's conclave happening imminently, I would like to bring the attention of the world to this beautiful Cardinal Beetle that was working hard on its nomination in Nottingham at the weekend.
Sadly, I fear his chances are limited, because he is a beetle. 🌿
Sadly, I fear his chances are limited, because he is a beetle. 🌿
May 6, 2025 at 11:42 AM
With the Vatican's conclave happening imminently, I would like to bring the attention of the world to this beautiful Cardinal Beetle that was working hard on its nomination in Nottingham at the weekend.
Sadly, I fear his chances are limited, because he is a beetle. 🌿
Sadly, I fear his chances are limited, because he is a beetle. 🌿