Richard K Broughton
@richardkbroughton.bsky.social
Research Ecologist working on birds, mammals, forests, farms, hedgerows, woodland natural colonisation. Marsh Tit, Willow Tit & Wood Warbler research. Editor-in-Chief of the journal Bird Study: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tbis20
Views are mine.
Views are mine.
Pinned
My Poyser book, The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, is now published. 9 chapters, 320pp, 150+ figures, photos & tables on the ecology, behaviour, calls, id., habitats & conservation of these two species from Britain to Japan. More info: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit... #ornithology #ukbirding #birds
A Stansted baggage checker pointedly advised me to never pack anything containing wires, electronics or batteries next to the stilton/cheddar cheese, which looks suspiciously like semtex on their scanners...
Here’s a tip: if you’re travelling with a cowbell and laptop adaptors in hand luggage, don’t put the adaptors inside the cowbell because that looks suspicious.
And an extra tip from my cousin Charlotte - be careful about travelling with a pack of polenta too. Also looks dodgy.
And an extra tip from my cousin Charlotte - be careful about travelling with a pack of polenta too. Also looks dodgy.
November 11, 2025 at 12:46 AM
A Stansted baggage checker pointedly advised me to never pack anything containing wires, electronics or batteries next to the stilton/cheddar cheese, which looks suspiciously like semtex on their scanners...
What I've noticed is giving talks at conferences can look a lot like this. But if you give talks to the public, like at society meetings, it's completely different - and so much better.
November 11, 2025 at 12:37 AM
What I've noticed is giving talks at conferences can look a lot like this. But if you give talks to the public, like at society meetings, it's completely different - and so much better.
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Longevity record!
Last night, @washwader.bsky.social recaught this Black-tailed Godwit, first caught and ringed 29 years ago.
The metal ring was wearing thin (and was replaced) but the bird is still going strong.
Blog about longevity of waders:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/w...
#ornithology
Last night, @washwader.bsky.social recaught this Black-tailed Godwit, first caught and ringed 29 years ago.
The metal ring was wearing thin (and was replaced) but the bird is still going strong.
Blog about longevity of waders:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/w...
#ornithology
November 9, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Longevity record!
Last night, @washwader.bsky.social recaught this Black-tailed Godwit, first caught and ringed 29 years ago.
The metal ring was wearing thin (and was replaced) but the bird is still going strong.
Blog about longevity of waders:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/w...
#ornithology
Last night, @washwader.bsky.social recaught this Black-tailed Godwit, first caught and ringed 29 years ago.
The metal ring was wearing thin (and was replaced) but the bird is still going strong.
Blog about longevity of waders:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/w...
#ornithology
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Fields near Pokrovsk,Donetsk region.Everything is covered with fiber optic cables,which have enveloped hundreds of hectares of Ukrainian land.In the sky,there’re more drones than birds
The fields are polluted with chemicals from explosives&unexploded shells.This’s what 'Russian liberation'looks like
The fields are polluted with chemicals from explosives&unexploded shells.This’s what 'Russian liberation'looks like
November 7, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Fields near Pokrovsk,Donetsk region.Everything is covered with fiber optic cables,which have enveloped hundreds of hectares of Ukrainian land.In the sky,there’re more drones than birds
The fields are polluted with chemicals from explosives&unexploded shells.This’s what 'Russian liberation'looks like
The fields are polluted with chemicals from explosives&unexploded shells.This’s what 'Russian liberation'looks like
Had a Ring-necked Parakeet flying around Queen Adelaide this morning. Am i right in remembering this is a regular Cambs site @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social ?
November 7, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Had a Ring-necked Parakeet flying around Queen Adelaide this morning. Am i right in remembering this is a regular Cambs site @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social ?
#OpenAccess in #BirdStudy
Herring Gulls really don't like people staring at them (antipredator response).
The eyes have it: the response of European Herring Gulls Larus argentatus to human eye-gaze doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
Herring Gulls really don't like people staring at them (antipredator response).
The eyes have it: the response of European Herring Gulls Larus argentatus to human eye-gaze doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
November 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
#OpenAccess in #BirdStudy
Herring Gulls really don't like people staring at them (antipredator response).
The eyes have it: the response of European Herring Gulls Larus argentatus to human eye-gaze doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
Herring Gulls really don't like people staring at them (antipredator response).
The eyes have it: the response of European Herring Gulls Larus argentatus to human eye-gaze doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
We hear a lot about deer in woodlands, but here in the treeless Fens I'm widely seeing about 30+ deer per square km. Mostly Roe deer, but lots of Chinese Water Deer, some Muntjac and rarely a Fallow. That's far more Roe than i ever see in woodland or more woody regions.
November 6, 2025 at 1:34 PM
We hear a lot about deer in woodlands, but here in the treeless Fens I'm widely seeing about 30+ deer per square km. Mostly Roe deer, but lots of Chinese Water Deer, some Muntjac and rarely a Fallow. That's far more Roe than i ever see in woodland or more woody regions.
Might be good for plant spp. richness, but I'm not sure mowing field margins every 6 weeks in spring & summer is going to be helpful for other farmland biodiversity. Seems a perfect way to repeatedly destroy every breeding attempt of ground-nesting birds, small mammals or butterflies that use them.
Semi-natural habitats are key for farmland biodiversity but their quality is often low due to high exposure to fertilizers 🌾🧪
A new study shows that more frequent cutting can create diverse vegetation even in highly productive habitats ✂️🌏
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...
A new study shows that more frequent cutting can create diverse vegetation even in highly productive habitats ✂️🌏
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...
doi.org
November 5, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Might be good for plant spp. richness, but I'm not sure mowing field margins every 6 weeks in spring & summer is going to be helpful for other farmland biodiversity. Seems a perfect way to repeatedly destroy every breeding attempt of ground-nesting birds, small mammals or butterflies that use them.
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
🚨 Come join the fantastic long-tailed tit team 🚨
🐦We are recruiting a field technician to collect behavioural data on a long-term studied population of wild long-tailed tits (passerine birds).
🪶20 months contract in Sheffield, UK.
🌲Deadline: 23/11/2025.
jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Technici...
🐦We are recruiting a field technician to collect behavioural data on a long-term studied population of wild long-tailed tits (passerine birds).
🪶20 months contract in Sheffield, UK.
🌲Deadline: 23/11/2025.
jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Technici...
November 5, 2025 at 9:32 AM
🚨 Come join the fantastic long-tailed tit team 🚨
🐦We are recruiting a field technician to collect behavioural data on a long-term studied population of wild long-tailed tits (passerine birds).
🪶20 months contract in Sheffield, UK.
🌲Deadline: 23/11/2025.
jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Technici...
🐦We are recruiting a field technician to collect behavioural data on a long-term studied population of wild long-tailed tits (passerine birds).
🪶20 months contract in Sheffield, UK.
🌲Deadline: 23/11/2025.
jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Technici...
#OpenAccess in #BirdStudy
Low juv survival in Twites may drive decline in one English remnant breeding population, but wider decline more likely driven by factors affecting all age groups.
Age-specific survival in an English Twite Linaria flavirostris population doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
Low juv survival in Twites may drive decline in one English remnant breeding population, but wider decline more likely driven by factors affecting all age groups.
Age-specific survival in an English Twite Linaria flavirostris population doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
November 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
#OpenAccess in #BirdStudy
Low juv survival in Twites may drive decline in one English remnant breeding population, but wider decline more likely driven by factors affecting all age groups.
Age-specific survival in an English Twite Linaria flavirostris population doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
Low juv survival in Twites may drive decline in one English remnant breeding population, but wider decline more likely driven by factors affecting all age groups.
Age-specific survival in an English Twite Linaria flavirostris population doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
#BirdStudy
Switch to autumn crop-sowing and ban on lead angling weights probably influencing big increase in British Mute Swans since 1970s.
The relationship between Mute Swan Cygnus olor population trends in Great Britain and environmental change: doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology
Switch to autumn crop-sowing and ban on lead angling weights probably influencing big increase in British Mute Swans since 1970s.
The relationship between Mute Swan Cygnus olor population trends in Great Britain and environmental change: doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology
November 5, 2025 at 4:49 PM
#BirdStudy
Switch to autumn crop-sowing and ban on lead angling weights probably influencing big increase in British Mute Swans since 1970s.
The relationship between Mute Swan Cygnus olor population trends in Great Britain and environmental change: doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology
Switch to autumn crop-sowing and ban on lead angling weights probably influencing big increase in British Mute Swans since 1970s.
The relationship between Mute Swan Cygnus olor population trends in Great Britain and environmental change: doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology
Fenland bird surveys in a nutshell: wind, flat fields to the horizon, big skies, and trumpeting Whooper Swans. Sound up for wind & trumpets. #ukbirding
November 5, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Fenland bird surveys in a nutshell: wind, flat fields to the horizon, big skies, and trumpeting Whooper Swans. Sound up for wind & trumpets. #ukbirding
Gull-human interactions in an urban population of Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls
More nuisance events with humans as breeding season progresses, but human provisioning is negatively associated with nuisance events:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #ornithology
More nuisance events with humans as breeding season progresses, but human provisioning is negatively associated with nuisance events:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #ornithology
November 4, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Gull-human interactions in an urban population of Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls
More nuisance events with humans as breeding season progresses, but human provisioning is negatively associated with nuisance events:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #ornithology
More nuisance events with humans as breeding season progresses, but human provisioning is negatively associated with nuisance events:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #ornithology
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
This is from Autocracy, Inc, about how modern autocratic propaganda works.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
November 2, 2025 at 12:04 PM
This is from Autocracy, Inc, about how modern autocratic propaganda works.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Wasn't out long this morning.
Happy to find a Marsh Tit foraging amongst the fallen apples - which exude a lovely smell.
#Nikon #photography #birds #ukwildlife #ukbirding #wildlife #nature
Happy to find a Marsh Tit foraging amongst the fallen apples - which exude a lovely smell.
#Nikon #photography #birds #ukwildlife #ukbirding #wildlife #nature
October 30, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Wasn't out long this morning.
Happy to find a Marsh Tit foraging amongst the fallen apples - which exude a lovely smell.
#Nikon #photography #birds #ukwildlife #ukbirding #wildlife #nature
Happy to find a Marsh Tit foraging amongst the fallen apples - which exude a lovely smell.
#Nikon #photography #birds #ukwildlife #ukbirding #wildlife #nature
If you see this, quote with a vampire that is not Dracula.
"Greetings, from Johannesburg!"
"Greetings, from Johannesburg!"
October 31, 2025 at 6:56 PM
If you see this, quote with a vampire that is not Dracula.
"Greetings, from Johannesburg!"
"Greetings, from Johannesburg!"
Always fascinating to see new @btobirds.bsky.social Ringing & Nest Recording report.
Willow Tits at new low, no nestlings ringed at all, just 6 nests monitored. Ringed Marsh Tit halved from 2010. No Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers ringed in UK for 2nd yr running.
www.bto.org/get-involved... #ornithology
Willow Tits at new low, no nestlings ringed at all, just 6 nests monitored. Ringed Marsh Tit halved from 2010. No Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers ringed in UK for 2nd yr running.
www.bto.org/get-involved... #ornithology
Online Ringing and Nest Recording Report | BTO
let app_server = "https://app.bto.org"; function combine2Menus() { var menu1 = document.getElementById("menu1"); var menu2 = document.getElementById("menu2"); var county = menu1.options[menu1.selected...
www.bto.org
October 31, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Always fascinating to see new @btobirds.bsky.social Ringing & Nest Recording report.
Willow Tits at new low, no nestlings ringed at all, just 6 nests monitored. Ringed Marsh Tit halved from 2010. No Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers ringed in UK for 2nd yr running.
www.bto.org/get-involved... #ornithology
Willow Tits at new low, no nestlings ringed at all, just 6 nests monitored. Ringed Marsh Tit halved from 2010. No Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers ringed in UK for 2nd yr running.
www.bto.org/get-involved... #ornithology
With HPAI bird flu resurging in UK and Western Europe, here's the link to the 2 recent special issues of #BirdStudy on avian influenza: 20 papers on impacts, mitigation, patterns and control. Part 1/2:
#ornithology #seabirds #raptors #birdflu
#ornithology #seabirds #raptors #birdflu
Special Issue of #BirdStudy is now published:
The impacts of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on birds: part 1
10 papers (5 #OpenAccess) plus Editorial on the impacts of #birdflu #HPAI outbreak in Europe, Canada, Antarctica: www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/7...
#ornithology #ukbirding #seabirds
The impacts of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on birds: part 1
10 papers (5 #OpenAccess) plus Editorial on the impacts of #birdflu #HPAI outbreak in Europe, Canada, Antarctica: www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/7...
#ornithology #ukbirding #seabirds
October 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
With HPAI bird flu resurging in UK and Western Europe, here's the link to the 2 recent special issues of #BirdStudy on avian influenza: 20 papers on impacts, mitigation, patterns and control. Part 1/2:
#ornithology #seabirds #raptors #birdflu
#ornithology #seabirds #raptors #birdflu
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
By monitoring 1896 Wood Warbler nests across Europe over 10 years, scientists found reproductive success varied by area
BUT the populations with highest reproductive success were not necessarily doing better, suggesting other reasons for their decline
doi.org/10.1111/jav....
BUT the populations with highest reproductive success were not necessarily doing better, suggesting other reasons for their decline
doi.org/10.1111/jav....
October 11, 2025 at 9:02 AM
By monitoring 1896 Wood Warbler nests across Europe over 10 years, scientists found reproductive success varied by area
BUT the populations with highest reproductive success were not necessarily doing better, suggesting other reasons for their decline
doi.org/10.1111/jav....
BUT the populations with highest reproductive success were not necessarily doing better, suggesting other reasons for their decline
doi.org/10.1111/jav....
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
🧪 I have a new TV offering: a 2-part Horizon special on BBC2 going out on 29th Sep and 6th October. It is called Secrets of the Brain. See
See www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
See www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Two - Secrets of the Brain, Series 1, Episode 1
Jim Al-Khalili reveals how the staggeringly complex human brain evolved.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 23, 2025 at 2:45 PM
🧪 I have a new TV offering: a 2-part Horizon special on BBC2 going out on 29th Sep and 6th October. It is called Secrets of the Brain. See
See www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
See www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
A video is now available of the lecture I gave last week to the Linnean Society & British Ornithologists' Club in London, on woodland birds, Marsh Tits & Willow Tits (~45 mins): www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7HF... #ornithology #ukbirding @ukceh.bsky.social
A Quietening of the Woods | The Decline of Woodland Birds
YouTube video by Linnean Society
www.youtube.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:18 PM
A video is now available of the lecture I gave last week to the Linnean Society & British Ornithologists' Club in London, on woodland birds, Marsh Tits & Willow Tits (~45 mins): www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7HF... #ornithology #ukbirding @ukceh.bsky.social
Interesting(!) that these captive-bred ducks for sale in East Yorkshire seem to be unringed in very many cases. Baikal, Blue-winged, Green-winged Teals, plus Garganeys. Dread to think how many end up in the wild and in local bird reports... #ukbirding
October 29, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Interesting(!) that these captive-bred ducks for sale in East Yorkshire seem to be unringed in very many cases. Baikal, Blue-winged, Green-winged Teals, plus Garganeys. Dread to think how many end up in the wild and in local bird reports... #ukbirding
New in #BirdStudy
Density-dependence of White Storks in N Spain, but landfill closure could limit population growth.
Long-term demographic dynamics of a White Stork population in northern Iberia reveal density-dependent effects
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social
Density-dependence of White Storks in N Spain, but landfill closure could limit population growth.
Long-term demographic dynamics of a White Stork population in northern Iberia reveal density-dependent effects
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 3:25 PM
New in #BirdStudy
Density-dependence of White Storks in N Spain, but landfill closure could limit population growth.
Long-term demographic dynamics of a White Stork population in northern Iberia reveal density-dependent effects
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social
Density-dependence of White Storks in N Spain, but landfill closure could limit population growth.
Long-term demographic dynamics of a White Stork population in northern Iberia reveal density-dependent effects
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Humans perceive but animals don’t: pitfalls in using plasticine models for assessing biotic interactions buff.ly/7hcLYXx | #ProcB #Ecology
October 26, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Humans perceive but animals don’t: pitfalls in using plasticine models for assessing biotic interactions buff.ly/7hcLYXx | #ProcB #Ecology
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Me: Just use Arial, please. 11pt. Thanks.
Office: HOW ABOUT APTOS? YOU'LL LIKE APTOS. IT'S NEW!
Me: No. Just use Arial 11pt. I'm going to paste this text in now, just use Arial.
Office: YAAAAY I MADE IT APTOS 6PT!
Me: No, can we do that again?
Office: LOOK I MADE IT TIMES NEW ROMAN NOW! AWESOME!
Office: HOW ABOUT APTOS? YOU'LL LIKE APTOS. IT'S NEW!
Me: No. Just use Arial 11pt. I'm going to paste this text in now, just use Arial.
Office: YAAAAY I MADE IT APTOS 6PT!
Me: No, can we do that again?
Office: LOOK I MADE IT TIMES NEW ROMAN NOW! AWESOME!
October 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Me: Just use Arial, please. 11pt. Thanks.
Office: HOW ABOUT APTOS? YOU'LL LIKE APTOS. IT'S NEW!
Me: No. Just use Arial 11pt. I'm going to paste this text in now, just use Arial.
Office: YAAAAY I MADE IT APTOS 6PT!
Me: No, can we do that again?
Office: LOOK I MADE IT TIMES NEW ROMAN NOW! AWESOME!
Office: HOW ABOUT APTOS? YOU'LL LIKE APTOS. IT'S NEW!
Me: No. Just use Arial 11pt. I'm going to paste this text in now, just use Arial.
Office: YAAAAY I MADE IT APTOS 6PT!
Me: No, can we do that again?
Office: LOOK I MADE IT TIMES NEW ROMAN NOW! AWESOME!