🏳️🌈🇨🇦🐧 Conservation, curator in charge of birbs, island hopper, climber, connoisseur of fine teas, biscuit fiend, v left, queer af, Erdős–Bacon = 8, he/him. 📍 Tring & Milton Keynes, UK https://linktr.ee/albnd
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The SECOND bird conference at the Natural History Museum this year is the @bou.org.uk annual science meeting. A really diverse set of talks on how collections support ornithology research & conservation, plus an option for behind-the-scenes collections tour!
We're hosting two (TWO!) bird conferences at the Natural History Museum this year. Avian Oydssey (Sept 20) for ANYONE with an interest in birds and conservation. A global selection of talks from some big names (and me). Only £10 / £5 to live-stream; funds going to bird clubs supporting conservation
So very pleased and proud to announce that our paper "Revealing hidden figures within natural history collections by empowering students with data sleuthing skills" has been published! #Wikidata #Bionomia #HiddenFigures acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
In case you missed it! Emerging Strategies for Greater Ornithological Impact birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/eme...
Hey #ornithology folks - lots of great talks by a wide range of folks from all over the world. I'll be talking about how we maintain hope at @adriftlab.bsky.social when our work is emotionally difficult. It's only £10 in person/£5 online (concessions available). Spread the word! #AvianOdyssey
I summarized the more recent "free project ideas" I've spouted here, with a brief update on the list I posted in 2020. Enjoy, and maybe get in touch if any of these appeals! #ornithology 🪶🧪 labandfield.wordpress.com/2025/08/30/m...
I regret to inform myself that Mathews described 2137 taxa *sobbing noises*
"the synonymy was coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE" #TaxonomicHorror
it wouldn't be so bad if Mathews wasn't so f'ing prolific though (oh, and this was a lovely fantail from North Island!)
Oh good lord. Yes, we have a few like that where it's like "every specimen in the BMNH in 1890" which is... Many
the most we've ever found is.... 51
I know that feeling
Today it was "well, it could be any one of these 11 specimens collected between 1842 and 1910, take your pick which one he meant when he said "type in the British Museum (Natural History)" Utter nincompoop.
Lovely description of the taxon. Terrible metadata. So awful it's actually impossible in several cases to figure out which specimen(s) he used as holo/syntypes.
If Gregory Mathews could write a new species description that does not cause me to curse his name on every occasion I'd be greatly appreciative. (he has been dead for 76 years)
Awwwwwwwww
Gravity and comfy cushions! Curses!
Look, block who you want. Mute who you want. Follow who you want. Someone being in the same room doesn't mean you need to talk with them.
One of today's dubious followers
As autumn begins & seabird season ends for another year, we've been reminiscing about the summer! We'd love to share images of #seabird fieldwork throughout September to celebrate our diverse seabird species ✨🪶 If you have one you'd like to share pls include a description & use #SeabirdSeptember! 🐦
Although most breeding #seabird fieldwork in the North Atlantic has come to an end, we're still in the thick of it with 12/56 eggs hatched! #SeabirdSeptember @jasonwalczak.bsky.social @trevormaclaurin.bsky.social @felixazurawska.bsky.social @bardseyben.bsky.social
Check the Birds of the World account. Should have some Canadian data.
Those are some confusing field marks. How will we tell you apart?!
BIRD FOLKS - 20th Sept @nhm-london.bsky.social - Frontline Stories from Global Leaders in Bird Research, Conservation and Wildlife Broadcasting featuring Beccy Speight @rspb.bsky.social, @thelabandfield.bsky.social (😘) & Giles Badger (producer) to name a few speakers www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/...
Question to Zach Polanski at the leadership announcement: "Q: How can you take on Nigel Farage when your policy on immigration is so different?" Everything wrong with British politics and media summed up so succinctly in a single absolutely unhinged question.
🔈 #BOUasm25 KEYNOTE Mary Caswell Stoddard Princeton University, USA Feathers and eggs: leveraging ornithological collections to explore the evolution of colour, pattern and structure in the avian world Keynote abstracts: bou.org.uk/conferenc... #ornithology 🪶
🔈 #BOUasm25 KEYNOTE Claire Spottiswoode University of Cape Town, South Africa A Zambian ornithological collection as a window into brood parasite-host coevolution Keynote abstracts: bou.org.uk/conferenc... #ornithology 🪶
🔈 #BOUasm25 KEYNOTE Sushma Reddy @sushred.bsky.social University of Minnesota, USA Using natural history collections to build community Keynote abstracts: bou.org.uk/conferenc... #ornithology 🪶
🔈 #BOUasm25 KEYNOTE John McCormack Occidental College, USA Using habitat occupancy modelling and genomics to understand a century of change to the birds of Mexico Keynote abstracts: bou.org.uk/conferenc... #ornithology 🪶
🔈 #BOUasm25 KEYNOTE JC Buckner University of Texas at Arlington, USA Ducking & diving: the role of adaptation in waterfowl macroevolution Keynote abstracts: bou.org.uk/conferenc... #ornithology 🪶
⏰ EARLY-BIRD RATES TO 30 SEPT Register now for reduced rates at #BOUasm25 A day at the museum | 18 Nov 2025 | Natural History Museum, London ➡️ BOU member discounts ➡️ In-person & online ➡️ Visit Tring collections bou.org.uk/event/a-d... Keynote 🧵 ⬇️ #ornithology 🪶
🔈 #BOUasm25 KEYNOTE Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social Natural History Museum, UK From specimens to solutions: the evolving role and current challenges of natural history collections Keynote abstracts: bou.org.uk/conferenc... #ornithology 🪶
Pygmy Cormorant is probably the most overdue Category A first for Britain and future colonist britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti... and currently sits on Category F on the basis of a fossil which *might* signal historic breeding here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #UKbirding #Ornithology
I have been online since 1997 and every day I think that is too long.
only if they subscribe to the doctrine of the Hot and Ripped Jesus
every day on this new hell site, there are 5-15 new accounts that follow me that: -follow >10k people -feel very bot-like -bios/posts almost exclusively about US politics -"proud mama of 3 granddaughters, corgi dad, truth believer " They all get blocked.
My joy in my job increased measurably when I realized, not only that I didn't need permission, but that no one would - in some cases, could - stop me. From reading those papers, trying that method, starting that project, to dressing how I want and being loudly myself. #AcademicSky
I love the smell of consequences in the morning. Thank you, @dragoncon.org
What's the fking point in the Labour party if they're just going to pander to Reform voters?
Email should be banned within organisations
The Royal Society's Lisa Jardine Grant Scheme is still open for applications. This scheme offers early-career scholars the opportunity to use history of science collections, including our own, as part of their research. Find out more: #RSGrants https://royalsociety.org/grants/lisa-jardine/
Please.
grim, but unsurprising given Phillipson's profoundly inadequate performance in the commons debate on this topic
you judge people by the company they keep
Waves from sunny Tring
Coming up online this Friday! 🗣️📓🐦 Deadline to sign up is this Wednesday 3rd September: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #Seabirds
An important reminder for a Monday morning: don't work too hard, management will just reward you with more work 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums Sisyphus, doomed to forever roll his boulder up a mountain, on a 510BCE amphora from Greece, now at the British Museum
Politics today is less driven by ideological conviction and more by parties chasing votes based on a distorted picture of public opinion, one filtered through algorithms that amplify emotionally engaging content. This incentivises performance over substance and erodes democratic deliberation.
I can! It usually follows August in my experience.
probably not in this case!
There's defo a thing there! Happy to chat. (Speaking of Buller, we have some of his specimens)
Wikipedia editors trying to fend off the onslaught of AI crap have crowdsourced some telltale signs of LLM-generated writing; it might be handy for editors and proofreaders generally. Thanks to @ellenrykers.com for pointing me to it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
I started this #Mycologists Starter Pack, aiming to get all professional fungal researchers on BlueSky in one place. DM if you want to be added. go.bsky.app/UMrVSsp
Wait you're writing about early Aotearoa ornithology?!
On Sept 1, Australia celebrates the 1st day of spring with #NationalWattleDay! This beautiful wattle, Acacia prominens (Golden Rain Wattle), is from Curtis's Botanical Magazine (1836) contributed to #BHLib by @mobotgarden.bsky.social biodiversitylibrary.org/page/466265 #FlowersInTheLibrary #ILoveBHL
Here’s Atwood dragging Smith:
I think there was also one paper accepted (yay!) and one rejected (boo!) so that's lovely/annoying.
One of the highlights was definitely swapping my 2013 iMac to Xubuntu, thus prolonging its life (and sparing my current account). And some lovely time with lovely queers who I don't see as often as I should.
Back to work tomorrow after 2 weeks off and no doubt the inbox will be a bit of a trashfire. Still, it was a productive and largely relaxing break! 14/10 would recommend taking 2 weeks off.
Well there was an England flag here yesterday but I guess the students had a busy night!
Egg: sunny side up
Last time I saw one of those, it had been in the stomach of a Sable (flesh-footed) shearwater. Plastic sachets should also be banned. #PlasticPollution #Seabirds
I guess I know where I'll be headed next time I need my mouth watered
do you now?
THIRD manuscript on marine pollution deemed “not appropriate” for the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin. Does anyone know what the heck is going on with the Editorial Board…? 🤷♀️🤦♀️
Weekend reflection on Spicomellus & difficulty funding fieldwork. We were lucky to get some funds from NHM & UoB but major funders turned us down. Only generous support from BILNAS made this project possible. Funding fieldwork is often considered ‘risky’ yet our results were published in Nature.
Important reading as you prepare for your semester
Key findings: 📱 #Social #media are the most important source for science information in most countries. Except in countries with pluralistic, state-subsidized, and public service-oriented media, where people report using traditional #news media more often. 2/10
New #preprint! We surveyed 71,922 people in 68 countries to find out: Where do they come across information about #science? How do they #communicate about it? We also tested country factors like #AcademicFreedom and #PressFreedom and identified interesting patterns 🔎 ➡️ osf.io/preprints/os... 🧵 1/10
Oh swoon!
Be the guy* someone knows so that you can in turn know a guy* *Gender neutral
Wildlife science is a big one for this too. Paying for work experience and working for free or for a small weekly stipend is distressingly common. Many entry level paid jobs are barely living wage
Did you hear what happened to the scientist studying Chlidonias niger? It's a story with a very dark tern.
St Kilda used to be home to an endemic subspecies of House Mouse, Mus musculus muralis, first named in 1899, which became extinct shortly after the human population evacuated St Kilda in 1930. More stories of our unique species can be found in my book, Endemic, www.bloomsbury.com/uk/endemic-9...
(I mean, pick your North American breeding bird and most of them will be >20 years out of date, especially the more obscure which is a definite Alaska niche!)
Oh boy - it's tireless and unrelenting and largely unrewarded and I would love for someone to pay me to do it
also a BLOG? What is this, 2014?! Madness.
Inside you there are two birds
I summarized the more recent "free project ideas" I've spouted here, with a brief update on the list I posted in 2020. Enjoy, and maybe get in touch if any of these appeals! #ornithology 🪶🧪 labandfield.wordpress.com/2025/08/30/m...
more evidence of carcinisation!
We are here at Leicester Pride ready to help you have a fun and safe time - come and grab a cake, some water, earplugs, or anything else you may need!
First job on the day of Leicester Pride? Fix the vandalised church sign for the second time this week. Luckily, they can't to anything about the external church floodlights being rainbow for the occasion soooo.
Can confirm
A cloud!
🎶 'Alas, what hast thou done? Thou art a pynke ponye girle Yn the daunse at the clubbe!' 'Nay, modir! Ich am but seekinge mirthe On the stage yn myne heeles It ys wher Ich belonge: Downe at the Pynke Ponye Clubbe! Ich shal keepe on daunsinge, Downe yn West Hollywoode' [lute solo] 🎶
good circulation is important for hugs
Hey Bluesky I need a few trans pride stickers for a thing, who are some creators on Etsy you’d recommend? (Shoutout to @canopyrobin.com, who will of course be getting my custom).
*tousle*
Today marks the 95th anniversary of the evacuation of St Kilda. You can listen to this podcast with Roger Hutchinson on life before the evacuation and the factors that led to this decision www.nts.org.uk/visit/places...
I think it's all solo rooms now. @jamiebgall.co.uk can confirm
Hey #ornithology folks - lots of great talks by a wide range of folks from all over the world. I'll be talking about how we maintain hope at @adriftlab.bsky.social when our work is emotionally difficult. It's only £10 in person/£5 online (concessions available). Spread the word! #AvianOdyssey
Mark and Jack are running the 2025 Athens Marathon, fundraising for two charities 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums Mark's charity is @switchboard.bsky.social, the national LGBT+ mental health helpline www.justgiving.com/page/keep-ru... Here's Pheidippides by Jean-Pierre Cortot, 1834, at @louvrelens.bsky.social
Ahoy there researchers. I just checked the ‘libgen’ database used by Anthropic and found the full text of 95 of my scientific papers and one book. It’s super easy to add your details to this class action so you can join with other creative primates whose copyrighted work was taken without consent.
New open access paper out! We evaluated the population structure and conservation needs for 3 crested penguin species in NZ. Read it here: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
www.butlernature.com/2025/08/20/j... 🦭
So - if you run an org of any kind, take a lesson from the Quakers. The Sex Matters approach of shoving all trans people into private broom closets always as a way of "protecting women" is not a legal requirement. Stop letting them get away with pretending it is. Be inclusive where you can. /Fin
The Quakers are doing exactly what all public services are legally allowed to do even if the EHRC wants to pretend they're not: say gender-based toilets are inclusive and for anyone bothered by that as a matter of belief, there are stand-alone cubicles that they are very free to use. 1/
sadly, the red pandas were all asleep and looking like blobs in a tree.
Walter 🇨🇦 (ウォールター) 