Sign in

Denise Wawman

@denisewawman.bsky.social
2.1K followers 860 following 334 posts

Bird ringer. Birder. UK Hippoboscidae Recorder (flat flies/louse flies/keds). Former NHS GP, studying flat flies & keds role as vectors and avian diseases. Bird related side projects. Natural history. Based in Oxford and on Exmoor.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Abigail Lowe @abigaillowe.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Have you been recording wildlife in your garden this year with iRecord? Sign up to the Big British Garden Survey to contribute to understanding how gardens support biodiversity across the UK. Registration closes soon, so hurry to get your garden on the map! tinyurl.com/25hme4b7 @ukceh.bsky.social
A pair of Five-spot Burnet Moths (Zygaena trifolii) resting on common knapweed.A meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) displaying excellent camouflage against green leaves.Image of a person taking a photo of a moth with their mobile phone.
0149
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 29/09/2026
Tiny parasites, big questions. What can the UK's flat flies tell us about bird health? Join Dr @denisewawman.bsky.social on 21 Oct to explore UK species, how their ranges have changed since the 1960s, and their potential role in disease transmission 🌎 🧪 🎟️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981718540...
055
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I thought it was one of those verification things: "Click the squares containing a Wryneck"
2297
Reposted by Denise Wawman
DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Fly Research & Conservation Virtual Symposium 21 Oct 2026 | 10:00 - 13:00 | Tickets £1 - £30 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981718540... Featuring the brilliant minds of: @flygirlnhm.bsky.social Erica McAlister @denisewawman.bsky.social Denise Wawman Ian McGowan Meghan Barrett @biologicalrecording.co.uk
eventbrite.co.uk
Fly Research and Conservation Virtual Symposium
Join us during Insect Week to explore some of the latest research and conservation projects about true flies (Diptera).
01113
Reposted by Denise Wawman
British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 21/09/2026
EARLY VIEW in IBIS A longitudinal study of avian pox in a small passerine, the Dunnock (Prunella modularis) | onlinelibrary.wiley.... Denise C. Wawman, Steven R. Fiddaman, Becki Lawson, Maria D. Christodoulou, Ben C. Sheldon, Adrian L. Smith | #ornithology 🪶
095
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Just published in Ibis. A 15.5 year study of avian pox in Dunnocks (Prunella modularis). Quick summary: Dull brown bird doesn't die of disease & haematophagous Hippoboscidae from healthy heterotrophs help hypothesis. (Can anyone think of a better word than heterotrophs?) More details below. 1/n
doi.org
A longitudinal study of avian pox in a small passerine, the Dunnock (<fi>Prunella modularis</fi>)
Long-term, longitudinal studies of disease in wild bird populations are rare. Diseases are important determinants of bird survival and may spill-over into other species including livestock and, in so...
2217
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
New unringed Robin on the patio
European Robin sitting on the rim of a  terracotta plant pot
060
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Peter Santema @petersantema.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Very chuffed that our dotterel study made the front cover of Proceedings B! 🎉 Thread below: 👇
24613
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Misumena vatia the Flower Spider in the centre of a Helichrysum flower
Small pale green spider in the yellow centre of a white daisy flower
0102
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Sarah Dalrymple @sarahdalgulls.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Ecology Job: Willow Tit Research Officer with @durhamwildlife.bsky.social www.durhamwt.com/jobs/willow-... #EcologyJob #ConservationJob
durhamwt.com
Willow Tit Research Officer | Durham
Join the national fight to save one of Britain's fastest-declining birds. Durham Wildlife Trust is seeking a Willow Tit Research Officer to lead the North East's contribution to a major new Natural En...
1139
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Robert E. Rollins @robertrollins1892.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
New paper alert: doi.org/10.1016/j.tt... 🚨🥳 Here we can finally support that higher tick infestation rates on juvenile birds is due to an increase in the number of larva! We argue this is due to behavior as juveniles fledge during the larval activity peak for Ixodes ricinus! (1/2)
1146
Reposted by Denise Wawman
National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 24/07/2026
You know those live wildlife cameras we've got? Well, they've captured footage of something we didn't expect to see... A rare black-crowned night heron – a scarce visitor to the UK – so rare in the UK its distribution can’t be mapped. And we spotted it on our beaver cam.
635482
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Rob Thomas @robthomasbirds.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
If your new academic year resolution is to improve your statistical knowledge and coding skills in “R” in a friendly and supportive online learning environment, check out our forthcoming courses for autumn and winter 2026-27. #rstats #RStats www.ecoexplore.co.uk/ourcourses
ecoexplore.co.uk
Data Analysis Courses — Eco-Explore
188
Reposted by Denise Wawman
DisabledInSTEM @disabledinstem.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Disability Pride Month felt quieter this year. A few years ago, organizations regularly reached out to highlight disabled scientists and talk about accessibility in STEM. This year, many of those conversations seemed to disappear. But disabled scientists and accessibility barriers didn't disappear.
1258
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Finally, my first Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly of 2026! This species used to be one of the commonest butterflies 50 years ago with their caterpillars in every nettle patch near where I lived.
080
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Dieter Lukas @dieterlukas.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy · 06/07/2026
I compiled a list of 350 #funding opportunities for #postdoctoral research #fellowships: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J2M… I realized I should share this again after mentioning it to some folks at the #EFP2026
0138109
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Important for anyone who verifies records on citizenship science websites, not just the ornithologists. @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social
096
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Sadie J. Ryan (she/her) @sjryan3.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
"By unpacking who can actually detect and report these infections, the authors reveal that what we count as "disease risk" often says as much about societies as it does about microbes." Thanks for the write up of this work led by @samsambado.bsky.social www.clearskyscience.com/en/10.1038/s...
clearskyscience.com
Ecological and socioeconomic factors associated with globally reported tick-borne viruses · Clear Sky Science
The study maps where 14 tick-borne viruses are reported and shows how ecological factors and national capacity, like health spending and veterinary training, shape detection and reporting.
052
Reposted by Denise Wawman
British Ornithologist's Club @britornitholclub.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
A recording of our most recent talk is up on YouTube from our excellent speaker George Candelin, Keeper of the Swifts at Oxford University Natural History Museum, on 30 Years in the Tower recording swifts. youtu.be/2n7p4s3LUSI?...
youtu.be
30 Years in the Tower: George Candelin, Keeper of the Swifts at Oxford University
YouTube video by British Ornithologists' Club
0135
Reposted by Denise Wawman
DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Dipterist Forum are running a new series of online training courses with those nice people @biologicalrecording.co.uk We're kicking off with 'Surveying for Flies' ideal for beginners or if you want to tighten up your field craft skills. More information in the link: dipterists.org.uk/events/surve...
02016
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
We post a weekly diary on the swifts in the tower. This week have 43 occupied nest boxes, with 3 more showing signs of use. The swifts have started hatching! 23 young and 36 eggs were counted, but more were being sheltered from the weather by sitting parents. We may have 68 more eggs to hatch!
1477
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 08/06/2026
🪶 Mapping the UK's Flat Flies Dr @denisewawman.bsky.social explores flat flies (Hippoboscidae) blood-sucking parasites of birds. Discover on 23 Jun which species are in the UK, their host birds, and ongoing research into disease transmission 🌎 🧪 Reserve now: 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981718540...
031
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Irene Martinez-Baquero @imbaquero.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
First paper, first post 🥳 Many congrats to Liliana Silva and everyone involved! Every behavioural ecologist who’s stared at hours of video footage should check this out 👀 Very proud that the Wytham Tits are part of this!! 🐥🐣 @egioxford.bsky.social
0134
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Pat Thomson @patthomson.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
A bit of serious fun patthomson.net/2026/06/01/h...
patthomson.net
How to be Reviewer 2
Everyone in academia knows Reviewer 2. You ‘ve probably received their comments. You may even in a dark moment, have been them. This post is a practical guide to achieving full Reviewer 2 status. I…
1115
Reposted by Denise Wawman
MetJam @metjam.co.uk · 27/05/2026
Oxford, the longest running continuous weather station in UK history, with temperature observations stretching back to 1815, has preliminarily broken its maximum temperature record for May yesterday by OVER 3ºC with a temperature of 33.7ºC. Unprecedented in its 211-year history.
Spaghetti chart showing Oxford Radcliffe Observatory daily maximum temperatures for every day of the year from 1815 to 2026. 211 years of historical data are shown as very faint grey lines tracing a seasonal cycle from around 5°C in winter to a summer peak of roughly 25–30°C in July and August. A blue smoothed 30-day mean line highlights the average annual temperature cycle. The 2026 line is shown in bold red, running from January through to late May before spiking sharply upward to reach 33.7°C on 26 May, well above the entire historical grey envelope for that time of year. A single dashed red reference line marks the previous May record of 30.6°C set on 29 May 1944. The 2026 reading exceeds this by 3.1°C and, in statistical terms, is the 6th most anomalous maximum temperature in Oxford's 211-year record, ranking as the most anomalous May maximum ever observed and coming within 0.6°C of the all-time June record of 34.3°C set in 1976.
9727761307
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Barbara Tschirren @btschirren.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
We are recruiting 🌟2 postdoctoral researchers🌟 for a NERC Large Grant project on the eco-evolutionary dynamics of badger - bovine tuberculosis (bTB) interactions.
4142104
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
A rather tattered butterfly, Large Tortoiseshell? @ukbutterflies.bsky.social @wlangdon12.bsky.social
191
Reposted by Denise Wawman
David López-Idiáquez @davididiaquez.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
In our new paper, published yesterday, we use the long-term data set of Wytham Woods to show that great tits have maintained stable temperature at breeding despite the almost 2ºC increase in Spring temperature. w. E. Cole, C. Regan & @sheldonbirds.bsky.social Link -> www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
13918
Reposted by Denise Wawman
DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
www.northwestinvertebrates.org.uk/event/muscid... North West Invertebrates host @entmikeashworth.bsky.social coordinator of Dipterists Forum's Muscidae & Fanniidae Study Group describing each of 40 genera & providing hints for identification. Webinar presentation 27th April 19:30 book in link below.
northwestinvertebrates.org.uk
More than Just House Flies - An Introduction to British Muscidae Webinar - North West Invertebrates
Book here. The fly family Muscidae are generally known as House Flies and everyone knows Musca domestica which flies around our kitchens and confounds scientists by landing upside down on the ceiling....
1127
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Great video of a Dunnock
030
Reposted by Denise Wawman
British Arachnological Society @britishspiders.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Our new Atlas of UK spider, harvestmen and pseudoscorpion records is now online at britishspiders.org.uk/atlas. It gives access to 1.6 million records and is constantly updated with data submitted and verified via irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-records.
GB hectad distribution map for Argiope bruennichi from the new SRS AtlasGB hectad distribution map for Erigone welchi from the new SRS Atlas
27639
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Phenoweb project @phenoweb.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
The first egg for the 13th year of data collection along the Phenoweb Transect was laid on 12th April 2026! Looking like we’re in for a fairly ‘average‘ year up here in Scotland, with nest building and budburst progressing slightly slower than in 2025, especially in the North of the transect🪺🌳
One blue tit egg in a cozy looking nest lined with feathers. Plot showing the first egg date recorded for the project between 2014 and 2026.
2205
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
NEW PAPER: We obtained a COXI sequence from a specimen of the parasitic louse/flat fly Pseudolynchia garzettae (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) collected in the UK & provide a full morphological description of the specimen to aid future researchers in case of future taxonomic issues.
rdcu.be
A Molecular Phylogeny of the Nightjar Louse Fly Pseudolynchia garzettae (Rondani, 1979) (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) with a Diagnostic Morphological Description of a Sequenced Specimen
0112
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Sienna Rattigan @siennarattigan.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
1/🧵My first preprint!🐛🌡️ We examine how environmental effects experienced during one life-history stage persist and modulate environmental responses in later life-history stages. With Lea Beaupere, @sheldonbirds.bsky.social, @rona-learmonth.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
23412
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
... 2/2 Finding Buff-tailed Villa (Villa hottentotta) in UK meant the Villa ID guide needed updating! See dipterists.org.uk/soldierflies.... Convincing photos of the new Villa were taken in 2025, but we need a specimen to fully confirm it. If anyone finds more next summer please let me know!
Screenshot of one page from the updated identification guide to VIlla bee-flies, showing examples of male Buff-tailed Villa (Villa hottentotta)
0225
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
The latest recording scheme newsletter (no. 12) was sent out to members of @dipteristsforum.bsky.social recently, and is also available from the recording scheme web page dipterists.org.uk/soldierflies... - includes exciting news of a possible new Villa bee-fly species in the UK 🤩 1/2 ...
Screenshot of the first part of the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme newsletter no. 12
1189
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Looks like I need to head to the woods.
1110
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Dandelion clocks in an Exmoor hedgerow this morning before the strong wind and rain started. #wildflowerhour
080
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Brunno Oliveira @666brunno999.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Does genetic diversity help species keep up with, or tolerate, climate change? 🌡️🌍 Our new BioShifts paper shows that high genetic diversity 🧬: 1) Reduces range contractions under fast warming 2) Accelerates range expansion under moderate warming onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Genetic Diversity Impacts Climate‐Induced Species Range Shifts
Genetic diversity may buffer species against climate-driven range contractions and facilitate expansions, but its role at a global scale remains unclear. Using 4673 range shift estimates for 1888 spe....
1177
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Dr Orly Razgour @orlyrazgour.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
🚨🚨Job Alert 🦇🚨🚨 Come to join my group! We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in population genomics and bioinformatics to work on the UK serotine bats and Lyssavirus transmission project with APHA. 18 months project based @exeter.ac.uk 🦇🧪🌍🌐🧬 jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
jobs.exeter.ac.uk
Powered by MHR
1712
Reposted by Denise Wawman
animalecol-nioo.bsky.social @animalecol-nioo.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
We have a new record 🚨 the warm month of march in the Netherlands had its effect on the first laying date of the Great tits! Breaking the record by two days the first egg date this year is 21st March. One blue tit went even beyond that and noted a first egg date on 19th of march! #breedingseason2026
0199
Reposted by Denise Wawman
West Midlands Ringing Group @westmidlandsrg.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
🚀 Incredible movement alert! Our @PulsarWild sponsored CTT-tagged Jack Snipe has just completed an astonishing journey reaching Belgium from Staffordshire in just 7 hours 9 minutes! 🇬🇧➡️🇧🇪 That’s an average speed of 30+ mph for one of our most elusive and secretive species. 🤯
210723
Reposted by Denise Wawman
Edward Grey Institute @egioxford.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
🚨🚨 Breaking news from Wytham Woods: The 80th year of data collection of the long-term tit study officially started today with this nest with 3 Blue Tit eggs (pic: @mcmahok.bsky.social). First egg inferred 23 March which is our earliest EVER nest - beating the previous record of 26 March by 3 days!🚨🚨
06216
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
I’m one of the “experts” if anyone wants to hear me talk about flat flies/louse flies.
0101
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Scarlet Tiger Moth caterpillars on Comfrey, Green Alkanet, Herb Robert and Stinging Nettle in Somerset #wildflowerhour #teammoth
0353
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Hill I'm prepared to die on. Journals that insist on the use of taxonomic authorities should employ copyeditors who understand them, so that they don't convert them into random citations.
090
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
29 toads picked up from the lane heading towards the garden pond this evening. Unfortunately, we were too late to save one of them. Good to see a lot more large females this year.
2492
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
#wildflowerhour Lesser Celandine, Daisy, Dog’s Mercury & Periwinkle, Somerset hedgerows 1/3
2986
Denise Wawman @denisewawman.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
New paper out. We detected Bartonella and a new sigmavirus in UK Deer Keds. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Detection of Bartonella schoenbuchensis and a novel sigmavirus within the microbiome of deer keds (Lipoptena cervi) from the United Kingdom - Parasites & Vectors
Background Lipoptena cervi is a member of the Hippoboscidae family of insects and is a hematophagous ectoparasite of cervid species, commonly referred to as the deer ked. Lipoptena cervi has a wide ge...
061