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Nicole Michel

@nicolemichel.bsky.social
381 followers 488 following 41 posts

Director of Quantitative Science at National Audubon Society. PhD 🏳️‍🌈 Conservationist, birder, indoor cat mom, gardener, foodie, traveler. She/her

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Reposted by Nicole Michel
Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
This year's western US snowpack is likely the worst in recorded history. Get ready for a wild, dry, and smokey summer, folks.
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Reposted by Nicole Michel
Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Oh no. NSF Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program shuttered. This one leaves me winded. A good story from 2025 by @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social offers insight into what we are losing: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
nsf.gov
Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Not good. Not good at all. They’re proposing to cut BIO by over 70%, too
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Great interview with Audubon's CEO Elizabeth Gray about how we're harnessing AI for bird conservation, highlighting our project (led by Jorge Velásquez) using bioacoustics and AI to monitor Conserva Aves reserves across Latin America wpintelligence.washingtonpost.com/topics/ai-te...
wpintelligence.washingtonpost.com
The WPI Conversation: “I’m really committed to making sure AI doesn’t replace our workforce.”
How nonprofit National Audubon Society uses artificial intelligence for conservation
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
This is an excellent article on tropical bird declines even within large intact reserves. It’s great to see this research highlighted and I hope it’s able to continue! www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Birds are vanishing from tropical forests. Is another ‘silent spring’ coming?
As mysterious bird declines crop up in the Amazon and beyond, scientists suspect climate change may be to blame
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
I'm excited to share that for the first time in its 126 year history, Christmas Bird Count population trends are now available for Latin America and the Caribbean! Ten-year trends (2013-2023) are available for ~50 species across nearly 20 countries. Check them out: www.audubon.org/community-sc...
audubon.org
CBC Trends for Species in Latin America and the Caribbean
Track how your favorite birds have fared over decades with our CBC trends viewer.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
A little girl in Portland, OR after being tear gassed by ICE. what the actual fuck.
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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Federal paramilitaries running up on the rooftops to fire irritants and flash bangs down into a peaceable assembly full of little kids
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Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Final thoughts on a tale of two protests #Pretti #Portland #ICEOut #Teargas
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Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
A mother and their 15 year old describe getting gassed and seeing young children in pain. #Portland #ICEOut #Pretti
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Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Un-freaking-believable. I was at this rally and it was a planned and permitted rally and march organized by unions, accompanied by PPB, and full of kids, dogs and elderly. Why the hell is ICE gassing kids?!!
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Science Magazine @science.org · 28/01/2026
The U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office. A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies. Read more: scim.ag/4boPkq8
scim.ag
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
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Reposted by Nicole Michel
Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Well, Kristen Radtke of The Verge just made me cry with this remembrance of her childhood best friend Alex Pretti. "Alex was an easy playmate: generous, curious, sweet. His mother always ensured he had a tidy haircut and a clean room." www.theverge.com/policy/86856...
theverge.com
I grew up with Alex Pretti
The kind-hearted ICU nurse shot by federal agents was my childhood best friend.
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
We wrapped up another successful team meeting for the NOAA RESTORE-funded Western Gulf Stewardship Task Force project. I couldn’t be more proud to lead such a wonderful team of scientists (ecological and social) and resource managers.
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
I’m excited to share that we were one of 15 recipients of the Bezos Earth Fund AI Grand Challenge grants. These funds will be used to expand Audubon Latin America & Caribbean’s Conserva Aves program. www.bezosearthfund.org/news-and-ins...
bezosearthfund.org
Bezos Earth Fund Announces $30 Million in AI Grand Challenge Awards
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Not one but two quantitative ecologist openings at the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. This team is doing great work, if you're interested in avian ecology and biodiversity conservation and have a quantitative bent go check them out! abmi.ca/abmi-home/co...
abmi.ca
Statistical Ecologist
<p>The Human Footprint Analyst plays a pivotal role in one of ABMI&rsquo;s most recognized programs&mdash;the Human Footprint Monitoring Program&mdash;tracking human land use patterns across Alberta&r...
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
I found this a really illuminating thread on what demonstrations do and why they matter.
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Hannah Waters @hanner.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
An essay explores how two things can be true at once: The climate system is impossibly chaotic and climate change is simply true. By Joseph Howlett www.quantamagazine.org/the-climate-...
quantamagazine.org
The Climate Change Paradox | Quanta Magazine
Earth’s climate is chaotic and volatile. Climate change is simple and predictable. How can both be true?
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
It was great to speak with Christina Kelso at the NYT about the threats fireworks pose to coastal birds. This year, consider skipping the fireworks and celebrate in ways that are safer for birds and people too! www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/c...
nytimes.com
Beyond the Light Show: The Effects of Fireworks on Animals and People
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Reposted by Nicole Michel
Nate Swick @n8swick.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Lots of stuff getting tossed from this bill but as far as I can tell, the elimination of the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, which includes the Bird Banding Lab and the Breeding Bird Survey, is still in there. Would love to hear otherwise if anyone knows more.
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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Quick. Somebody tell Trump that the best way to own Elon is to restore all research grants and double NSF funding.
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Martha W. Alibali @marthaalibali.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
"Imagine the auto industry without 3D printing. NSF funded that. Artificial intelligence? NSF. MRI machines that help doctors diagnose you? NSF. Doppler radar technology that makes aviation safer by conquering wind shear? NSF. Duolingo‘s underlying programming? NSF. The internet itself? NSF."
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Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Folks who feed your pets Hydrolyzed Protein food: Remember how difficult Royal Canin was to get during the pandemic? Well going into tarrifs I suggest swapping to Blue Buffalo if you can. Nearly all of their ingredients are sourced in the US and they are manufactured in the US as well.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 10/05/2025
1. After getting some further insight into changes at NSF (thanks to those who reached out), I deleted a previous post where I tried to make sense of Cheatham's memo as reported in the Science story below.
science.org
NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring
Smaller future budgets will require fewer people, NSF official tells staff
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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
🚨 All staff for NSF’s Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) have just been fired. In email to grantees: “the entire Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM has just been dissolved and the entire staff fired.” High time for scientists, public, Congress, YOU to take action to #SaveNSF
savensf.com
Take Action | Save NSF
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
It's #WorldMigratoryBirdDay and time to welcome back your favorite feathered friends. Take a look at the Bird Migration Explorer to find out where your neighborhood birds spent the last few months: explorer.audubon.org
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
🧪 Tip: You have the right to contest a grant termination, even though NSF says you don't. 🧵 On Friday, NSF terminated 402 grants (per Musk's DOGE). The notification letters had one of the most egregious violations of fed regulations I've seen so far in these cases: "not subject to appeal"
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
This would be an enormous loss for birds and bird conservation. The BBS and BBL datasets are the backbone of the work we do to understand why bird populations are declining and how to address it.
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
This is far from the worst thing Trump and Musk are doing, but it hits close to home. My time in an AmeriCorps program at Trout Lake, WA my first year out of college literally launched my career and set me on the path to where I am today. apnews.com/article/amer...
apnews.com
AmeriCorps members who respond to disasters and help nonprofits let go in DOGE cuts
Young volunteers who respond to natural disasters and help with community projects across the U.S. have been discharged.
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Reposted by Nicole Michel
OMSI @omsiedu.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Do you remember getting piggyback rides from your parents when you were little? Loons have that exact same experience! Learn more about the mighty loon at our exhibit, Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest!
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Excited to see this literature review of coastal bird stewardship & management strategies w/ a focus on the Gulf published in JFO. This was Jennifer Fuller's first first-authored paper, & we worked with an amazing team of scientists to prepare & publish this work! journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss1/a...
journal.afonet.org
Journal of Field Ornithology: Effectiveness of stewardship and management strategies to conserve coastal bird populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico: a literature review
Shorebirds, seabirds, and wading birds (hereafter coastal birds) have experienced considerable losses over the last century and require proactive conservation management to stabilize or grow populatio...
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Nicolas Gonzalez, the heat-weary fan @nicosgonzalez.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
U.S. Birders, By the Numbers • At-home birders: 91 million people • Away-from-home birders: 43 million people • Time spent birding in 2022: 7.2 billion days
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Great to see the new BBS trends out!
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
The Institute for Bird Populations is a small but mighty bird conservation organization that is close to my heart (I worked with them for 8 years). They run the MAPS & MoSI programs that provide the demographic data essential for understanding the causes of bird population declines. (1/2)
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Come work with us! We're hiring a Senior Manager, Quantitative Science on National Audubon Society's Science Team (1/2) audubon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Audubo...
audubon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Senior Manager, Quantitative Science
Position Summary: The Senior Manager, Quantitative Science will be responsible for leading and executing analyses that measure the biological impacts of Audubon's initiatives. This will include develo...
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Elly Knight @ellycknight.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Like birds and models? Dr. Erin Bayne and I are currently recruiting a 2 year postdoc to come work with us at the Boreal Avian Modelling project on boreal bird models and applications of those models. Full details are here tinyurl.com/4yxju63k. Feel free to get in touch with qs!
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Darby Saxbe @darbysaxbe.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
list of banned keywords
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
NEW: We obtained the directions NSF program officers are following to review all grants for compliance with the Trump EOs and the turmoil it has created in an agency mandated to broaden STEM participation. Our story: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Exclusive: how NSF is scouring research grants for violations of Trump’s orders
The US National Science Foundation has unfrozen grant funding, but it continues to scrutinize research projects, sowing turmoil.
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Some good news
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Dawn Xiana Moon @dawnxianamoon.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Most of the people reading this have a sense of how bad things are right now. So for encouragement, here's a thread with examples of folks fighting back.
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Growing thread compiling lists of websites, reports and datasets that have been taken down
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
@amornith.bsky.social's Latin American / Caribbean Conservation Research Grant program is now open! Learn more and apply here: americanornithology.org/awards-grant...
americanornithology.org
Latin American/Caribbean Conservation Research Grant   - American Ornithological Society
The AOS Conservation Committee has initiated a small grants program to support student/early-career scientists from Latin America and the Caribbean conducting conservation-related research on either m...
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Looting should be the least of our concerns right now. Also, if you haven’t read A Paradise Built in Hell yet, go do so. That book has stuck with me perhaps more than any other in the way it describes the difference between the elite and the majority of us in response to disasters. 1/2
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Morgan Tingley @mwtingley.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
One tweet contains no nuance, so I'll post this great summary from a year ago by David Wallace-Wells, for those who want nuance on the causes of fires and the role of climate change vis-a-vis other factors
nytimes.com
Fires Are the Sum of Our Choices (Gift Article)
Climate change, ecology and fire suppression have combined to bring us the return of the “urban firestorm.”
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 04/06/2024
I'm pleased to share that the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) is now accepting applications for its first round of Scientific Translation of Research Knowledge (STORK) funding. nabci-us.org/stork-grants... [1/3]
nabci-us.org
STORK Grants - NABCI
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 12/09/2023
Migratory swift roosts are one of my favorite natural spectacles! Here in Portland, hundreds of people of all ages & walks of life come out to watch 10K+ Vaux’s Swifts funneling into a chimney at dusk, cheering as the swifts evade a hungry hawk waiting for dinner. Incredible!
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 07/08/2023
#NewProfilePic 27 years after first learning about Project Puffin - an @audubonsociety project led by Steve Kress & now @don_e_lyons reintroducing Atlantic Puffins to islands off Maine - I finally made it to Egg Rock. Best of all, I got to hold a puffin chick!! Thanks Don!
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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 24/07/2023
*knock knock* hi! Nicole Michel here, quantitative scientist at National Audubon Society based in Portland, Oregon. I post (infrequently) about science, birds, stats, cats, climate, my garden, and whatever else catches my eye.
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