iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Our new paper led by @ollie333.bsky.social highlights poor performance of global bird classifier models (Perch and Birdnet) for Amazonian species identification, but shows they can be used as data-derived acoustic indices capturing species richness #Ornithology 🌎🧪🪶📊 doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

Maximum F1 score mapped onto an avian phylogeny for 122 species with at least 10 manual annotations, at window (A) and site (B) scale. Inner and outer rings show BirdNET and Perch scores respectively, coloured by maximum F1 across all confidence thresholds. Phylogenetic structuring of performance increased from window to site scale.

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York Birding @yorkbirding.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

News of a singing male Dartford warbler on Strensall Common, first for York! But it's in an MOD live firing range, near sensitive species, and difficult to find. Follow instructions below to be safe. @nybirdnews.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

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Spurn Bird Observatory @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

📣 Applications are now open for the Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder Competition 2026! If you're aged 16 or under and passionate about birding, this is your chance to compete at #MigFest2026 and win some fantastic prizes. ⏰ Applications close 19 July 🔗 tinyurl.com/MGSYB2026 Please share!

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Spurn Bird Observatory @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

To celebrate Global Big Day on 9th May, our intrepid bird race team are once again setting out to record the most species in Yorkshire in a 24 hour period - and to raise money for the Observatory of course! spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/support-us/d... Read on to find out how to help and join in:

globalbirding.org

GLOBAL BIRDING.ORG EVENT 16, 17 AND 18 OCTOBER 2020

Global Birding Events for Global Big Day and October Big Day, part of Global Bird Weekend

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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Good to see some more movement on garden bird feeding but ultimately we need a rethink, not just because of disease but because making common birds commoner can make rare ones rarer #Ornithology #UKBirding www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

Feeding birds in our gardens is a joy – but it may be harming weaker species | Alexander C Lees

By boosting dominant species such as great tits, human-provided food can make life harder for many woodland birds, says conservationist Alexander C Lees

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Birding in the @ldvnnr.bsky.social yet again brilliant. Out from dawn 'til several hours after dusk. Highlights today were finding 4 Tundra Bean Geese + 16 WF Geese with @chrisgomersall1.bsky.social plus more views of the White-tailed Eagle and Glossy Ibis.

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Birding in the @ldvnnr.bsky.social continues to be excellent, with a Glossy Ibis on Bank Island and a pair of Raven on Wheldrake Ings. Plus 2 1w Caspian Gulls in the Wheldrake roost last night.

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

A brilliant bird filled day in @ldvnnr.bsky.social. An afternoon watching a White-tailed Eagle thanks to a phone call from @ldvbirder.bsky.social, preceded by finding 5 Eurasian White-fronted Geese in the vast Greylag herds. LDV hooching with birds, absolutely fantastic. #UKbirding #Birds

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Highlight of yesterday's seawatch from Sandsend Quarries with @chrisgomersall1.bsky.social was the appearance of large mixed flocks of Little Gull and Kittiwake once the wind eased a bit. #birding #ukbirding

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Sandsend Quarries, second quarry. 3 Yellow-browed Warblers in the half dozen trees you can get to, god knows what else is lurking in there. 3 of 11 YBW in Whitby area today.

Large heavily vegetated quarry. Either a birders dream or worst nightmare depending on disposition.

Yellow-browed Warbler 📸 by Chris Gomersall

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Clearest views I've ever managed up the coast from Kettleness, but not sure how far im seeing...are the tower blocks Sunderland or Hartlepool? And if so where is the final headland? Any Durham birders help me out?

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RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Labour promised to restore nature. ❌ Instead, their Planning Bill contains a licence to destroy it. We offered solutions. We’re done waiting. Part 3 of the Bill would gut the laws protecting our most precious habitats & species. Without significant change, it must be scrapped.

Screenshot of a Guardian news article with the headline: “Wildlife charities urge Labour to scrap ‘licence to kill nature’ in planning bill.” The subheading reads: “Conservationists say part of bill allowing developers to avoid environmental laws by paying into nature fund should be ditched.” Below, a protest photo shows handmade signs in woodland. One reads “BAT FACTS – 14 species of bat in Buckinghamshire. Bats are the only mammals that can fly.” Another says “FAT CATS KILL BATS” in bold letters. The image underscores public anger and the scale of opposition to the proposed Planning Bill.

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Tim Jones @timsbirding.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

BIG thanks to all the Yorkshire birders who helped out with supplying information on birds in their area, we wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise! Too many to list here but, THANK YOU!

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Tim Jones @timsbirding.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

We did it! Just about recovered from 24hrs of birding, 52,000 steps, 450miles drove and 157 species recorded, a new record! Donations towards @ldvnnr.bsky.social @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social Jack Snipe project really appreciated! 'Trip' report by @ollie333.bsky.social here ebird.org/tripreport/3...

ebird.org

Yorkshire Big Day 2025 - eBird Trip Report

10 May, 2025. Created by Oliver Metcalf

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Yesterday, we took on the 24 hour Yorkshire Bird Race. Despite few migrant species, we managed to finish on 157 species, breaking the previous record by 1! You can view our route and list here (sens sp hidden). Pls sponsor us to track wintering Jack Snipe (link below). ebird.org/tripreport/3 #birds

ebird.org

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

21 species at Spurn in quick succession and after a slow afternoon our race is back on and looking like an exciting finish. Off to Flamborough at dusk still needing a heap of seabirds. #birds #Yorkshirebirding

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Stop 1 of Yorkshire 24 hr Bird Race. 00:30 and 15 species. Highlights include Bittern, Cetti's, Barnacle Goose and Badger. Donate here to support @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social @ldvnnr.bsky.social Jack Snipe project www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...

Adam Hutt, Ollie Metcalf and Jack Ashton-Booth stand on top of a dark bank.

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Jono Leadley @birdingdad.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Excited to be doing the Yorkshire Big Day on Saturday with our Dirty Habicht team @grafhamwbirder.bsky.social @yorkscoastnature.bsky.social and Dunc Poyser. We'll be trying to beat the record we set in 2019 of 156 bird species in 24 hours. We'll be donating to the Jack Snipe tracking project too.

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Anna N Osiecka 🍉 @aosiecka.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

🔊After years of Kevin Darras's et al's hard work, we are very happy to have this one out: Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms

Aim The urgency for remote, reliable and scalable biodiversity monitoring amidst mounting human pressures on ecosystems has sparked worldwide interest in Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), which can...

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Tim Jones @timsbirding.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

We’re going to be doing a 24hr bird race around Yorkshire next Saturday 10th May, trying to see as many species as we can to raise money for our MOTUS Jack Snipe project www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding... @ollie333.bsky.social @jabbirdart.bsky.social

justgiving.com

Help raise £1500 to support animals – JustGiving Crowdfunding

Iʼm raising money to support animals. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

First visit of the year to the coastal patch at Whitby. Lovely weather and plenty of migrants with a stunning male Ring Ouzel, 3 male White Wagtails, a Yellow Wagtail, 24 Wheatear and a steady trickle of hirundines. #UKbirding #Yorkshirebirding #birds

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Brave decision by the BTO. Great to see them taking a stand.

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Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 26/02/2025

NEW: Official advisers CCC say UK shld cut emissions 87% by 2040 ⚖️Net cost of net-zero 73% less than thought 💷Total cost to 2050 = £108bn (~£4bn/yr, 0.2% GDP) 🏡🚗H’hold energy/fuel bills to fall £1,400 🔌Electrification is key THREAD + charts www.carbonbrief.org/... 1/10

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Ross Barnett @ecologybarnett.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

📰 NEW PAPER! Really pleased to see this published in @jappliedecology.bsky.social - a summary of the main sources of bias in ecoacoustic surveys, with recommendations on how best to control for these. 🎙️🐦🐸 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

doi.org

Mitigating bias in long‐term terrestrial ecoacoustic studies

The sources of bias and suggested mitigations described here will be of relevance to hardware manufacturers, ecological researchers and conservation practitioners. Researchers and conservation practi...

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David Bradnum @dbradnum.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Calling all #ukbirding County Recorders interested in cleaning and extracting data from eBird. I have updated the app I developed with @ollie333.bsky.social, and moved it over to a new hosting platform. You can now find it here: dbradnum-ebirdcountyrecordcleaner.share.connect.posit.cloud

dbradnum-ebirdcountyrecordcleaner.share.connect.posit.cloud

eBird County Data Cleaner

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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

"All of the red grouse carcasses we obtained in 2024 (the last shooting season of the intended five-year voluntary transition from lead to non-lead shotgun ammunition) from which pellets were recovered had been shot using lead shotgun ammunition." #Ornithology 🌍 #UKBirding

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Mist and ice have made for a tricky weeks birding in the @ldvnnr.bsky.social, but still managed drk Smew, Scaup, WF Geese, and some atmospheric scenery.

Bubwith church through mist at night with the moon

The gate to Wheldrake Ings YWT with an ice covered flood meadow behind

The River Derwent lined by willows at dawn

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Hint of the aurora over Wheldrake for New Year's Day. Not really visible to the naked eye over all the Christmas light pollution, but came out OK on the phone.

A fainy green and red aurora over a street

A man with a torch with a faint pink aurora behind.

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Any recommendations for a good tripod for Swarovski ATS 80HD? I'm 5'11 so guess most would work height wise. I have a gitzo travel head I like but open to replacing both. Mid-range budget. #BirdingGear

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Spurn Bird Observatory @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

🌟 WE’RE HIRING! 🌟 Passionate about birds, conservation, and the outdoors? 🐦🌿 Be our Seasonal Assistant Warden at Spurn! 📍 Kilnsea, East Yorks 🗓 1st April - 15th Nov 2025 💷 £19,500-£23,809.50 (pro-rata) 📅 Apply by: 19th Jan 2025 Details: buff.ly/4gjCclB

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Spurn Bird Observatory @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Ever dreamt about working at one of the UK's premier Bird Observatories? Now you can! We're looking for a seasonal Assistant Warden to join our team here at Spurn from 1st April 2025. More information about this exciting and rewarding opportunity here - buff.ly/4gjCclB

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Ben Sheldon @sheldonbirds.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Really great to see this large and important dataset being made publicly available

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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Our new paper led by @ollie333.bsky.social finds that acoustic indices are good predictors of acoustic abundance in synthesised soil soundscapes #EcoAcoustics 🌎

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mari @amari.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

“we report the rapid mortality of approximately half of Alaska’s common murre (Uria aalge) population in response to an extreme marine heatwave… We calculated a loss of 4 million common murres, the largest documented wildlife mortality event in the modern era.” 🌎 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Alaskan common murre photo of the black & white seabird on the water from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Murre/id #ecocide

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Our research group has a !NEW PAPER! out on soil ecoacoustics - The efficacy of acoustic indices for monitoring abundance and diversity in soil soundscapes in Ecological Indicators. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... A 🧵 on soil ecoacoustics... #science #ecology #ecoacoustics #bioacoustics

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Brilliant evening ringing in the @ldvnnr.bsky.social to understand connectivity between reserves and surrounding farmland.

Undertake coverts of an adult Jack Snipe with thick dark streaks

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Black Redstart on @yorkminster.bsky.social puts my York area year list on 175, 1 more than the decade old record 🥳. @yorkbirding.bsky.social #birding

The bit of York Minster that had a Black Redstart on it

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James Dyke @jamesgdyke.info · 22/11/2024

The @uniofexeter.bsky.social convened a panel to advise the university on how to use carbon offsets in its ambitious net zero target. Our conclusion is that all offsets should be ditched. We very much hope other universities will do likewise. theconversation.com/we-have-offi...

theconversation.com

We have officially advised our university to ditch carbon offsets – and focus on cutting emissions

Your organisation should probably ditch offsets too.

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Honeymoon trip to Canada pt2: Vancouver Island, lots of boat trips, lots of marine wildlife.

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Seán Ronayne @seanronayne.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

I was delighted to play my part in these adverts. Who needs Black Friday consumerism adverts when you can fill that space with bird song instead?

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

By way of a hello to Bluesky I thought I'd post some wildlife pics from this year. I haven't flown on holiday for a few years now, but made an exception to go on honeymoon to Vancouver and the Rockies. First stop, cheap motel in Kamloops to see Lazuli Bunting at dawn of 1st morning.

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Cold morning on patch waiting for some wildfowl to start moving.

Bank Island nature reserve at dawn in a light coating of snow

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Ollie Metcalf @ollie333.bsky.social · 01/09/2024

An incredible day to start 'proper' autumn birding at Whitby with Chris Gomersall. Birds arriving and moving through all day, highlights of Greenish Warbler, flyover Dotterel, Long-tailed Skua, long overdue Whitby tick of Casp Gull, 5 Pied Fly, Redstart, etc etc. Pics by Chris. #birding #ukbirding

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