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Richard Hall

@richardlovesbirds.bsky.social
467 followers 294 following 43 posts

Theoretical ecologist based in Athens, GA. Into disease ecology and animal migration. Love birds and native gardening. he/him Lab: halllab.ecology.uga.edu Wildlife from the backyard: www.instagram.com/richhallagram

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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
A remarkable trio of wintering species in my yard today - an Ovenbird, Baltimore Oriole (one of 16 visiting my feeders!) and a Rufous Hummingbird. While the latter two species have been increasingly observed locally in recent winters, the Ovenbird is a 1st January record for North Georgia.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Nice write-up of our efforts to document and prevent bird collisions with windows on the UGA campus. ecology.uga.edu/project-maca...
ecology.uga.edu
Project MACAW aims to reduce bird-building collisions on UGA’s campus - Odum School of Ecology
Richard Hall leads a team of students identifying hotspots for lethal bird collisions.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Had a wonderful time at #BES2025 in lovely Edinburgh. Nice to finally meet the J. Anim. Ecol editorial board, & catch up with colleagues old and new in movement, disease & invasion ecology. Shout-out to Matt Silk for taking me birding at Portobello - Long-tailed Ducks put on a show!
At the opening reception with movement ecology rising star Robin BauknechtAt the poster session with Hiroyuki Yokomizo, who I hadn't seen in almost 20 years!Mulled wine and a festive Edinbugh skyline with Andrew ParkCatching up with the amazing Christina Faust at Edinburgh Castle.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Neotropical warbler season is over but I was charmed by the frenetic bathing of this Swamp Sparrow today, a less than annual visitor to my yard
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
With all of the horrors 2025 has brought I haven't had much enthusiasm to engage with this platform, but warblers help make the world a little bit better, so thought I would share some warbler joy from a few days ago at my backyard birdbath in Athens GA. Migration is amazing!
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The Institute for Bird Populations @instbirdpop.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
🪶 Today, more than 1/3 of the federal grant $$ we were relying on to finance our science & conservation work in 2025 is paused w/ no indication of when, or if, we will be able to access it again. Your tax-deductible donation helps us weather this period of uncertainty. birdpop.org/pages/do... 1/2
Graphic with IBP logo that says "The Institute for Bird Populations could really use your help right now."
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
For the past 3 days I've been hosting Georgia's 2nd ever Hooded Oriole in my yard - it showed up right after last weekend's storms from the west. Since then almost 80 people have showed up to admire it. Amidst all the turmoil & bad news it's been nice to share a slice of joy with Georgia birders!
Georgia's second ever Hooded Oriole. This is a young male with an all-yellow body and black bib. DIstinguished from nearby Baltimores by its narrow curved bill and long skinny tail
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Some much needed bird therapy - the huge blackbird/ cowbird/ grackle/ starling roost in a bamboo patch in west Athens. The wheeling flocks were occasionally thrown into disarray by a marauding Cooper's Hawk.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Rare in winter this far north, a Lincoln's Sparrow is overwintering along the N Oconee River Greenway in Athens, highlighting the value of this urban corridor. The video includes comparison with lookalike Song Sparrow in foreground (note fine streaks, slender body & bill, & buffy malar of Lincoln's)
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
It's the year of the Great Northern Diver! It's always to joy to see these birds staging in Athens in late March on their northbound migration. Overnight rains can sometimes result in 50+ birds in breeding attire, giving their haunting yodelling calls.
A flock of breeding plumage Great Northern Divers (Common Loons) against a foggy wooded backdrop in Athens GeorgiaA close up of a breeding plumage Common Loon showing bright red eye and white neck collar, Athens GAA Great Northern Diver in flight giving its yodelling call over Lake Chapman, Athens, GA.
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Benjamin Freeman @benjaminfreeman.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
cool paper alert! flower mites use hummingbirds as taxis to move from flower to flower ok, super cool, but how do they quickly jump onto this taxi? turns out they sense the hummingbird's electric field and use electrostatic attraction to hop on! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Some local birding cheer - a female Rufous Hummingbird has showed up at a friend's feeder following the recent cold snap. As more Neotropical birds attempt to overwinter in temperate regions, cold snaps may well lead to more mid-winter displacements of migrants.
After hatch year female Rufous Hummingbird hovering  in side profile , showing an all-green back, orange flanks and a square of pink iridescent feathers in the throat.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
The frigid for Georgia 18F/-8C temperatures brought a sprinkling of ducks to Lake Herrick on the UGA campus, most notably a pair of American Wigeon. Supporting cast included 5 Redheads, 3 Hooded Mergansers and a Ruddy Duck.
A gorgeous drake American Wigeon showing his green head iridescence and salmon flanks. The first on UGA's campus since 2009, brought in by yesterday's winter storm.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Added to the top of my reading list: analysis of nocturnal flight calls of migrants suggests interspecies communication! Social associations across species during nocturnal bird migration: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
Social associations across species during nocturnal bird migration
Songbirds have long been thought to undertake migration independently. Van Doren et al. find that songbirds associate with other species during migratory flights, connections that may be maintained by...
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Asst. Prof Quantitative Insect Ecologist in University of Georgia's Entomology Dept! Great folks at UGA working on insects in this and other units. www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/406...
ugajobsearch.com
Assistant Professor: Quantitative Insect Ecologist
The Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia (UGA) invites applications for a tenure-track position (9 months) in quantitative insect ecology at the Assistant Professor rank.The position ...
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Journal of Applied Ecology @jappliedecology.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Birds connect places! Using movements of >10K inds of a migratory shorebird, quantified site<->site connectivity across a flyway. Identified 49 highly connected sites 🐦 But, many are unprotected. Considering connectivity improves conservation for migratory species 🌎 🧪 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...
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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
20 years on from the start of a novel avian disease epidemic that has led to catastrophic population declines in several UK species we are finally getting some significant movement on advice regarding bird feeding www.theguardian.com/environment/... 1/2 #Ornithology #UKbirding
theguardian.com
RSPB stops selling flat bird feeders owing to deadly finch disease
Feeding birds from flat surfaces such as tables could be contributing to spread of finch trichomonosis, says charity
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Peter Santema @petersantema.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
New paper out in @rsocpublishing.bsky.social! Research from our group shows that males of the polygynous ruff visit many potential breeding sites within a breeding season, travelling up to 9000 km and visiting up to 23 different sites! royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 1/7
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
One of the last birds I saw in the UK before moving to Athens, GA. Now I have a flock of them wintering in my yard!
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
A mugshot of a Nelson's Sparrow sitting on the boat dock during a very high tide on the St Catherines Island Christmas Bird Count.
Nelson's Sparrow, a secretive marsh bird, perches in the open on a boat dock with a coffee mug in the foreground. An incongruous setting for this skulking species, very high tides can push them out into the open.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Athens super-birder Patrick Maurice found an incredible first Clarke County record of Lapland Longspur today. Luckily I was able to re-find it this morning as my 250th bird species in Georgia's smallest county.
A distant Lapland Longspur found at Athens Ben-Epps airport today. This scarce grassland bird from the north is just about annual in Georgia.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Another slice of migratory bird joy - more video footage of migrants that stopped by my backyard pond in Athens, GA in fall 2024. Part 2 of 2. #birds #backyardbirds
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
A little slice of migratory bird joy - a short montage of some of the migrants that stopped by my backyard pond in Athens, GA in fall 2024. Part 1 of 2. #birds #backyardbirds
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Love birds & coffee? Want to support bird conservation, local businesses & artists? Birds Georgia, in partnership with Georgia-based coffee roaster Cafe Campesino, has launched a certified bird-friendly coffee that supports shade-grown coffee farmers & overwintering habitat for Neotropical migrants.
The label art for Birds Georgia and Cafe Campesino's certified bird-friendly coffee (see more details of the image in the following picture in this thread). The post from Birds Georgia's instagram includes a link for buying the coffee: https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/coffee-and-chocolate.html
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Just lovely views of a gorgeous Snow Bunting on Long Rock Beach, Cornwall, on Sunday plus a Brucey Bonus Bonaparte's Gull found just up the beach from us that we were able to relocate after patiently scanning through the Black-headed Gulls at the inlet. #cornwallbirds
A Snow Bunting foraging on grass seeds. In profile its dainty bill looks small compared to its large round head, giving it a very cute appearance.Snow Bunting feeding on a dandelion seed. A back view of the bird shows neat black chevrons along its back and crisp white edges to the black flight feathers.Snow Bunting foraging in sand on Long Rock Beach. In addition to snow white underparts, the bird has lovely rufous-brown tones in the upperparts.A Bonaparte's Gull in flight showing grey nape, dainty black bill, salmon pink legs and a lack of dark shafts in the primaries, distinguishing it from the nearby Black-headed Gulls
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Wonderful paper uses high-resolution tracking data to show barn swallows & house martins infected with blood parasites have smaller foraging ranges in lower-quality habitat than uninfected birds. Hopefully more such papers on movement-parasitism associations to come! www.nature.com/articles/s42...
nature.com
Sick without signs. Subclinical infections reduce local movements, alter habitat selection, and cause demographic shifts - Communications Biology
Subclinical infections in wild swallows reduce foraging ranges, alter habitat use, and decrease survival rates. A study using ultra-high-resolution tracking reveals overlooked impacts of infection on ...
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
RIP Slender-billed Curlew - wish I could have seen one. Let's hope we can do better by our remaining cherished curlew species.
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Northern Gannet I photographed at Noss Head, Shetland this past summer. The dark iris likely indicates that the bird survived infection by highly pathogenic avian influenza that hammered breeding colonies here in 2022. Encouraging that it's still surviving 2 years later. #seabirds
A Northern Gannet  in flight at Noss Head, Shetland, showing an all dark iris indicative of prior infection by highly pathogenic avian influenza
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
A cool new paper delves into possible mechanisms of migratory culling (where infected individuals have lower migration success). The % malaria-infected birds blown off course and predated by falcons in the Canaries was higher than in birds departing Spain for Africa. www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
cell.com
Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?
The migratory culling hypothesis posits that infected individuals are less likely to survive long-distance migration due to physiological and behavioral effects, but this lacks empirical evidence. Her...
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
This past weekend we found 5 Black Redstarts in Lizard village, Cornwall, including this striking male fanning its rufous tail as it predated insects from the side of a building in hovering flight.
Male Black Redstart picking insects from a wall, captured in mid flight with its red tail splayedBlack Redstart hovering as it gleans insects from a buildingMale Black Redstart perched on a light, showing its bold white wingbarA Black Redstart successfully captures an insect
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
Glorious weather in Cornwall this morning for a trip down to the Lizard peninsula, where 5 Cornish Choughs put on a show for us. These charismatic corvids were a symbol of Cornwall, but went locally extinct. Birds recolonized from Ireland and the Cornish population is growing once again.
A Cornish Chough perched, showing its bright red bill and legs and glossy black bodyRed-billed Chough in gliding flightRed-billed Chough coming in to landThe dramatic cliffs and lighthouse of Lizard, on a sunny day in Cornwall
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
A wild morning in Swanvale (Falmouth) this morning with a minimum of 3 Yellow-browed Warblers and 5 Firecrests! A great birdy start to my visit to the Uni of Exeter Cornwall to learn all about insect migrations.
A Yellow-browed Warbler in Swanvale Nature Reserve, Cornwall. Side view showing double wingbar.Yellow-browed Warbler, front view highlighting long, bold supercilium.Firecrest - a beautiful individuals showing orange crown stripe, warm yellow collar and orange feet.
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Daniel Becker @danjbecker.bsky.social · 07/11/2024
we're hiring for an assistant professor position in infectious disease dynamics at the University of Oklahoma, with lots of opportunities to collaborate and expand our One Health focus. our updated deadline is 11/20, spread the word! apply.interfolio.com/156424
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Richard Hall @richardlovesbirds.bsky.social · 07/11/2024
Hello! First post trying out bsky. Will post lab research updates, cool ecology research and plenty of bird pictures, because frankly we could all benefit from some bird joy in these dark times. Below is a Yellow-throated Vireo at my pond bathing in the splashes of a Brown Thrasher.
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