Sign in

Ryan Norris

@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
231 followers 175 following 51 posts

Prof @ University of Guelph; ecology and conservation of things that fly (🐦‍⬛🦋) and sometimes crawl (🦎). Loves paperwork 🙄, avoids fieldwork 😉. www.norrislab.ca

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Ryan Norris
University of Guelph News @uofguelphnews.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
#UofG | “There’s more out there than you think.” Dr. Ryan Norris speaks to @cbcnews.ca Kids about a nationwide citizen science project called Big Backyard BioBlitz. @uofgcbs.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social Read more:
cbc.ca
Love nature? Sharing the wildlife you see can help scientists
The Big Backyard BioBlitz initiative is calling on people to submit photos and videos of wildlife in Canada to help scientists understand the environment.
023
Reposted by Ryan Norris
RES Publications @respublications.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
New #OpenAccess work by @shaykroeze.bsky.social, @ryannorrissci.bsky.social et al. in #RESInsectConsDiv describes how population genetic analysis of the endangered Mottled Duskywing butterfly (#Erynnis martialis) can inform species #reintroduction. doi.org/10.1111/icad.70111 #Conservation
122
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day! After 15+ years studying Canada Jays, it's exciting to see Bill S-221 (the proposed National Bird of Canada Act) pass the Senate. Next stop: the House of Commons. Here's hoping the Canada Jay becomes our national bird! 🍁🐦 www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en...
041
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
🦋 NEW FIELD JOBS! 🦋 We have two field positions available for this summer to work on endangered Mottled duskywing at Pinery Provincial Park. Open to students enrolled at a Canadian university in Fall 2026. Closes July 3. Positions can also be viewed at: norrislab.ca/opportunities/
033
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
🦋 PhD position! 🦋 Join a newly funded research partnership working to conserve endangered butterflies in Canada. Details can be found below. @onehealthuofg.bsky.social @uofguelph.bsky.social
01012
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Excited to share that our team has received a $2.4M NSERC Alliance–Society Grant to help recover some of Canada's most at-risk butterflies! Thanks to our incredible partners, including Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory, NRSI, Wilder Institute, @savingspecieswpc.bsky.social, and many others. 🦋🇨🇦
2224
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I completed my annual bioacoustic survey of the forest birds of Kent Island, with a little help from some friends. We collect these long-term data to study changes in breeding bird populations at Bowdoin Scientific Station. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @wildlifeacoustics.com @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
2256
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Liam U. Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Brown plumages are social signals that reduce aggression towards young seabirds! doi.org/10.1016/j.an... Out now in @asab.org Animal Behaviour, ft. real gulls, plastic gulls Led by amazing undergrad Molly Hill, Lily Fanburg, @sdobney.bsky.social, and @dmennill.bsky.social
a young American Herring Gull (probably first-cycle, or ~12 months old) in brown plumage stands in front of an older, breeding bird in its iconic gray-white-black plumage.goofs with plastic birds
13115
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Our first night recording with a Motus Audio recorder in Petit Rocher. It was windy, but Motus Audio detected a Spotted Sandpiper. (The left image is a screen grab from our live dashboard.) Now look who I photographed foraging 20m from the Motus Audio recorder: a Spotted Sandpiper!
173
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Motus Audio Day 37: Prince Edward Point, ON. Madison and Natalie launched a Motus Audio recorder with supporter @mikeburrell.bsky.social in Peterborough. Then a recorder at the Motus tower on Prince Edward Point. Our eastern Ontario network grows! @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
072
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Motus Audio Day 35: Kitchener, ON. A thunderstorm delayed — but didn't stop — Madison & Natalie from launching 3 Motus Audio recorders in southern Ontario. They launched the final recorder after dark with collaborator Ryan Norris! #MotusAfterDark @birdscanada.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
152
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Motus Audio Day 23: Experimental Lakes, ON. Madison and Natalie reached the Centre of Canada! They then entered Ontario and set up a Motus Audio recorder at the IISD Experimental Lakes Area. Thanks to our Motus Audio hosts and supporters. @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
033
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Motus Audio Day 21: Oak Hammock Marsh, MB. Natalie and Madison launched a Motus Audio recorder on the Motus tower at Oak Hammock Marsh north of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our cross-Canada microphone array reaches a new province! @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
094
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Motus Audio Day 20: Weyburn, SK. A new Motus Audio recorder is now sampling the night skies above the Weyburn Wildlife Federation. Then Natalie and Madison crossed into Manitoba. Three provinces complete in our cross-Canada trip: BC, AB, SK! 👍🎤🇨🇦 @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
082
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Canada still doesn’t have an official national bird. Bill S-221, now before the Senate, would recognize the Canada Jay. Found in every province and territory, resident through northern winters, food-storing, early-nesting, and wonderfully Canadian. www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en... 📷 Brett Forsyth
33414
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Recovery strategies are not just paperwork. They help turn concern for endangered species into action. Our work on Mottled Duskywing recovery in Ontario has relied on this kind of public guidance. Transparency matters for species-at-risk recovery. thenarwhal.ca/ontario-enda...
thenarwhal.ca
Ontario won’t share recovery plans for endangered species | The Narwhal
Ontario won’t publish its plans to protect wolves, butterflies and bats, after Bill 5 dropped requirement for endangered species recovery planning
033
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
We’re hiring 4 field positions to help reintroduce and monitor the endangered Mottled Duskywing butterfly in southern Ontario. Great opportunity for early-career ecologists. norrislab.ca/opportunities/
01615
Reposted by Ryan Norris
College of Biological Science @uofgcbs.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The reintroduction of the mottled duskywing to Pinery Provincial Park, led by @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @integrativebiology.bsky.social, is the first successful butterfly reintroduction in Ontario. 🦋 The team’s findings could shape future reintroduction efforts. 🗞️ www.uoguelph.ca/cbs/news/202...
Mottled duskywing on prairie redroot
093
Reposted by Ryan Norris
University of Guelph News @uofguelphnews.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
#UofG | Ecologist Dr. Ryan Norris spoke to CBC News about research that found millions of birds are killed by cats each year. @uofgcbs.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
cbc.ca
How many birds do cats actually kill? | CBC Climate Change News
In this issue of our environmental newsletter, we get the latest scientific estimate of how many birds cats kill each year; check out the forecast for this year's El Niño; and find out what's in the e...
024
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The Bowdoin Scientific Station's 2025 Annual Report has just been published. It's a colourful and vivid depiction of one of the finest biology stations I've had the pleasure to work at. Check it out: indd.adobe.com/view/edcf4d1... @bowdoincollege.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
142
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Ryan @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and I are featured on page 25, not for our scientific accomplishments, but for our outstanding distraction techniques during an intense game of Koob.
022
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Sarah Dobney @sdobney.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
I just returned from Cornell's Lab of O where I processed 1170 Savannah Sparrows for paternity analysis! I had so much fun learning new techniques and meeting the outstanding people at the Lab of O. Now I can't wait to see who the fathers are! @dmennill.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
22 boxes of tubes, each holding extracted DNA of an individual Savannah Sparrow from our field site at Kent Island, New Brunswick.A tube holding extracted DNA of one of the male Savannah Sparrows breeding on Kent Island in 2021. How many nestlings did he sire?!Me loading DNA into a gel to test the quality of our DNA for ddRAD analysis.
0103
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
"Bioacoustics infrastructure for innovative field studies of ecology and conservation of migratory birds." Thank you, Canada Foundation for Innovation & Ontario Research Fund, for supporting our grant application for new #bioacoustics equipment! With S. Doucet & R. Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social.
0231
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Inter-brood interval affects offspring survival and fitness, and reflects timing of breeding and female quality. Our new paper on inter-brood interval appears in the new issue of Ibis, led by Hayley Spina and our collaborative Savannah Sparrow research team. @bou.org.uk @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
182
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Thank you, Nature Guelph, for the invitation to speak about our research on acoustic monitoring of bird migration. It was great to join such an engaged and excited group of birders for the evening.
0103
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Birds & Beers V was a big success! Thanks to all who participated, including student poster & club presenters, speakers Oliver Love & Ryan Norris, Nelsy Niño for screening "Mingoya", Natalie Emerick for emceeing, community partners for joining us, and Vortex Canada & Whiskeyjack Boutique for prizes.
071
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Jonathan J. Chu @jonathanjojochu.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a... @gowelizabeth.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social 1/6
33529
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Double brooding improves lifetime fitness. Our paper "Multigenerational fitness outcomes of double-brooding: a 30-year study of a migratory songbird" appears in the latest Behavioral Ecology: tinyurl.com/3hsyd42m. By @hayleyspina.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and our collaborative team.
0197
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
I launched our latest Motus Audio recorder just outside Algonquin Park, with a generous assist from Motus collaborator @ryannorrissci.bsky.social. Let's see how many sparrows and thrushes are still on-the-move in mid-October.
2102
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
I stopped at Henrietta's Pine Bakery in Dwight for Thanksgiving treats. Technically I'm always at Henrietta's, ever since the Google Street View Car captured me here three years ago. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
071
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
POV: You’re visiting someone who REALLY likes Canada Jays for Thanksgiving weekend. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
051
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
PhD position available to study the migration ecology and year-round demography of blackpoll warblers.
23331
Reposted by Ryan Norris
College of Biological Science @uofgcbs.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Why do only some Savannah sparrows raise 2 broods in a single season?🪶 Research by Dr. Hayley Spina @integrativebiology.bsky.social shows that levels of a hormone linked to energy use during demanding times may reveal which females are more likely to double-brood 🗞️ www.uoguelph.ca/cbs/news/202...
Savannah sparrow hatchlingKent Island at sunset
183
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Baldassarre @evornithology.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
0515
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
You know, there is this thing in science where evidence accumulates to such a degree that it becomes accepted as fact. Way to go Ross McKitrick from @uofguelph.bsky.social. Proud to have you on board. www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...
therecord.com
University of Guelph prof ‘indispensable’ in helping Trump administration repeal climate policy
Hand-picked by the Trump administration, a Guelph economics professor helped write a report that could change climate policy for one of the largest pollutors in the world.
020
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Our lab had a fantastic time at the Soc. Cnd. Ornithologists meeting in Saskatoon last week! Thanks to @sco-soc-2025.bsky.social and the organizers. And congrats to Jelany Duali for winning best student talk! #ornithology #CanadaBirds @passarahformes.bsky.social @jonathanjojochu.bsky.social
021
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Today at the Society of Canadian Ornithologists meeting in Saskatoon: - Jelany Duali and Sarah Mueller, our Guelph collaborators, will present research on sparrow behaviour - I will join the Motus roundtable to discuss progress with Motus Audio @sco-soc-2025.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
062
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Our new paper published today in Current Biology shows that immediate international cooperation is needed to conserve the eastern North American monarch butterfly. www.cell.com/current-biol...
26924
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Ha! Love this, Tess!!! Tell us the final poll numbers please….and also when the paper is out.
120
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
We've just won two grants! Both are under embargo, but some exciting plans will now come to fruition for bioacoustic studies of wild birds and whales in Canada and beyond. With my awesome collaborators @jaclynaubin.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and S. Doucet.
2414
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
It's a wrap for our 2025 Savannah Sparrow bioacoustic field studies. Thanks to our sparrow collaborators and the Bowdoin Scientific Station for a great field season in the Bay of Fundy. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @sdobney.bsky.social
0222
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Portraits of Savannah Sparrows on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
0163
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
How loud is a sparrow? Our new project involves measuring the amplitude of Savannah Sparrow songs. This is a team investigation with @jaclynaubin.bsky.social, @sdobney.bsky.social, @nelsyninor.bsky.social, M. Bygrove, N. Emerick, and our sparrow collaborators, with funding from NSERC.
1427
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Sarah Dobney @sdobney.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Farewell Kent Island! With an A+ Savannah Sparrow team I helped record songs of 34 males, find 36 nests, and colour band 29 adults & 18 nestlings! More to come as the season finishes. Sad to leave, but thankful to be part of this project!@dmennill.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social #ornithology
Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)Recording Savannah Sparrows with a Marantz PMD661 recorder and a parabolic reflector. Photo by Dan Mennill.Savannah Sparrow nest with four nestlingsMeasuring bill depth of a Savannah Sparrow during colour banding. All banding with permits. Photo by Dan Mennill.
0143
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
I see the @dmennill.bsky.social hammer and the post-hammer but where is the pre-hammer? Maybe @liamtaylor.bsky.social knows??
120
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Today I launched my final Song Meter recordings of the 2025 Kent Island field season. I’m loath to admit that our field expedition is nearing its end.
261
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Herring Gulls are now hatching on Kent Island. This makes our Savannah Sparrow research more treacherous; giant gulls dive-bomb us when we step anywhere near their offspring. #GullOfTheDay #TerrorizedSavannahSparrowResearchers @ryannorrissci.bsky.social @liamtaylor.bsky.social
192
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I wonder if something has been beating up on the Kent Island gulls? This one looks like it had a rough night. Now that he’s here, maybe @liamtaylor.bsky.social knows? #GullOfTheDay
340
Ryan Norris @ryannorrissci.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
This Gull was hanging out at the singles area on Kent Island. I'm flummoxed on this one. Maybe @liamtaylor.bsky.social can offer some advice! #GullOfTheDay
431
Reposted by Ryan Norris
Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
A special #GullOfTheDay in honour of @liamtaylor.bsky.social's arrival at Bowdoin Scientific Station for the 2025 field season. @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
041