Mike Shewring
@mikeshewring.bsky.social
Ecologist / conservation scientist
Reposted by Mike Shewring
For all the #nightjar enthusiasts out there - www.globalnightjar.org/post/size-ma...
Size matters – at least for the Nightjars
A study on how white patches convey the quality of male European NightjarsBy Richard Schnürmacher • Many avian species sport bright, contrasting colours, but what about the birds active at night? • V...
www.globalnightjar.org
January 27, 2026 at 1:47 PM
For all the #nightjar enthusiasts out there - www.globalnightjar.org/post/size-ma...
@ogbogdog.bsky.social ear flappometer back my popular demand.
Careful out there folks #stormingrid is at least 1-1.5 on the ear flappometer scale.
Careful out there folks #stormingrid is at least 1-1.5 on the ear flappometer scale.
January 24, 2026 at 10:04 AM
@ogbogdog.bsky.social ear flappometer back my popular demand.
Careful out there folks #stormingrid is at least 1-1.5 on the ear flappometer scale.
Careful out there folks #stormingrid is at least 1-1.5 on the ear flappometer scale.
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Very pleased to share #OpenAccess paper, which we think is important to understand woodland bird declines and impact of forestry on native ancient woodland in Britain.
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #ornithology @ukceh.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @mizpas.bsky.social
🧵1/n
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #ornithology @ukceh.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @mizpas.bsky.social
🧵1/n
January 23, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Very pleased to share #OpenAccess paper, which we think is important to understand woodland bird declines and impact of forestry on native ancient woodland in Britain.
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #ornithology @ukceh.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @mizpas.bsky.social
🧵1/n
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #ornithology @ukceh.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @mizpas.bsky.social
🧵1/n
Reposted by Mike Shewring
I had a wonderful time looking for chough as part of the @gowerchough.bsky.social project last summer - have a read of Mike’s piece to find out more about the work!
(and then please help us find some more funding to do it again this year, thanks)
(and then please help us find some more funding to do it again this year, thanks)
Wrote a few words on our @gowerchough.bsky.social survey this summer - mikeshewring.substack.com/p/gower-gold
Gower Gold
Red-billed Choughs on Gower's Cliffs
mikeshewring.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:27 PM
I had a wonderful time looking for chough as part of the @gowerchough.bsky.social project last summer - have a read of Mike’s piece to find out more about the work!
(and then please help us find some more funding to do it again this year, thanks)
(and then please help us find some more funding to do it again this year, thanks)
Reposted by Mike Shewring
🤩We’re excited to announce our winner of Capturing Ecology🤩
🐊Zeke Rowe, @zekerowe.bsky.social, with their photo 'Wouldn't hurt a fly'🪰
Taken in Panama, the image shows an American crocodile fixing the camera with its golden eyes, utterly unmoved as blood-sucking horse flies feed on its snout.
🐊Zeke Rowe, @zekerowe.bsky.social, with their photo 'Wouldn't hurt a fly'🪰
Taken in Panama, the image shows an American crocodile fixing the camera with its golden eyes, utterly unmoved as blood-sucking horse flies feed on its snout.
January 22, 2026 at 2:03 PM
🤩We’re excited to announce our winner of Capturing Ecology🤩
🐊Zeke Rowe, @zekerowe.bsky.social, with their photo 'Wouldn't hurt a fly'🪰
Taken in Panama, the image shows an American crocodile fixing the camera with its golden eyes, utterly unmoved as blood-sucking horse flies feed on its snout.
🐊Zeke Rowe, @zekerowe.bsky.social, with their photo 'Wouldn't hurt a fly'🪰
Taken in Panama, the image shows an American crocodile fixing the camera with its golden eyes, utterly unmoved as blood-sucking horse flies feed on its snout.
Wrote a few words on our @gowerchough.bsky.social survey this summer - mikeshewring.substack.com/p/gower-gold
Gower Gold
Red-billed Choughs on Gower's Cliffs
mikeshewring.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Wrote a few words on our @gowerchough.bsky.social survey this summer - mikeshewring.substack.com/p/gower-gold
New National security and global biodiversity loss assessment from uk government. Some stark and scary predictions in here assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0e...
January 20, 2026 at 6:08 PM
New National security and global biodiversity loss assessment from uk government. Some stark and scary predictions in here assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0e...
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Always a relief to see the Welsh Bird Report arrive with all the pages in the right order and the photos reproduced well. Diolch Caxton Press
@birdsinwales.bsky.social members also get the latest papers in Issue 2 of Milvus in the same post, thanks to editor @fidhw.bsky.social
#BirdingWales (1/2)
@birdsinwales.bsky.social members also get the latest papers in Issue 2 of Milvus in the same post, thanks to editor @fidhw.bsky.social
#BirdingWales (1/2)
January 17, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Always a relief to see the Welsh Bird Report arrive with all the pages in the right order and the photos reproduced well. Diolch Caxton Press
@birdsinwales.bsky.social members also get the latest papers in Issue 2 of Milvus in the same post, thanks to editor @fidhw.bsky.social
#BirdingWales (1/2)
@birdsinwales.bsky.social members also get the latest papers in Issue 2 of Milvus in the same post, thanks to editor @fidhw.bsky.social
#BirdingWales (1/2)
Reposted by Mike Shewring
🦋 Save the Small Blue at Cwm Tips 💙
We’ve launched a crowdfunder to restore flower-rich grasslands at one of the South Wales Valleys’ most important wildlife sites.
Help us remove invasive scrub and safeguard rare butterflies, bees and grassland wildlife.
👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-the-s...
We’ve launched a crowdfunder to restore flower-rich grasslands at one of the South Wales Valleys’ most important wildlife sites.
Help us remove invasive scrub and safeguard rare butterflies, bees and grassland wildlife.
👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-the-s...
January 16, 2026 at 8:18 PM
🦋 Save the Small Blue at Cwm Tips 💙
We’ve launched a crowdfunder to restore flower-rich grasslands at one of the South Wales Valleys’ most important wildlife sites.
Help us remove invasive scrub and safeguard rare butterflies, bees and grassland wildlife.
👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-the-s...
We’ve launched a crowdfunder to restore flower-rich grasslands at one of the South Wales Valleys’ most important wildlife sites.
Help us remove invasive scrub and safeguard rare butterflies, bees and grassland wildlife.
👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-the-s...
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Delighted to begin this term's seminars with Malcolm Burgess @piedflynet.bsky.social from @rspb.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social on Migration behaviour, demography & phenology of declining migratory birds. Seminar at 3.30 on 16 Jan in LT1 in the LaMB @biology.ox.ac.uk: all welcome - see details ⬇️
January 12, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Delighted to begin this term's seminars with Malcolm Burgess @piedflynet.bsky.social from @rspb.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social on Migration behaviour, demography & phenology of declining migratory birds. Seminar at 3.30 on 16 Jan in LT1 in the LaMB @biology.ox.ac.uk: all welcome - see details ⬇️
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Make a difference!
Can you turn complex ecological data into clear insights for Wales Peatland Action?
Become our Specialist Peatland Biodiversity Metric & Reporting Advisor!
£42K-£46K+
Closes 28/01/26
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/vacancyinfor...
#jobs @natreswales.bsky.social
#HighNatureLowCarbon
Can you turn complex ecological data into clear insights for Wales Peatland Action?
Become our Specialist Peatland Biodiversity Metric & Reporting Advisor!
£42K-£46K+
Closes 28/01/26
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/vacancyinfor...
#jobs @natreswales.bsky.social
#HighNatureLowCarbon
January 14, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Make a difference!
Can you turn complex ecological data into clear insights for Wales Peatland Action?
Become our Specialist Peatland Biodiversity Metric & Reporting Advisor!
£42K-£46K+
Closes 28/01/26
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/vacancyinfor...
#jobs @natreswales.bsky.social
#HighNatureLowCarbon
Can you turn complex ecological data into clear insights for Wales Peatland Action?
Become our Specialist Peatland Biodiversity Metric & Reporting Advisor!
£42K-£46K+
Closes 28/01/26
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/vacancyinfor...
#jobs @natreswales.bsky.social
#HighNatureLowCarbon
Reposted by Mike Shewring
It always feels a bit sacrilegious to me to dig trial pits in the bog but needs must to check how deep in the peat the oxidation was at the upper Cwmparc peat site and if we can actually make the bunds we proposed. Several pits and von posts later, I think we can. Here’s the upper 20-30cm ish ⬇️
January 14, 2026 at 2:41 PM
It always feels a bit sacrilegious to me to dig trial pits in the bog but needs must to check how deep in the peat the oxidation was at the upper Cwmparc peat site and if we can actually make the bunds we proposed. Several pits and von posts later, I think we can. Here’s the upper 20-30cm ish ⬇️
Reposted by Mike Shewring
My good friend and collaborator (and now colleague!) talking about his work tracking Leach’s Storm Petrels on their incredible journeys at sea.
Join our Marine Team on an expedition to track the Leach's Petrel 🪶
These birds can travel over 2000km during a single foraging trip, but are only the size of a starling!
Watch the full film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrXB...
All birds were caught and handled under licence by RSPB staff
These birds can travel over 2000km during a single foraging trip, but are only the size of a starling!
Watch the full film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrXB...
All birds were caught and handled under licence by RSPB staff
Travel to a remote Scottish island to see how tagging seabirds can help protect them
YouTube video by RSPB
www.youtube.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:54 PM
My good friend and collaborator (and now colleague!) talking about his work tracking Leach’s Storm Petrels on their incredible journeys at sea.
Reposted by Mike Shewring
If you want to check out the NESO data tables for yourself, here’s the link:
It’s this link: www.neso.energy/docu...
On this page: www.neso.energy/publ...
/ENDS
10/10
It’s this link: www.neso.energy/docu...
On this page: www.neso.energy/publ...
/ENDS
10/10
January 12, 2026 at 4:19 PM
If you want to check out the NESO data tables for yourself, here’s the link:
It’s this link: www.neso.energy/docu...
On this page: www.neso.energy/publ...
/ENDS
10/10
It’s this link: www.neso.energy/docu...
On this page: www.neso.energy/publ...
/ENDS
10/10
Reposted by Mike Shewring
🧵A political/media guide to the "truth" about net-zero
1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!
1/10
1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!
1/10
January 12, 2026 at 4:18 PM
🧵A political/media guide to the "truth" about net-zero
1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!
1/10
1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!
1/10
Reposted by Mike Shewring
It supports 1000s of migratory birds, but never before has a Lesser Yellowlegs graced the Clwyd estuary. Recent sightings in #NorthWales, ice-effects linger after snow recedes but summer birds are weeks away. #BirdNotes
📷 @millstonegrit.bsky.social #BirdingWales
www.birdnotes.wales/blog/rhyl-or...
📷 @millstonegrit.bsky.social #BirdingWales
www.birdnotes.wales/blog/rhyl-or...
Rhyl or the Caribbean? A shorebird’s choice.
Thousands of people cross the Clwyd estuary daily on the ‘blue bridge’ between Rhyl and Kinmel Bay or the newer, traffic-free Pont y Ddraig. Precious few notice that, while not on the scale of...
www.birdnotes.wales
January 12, 2026 at 6:41 PM
It supports 1000s of migratory birds, but never before has a Lesser Yellowlegs graced the Clwyd estuary. Recent sightings in #NorthWales, ice-effects linger after snow recedes but summer birds are weeks away. #BirdNotes
📷 @millstonegrit.bsky.social #BirdingWales
www.birdnotes.wales/blog/rhyl-or...
📷 @millstonegrit.bsky.social #BirdingWales
www.birdnotes.wales/blog/rhyl-or...
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Excited to launch the new improved Reproducible Code guide from @britishecologicalsociety.org @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social FREE online here! www.britishecologicalsociety.org//wp-content/... Amazing work by some very talented ECRs. We hope it’s useful!
December 16, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Excited to launch the new improved Reproducible Code guide from @britishecologicalsociety.org @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social FREE online here! www.britishecologicalsociety.org//wp-content/... Amazing work by some very talented ECRs. We hope it’s useful!
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Fantastic Data job, making a difference!
Go for the Data and GIS Officer role for NPAP, the Programme that coordinates Wales Peatland Action.
£37K- £41K+ p/a. Deadline 01/02/2026. Go for it!
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/VacancyInfor...
@natreswales.bsky.social
#jobs #greenjobs #environment #GIS
Go for the Data and GIS Officer role for NPAP, the Programme that coordinates Wales Peatland Action.
£37K- £41K+ p/a. Deadline 01/02/2026. Go for it!
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/VacancyInfor...
@natreswales.bsky.social
#jobs #greenjobs #environment #GIS
January 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Fantastic Data job, making a difference!
Go for the Data and GIS Officer role for NPAP, the Programme that coordinates Wales Peatland Action.
£37K- £41K+ p/a. Deadline 01/02/2026. Go for it!
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/VacancyInfor...
@natreswales.bsky.social
#jobs #greenjobs #environment #GIS
Go for the Data and GIS Officer role for NPAP, the Programme that coordinates Wales Peatland Action.
£37K- £41K+ p/a. Deadline 01/02/2026. Go for it!
swyddi.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/VacancyInfor...
@natreswales.bsky.social
#jobs #greenjobs #environment #GIS
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Six roles with @rspbcymru.bsky.social to survey breeding waders in #Wales in March/April, with a particular focus on #Curlews. Closing date is 25 January.
#ConservationJobs
app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...
#ConservationJobs
app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...
Breeding Wader Surveyor (Fixed Term) | RSPB
We are looking for fieldworkers to undertake a survey of breeding wader species at sites across Wales (primarily in North Wales, Powys and Gwent). The role will be mobile, visiting a wide range of upl...
app.vacancy-filler.co.uk
January 7, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Six roles with @rspbcymru.bsky.social to survey breeding waders in #Wales in March/April, with a particular focus on #Curlews. Closing date is 25 January.
#ConservationJobs
app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...
#ConservationJobs
app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Another important reality is that Greenland holds major potential for future peat accumulation and carbon sequestration. Where will the bogs of tomorrow be? Not Canada. Not Siberia. But definitely Greenland.
As everyone talks about Greenland, don't forget its actual global significance--a two mile thick sheet of ice that if melted would raise the sea level 23 feet (and long before that choke off the currents of the Atlantic)
open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...
open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...
Greenland has a 'vital strategic asset'
A sheet of ice two miles thick (and also some remarkable people)
open.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Another important reality is that Greenland holds major potential for future peat accumulation and carbon sequestration. Where will the bogs of tomorrow be? Not Canada. Not Siberia. But definitely Greenland.
Reposted by Mike Shewring
Pleased to see this new paper with Dylan Young published: "Understanding the Carbon Balance of Peatlands: A Comment on Heinemeyer et al. (2025)". See: www.mires-and-peat.net/article/1547...
Understanding the Carbon Balance of Peatlands: A Comment on Heinemeyer et al. (2025) | Published in Mires and Peat
By Dylan M. Young, Andy J. Baird. Article 32.34: Explains why the authors consider that specific criticisms of their work raised in Article 32.12 are unjustified, and outlines a basis for more-reliabl...
www.mires-and-peat.net
January 7, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Pleased to see this new paper with Dylan Young published: "Understanding the Carbon Balance of Peatlands: A Comment on Heinemeyer et al. (2025)". See: www.mires-and-peat.net/article/1547...
Reposted by Mike Shewring
We'll be looking at ways, past and present, that #Manx people value #peatlands
💦World Wetlands Day 2026 #WWD2026 is celebrated on 2nd February. This year it focuses on the cultural heritage of wetlands, so we'll be looking at how our #peatlands are linked to our cultural identity and their importance to past and present ways of life 😊
January 7, 2026 at 10:36 AM
We'll be looking at ways, past and present, that #Manx people value #peatlands
Fascinating paper on ecological time lags and extinction debts besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Accumulating time lags across biodiversity levels following land‐use change
Species identity seems central in governing the observed delays at each level of biodiversity, from genetic to functional diversity. In particular, species identity controls the slowest responses at ...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 4, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Fascinating paper on ecological time lags and extinction debts besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....