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Richard K Broughton

@richardkbroughton.bsky.social

4.5K followers 1.5K following 2.4K posts

Research Ecologist working on birds, mammals, forests, farms, hedgerows, woodland natural colonisation. Marsh Tit, Willow Tit & Wood Warbler research. Editor-in-Chief of the journal Bird Study: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tbis20 Views are mine.

www.tandfonline.com

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · Jan 27

My Poyser book, The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, is now published. 9 chapters, 320pp, 150+ figures, photos & tables on the ecology, behaviour, calls, id., habitats & conservation of these two species from Britain to Japan. More info: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit... #ornithology #ukbirding #birds

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 5m

You imagine that 3.2m Ryanair flights to Pol/Rom are occupied mostly by affluent Poles/Romanians earning above average UK wage? That's really not the impression you'd get at Stansted. And you imagine only a minority of 3-4 million people will visit parents/family more than once/year?

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 14m

No idea, but 2-3 trips/yr wouldn't be surprising in my experience. Flights always packed with families.
There's really no alternative to UK flights to eastern Europe due to job commitments, ££, long connections at either end. Simply no time/£ for road/rail, so it'd be major barrier to family life.

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 1h

Rough guess: 3-4 million EU citizens in UK, plus UK-born descendants/children, plus UK partners, and most will have some family in another country: parents, siblings, children or partners. Most first gen arrivals prob have below-average income. Ryanair has 2.3m seats to Poland/year, Romania 1.9m.

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 6h

Car/rail not realistic option for most people working in UK and visiting family in Europe on regular trips, with limited annual leave, time, funds. Rail from SE England to east Poland costs about £400 and takes 1-2 days. Ryanair costs £50 and takes 2.5 hrs, giving weekend with parents/kids.

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 6h

You'll need to plant 50 acorns to offset that dirty dip ;)

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Reposted by Richard K Broughton

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 7h

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

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UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 6h

You sound needled ;)

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 6h

I don't know the answer, but frequent flier levy is always framed as targeting privileged business/holiday travelers, when budget flights are a vital lifeline for (often underprivileged) international families/workers, who number in the millions. Only practical option for maintaining family life.

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 8h

Look at Ryanair, Wizz or EasyJet destinations to provincial Central Europe, and they're not holiday/business destinations. I do regular budget flights there, and they're packed with families/children going to see relatives. There's 3 million EU citizens in UK, mostly from that region, with families.

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Reposted by Richard K Broughton

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 10h

We highly recommend this upcoming talk at @linneansociety.bsky.social for compelling, evidence-based perspectives on the decline of woodland birds from Dr Richard Broughton 🌳⬇️

The Linnean Society of London @linneansociety.bsky.social · 6d

Why are Britain’s woods falling silent?

Marsh & Willow Tits have declined by up to 96%.

Join @richardkbroughton.bsky.social at 6pm, Oct 23 at the Society to uncover what’s driving these losses - and what they reveal about our vanishing forests.

Book now: buff.ly/IuNlpoH

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 10h

Never mentioned: it'd need parallel relaxed migration, otherwise puts huge barriers between families. Many frequent fliers are people visiting family: kids, grandparents, partners. Millions in UK have families across borders & low incomes. A levy hammers them, more than business/holidaymakers.

Reposted by Richard K Broughton

Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 12h

Humanists are non-religious people who shape their own lives in the here and now, because they believe it’s the only life they have. Many people share humanist values without even knowing the term. Maybe you’re a humanist! Find out by taking our quiz! humanists.uk/quiz

How humanist are you?

Take our quiz and find out. Many people are humanists without even knowing it. If you are non-religious and look to science, reason, empathy, and compassion in order to live an ethical and meaningful ...

humanists.uk

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Reposted by Richard K Broughton

Tony Juniper @tonyjuniper.bsky.social · 13h

The release of this new film in early 2026 should create quite an impact, in setting out the seriousness of the ecological challenges now upon us, while inspiring understanding as to the positive choices we can make in meeting them.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

King Charles hopes Amazon Prime nature documentary will 'inspire' viewers

The King to appear in Amazon documentary encouraging people to work with rather than against nature.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 13h

This one's more of a Regretting Dove, once it realises which side of the Atlantic it's on.

Cliff Smith @0100011s.bsky.social · 14h

Mourning Dove this morning on St Agnes #ukbirding

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 13h

Possibly other subtle things like climate change, frequency of tree masting etc, affecting availability of rodents and survival.

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 1d

But the point was about Fox numbers. Introducing Lynxes would have negligible effect on their abundance, as top-down mortality isn't so important (as shown by cars). But reducing the massive oversupply of food would reduce Fox numbers, as starvation is a far bigger constraint.

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 1d

Evidence? This study shows the opposite: ground-nesting Wood Warblers fared second-worst where Wolves & Lynx present (Bialowieza), vs elsewhere in Europe where top predators mostly missing. Foxes & martens were main predators. nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Reproductive success of the wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix varies across Europe

Differences in population trends across a species' breeding range are ultimately linked to variation in demographic rates. In small songbirds, demographic rates related to fecundity typically have st....

nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 1d

It would have negligible effect. Foxes are still common where Lynxes/Wolves present, as latter occur at such low density in enormous territories (tens/hundreds of km2). Cars already kill vast numbers of Foxes, far more than Lynxes/Wolves ever would, so suppression is a false hope. Food is main limit

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 1d

You can double that, to pay for the extra staff/energy costs of staying open for longer.

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 1d

Like moths to a flame... I still remember that sickening thud in the video!

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 1d

There's a lot of wind turbines in East Yorks 😉

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Andy Hood @andyhood75.bsky.social · 1d

Oh lawdy...!!!
White-throated Needletail showing a bit well here at Bempton RSPB reserve @rarebirder.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 2d

That distribution map is a bit out of date - the Black Rat is now essentially extinct in Great Britain.

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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 2d

Gray-headed Chickadee aka Siberian Tit may now be extinct in North America #Ornithology 🌎🪶 @richardkbroughton.bsky.social
www.aba.org/lost-on-the-...

Lost on the Frontier - American Birding Association

Conjectures—and some evidence—regarding why the Gray-headed Chickadee may have been extirpated from the ABA Area.

www.aba.org

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 2d

Just playing Devil's Advocate, how/why would mountain bike trails harm Pied Flycatchers? They breed in heavily disturbed parks & gardens elsewhere, so disturbance limited to trails wouldn't be too much of an issue?

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