Richard K Broughton
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richardkbroughton.bsky.social
Richard K Broughton
@richardkbroughton.bsky.social
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.
Pinned
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
New issue of #BirdStudy
Little Terns nesting in Morocco
Urban Sparrowhawk diet
Urban Blackbird & Robin song shifts
Goosander tracking
Alpine Wheatears
Supplementary feeding of Turtle Doves
Red Kites and wind turbines
Białowieża Robin paternity
www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/c...
#ornithology #birds
November 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
My annual roost count at Hatch Pond this evening produced a personal best of 229 Magpies, my previous best count from a couple of years ago was 184 @harbourbirds.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Lapwing and a Marsh Tit, yeah? I hope Sotherbys are better at researching/confirming the artist, dates and other details for that price. I'd want a second opinion.
Still life of birds, including a marsh tit, chiffchaff, chaffinch, blue tits, goldcrest, lapwing & a great tit, n.d., by #OrsolaMaddalenaCaccia (Italian, c. 1596-c. 1676). Included in Sotheby’s auction, Dec 4, www.sothebys.com/en/buy/aucti..., estimate £40K–60K #nuntastic #artherstory #womenartists
November 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Something to celebrate - our 2025 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker report - successful breeding season, the most nests monitored & highest number of chicks fledged per nest since we started in 2015. Acoustic monitoring giving amazing results too, download here www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/images/L_S_W...
November 22, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Blessed are the peacemakers
November 23, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Pleased to share our latest paper, "Embedding rewilding in policy: Perspectives on overcoming barriers and unlocking opportunities"🍃 #rewilding #biodiversity

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Embedding rewilding in policy: Perspectives on overcoming barriers and unlocking opportunities
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Currently a whopping 30% discount on the hardback and flexiback from the publisher (link in post below), just in time for Christmas presents!
The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, a Poyser #ornithology monograph. #ukbirding
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
November 22, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
More evidence that the Trump/Witkoff “peace plan” for Ukraine came straight from the Russians - it uses Russian syntax.
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
November 21, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Are you an MSc student based at a UK university? Or do you know one?
RSPB @rspbscience.bsky.social have just released their list of research projects for 2026:
www.rspb.org.uk/helping-natu...
#ornithology #conservationscience 🌍
Postgraduate opportunities
The RSPB is offering a variety of exciting research projects for postgraduate students in 2026.
www.rspb.org.uk
November 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
In the small print: Trump commands the UK military if he feels like it.
November 21, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
A video from earlier in the autumn during some particularly heavy Pheasant migration in Highland! #highlandbirds
November 21, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
The full 28-point U.S. peace plan for Ukraine, reportedly backed by Trump, has been published by MP Honcharenko. This thread outlines the key points. What’s clear is that the so-called Witkoff plan heavily favors Russia while offering little to nothing for Ukraine.

1/9
November 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Key findings:
• 42% loss of rough grassland, heath and wetland since 1930
• Pastures and meadows reduced by 29%
• Arable land up by one third by 1990
• Urban areas rose from 13% to 20%

A fresh perspective on how our landscapes changed over 90 years

www.ceh.ac.uk/press/maps-c...

3/ #LandUse
Maps created by 1960s schoolchildren provide new insights into habitat losses
A new study of 1960s maps, many of which were created by young people, has provided important fresh evidence of the timing and extent of habitat losses caused by agricultural intensification and urban...
www.ceh.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
🍃 Considering applying for our Postgraduate Certificate in Ecological Survey Techniques?

Join us online on Thursday 4 December at 13:00 to find out more about the course, get to know the course team, meet our former students, and ask any questions you may have.
🔗 Register here: buff.ly/CdqjObj
November 19, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
The International Swan Census (ISC) is taking place on the weekend of 17th-18th January 2026 (WeBS January Core Count weekend), counting Whooper and Bewick’s Swans. Follow these simple steps to get involved 👇

@btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social

#UKBirding #Ornithology
November 18, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Minus 5 celsius locally last night, but a Red Admiral still on the wing today.
November 18, 2025 at 10:16 PM
It's not just Jays, but Rooks are also agents of natural colonisation of woodland, dispersing and planting tree seeds that start off new woodlands. #rewilding
Lots of Rooks coming to the garden at the moment for the last of the acorns.
Each birds takes 5/6 away at one visit & then returns. The number of cached acorns in the surrounding fields must be enormous.
It's not only the Jay who is responsible for planting Britain's Oak Trees.
#trees #corvids
November 18, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
PhD opportunity!

Focusing on ecological processes offers an adaptive approach to conservation at a time of rapid environmental change

But how do we measure & conserve these processes?

This PhD will explore the use of species traits to assess ecosystem condition
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
New in #BirdStudy

Loyal as a Robin: low frequency of extra-pair paternity in a European Robin Erithacus rubecula population in the natural forest of Białowieża National Park (Poland)
doi.org/10.1080/0006...

#ornithology
October 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
@richardkbroughton.bsky.social fantastic work on this book !👏I spend so much time in woods after LSW and I have these wonderful birds around me a great insight and another bird i will locally monitor
November 9, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Had this unusual Mallard hanging around the garden for a while, completely lacking the brown breast and white collar. Just 1-2 domestic birds 10-15 years ago have added massive persistent variation into the local wild population. @ecoevoenviro.bsky.social
November 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Our latest introductory and advanced courses on Data Analysis with R Statistical Software are now live -all welcome, whatever your current level of skills or experience :) www.ecoexplore.co.uk
Eco-Explore
www.ecoexplore.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
Hen Harrier Susie, whose chicks were stamped to death on a Yorkshire Dales grouse moor in 2022, has been found dead on a N Pennines grouse moor with gunshot injuries.

18+ months of silence about this crime from the police & Natural England.

#RaptorResearch

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/11/14/h...
Hen Harrier ‘Susie’, whose chicks were stamped to death in 2022, has been found dead on a North Pennines grouse moor with gunshot injuries
If ever there was an example demonstrating the high level of persecution faced by Hen Harriers on UK grouse moors, the lack of consequences for the offenders, and the lack of justice for the victim…
raptorpersecutionuk.org
November 14, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Reposted by Richard K Broughton
With #COP30 underway, the @ipbes.net #NexusAssessment findings are more urgent than ever.

The climate crisis can’t be solved alone — it’s linked to biodiversity loss, water scarcity, food insecurity and pollution.

Integrated solutions can tackle these crises together. New in @plosclimate.org ⬇️
📢 In a new PLOS Climate Opinion article, the Co-Chairs of the the @ipbes.net Nexus Assessment, @pammcelwee.bsky.social and Paula Harrison, share key lessons for the UNFCCC #COP30

🔗 journals.plos.org/climate/arti...
November 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Holly Blue still on the wing in Oxfordshire. It's not even the first butterfly I've seen today, the other being a Peacock. @oxonbirder.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM