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Fengyi Guo (Freda)

@fyguo.bsky.social

110 followers 98 following 11 posts

Postdoc Fellow @Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Rose Fellow @Cornell Lab of Ornithology, PhD @Princeton EEB, ecologist, conservation biologist, sports fan.

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Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

1. Did you know that the Corn Belt in the Midwest USA is so vast you can see it from space? 🌽 How would this affect billions of migrating songbirds passing through each year? 🐦 Check out our new study in @conbiology.bsky.social
to find out! 🧵1/8 conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Reposted by Fengyi Guo (Freda)

Jeff Buler @jbuler.bsky.social · May 30

Think all barriers for migrating birds are natural like deserts and seas? Not so! I helped discover that the man-made Corn Belt is also a barrier to migration for many birds. Check out more about my study here...

America's Corn Belt acts as barrier for migrating songbirds | Cornell Chronicle

The vast agricultural landscape of the U.S. Midwest known as the Corn Belt acts as a barrier for migrating landbirds, causing them to adjust their flight behaviors similar to when crossing natural bar...

news.cornell.edu

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

What to learn more? #BirdMigration #Conservation
Check out our full study in @conbiology.bsky.social
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/RCKH33...
Or read this great article by Kathi Borgmann summarizing these findings: news.cornell.edu/stories/2025....
@cornellbirds.bsky.social

Assessing the Corn Belt as an anthropogenic barrier to migrating landbirds in the United States

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conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

Grateful to collaborate with an amazing team on this work. @jbuler.bsky.social, Adriaan Dokter, @kyle-horton.bsky.social, @emlbcohen.bsky.social, Dan Sheldon, Jaclyn Smolinsky, and David Wilcove.

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

8. What can we do to help? #BirdConservation
🌳 Restore small forest patches across the Corn Belt to provide more stopover sites.
🏞️ Protect Gulf Coast woodlands, a vital landing zone for birds crossing natural barriers like the Gulf of Mexico.

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

7. Birds crossing the Corn Belt are more likely to stop over as they approach the “finish line” of barrier crossing. The scattered forest patches within the Corn Belt also appear to serve as important “stepping stones” where birds can stop to rest and refuel. #Conservation

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

6. Most birds stop to rest immediately after crossing the Gulf of Mexico, as you'd expect for such a taxing journey. But the Corn Belt? The stopover response was weaker. However, we found some telling patterns during crossing. Read on 👇

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

5. Stopover Behaviors: We computed the proportion of birds stopping over relative to the number of birds flying by (stopover-to-passage ratio, SPR) to compare the impacts of the Gulf of Mexico and the Corn Belt.

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

4. Flight Behaviors: Birds fly faster (higher airspeeds) and are more selective about flying with tailwinds over the Corn Belt compared to more forested landscapes. This is similar to their strategies for crossing natural barriers like the Gulf of Mexico.

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

3. Using 5 years of data from 47 weather radar stations, we compared how birds adjust their flight and stopover behaviors when crossing the Corn Belt vs. forested landscapes to the south (Eastern Forest) and north (Northern Forest) of it.

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

2. Over 76% of the original forests & grasslands in the Corn Belt have been converted primarily to cornfields, creating an anthropogenic barrier to migrating songbirds in North America.

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · May 30

1. Did you know that the Corn Belt in the Midwest USA is so vast you can see it from space? 🌽 How would this affect billions of migrating songbirds passing through each year? 🐦 Check out our new study in @conbiology.bsky.social
to find out! 🧵1/8 conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Reposted by Fengyi Guo (Freda)

Cecilia Nilsson @cnilsson.science · Mar 5

Weather radars continuously register the movements of billions of animals in the air! We have now published datasets covering large parts of Europe, providing an overview of the aerial habitat in a way no other method can.

Data is available on Alofdata.eu , see our blogpost:
go.nature.com/3F0wQ0L

European data on animals aloft now publicly available

Weather radars detect more than weather, they also continuously register the movements of billions of animals (birds, bats, insects) in the air. Those data are now publicly available for large parts o...

Reposted by Fengyi Guo (Freda)

American Ornithological Society @amornith.bsky.social · Feb 21

We all need a space to feel we belong and where we are supported. Help our Flocks take flight! Support our joint effort with @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social & @fieldornith.bsky.social! Every bit of help makes a difference. gofund.me/b82daffb

Donate to Help Flocks take flights for ornithologists!, organized by Ashley Dayer

We all need a space to feel we belong and where we are supported. This is wh… Ashley Dayer needs your support for Help Flocks take flights for ornithologists!

Fengyi Guo (Freda) @fyguo.bsky.social · Feb 20

Excited to share my radar aeroecology research on the stopover ecology and conservation of migrating songbirds with @ctaudubon.bsky.social community tonight at 7pm EST!

The Connecticut Audubon Society @ctaudubon.bsky.social · Feb 19

Migrating birds rely on stopover sites to rest and refuel, but habitat loss threatens their journey. Dr. Guo's (@fyguo.bsky.social) research explores key migration hotspots and how birds adapt when those sites disappear.
Join us for her Young, Gifted & Wild About Birds talk this Thursday!

The problems birds face during migration, and how to solve them: February 20, Young, Gifted & Wild About Birds - Connecticut Audubon Society

The availability and quality of migratory habitat can be make or break for songbirds. Dr. Fengyi (Freda) Guo is working to identify important stopover spots, understand the habitats birds rely on duri...

www.ctaudubon.org

Reposted by Fengyi Guo (Freda)

Birgen Haest @birgenhaest.bsky.social · Dec 17

Come work with us - PostDoc on characterizing insect migration 🦋🪲🪰 using vertical-looking radars 📡
Deadline: 31 January
Please Share!
my.jobalino.ch/job/en/6cd50...

Post-doctoral researcher (100%) in 'Characterizing insect migration using vertical-looking radars' | 100%

The Swiss Ornithological Institute is a non-profit foundation dedicated to ornithology and the protection of birds. It monitors native birds, researches their way of life and advocates for threatened...