Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 4d

After 675 years I'm guessing it smelled alot better than my socks 👎

Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 5d

Fantastic Eoghan, great to see, stunning creatures

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 5d

In much the same vein....

www.birdguides.com/news/operati...

Operation Turtle Dove issues statement over captive releases

Operation Turtle Dove has issued an official statement over the captive breeding and releasing of European Turtle Dove in the UK. The statement confirms that the partnership does not currently support...

www.birdguides.com

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 5d

The statement confirms that Operation Turtle Dove does not currently support captive releases, despite recognising that they may be "well-intentioned".

www.birdguides.com/news/operati...

Operation Turtle Dove issues statement over captive releases

Operation Turtle Dove has issued an official statement over the captive breeding and releasing of European Turtle Dove in the UK. The statement confirms that the partnership does not currently support...

www.birdguides.com

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Reposted by Allan Mee

Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 5d

More ill thought out 'conservation' translocations 🌍
www.theguardian.com/environment/... - so much to unpack here #Ornithology #UKBirding 🧵

‘It proves this can be done’: Berlin the blueprint to bring goshawks to UK cities

Conservationist plans release of 15 each of the apex predators sourced as chicks into Chester and London

www.theguardian.com

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 5d

Nice thread Alex, bonkers stuff, POD rears his head again

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Reposted by Allan Mee

Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 5d

🚨 Please repost widely!🚨

I am recruiting a PhD student to join my lab next fall to work on forest and climate change ecology projects in southern Appalachia! Come join me in one of the most beautiful, biodiverse, and understudied parts of North America. Details below and happy to answer questions

An ad for a PhD position to start fall 2026 working with me at ETSU. For more info, please email at LeeBR1@etsu.edu.

A close-up picture of dimpled trout lilies active in early spring, still largely surrounded by the previous year's senesced tree leaves.

A beautiful vista of the Blue Ridge Mountains from on top of Carver's Gap on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.

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Reposted by Allan Mee

David Kitching @kitchingart.com · 5d

🌍

Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 5d

Earth has breached a critical boundary for ocean acidification, with potentially grim effects for ocean ecosystems and human livelihoods

Humans Just Pushed Earth across Another 'Planetary Boundary'

Earth has breached a critical boundary for ocean acidification, with potentially grim effects for ocean ecosystems and human livelihoods

www.scientificamerican.com

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 5d

Fascinating study on historical nest items in Bearded Vulture nests by Margalida et al

"Even more surprising was that several items were well over 600 years old, according to carbon-14 dating. Results from one shoe dated back to around 675 years ago"
#RaptorResearch 🪶

phys.org/news/2025-10...

Bearded Vulture nests found to have hoards of cultural artifacts—some up to 650 years old

Many people have probably seen birds picking up small pieces of man-made materials, like strips of a plastic bag or paper litter, and taking them into their nest. This behavior appears to be fairly wi...

phys.org

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Reposted by Allan Mee

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 12d

“I’m a climate scientist. Trump’s U.N. address is a fire hose of misinformation” | My new op-ed in the @sfchronicle.com:
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
#ScienceUnderSiege

I’m a climate scientist. Trump’s U.N. address is a fire hose of misinformation

OPINION: “What Trump is really doing is advancing a plan laid down years ago by plutocrats and polluters. And making a mockery of our country as he does so,” Michael E. Mann writes.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 9d

Nature in Ireland is in a “very poor” state, with the country’s economic growth achieved at the expense of the environment, EU analysis has found.

The SEE report also criticised the poor quality of Ireland’s natural waters, the country’s growing waste volumes and its heavy reliance on fossil fuels,

Environmental Pillar @envpillar.bsky.social · 9d

Ireland’s nature is in a “very poor” state, with the country’s economic growth achieved at the expense of the environment, according to the EU’s State of Europe’s Environment report. We’re running out of wake-up calls! www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025...

Ireland’s natural environment in ‘very poor’ condition, EU analysis finds

European Environment Report - news (analysis piece to follow) Embargoed to Sunday night 11pm

www.irishtimes.com

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 10d

Agreed Robert, but the reality too is that MM and the FFG govt have not taken any concrete action, repeatedly tried to water down the Occupied Territories bill, continue to allow US military use of Shannon and use of Irish airspace by flights carrying munitions to Israel. Action not just words

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 10d

Tks so much Graham, it's a brilliant blog and a great resource for all wader heads and more besides 👏

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 13d

Meta‐analysis of predator identity in nest‐camera studies in the British Islands - Barton - Ibis - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🦉🌏

Meta‐analysis of predator identity in nest‐camera studies in the British Islands

Nest predation is the primary cause of nest failure across many bird species. Interventions to support declining or threatened species frequently involve measures to reduce nest predation, through le...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 15d

English planters had already drained 300 or 400 acres of bog and made it fertile through careful nurture and maturing. Boate reckoned not one acre of bog would have been left in English-owned land if 'this detestable rebellion had not come between‘

www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

A view of 17th century Ireland by Oliver Cromwell's doctor

While Gerard Boate's book was a propagandistic commodification of Ireland, it opened the way for a more scientific interpretation of the country

www.rte.ie

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 17d

5. Little did I think when I first saw Condor I'd get to spend 5 incredible years immersed in Condor biology and recovery. I probably fantasised about shooting the breeze with RR in the CA backcountry (what condor biologist didn't!!) but it never came to pass.....RIP legend

Pete Bloom and Dave Clendenen at Bittercreek pit trap, where Pete trapped one of the last condors of the original wild pop in the 1980s

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 17d

3. Thanks to the incredible conservation work of the Condor recovery team led by Dr. Noel Snyder, leading to the capture of the last free flying condor (AC9) in 1987 and the still ongoing reintroduction re-establishing the species in the wild, California condors are still with us.

Condor AC9 at nest site in the Sespe Condor sanctuary in 2024

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 17d

2. I'm not sure when I first saw Condor, a documentary on the plight of the near-extinct California condor, the last few birds remaining in the wilds of the Santa Barbara and Sespe in the rugged California backcountry but must have been in the late 80s/early 90s.

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 17d

1. Sad to hear of the death of the great Robert Redford today. Apart from his brilliance as an actor, director, Sunday evening etc, it was his environmental activism that inspired. And his beautiful narration on this wonderful 1985 documentary.

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Reposted by Allan Mee

Graham Appleton @wadertales.bsky.social · 23d

Trees do not make good neighbours, if you're a breeding wader.
Three relevant blogs from 10 years of Wader Tales.
1️⃣ North of Scotland
wadertales.wordpress.com/2020/06/19/t...
2️⃣ Estonia
wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/03/16/k...
3️⃣ Iceland
wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/06/18/i...
#ConservationScience🌍

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Reposted by Allan Mee

IPBES @ipbes.net · 27d

A new IUCN assessment has officially recognised four distinct giraffe species, overturning previous classifications of the world’s tallest land mammal as a single species with nine sub-species. 🌏🧪

Learn more ➡️http://bit.ly/4mVVGji

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · Sep 8

Odd headline given the 'adverse effects' are losing top predators and not their reintroduction, but important take home message

Researchers find adverse effects of apex predator reintroduction: 'The conservation message is don't lose them in the first place' share.google/10u3nR2k03dt...

Researchers find adverse effects of apex predator reintroduction: 'The conservation message is don't lose them in the first place'

"When you disturb ecosystems by changing the makeup of a food web, it can lead to lasting changes that are not quickly fixed."

share.google

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · Sep 5

"Some 30 per cent of its vast estate (134,000 hectares) is now managed primarily for nature; a target achieved this year ahead of schedule."

Is this company spin or for real? I just don't 👀 it. Depends of your definition of nature I guess?

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

How Ireland’s forests are undergoing a revolution

Era of being a treeless country with little forest culture now changing, with restoration of forests across a wide variety of landscapes

www.irishtimes.com

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · Aug 12

Great to see it make front page news (as it should), congrats Hannah et al on such an important paper 👏

Reposted by Allan Mee

Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · Aug 12

I first tried to write a paper like this alone, about 5 years ago but never got it across the line (the topic was another metric - GWP* - but very similar arguments). Wonderful to have been invited to collaborate with this great team of scientists to publish this great paper.

Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · Aug 12

Our new journal paper has hit the front pages and got wide coverage on the airwaves this morning.

The paper critically assesses “temperature neutrality” as a basis for Ireland’s long-term climate target. We find it amounts to backsliding on climate ambition and locks in food system unfairness.

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