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Reposted by Kari Koivula

Miguel A. Gómez-Serrano @gomezserrano-ma.bsky.social · 11d

Interesting talk by @jellybb.bsky.social about the aberrant egg coloration in Ruff clutches. Blue eggs may affect nest survival, but fitness effects may be habitat dependent. @waderstudy.bsky.social IWSG Conference 2025 in Groningen (Netherlands) #IWSG2025 #waders #shorebirds

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Simon Vandepitte @simonvandepitte.bsky.social · Jul 6

5/5 In addition, a huge effort is made to protect the #critically #endangered southern #dunlin. With expertise of Vroni Rohr-Bender and others, 26 chicks got an advantage be growing up in our aviary, before they got released back in the meadows, hopefully successfully #boosting the #population.

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Simon Vandepitte @simonvandepitte.bsky.social · Jul 6

1/5 - What.an.increadible.fieldseason! Together with @koivulakari.bsky.social , @jelenasubotic.bsky.social , @chorlnev.bsky.social , @vmpakanen.bsky.social, Kristzi Kupan, Vroni Rohr-Bender and others we managed to find plenty of ruff nests (65!) and headstarted a bunch of Southern Dunlins (26!).

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Jun 23

And today her four chicks hatched. From now on she is Valkyria.

Female ruff in hand after ringing. Metal ring and orange colour ring with code VA

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Clemens Küpper @chorlnev.bsky.social · Jun 16

Time is up for my brief fieldwork stint at #Liminganlahti. I have to leave right at the hatching peak of the #ruffs but the work is left in the capable hands of a wonderful team.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Jun 7

Southern dunlin, endangered living dinosaur. #theropods, #ornithology, #waders

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Jun 7

Yesterday, we found the nest of this blonde female. Three of her eggs were also exceptionally pale. #ornithology #waders

Blonde ruff female standing in grasses by its nest.

Ruff clutch of four eggs, three eggs abnormally pale.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Jun 7

Ruff lekking: The co-display of a pale satellite and a court-defending independent morph increases male attractiveness. Lekking began here (65°N) in the first week of May and continues, even though most females are already incubating and the first chicks are expected to hatch any day now.

Ruff male with brownish ornaments co-display with pale-ruffed satellite morph. Female stands by them.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Jun 5

Yep. We use it for checking the existing rings and to avoid unecessary captures.

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Jelena Belojevic @jellybb.bsky.social · Jun 5

This year we spent long (and cold) nights out to capture #ruffs during peak #lekking. Each one ringed and fitted with a transmitter to help us track their movements and behavior.
Thanks to the team for the effort and stamina it takes to pull this off 💤
@koivulakari.bsky.social @chorlnev.bsky.social

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Jun 4

A female Ruff enters her nest — a tent-like shelter hiding her precious eggs. She’s unringed for now, but she’ll receive her bands once the chicks hatch. #waders #ornithology

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · May 27

True, taking his afternoon nap.

Standing ruff male. Seems like he was sleepy.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · May 26

Opera buffa? No, actually ruff male is dead serious in attracting females flying by to land at his lek. #waders #ornithology

Male ruff at his lek in standing position showing ornamental ruff an ear tufts.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · May 1

Climate change in action: Went to check whether the chicks have hatched and found these. Almost ready to fledge. Three or four weeks too early.

Three boreal owl chicks on the ground. Picked from nest box for ringing.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Apr 1

Peekaboo! First boreal owl nest for this spring. #helmipöllö #ornithology

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BOU @bou.org.uk · Mar 24

In the LATEST ISSUE of IBIS

Disappearing aapa mires and why we should care: unnoticed climate change exacerbates drainage effects on birds | onlinelibrary.wiley....

Anthony D. Fox, Aleksi Lehikoinen | #ornithology 🪶

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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · Mar 10

It's not real.
It's not us.
It's not bad.
It's too hard to fix.
It's too late.

Just about every climate denial argument I've ever heard is a variant of one of these five categories, and each one is as bad as the next.

Why? Because they all have the same goal: prevent action as long as possible.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Mar 1

To hide their eggs and themselves, females need grassy vegetation away from forest edges with high nest predator activity.

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Mar 1

Male ruffs seek attention and prioritize areas of the meadow with slightly elevated spots and broad visibility.

Lekking ruffs in open shore meadow. Bothian Bay Finland

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Mar 1

In large meadows, female ruffs prefer to place their nests close to male leks, even though these are not necessarily the safest locations available #ornithology (Hanna Algora, @chorlnev.bsky.social, @jellybb.bsky.social @vmpakanen.bsky.social et al: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Nests, Threats, and Leks: Nonrandom Distributions of Nests in Ruffs (Calidris pugnax)

This project investigates the nest distribution of the ruff (Calidris pugnax), an endangered shorebird. Using satellite imaging, we established a suitable breeding area and analyzed the factors influ....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Ecology and Evolution @ecol-evol.bsky.social · Feb 28

How do female ruffs choose their nest location? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @koivulakari.bsky.social #ornithology

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BOU @bou.org.uk · Feb 27

Increased wind flood frequency leads to decreased nest success of endangered waders in managed shore meadows | www.sciencedirect.co... | Biological Conservation | #ornithology 🪶

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Feb 24

A large part of these meadows is under intensive management. We recommend that managers preferably choose areas with the potential to create attractive short-growth habitats in elevated meadow sections that are safe from flooding. Narrow, elongated areas along shorelines should be avoided.

Cattle and birds on shore meadow at Liminganlahti, Finland

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Feb 24

Our study species are critically endangered. That is why we sometimes made desperate attempts to lift dunlin nests onto the tops of earth piles or move ruff eggs to artificial incubators until the water receded. Some nests were saved by these measures, while others were not.

dunlin incubating on the top of the pile

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Kari Koivula @koivulakari.bsky.social · Feb 24

Due to the low-lying nature of the habitats, a rise of 40 cm above the mean sea level was the critical threshold after which flood losses increased steeply. This do not require stormy winds. Instead, moderate or strong wind against the shore, combined with low air pressure can cause such a rise.

Graph showing that sea level +40 or more causes marked flood losses in dunlins and ruffs

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