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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 · 15h

That distribution map is a bit out of date - the Black Rat is now essentially extinct in Great Britain.

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Reposted by Richard K Broughton

Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 22h

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 · 21h

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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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 22h

Odd seeing the annoyed comments from foresters to this innocuous post on ancient woodland restoration. It's not controversial to say that conifer plantations are nature depleted vs the ancient woodland they replaced. Restoration is even Scottish Forestry policy! www.forestry.gov.scot/planted-wood...

Woodland Trust Scotland @wtscotsocial.bsky.social · 11d

#AncientWoodlandRestoration in action! 🌲

Felling of one hectare of nature depleted conifer has begun at #PloraWood, Innerleithen.

These non-natives are being removed and replanted with mixed native broadleaf species that will support local biodiversity and increase resilience 🐿️ 🍄 🍂

Harvester vehicle on road with conifer plantation in background.

Harvester vehicle on road with field verge on one side and conifer plantation on other.

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

First Redwing of the winter heard from the garden, Oxfordshire.
@oxonbirder.bsky.social

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Reposted by Richard K Broughton

Mathias Disney @matdisney.bsky.social · 1d

Our new perspective on what TLS can (& can't) do in forest research www.nature.com/articles/s41... - led by Eduardo Maeda w lots of great colleagues including @kimcalders.bsky.social @emilyrlines.bsky.social @louiseterryn.bsky.social @benjaminbrede.bsky.social (apols for any I don;t have @ for)

Expanding forest research with terrestrial LiDAR technology - Nature Communications

This Review highlights how terrestrial laser scanning is transforming forest research by enabling highly detailed 3D measurements of trees, supporting applications in forest ecology, carbon monitoring, and biodiversity assessment.

www.nature.com

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

Just watched a Jay cache this acorn in a small cavity in a Field Maple, like a giant Marsh Tit.

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

Four Bollocks and a Funeral

The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 2d

No Country for Old Bollocks

Text saying "Take a movie title, and replace one word with 'bollocks'..."

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

Several more today, very variable In colour!

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

Snap

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

He was asking why he could now see flags on lampposts in the distance, when it wasn't necessary before.

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

I was very specific with my taxa!

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

May 2015. David Cameron was Prime Minister, UK an EU member, Barack Obama was US President, and this male Marsh Tit hatched in Monks Wood. Colour-ringed 28 August 2015. Photo 2 April 2016. Observed every year since. @martamaziarz.bsky.social & I saw him again today, 10 yrs 5 mo old, still surviving.

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

It's be the first record for me in Monks Wood, but not very familiar with them. Plenty of Death Caps in other years!

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

I *think* this is Fly Agaric, but never seen one with an orange cap? Can any experts advise? Cambridgeshire ancient woodland #fungi #mycology

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

And then you need to factor in the carbon *emitted* by the tree production & planting (nursery, growing medium, water consumption, transport, stakes & protection). All tree planting schemes start off with a carbon bill to pay off.

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 3d

I've just seen him again in his home-range. Now 10 yrs and 5 months old since hatching, and just over 10 years since ringing. Incredible that small 11g birds like Marsh Tits can live for over a decade, whereas small rodents/shrews of similar size live less than 2 yrs.

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

Stop what you’re doing and listen to a 10 year old Marsh Tit. Colour ringed on this same territory in 2015. Paired and singing today. Officially the oldest Marsh Tit ever in our 22 yr study, and one of the oldest recorded in Britain. #ukbirding #ornithology

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 3d

After two virtually blank years, it's a hell of a masting year for Pedunculate Oaks at Monks Wood. Seed consumers will be overwhelmed: squirrels & small rodents aren't abundant this year. So there should be lots of oaks successfully germinating, if the Jays disperse them.

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 3d

Ash dieback playing out like a high impact, low frequency event, like a hurricane, that periodically devastate and re-shape woodlands. The canopy is now all dead here, but look at that dense regeneration of hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple and some oaks.

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 3d

It's still the breeding season for some birds. Woodpigeon or Stock Dove freshly hatched egg today, Cambs.

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 3d

Genuine question: what did they say that overstepped the mark? Saying PAWS conifer plantation is nature depleted (vs ancient woodland it replaced) isn't controversial at all. Restoring PAWS to ancient woodland isn't controversial either, it's FC policy. Seems a simple statement of facts?

Reposted by Richard K Broughton

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 4d

Many lichen species are sensitive to nitrogen pollution, making them natural indicators of air quality.

📱LicheN is a new app enabling people to help monitor air quality using lichens. Data gathered will improve understanding of N pollution and its impacts on ecosystems.

buff.ly/AmWAOQB

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Side by side photos of a person looking at a picture of lichen on an app and comparing it to lichen on a tree trunk

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 4d

A great thread dismantling the latest 'conservation populism' to be floated in Britain. With funding available for species recovery, this is business for some. We'll see more of this pitching for commercial projects that scientists & species experts think is useless. #ornithology #ukbirding

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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Reposted by Richard K Broughton

Matthias Huss @matthias-huss.bsky.social · 6d

Like pulling the plug of a bathtub: an incredible mass of #glacier ice disappearing at Griesgletscher (🇨🇭/🇮🇹) in one century.
It felt emotional to visit the exact same spot @swisstopo cartographers chose in 1919. The view was so different.
Simply unbelievable!!
@vaw-glaciology.bsky.social

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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 4d

Then so are beavers? Aren't the 'features' engineered by beavers (dams/ponds) and woodpeckers (cavities) the same in their keystone roles (i.e. other species only live there because of them)? Scale matters: technically, any bird/mammal nest is an engineered ecosystem: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thermal ecosystem engineering by songbirds promotes a symbiotic relationship with ants - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Thermal ecosystem engineering by songbirds promotes a symbiotic relationship with ants