Graham Appleton

#Waders/#shorebirds have relatively high annual survival (& low productivity). Bird ringing/banding is key to mearsuring survival. When a survival rate falls it can have a rapid impact on population level. 🎂 Blog from 8 March 2018: wadertales.wordpress.com/2018/03/08/mea… #ornithology #phenology

Thousands of Black-tailed Godwits will fly back to #Iceland in the next two months. If they encounter strong northerly winds, flocks can turn up anywhere in Scotland. More here in blog from 21 March 2017 🎂 wadertales.wordpress.com/2017/03/21/wai…

What's all the squeaking about? Did you read this blog about the calls that waders/shorebirds chicks make? wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/03/01/chi… There's a new paper about interpreting the calls of Kentish Plover chicks in IBIS (BOU journal): onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.111… #ornithology

Spring #waders 12/12 To round off the thread, here's a #WaderTales blog summarising wader migration to, from and through UK & Ireland (over 40 species): wadertales.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/whi… #ornithology

Spring #waders 11/12 Grey Plovers are the last waders to leave the UK, right at the end of May. These are amazing #shorebirds - as revealed in a fascinating book 'Flightlines'. More here: wadertales.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/plo… #ornithology

Ethno-ornithology? "the study of birds and human culture" Learning more about what happened to Slender-billed Curlews and Pacific Golden Plovers: wadertales.wordpress.com/2026/03/09/sho… #ornithology #waders #shorebirds

Where's best to nest? Out in the open, like an Oystercatcher? Hidden in a clump of grass, like a Redshank? wadertales.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/whe… 🎂6️⃣ #ornithology

Irish waders for St Patrick's Day ☘️

Portugues rice-fields two weeks ago. A melting pot of 'limosa' and 'islandica' Black-tailed Godwits. Most 'limosa' will be heading to the Netherlands: wadertales.wordpress.com/2017/01/27/dut… Some 'islandica' will take the same route to Iceland: wadertales.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/ove… #ornithology

Spring #waders 10/12 Although lots of #Sanderling spend the winter round UK coasts there is a strong late-spring passage of birds heading for Greenland from as far as South Africa. But which birds use the best strategy? wadertales.wordpress.com/2019/10/04/tra… #ornithology

Spring #waders 9/12 April sees the arrival of Whimbrel, many of which are en route from West Africa to #Iceland. It is estimated that up to 20% can migrate without stopping. More here: wadertales.wordpress.com/2020/06/04/a-r… #ornithology

Spring #waders 8/12 Several wader species link the UK to Scandinavia & Finland - Fennoscandia is a veritable 'wader factory': wadertales.wordpress.com/2019/11/26/fen… #ornithology

Spring #waders 7/12 Some passage waders drop in to the UK on the way from Africa to Scandinavia. There's a spring blip on the Green Sandpiper @BirdTrack graph - but much less obvious than autumn passage: wadertales.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/gre… #ornithology

Keep away from the trees! Forestry and breeding #waders/#shorebirds don't mix. wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/03/16/kee… 🎂4️⃣ Paper by Triin Kaasiku et al. #ornithology

Spring #waders 6/12 I wonder how many red-listed Scottish Dotterel will return in April? Recruitment of young birds into the breeding population seems to be dependent upon conditions in North Africa, as you can read here: wadertales.wordpress.com/2020/04/30/sco… #ornithology

Spring #waders 5/12 #Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits won't start leaving until April but breeding birds of the limosa race will soon be arriving in the Ouse and Nene Washes. wadertales.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/god… #ornithology

Navigating a vast ocean How do waders keep on course? wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/03/15/nav… 🎂4️⃣ Paper by Jenny Linscott et al #ornithology

Spring #waders 4/12 UK-breeding Oystercatchers are on territory and the first Icelandic birds have flown north. 2021 paper revealed that migratory behaviour of #Iceland's Oystercatcher chicks is linked to behaviour of fathers (not mothers): wadertales.wordpress.com/2021/02/02/oys… #ornithology