Birds, science, politics. Reader @ManMetUni Associate @CornellBirds, Chair BOURC. Usually found in the #PeakDistrict or #Amazonia @RAS_network he/him views own.
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Autumn 2023 has produced an exceptional displacement of Nearctic-Neotropical migrant landbirds in Europe - especially in the UK and Eire, with the most exciting period occurring in mid September 2/birdguides.com/articles/revie…
UK biodiversity faces myriad threats of varying importance. Some are obvious - birds of prey being illegally killed, rivers poisoned with sewage and slurry, ancient woodlands destroyed for pointless infrastructure - and the culprits are often all too obvious 2/21
The paper purports to “provide multiple lines of evidence for the repeated though intermittent presence of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers at our study site in Louisiana” drawing on data collected over a decade 2/
To recap on @PaulDufour80 et al’s discovery, follow his thread here: 
Some of this media coverage is mired in genuine or emerging human-wildlife conflicts; most of which are easily resolved by changing behaviours - but most of it is just abject nonsense and has the potential to increase persecution of some species by kindling hatred 2/
The provision of food, water and artificial homes for wildlife is a multi-billion £ industry widely regarded as beneficial for wildlife and a very important way for people to connect with nature 2/
Restoring UK Hen Harrier populations is easy, all we have to do, by & large - is stop people killing them - whereby they will do OK in existing upland habitats and may eventually spread back to some lowland areas. We are now moving SLOWLY in the right direction 2/ 
The interests of conservationists & animal rights activists overlap in ending illegal wildlife persecution + illegal trade in threatened species & in concern for the state of animal agriculture - the synergy between land-use & climate change is the greatest threat to biodiversity 
I was amazed at the time when some folks with vested interests tried to blame management on an RSPB reserve for a major wildfire event that started on a grouse moor, and continue to be shocked that this has continued o this day
The @IPBES #GlobalAssessment Report published last year was met with considerable pushback and denial from media and political voices nature.com/articles/s4155… for whom #TransformativeChange & policy options to restore & protect #Biodiversity are anathema 2/8
@Lukesteele4 @guyshrubsole @Rebirding1 @MarkAvery @RuthTingay I’ll first summarize why burning is counterproductive, borrowing heavily from Baird et al. 2019 link here nature.com/articles/s4156… and then outline what needs to be done…. 2/14
@domphillips @SamCowie84 @tomphillipsin @natalieben @GeorgeMonbiot As someone who has been working in Amazonian conservation for 16 years, the events of the last three have come as an unexpected shock, culminating in all-out war on the environment over the summer 2/28
