Graham Appleton

Writer & life-long birdwatcher.
Formerly Director of Communications for BTO.
#WaderTales blogs about #waders #shorebirds #ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Cute and critically endangered!
Spoon-billed Sandpiper blog published OTD in 2020, with four updates added since 🎂
https://t.co/3ubyoYCTOt
#ornithology #waders #shorebirds

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

BirdTrack graph for Woodcock shows that few continental birds have arrived in Britain & Ireland.
To conserve UK breeding population, most people think shooting season should not open on 1 October*
More here:
https://t.co/txJz7kMlzv
#ornithology
* 1 September in Scotland

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Oystercatchers are more interesting than you might think!
Two examples of Icelandic 'chick and dad' movements 🔽
Please help to find more parents with colour-rings, to match up with tagged juveniles. Thanks!
Background:
https://t.co/LNhMq3rQEy
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

BirdTrack graph for Woodcock shows that few continental birds have arrived in Britain & Ireland.
To conserve UK breeding population, most people think shooting season should not open on 1 October*
More here:
https://t.co/txJz7kMlzv
#ornithology
* 1 September in Scotland

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Another Bar-tailed Godwit anniversary.
Five years ago, Roeland Bom and colleagues introduced a new subspecies.
https://t.co/py97a16HAT
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Rethinking Bar-tailed Godwits in Europe/Africa.
Genetics study rewrites a migration story and sets new conservation priorities. 🎂1️⃣
https://t.co/6maWw27JjM
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Another Bar-tailed Godwit anniversary.
Five years ago, Roeland Bom and colleagues introduced a new subspecies.
https://t.co/py97a16HAT
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Rethinking Bar-tailed Godwits in Europe/Africa.
Genetics study rewrites a migration story and sets new conservation priorities. 🎂1️⃣
https://t.co/6maWw27JjM
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

New paper on diet of nesting Black-tailed Godwits will be of interest to people working on conservation of waders nesting in grassland:
https://t.co/5huEN6vyW7
Lots more info on Black-tailed Godwits here:
https://t.co/xA55DnZLAF
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

If you're interested in wader migration ...
Four tales added to compendium of blogs about shorebird migration - Oystercatcher, Dotterel, Whimbrel and multispecies.
https://t.co/dkPD5jQM0d 🎂7⃣
#birds #shorebirds #waders #ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

"Where are my parents?"
Several juvenile Oystercatchers have been tracked from Iceland to Ireland/Britain but where are their colour-ringed parents?
More about project:
https://t.co/LNhMq3riP0
Two examples - dads found in Heysham and at Dawlish Warren!
(amended map)

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

"Where are my parents?"
Several juvenile Oystercatchers have been tracked from Iceland to Ireland/Britain but where are their colour-ringed parents?
More about project:
https://t.co/LNhMq3riP0
Two examples - dads found in Heysham and at Dawlish Warren!
(amended map)

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

@_Stickybeak @Fuglavernd @BirdWatchIE @DevonBirds @WarrenBirding @solvirunar @curlewcalls @LDBWSnews @_JoseAAlves_ Thank you for your lovely comments.
The expectation was that parents and kids would be found in different wintering sites but you don't know until you know!

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

If you're interested in wader migration ...
Four tales added to compendium of blogs about shorebird migration - Oystercatcher, Dotterel, Whimbrel and multispecies.
https://t.co/dkPD5jQM0d 🎂7⃣
#birds #shorebirds #waders #ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

The latest Oystercatcher WaderTales blog is a call for colour-ring sightings.
Verónica and colleagues are satellite-tracking juveniles but they need to know where their colour-ringed parents spend the winter.
Read about the earliest findings: https://t.co/LNhMq3riP0
#birds

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Blog for bird photographers.
https://t.co/GJdgoxGnUm 🎂
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

If waders are 'asked' to carry tracking devices, we need to make full use of the data, as discussed here:
https://t.co/CQ2kENGuQI
Nice example: identifying hot-spots for Black-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Curlew ⬇️
https://t.co/HZi1qI3ESq
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Icelandic Golden Plovers are on the way!
Many waders link Iceland and Ireland:
https://t.co/NU80eZzVbN
Some Golden Plovers from Iceland will make it as far as France and Portugal.
@birdwatchireland.bsky.social
Map from Tómas Gunnarsson.

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Blog for bird photographers.
https://t.co/GJdgoxGnUm 🎂
#ornithology

[Graham Appleton @GrahamFAppleton]

Icelandic Golden Plovers are on the way!
Many waders link Iceland and Ireland:
https://t.co/NU80eZzVbN
Some Golden Plovers from Iceland will make it as far as France and Portugal.
@birdwatchireland.bsky.social
Map from Tómas Gunnarsson.