Francis Buner

Conservation Scientist, PhD | Wildlife recovery & farmland biodiversity | fact driven | he/him *views & mistakes my own*

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

Why cannot more #arablefarmland look this way? If it did, we certainly wouldn't face a #farmland #biodiversity crisis. Seen near Arundel, West Sussex, England.

[Perdix Digital @PerdixDigital]

Fantastic insights into #kestrel diet from @fbuner.

For more information on our #nestbox monitoring equipment and digital services, you can contact us through our PERDIX Digital website.
https://t.co/7ncKlDlQ83

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

@GrahamDenny9 @Gameandwildlife @BumblebeeTrust @HAU_Entomology @DefraGovUK @NaturalEngland @StevenFalk1 @OakbankWoodland @BTO_Suffolk @BeespokeNsr @Rothamsted That was exactly the idea when I designed it with Tim Furbank. It's far more than a partridge habitat. It's good for a myriad of farmland wildlife. That's why every farm should have at least one ha of it.

[Graham Denny @GrahamDenny9]

#conservation needs thought , needs observation and management @Gameandwildlife mix designed to feed grey partridges does so much more . @BumblebeeTrust @HAU_Entomology @DefraGovUK @NaturalEngland @StevenFalk1 @fbuner @OakbankWoodland @BTO_Suffolk @BeespokeNsr @Rothamsted @kelly_jowett @NHM_London @mattgarnham90 @RabKing___aye

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

No box or shoe too small or unusual for a #Wren to nest in.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

@TheRockinBirder @DorsetBirdClub @SightingDOR You are looking at a pair here.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

#Kestrel nest box camera doing what it's supposed to do. @PerdixDigital

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

When the predator becomes prey: These 📷 captured how a jackdaw found one of our tree #kestrel box broods. It appears to 1st kill the brood, then eat at least 1 chick on the spot. The kestrel female a little later carried off one of the dead chicks, presumably to eat it herself.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

We are in the middle of our #kestrel monitoring pilot project with most broods still incubating, some almost completely hatched and two already two weeks old. In any case it's a great year for them in East Hampshire, England this year with rodents being very abundant.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

@kulervo I honestly don't know, also because whitethroats are still common.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

This #lesserwhitethroat is singing in what looks to me a random bush right in the Centre of Vienna, while in England, with all the nice hedges we've got there - I know not all are equally nice - we rarely get to hear one. Isn't that fascinating?

[Sarah @Sarahseeksbirds]

A shame to learn this Kestrel nest I was watching failed at egg stage. It’s not a surprise considering how exposed it was & the number of gulls / corvids seen. Still — had held out some hope.

Fingers crossed a nest box will be accepted by the birds & the building owners.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

@kulervo Great!

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

Watching a wild #hamster go along their business is a real delight and privilege. They are very rare across much of Europe these days after all.
In Meindling cemetery in the Centre of Vienna, they found a safe refuge where, with a little bit of patience, one can easily see them.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

@cashandcarrots Agreed!

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

I'm giving a block course on farmland wildlife conservation at the BOKU University of Vienna this week. One aspect I cover is rare #arableflora. So I was delighted to find a patch dedicated to some of these ultra rare plants in the Botanical garden: this is Shepherd's needle.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

Why don't more landowners along rivers have them? It should be quite easy to reinvest some of the angling money into effective conservation like these sand martin walls. @davaj_ca

[Sand Martin Wall @SandMartinWall]

The Sand Martin are very active here at the minute. A wave of new arrivals showed up in recent days with huge demand for available tunnels.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

@kulervo @_BTO @NFFNUK @HOSbirding How fascinating. Again thanks for sharing your detailed insight into Latvian starling ecology which even connects our two countries.

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

#Starlings are ready to fledge in East Hants already. They take only around 21 days from hatching to fledging with females coordinating the start of incubation within their colonies. This results in all young leaving pretty much on the same day. @_BTO

[Francis Buner @fbuner]

@kulervo @_BTO @NFFNUK @HOSbirding Thanks for sharing your long-term knowledge. They are certainly very early here too. Interestingly, some wintering flocks left here quite late. I can only guess they went to breed your way.