Claire Branston

If you enjoyed the article, and are interested in finding out some more you can read the paper here doi.org/10.1002/ecy....

Thanks for covering our work!

This study was a huge team effort, and the first publication (of hopefully many more), using the full 20 site gradient. Thanks to all the co-authors, landowners, staff, students and volunteers that made the study possible. @dmdominoni.bsky.social @pcapi.bsky.social @rachelrosereid.bsky.social

Native trees are related to advanced bird breeding phenology and increased reproductive success along an urban gradient Urban areas are altered from natural landscapes in several ways that can impact wildlife. Birds are widespread in urban areas, and it is well documented that there are phenotypic differences between ...

I’m excited to share our new paper in Ecology!
Our 9‑year study across an urban–rural gradient shows native trees, especially oaks, boost blue tit breeding success. More native foliage supports more of the birds preferred prey and improves reproductive success.
📃 doi.org/10.1002/ecy.... #ornithology

Conference talk with a slide showing an urban gradient of nest boxes for blue tits.

Great talk from @clairebranston.bsky.social at #BES2025, with a Glasgow urban gradient setup similar to that of @mszulkin.bsky.social in Warsaw.

Earlier egg laying with greater oak availability.

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No worries! Of course I can. See you soon!

I'm looking forward to #BES2025 & hearing about lots of exciting science! I'm kicking things off with the inlabru workshop, before presenting my research on Wednesdsy. If you're interested in urban ecology, phenology, passive acoustic monitoring, bats or birds, please come and say hello! 👋

Huge congratulations to @jayofthetriffids.bsky.social & Pat White for all their hard work getting this fab MSc course accredited by @cieem.bsky.social

Fancy joining us @edinburghnapier.bsky.social? Take a look at the posts below for more course info & how to apply. Any questions, please ask!

Do you have 10 minutes to help an @edinburghnapier.bsky.social MSc student complete her final research project?

Please consider letting us know your opinions towards herring gulls, by completing this short questionnaire tinyurl.com/tfntmfbk

Thank you!

A break in the unpredictable Scottish weather let us visit Lady Isle yesterday, where I helped the team with long term monitoring of the gull colonies on the island. Lots of chicks now metal and colour ringed (under licence). Look out for them and report any you spot to cr-birding.org!

A fantastic day on Inchkeith yesterday helping out with ringing shag chicks for a long term study. If you're out along the east coast of Scotland, keep your eyes peeled for colour ringed shag & report all sightings to @ukcehseabirds.bsky.social. All monitoring and handling was done under licence.

What a cracking start to the @edinburghnapier.bsky.social MSc Wildlife Biology & Conservation field tour. Today we were at St. Abbs NTS reserve learning about their seabird monitoring, seals & reserve management! Thanks to all the reserve staff for their knowledge and enthusiasm, it was infectious!

A gorgeous day in the Trossachs, with a soundtrack of wood warbler, willow warbler and garden warbler a plenty. Lots of robins and chaffinches, with beaks full of invertebrates, busy feeding their young. I love this time of year!

A great day in the field with @edinburghnapier.bsky.social MSc Wildlife Biology & Conservation students who were carrying out BBS & WeBS surveys. We were also treated to a tour of the @scotwildlife.bsky.social Bawsinch & Duddingston reserve! A fab intro to my new job at ENU!

LOOKING BACK in IBIS

The phenology and clutch size of UK Blue Tits does not differ with woodland composition | onlinelibrary.wiley....

Claire J. Branston, Mark J. Whittingham, Albert B. Phillimore, Dave Leech, Stephen G. Willis | #ornithology 🪶

This weekend I was invited to talk at the @btobirds.bsky.social NE Ringers Conference about the @scotwildlife.bsky.social Gailes Marsh sand martin bank. A great set of talks and a chance to catch up with old friends was rounded off by beautiful sunshine and hearing my first chiffchaff of spring.

A nice morning to be out counting gulls for the monthly Glasgow Gull Count across the city. First time counting at the Science Centre @glasgowscience.bsky.social for me and the gulls were very obliging! Nice to see some common gulls in the mix #ornithology

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 👩‍🔬
In our latest #LifeAtUWS blog, Anna is sharing what a day in the life of an Applied Bioscience and Zoology student looks like.

👀 www.uws.ac.uk/university-life/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-applied-bioscience-and-zoology-student-at-uws

If you're a final year zoologist @uniwestscotland.bsky.social (or anywhere else in the UK!) make sure to have your say! The National Student Survey is now open. Let us know what you've enjoyed about your time at UWS, and what we could improve on.

Putting you in touch with @pauljjbaker.bsky.social and @kev90redpoll.bsky.social. Both have excellent Tree Sparrow nestbox projects near Glasgow.

🔈 ANNOUNCING!

BOU Summer Placement Scheme

Financially supporting undergraduate students to carry out summer #ornithology research placements

Applications open Jan 2025

More details: bou.org.uk/funding/s...

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The algorithm clearly works as your post came up on my discover feed! Thanks again for having me!

It was fantastic to be involved with The NERD Club's first meeting. It was lovely to meet such an enthusiastic bunch of young people and introduce them to @btobirds.bsky.social bird ringing. If you know of any young person who would like to join the group, please contact @kat-jones.bsky.social!

Thanks to all the organisers of the @btobirds.bsky.social Scottish Ringers Conference for a really exciting and inclusive conference! Thanks for inviting me to present my work! It was lovely to catch up with both old and new friends! I'm already looking forward to next year!