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stervander.com
Singing evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, insulaphile. PhD. Senior Curator of #Birds @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social, Scientific Associate @ Natural History Museum London, Assoc Editor Ibis & Ornis Svecica. He/him. (Views obvs my own) [ex-X-@nesospiza]
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Life's been a bit much and I haven't logged on in a few months... But today's a good day to post. Über luck with 15-20 bottlenose #dolphin (Tursiops truncates), 2 minke #whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) & 5 (2♂ 3♀) #ORCA (Orcinus orca) in the #FirthOfForth 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿! Seabird count with #cetacean extras!

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Happy New Year's Day from Portobello beach, #Edinburgh! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

submitted 153 days ago • 2 comments

I'm recruiting a PhD student to join my lab at the University of New Orleans starting in Fall 2025. Research topics will focus on building and using phylogenies to study the diversification of birds, with an emphasis on Neotropical bird radiations. Contact me if interested.

submitted 199 days ago • 1 comment

🪶Help me out, #ornithology folks of #BirdSky! Curating @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social collections for digitisation, I found this labeled Stripe-tailed Yellow Finch (Sicalis citrina), which it's NOT. #SouthAmerican #birds ≠ my forte: is this a Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) or something else?

submitted 168 days ago • 4 comments

Sometimes an insect specimen will have me thinking: HOW ARE YOU EVEN REAL?! Today, that was the Oleander Hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) #Museums #Invertebrates 🧪

submitted 181 days ago • 3 comments

Mineral science and mineral collections are becoming more important than ever – 34 raw materials now deemed ‘critical’ by the UK government. I hate having to justify science with the language of capitalism, but we have to, and these reports can be very useful for promoting continued support. ⛏️💎

submitted 187 days ago • 0 comments

Scientists raise the alarm: Too many harbour porpoises dying in nets. In Danish coastal waters over 900 die each year vs a 24 death limit that would keep Belt Sea population stable. In 2012 & 2016, there were around 40.000 individuals, by 2022, only 14.000 left.  🧪🦑🌎 tech.au.dk/en/about-the...

submitted 449 days ago • 2 comments

Wisdom's still alive, she's back at her breeding grounds! This season she'll turn at least 74 years old. 🎉🎊💃

submitted 187 days ago • 24 comments

This week I’m giving thanks for the Sling-Jaw Wrasse, and it’s amazing jaw #biomechanics! 🐟🦑🧪🌿

submitted 188 days ago • 59 comments

Also, last bird overwintering in Morocco: 1995 Me searching for Slender-billed Curlew in Morocco*: 1996 😳 🪶 *After, as a 15yo, having secured lots of 💰 from several foundations to bring a dozen youths on a 2w-trip for awesome #birding and meeting a 🇲🇦 environmental youth org. Precocious, anyone? 🤣

submitted 189 days ago • 0 comments

Last week, rigorous analyses by @thelabandfield.bsky.social & co-authors saw Slender-billed Curlew declared #extinct in #OpenAccess @ibisjournal.bsky.social paper (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), while we (coincidentally!) digitised the 7 @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social specimens. #birds 🪶🧪

submitted 189 days ago • 2 comments

'Tis done. From now, I'm here, and all of me except an informative finger is removed from #Twitter. For anyone considering it, I'd recommend @luca.run's free & efficient script github.com/lucahammer/t.... It's a 2-step process that'll also give you an archive of your Twitter history! #xit

submitted 195 days ago • 1 comment

As ecologists we celebrate diversity, both of the natural world and of the people in this field. This Transgender Awareness Week, @rowankuminski.bsky.social co-chair of EDGE Network shares 5 small steps you can make to support transgender ecologists www.britishecologicalsociety.org/five-steps-t...

submitted 196 days ago • 4 comments

Participated in a photo project combined with some #birding at Ferny Ness ( #Edinburgh -ish) this morning. Freezing cold, but beautiful and quite rewarding with at least 50 Little Auks (🇺🇸 Dovekies; Alle alle) and 1 Great Northern Diver (🇺🇸 Common Loon; Gavia immer) at Ferny Ness. 🪶🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

submitted 196 days ago • 1 comment

The porphyrins in Northern Saw-whet Owl feathers glow under UV light. They degrade over time, so older feathers glow less intensely than new feathers. This bird has a clear molt limit between old juvenile feathers and new basic feathers, meaning she was born last summer!

submitted 196 days ago • 11 comments

Agreed! Preferably right about yesterday.

submitted 197 days ago • 0 comments

A starter pack of scientists working in molecular evolution and population genetics, with an emphasis on the human and virological. go.bsky.app/2xnyMrS

submitted 203 days ago • 10 comments

In the simpler days of 2015/16 we wrote the BES Guide to Reproducible Code: www.britishecologicalsociety.org/wp-content/u.... It’s time for a refresh! Would you like to help? I’m looking for people to review the existing booklet by 5th December.

submitted 197 days ago • 7 comments

Hi all new followers & other folks! In National Museums Scotland's #birds collections, our amazing volunteers are digitising specimen label data to make the #museum collection accessible for #research. Today colourful pittas (Pittidae) and Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus). #Ornithology 🪶🧪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

submitted 197 days ago • 1 comment

Geometriphylogenetics xkcd.com/3010

submitted 202 days ago • 103 comments

Our lab discovered & described a #NewSpecies of tiger beetle in 2024, then I found a pinned specimen for sale on #eBay collected in 1975 for $5. #entomology

submitted 199 days ago • 6 comments