Ben Secker
PhD researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University studying the Willow Tit.
- Reposted by Ben Secker🚨 We’re recruiting! Spurn Bird Observatory is looking for a Head Little Tern Warden and 2 Assistant Wardens to help protect one of the UK’s most successful Little Tern colonies at Beacon Ponds. Seasonal roles | NLW | Accommodation available 👉 Apply: spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/news
- Reposted by Ben Secker1/ Spotted Flycatchers are in trouble, declining by 92% in the UK between 1967 and 2020. New work led by @cateden91.bsky.social & involving BTO has revealed the importance of rivers for the survival of this Red-listed migratory species. ⬇️ #Ornithology 📖 www.bto.org/Spotted-Flyc...
- Reposted by Ben SeckerAuschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder. Auschwitz took time.
- Reposted by Ben SeckerCan't hold a World Cup in a country where the dictator's secret police are executing peaceful protesters in the streets.
- Wrote this in 2017 about the Russia 2018 World Cup and reposted it four years later about Qatar. In 2026, only the names have changed.* Ultimately, nothing makes a difference, but you'll at least know you weren't part of it. theuglygame.wordpress.com/2017/12/01/w...
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- Reposted by Ben Secker📢 We're looking for a PhD student to focus on habitat use of wintering Curlew in and around coastal SPAs. Apply now ➡️ bit.ly/CurlewPhD The student will be based at @ljmuofficial.bsky.social and BTO, starting in October 2026 for four years. 📆 Deadline to apply: Wednesday 18 February #Ornithology
- Reposted by Ben SeckerWe are hiring at the Wytham Woods for the upcoming field season. 4 roles available. Please share with anyone who might be interested. #UKbirds #birdringing
- Reposted by Ben Secker🦢 The International Swan Census is almost here – this weekend! We still have a few priority sites that need coverage. Please check the map & help us assess how well our Whooper & Bewick’s Swan populations are faring. Every count matters! 🙏 bto.org/gsmp-isc 📸 @tangrigg.bsky.social #Ornithology
- Reposted by Ben SeckerI'm hoping to make a starter pack of birding and wildlife blogs for people to follow. If you have any recommendations or write your own, please reply and repost this so I don't miss any - no matter how many readers you get, single figures or thousands every week. #birds #ukbirding
- Mini twitch (of about 10 miles) to Scotman’s flash this afternoon for the Great Northern Diver. #UKBirding
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- Back home for a few days over Christmas and managed to catch this Caspian Gull at RSPB Old Moor yesterday. Stayed for a while to attempt to read the ring but unfortunately too distant. #UKbirding
- Reposted by Ben Secker📉 Our new paper shows Bewick’s Swan numbers in NW/NE Europe have fallen to ~12,900 birds - a 56.7% decline since 1995, with further losses predicted by 2026 unless survival or breeding success improves. Flyway-wide conservation is urgent. 🦢 Download paper > tidsskrift.dk/Wildfowl/art... #Ornithology
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- Thankfully I am in the privileged position of taking such bad photos they could never be mistaken for Generative AI… #UKBirding
- Interesting record of a Willow Tit in Northern Scotland (Loch of Blairs, near south shore of Moray Firth): birdsinmorayandnairn.org/bird-recordi....
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- Reposted by Ben SeckerSuper excited to share the first paper from my PhD! 🎉 We found that rivers don’t just matter for wetland birds - they also help support terrestrial insectivores, thanks to the flow of energy and nutrients from aquatic insects. 🌊🦟 Read more here: 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
- Reposted by Ben SeckerWe are still interested in any found twite feathers for a study on the relationships and genetic diversity between the British groups - particularly now for birds of Scottish origin in the NE of England or, birds on the Avon. DM me for me more info. #birdringing
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- Reposted by Ben SeckerShould I stay or should I go?🐦 Fancy a #PhD studying Pied flycatchers in the Peak District to help better understand what drives individual & population performance? Think #habitat #movement #ecology #genetics 🌍 Make use of this nestbox PIT tag study system and join us! Email me #LJMU #NationalTrust
- Reposted by Ben Secker🦅PhD position 🦅 in my new group at @fbm-unil.bsky.social in Switzerland, studying how the social and resource landscapes shape the learning process for soaring flight. Deadline: Oct 30. Pls repost! career5.successfactors.eu/career?caree...
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- Reposted by Ben SeckerWritten by a doctor at St Thomas' Hospital, London after the Tommy Robinson march on 13/9.
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- Reposted by Ben Seckerwoah this is genuinely, utterly WILD Ant queens of one species produce males of another species, so she can then mate with them and produce hybrid workers! This is so gloriously weird I can't quite compute it 🤯🧪🐜 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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- Reform-led council refuses to engage with a prominent local newspaper after they had the temerity to expose a slight internal disagreement. A burning passion for protecting ‘free speech’ seems to go out the window when it makes you look bad…
- Reposted by Ben SeckerI’m so excited that my first paper is out! 💪🏼💥 #ornithology
- EARLY VIEW in IBIS Seasonal, environmental and individual determinants of double-brooding in the White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) | onlinelibrary.wiley.... Noelia D. Álvarez, Peter J. Mawby, Stuart P. Sharp | #ornithology 🪶
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- Reposted by Ben SeckerThis is phenomenal. Sea surface temperatures are >5C above average to the west of the UK and around Iceland. It's the strongest area of anomalous warmth on the planet at the moment. It's the warmest in recorded history for northwest Europe.
- Life update klaxon: I’ve joined the Natural Sciences department at Manchester Met as a PhD researcher! Our team will be investigating the role of interspecific competition and community composition in the decline of the willow tit, focusing our efforts on post-industrial sites in the north west.
- Garden warbler singing for a prolonged period at Boylin’s this morning before work. #ukbirding #lowcarbonbirding
- Walk up the little don valley on Friday returned my first cuckoo of the year. Ring ouzel, redstart, and siskin the other highlights. #ukbirding
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- Reposted by Ben Secker🧵1/7 What do massive insect crashes mean for insectivorous birds? And can aquatic habitats help? Today at #BOU2025 I'm exploring how aquatic habitats might help to buffer declining insectivore populations, using the Spotted Flycatcher as an example. #ornithology
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- Had a brilliant time out on the bike this morning, taking in the first signs of spring through the Dearne valley to RSPB Bolton ings, and back, via the trans pennine trail. First singing chiffchaff of the year and excellent views of Cetti’s the highlights. #ukbirding #lowcarbonbirding
- Reposted by Ben Secker✨ We have EIGHT amazing summer internships with our National Capability for Global Challenges scheme! Work with UKCEH scientists on topics like ozone pollution, modelling, satellite imagery, soil health & more. 🔗 Apply by 2 April: www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/... 🧪🧵 1/ Please share widely!
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- Red-necked grebe at Sutton-on-sea after fieldwork today. #ukbirding
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- 🚨Bedroom/office mega alert🚨 #ukbirding
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