Martin Collinson
@docmartin2mc.bsky.social
Britain's Top Vicarious Birder.
Aberdeen Wildife DNA lab. Aniridia research.
Likes birds, stamps, ghosts, art, and wasps.
Leeds United #lufc because I was bad in a previous life.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aberdeendnalab
Aberdeen Wildife DNA lab. Aniridia research.
Likes birds, stamps, ghosts, art, and wasps.
Leeds United #lufc because I was bad in a previous life.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aberdeendnalab
Christmas Robin, 21st century birding style.
December 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Christmas Robin, 21st century birding style.
The fragment of ND2 DNA that @tessaroo.bsky.social got from Calshot GT Grackle doesn't tell exactly where it came from but it excludes a USA west coast (nelsoni) origin and puts it in the Panama-Central-USA populations. Orange shape overlaid on map from DaCosta et al., 2008 doi.org/10.1525/cond...
December 20, 2025 at 3:19 PM
The fragment of ND2 DNA that @tessaroo.bsky.social got from Calshot GT Grackle doesn't tell exactly where it came from but it excludes a USA west coast (nelsoni) origin and puts it in the Panama-Central-USA populations. Orange shape overlaid on map from DaCosta et al., 2008 doi.org/10.1525/cond...
Reposted by Martin Collinson
Short news piece on the Challenger expedition and the Band-rumped fiesta: britishbirds.co.uk/news/band-ru...
#RareBirdsUK
#RareBirdsUK
Band-rumped Storm-petrels in UK waters | British Birds
The taxonomy and identification of the Band-rumped Storm-petrel Hydrobates castro/monteiroi/jabejabe complex is very, well, complex, as are their previous occurrences in Britain.
britishbirds.co.uk
October 13, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Short news piece on the Challenger expedition and the Band-rumped fiesta: britishbirds.co.uk/news/band-ru...
#RareBirdsUK
#RareBirdsUK
Reposted by Martin Collinson
The latest report from the RBBP, Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2023, is out now in British Birds. It reports on the 104 species and races of rare breeding birds recording breeding, or showing signs of breeding, in 2023. Read the summary at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... #ornithology #ukbirds 🧵[1/15]
November 4, 2025 at 10:51 AM
The latest report from the RBBP, Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2023, is out now in British Birds. It reports on the 104 species and races of rare breeding birds recording breeding, or showing signs of breeding, in 2023. Read the summary at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... #ornithology #ukbirds 🧵[1/15]
Ooh, poop sample from the grackle from Calshot, Hampshire, Nov 25, shows it was Great-tailed, not Boat-tailed as thought. Analysis by @tessaroo.bsky.social poop by @wjrpb.bsky.social
@birdguides.bsky.social
@birdguides.bsky.social
Analysis.by
December 20, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Ooh, poop sample from the grackle from Calshot, Hampshire, Nov 25, shows it was Great-tailed, not Boat-tailed as thought. Analysis by @tessaroo.bsky.social poop by @wjrpb.bsky.social
@birdguides.bsky.social
@birdguides.bsky.social
Reposted by Martin Collinson
Some policy analysis about VAT on private school fees, why it is set to raise more than originally forecast, and why this matters.
Please read, share, and subscribe for more!
open.substack.com/pub/barrybla...
Please read, share, and subscribe for more!
open.substack.com/pub/barrybla...
Policy Analysis: Why VAT on private school fees will raise more than planned, and why it matters
Policy analysis of a debate I was privileged enough to be involved in last year
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Some policy analysis about VAT on private school fees, why it is set to raise more than originally forecast, and why this matters.
Please read, share, and subscribe for more!
open.substack.com/pub/barrybla...
Please read, share, and subscribe for more!
open.substack.com/pub/barrybla...
Reposted by Martin Collinson
The moment an Israeli missile hit a tent in Gaza was caught on camera when a Palestinian girl filmed herself showing her hair clips.
December 1, 2025 at 8:44 AM
The moment an Israeli missile hit a tent in Gaza was caught on camera when a Palestinian girl filmed herself showing her hair clips.
Reposted by Martin Collinson
First preprint from my PhD is out!
If molluscan developmental biology and genetics, gene-editing methodology in non-traditional model systems, or the function and conservation of pax6 interests you, please give it a read! 🐚🎉
If molluscan developmental biology and genetics, gene-editing methodology in non-traditional model systems, or the function and conservation of pax6 interests you, please give it a read! 🐚🎉
Gene editing without a genome: generation and validation of F0 CRISPR mutants in gastropod mollusc Crepidula fornicata https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.26.690768v1
November 28, 2025 at 2:33 PM
First preprint from my PhD is out!
If molluscan developmental biology and genetics, gene-editing methodology in non-traditional model systems, or the function and conservation of pax6 interests you, please give it a read! 🐚🎉
If molluscan developmental biology and genetics, gene-editing methodology in non-traditional model systems, or the function and conservation of pax6 interests you, please give it a read! 🐚🎉
Must be my latest Sooth Shearwater ever, south at Newtonhill this afternoon.
November 23, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Must be my latest Sooth Shearwater ever, south at Newtonhill this afternoon.
Magnificent fully funded PhD position available with me, Rastko Sknepnek (Dundee) and Silke Henkes (Leiden) on epithelial cell migration. @physicsoflifeuk.bsky.social @bscb-official.bsky.social @epimechfc.bsky.social
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
November 22, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Magnificent fully funded PhD position available with me, Rastko Sknepnek (Dundee) and Silke Henkes (Leiden) on epithelial cell migration. @physicsoflifeuk.bsky.social @bscb-official.bsky.social @epimechfc.bsky.social
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Fully funded EASTBIO PhD. Everyone should apply.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
EastBio: Spiral eyes! Modelling epithelial cell migration in vivo and for tissue engineering. at University of Aberdeen on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EastBio: Spiral eyes! Modelling epithelial cell migration in vivo and for tissue engineering. at University of Aberdeen , listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Fully funded EASTBIO PhD. Everyone should apply.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Lovely and sunny
November 19, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Lovely and sunny
Haha I'm in World's Top 2% Scientists. In your face, top 3%
topscinet.com/scientist_pr...
topscinet.com/scientist_pr...
Top SCINET - Top 2% Scientists
Discover and Connect with the world's leading researchers in Stanford University's Top 2% Scientists list, based on citation impact and bibliometric indicators.
topscinet.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Haha I'm in World's Top 2% Scientists. In your face, top 3%
topscinet.com/scientist_pr...
topscinet.com/scientist_pr...
Labbie Tess @tessaroo.bsky.social is on a poop collecting mission. For science.
November 18, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Labbie Tess @tessaroo.bsky.social is on a poop collecting mission. For science.
Orange Peel Fungus Aleuria aurantia.
November 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Orange Peel Fungus Aleuria aurantia.
Reposted by Martin Collinson
Both the Red-spotted and White-spotted races of Bluethroat try to breed in the UK occasionally but breeding has only been confirmed on five occasions, in 1968, 85, 95, 2016 (Red-spotted) and 1996 (White-spotted). There were single possible breeding records of both in 2023 #ukbirding #ornithology
November 6, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Both the Red-spotted and White-spotted races of Bluethroat try to breed in the UK occasionally but breeding has only been confirmed on five occasions, in 1968, 85, 95, 2016 (Red-spotted) and 1996 (White-spotted). There were single possible breeding records of both in 2023 #ukbirding #ornithology
Reposted by Martin Collinson
Another species returning to breed in 2023 was Temminck's Stint; a pair laid a clutch of four eggs in Highland, although the nest was later flooded out. This tiny wader bred regularly in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but this was the first confirmed breeding since 1997 #ornithology #BirdingScotland
November 6, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Another species returning to breed in 2023 was Temminck's Stint; a pair laid a clutch of four eggs in Highland, although the nest was later flooded out. This tiny wader bred regularly in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but this was the first confirmed breeding since 1997 #ornithology #BirdingScotland
In @elife.bsky.social: Sox9 prevents retinal degeneration and is required for limbal stem cell differentiation in the adult mouse eye doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Sox9 prevents retinal degeneration and is required for limbal stem cell differentiation in the adult mouse eye
The Sox9 gene is necessary for maintaining vision in the mouse adult eye, acting as an essential factor for retinal and corneal function.
doi.org
November 6, 2025 at 9:53 AM
In @elife.bsky.social: Sox9 prevents retinal degeneration and is required for limbal stem cell differentiation in the adult mouse eye doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
8 year anniversary of my best ever but sadly ignored tweet
October 28, 2025 at 12:21 PM
8 year anniversary of my best ever but sadly ignored tweet
Reposted by Martin Collinson
At a fancy-pants conference where everyone's a professor and let me tell you the timetable is not holding up well.
October 27, 2025 at 11:13 AM
At a fancy-pants conference where everyone's a professor and let me tell you the timetable is not holding up well.
October 20, 2025 at 5:54 PM
The sound of October.
October 17, 2025 at 11:08 AM
The sound of October.
I can never tell if Eiders are really interested in what I say, or whether they're just being sarcastic.
October 16, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I can never tell if Eiders are really interested in what I say, or whether they're just being sarcastic.