frankrennie
frankrennie.bsky.social
frankrennie
@frankrennie.bsky.social
Professor Emeritus of Sustainable Rural Development at the University of the Highlands and Islands. Islander, Scot, & European. Anything relevant to birds, geology, ecology & landscape, human ecology. Also Gaelic/Celtic culture, history & archaeology.
Thanks. For anyone wondering about my absence for the past two months, I had a major heart attack and several operations but now home again, convalescing. It’s going to be a long journey. I will chip in when able to, but don’t be disappointed by my radio silence.
The last @landscaperesearch.bsky.social meet up was a rare event where group size & make up enabled a proper conversation started by @frankrennie.bsky.social around his remarkable book: Among the Layers of the Land. A thoughtful, deep time story of place in alternating factual & fictional chapters.
November 8, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Thank you. A great compliment!
I read this and you immediately came to mind @frankrennie.bsky.social. Your work here is done!
"We talk abt how bird brains differ from those of mammals + reptiles—in terms of their size[,] major structures [+] wrinkliness. We tour some of the most... perplexing bird behaviors + consider their neural + anatomical underpinnings. Finally, we consider what we can learn from bird brains."
October 17, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Reposted by frankrennie
Nine jobs Nigel Farage hasn't updated his ­register of interests in months.

Potentially hundreds of thousands of ££££ from his many "outside interests" remain undeclared

observer.co.uk/news/politic...
‘Nine-jobs Nigel’ Farage denies not declaring extra earni...
Roles outside Parliament make Reform leader the highest-earning MP, but register of interests has not been updated since end of May
observer.co.uk
October 4, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Lucky for Nigel Farage that he never met that bloke who took bribes from the Russians, otherwise the media would be all over it.
October 4, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage with the Russian Ambassador (that he denied meeting), and with Oleg Voloshyn's wife Nadia Borodi, Voloshyn bribed Nathan Gill.

Farage is still silent.

It’s deafening.

#ReformRussianBribes
October 4, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Reposted by frankrennie
⭐PhD position available!⭐
Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets
imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
Analysis of communication and collective behavior in animal groups
imprs-qbee.mpg.de
October 3, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Reposted by frankrennie
All things that the SNP didn’t do.
October 3, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Is there really noone left who dares to say no anymore?
What next?
Apple has removed an app that allowed people to track and anonymously report the activities of ICE agents from its app store, due to “objectionable content,” the developer said.

It comes after criticism of the app from Trump administration officials.
Apple removes ICEBlock app that tracked agent sightings amid controversy
The developer of the app, which allowed people to report the activities of immigration agents, said he believed pressure from the Trump administration was to blame.
wapo.st
October 3, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Uncomfortable fact: the UK is still struggling to recover from the devastation of Thatcher’s ‘privatisation’ of key public assets, which have gone on to make millions for private pockets. ☹️
October 3, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Anas Sarwar called John Swinney "elitist" at FMQ's. Here's Sarwar defending his decision to send his children to a £10,000 a year elite private school.

(MSM Monitor)
October 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Tom Watson
September 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
We are seeking an ornithologist/modeller for a 2-year POST-DOC in Turin. Using archaeological remains, we will reconstruct past avian communities to understand the impacts of climate change and human pressure on birds through time. For details see cutt.ly/irN76QDZ PLEASE RT. #ornithology #AviArch
September 29, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Where to start? I will make some notes and email you, but it will need to be later in the week as I have local meetings today and tomorrow 👍
@frankrennie.bsky.social @alastairmci.bsky.social I'm "helping" to plan a special trip to Lewis and Harris next year with my school friends to mark our 70th, any hints for the best time, places to visit etc?
September 29, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Reposted by frankrennie
Fully funded PhD working on insectivorous bird declines with a broad range of stakeholders. Starting ASAP #ornithology #zoology #biodiversity #science #ecology
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
September 18, 2025 at 12:29 PM
WTF?! Not a statement that I would expect from any self-respecting Labour Party member.
Shabana Mahmood listing Mrs T as one of her political heroes in today's Sun on Sunday.
September 28, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Come learn about the geology of Edinburgh through a comprehensive introductory course! A series of 6 guided walks and 5 online learning sessions will teach you about the geology of Edinburgh and Scotland at the beginner level. No previous geological knowledge required 📚
September 28, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Nigel Farage's attendance record as an MEP was 748 out of 751, yet he turned up to vote AGAINST plans to tackle Russian disinformation. Now one of his MEPs has admitted taking bribes to spread Russian propaganda. Why is this not all over the media?
September 28, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Beautiful
Three little iceberg bits sitting in the surf on a black sand beach (Fellsfjara) under grey skies. #Iceland Nov 2015.
September 27, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Talking about ‘de-extinction’ only legitimises the conversation. It is nonsense. Once a species is extinct it is GONE. No comeback. It may be possible to implant genes in a related species, but that is not recreating a species!
September 27, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I’m really looking forward to giving the keynote address at the European Rural Parliament in Inverurie (Scotland) on 21 October. Fantastic to see that Scotland is still an enthusiastic and engaged partner in the eurozone. 😍
September 27, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by frankrennie
⏰ DEADLINE APPROACHING

Keynote nominations - who would you like to see deliver a keynote at the #BOUasm26 Avian futures conference?

Anyone can nominate and you can do so here: bou.org.uk/event/avi...

Nomination deadline: 30 Sept 2025

#ornithology 🪶
September 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by frankrennie
Tolsta, Isle of Lewis this morning
September 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by frankrennie
Libraries are so cool. Whenever I'm away from home and need a place to hang out between things, I find a library. There's a bathroom, a water fountain, chairs, and I can read, meditate, use the computers, or just be, and no one tries me make me buy anything.
September 23, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by frankrennie
ScotRail’s train service, *renationalised* in 2022 by the Scottish Government, has the lowest cancellation level in the UK - just 2% compared with a UK average of 3.3%. That means a train elsewhere in the UK is +65% more likely to be cancelled.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Train cancellations: Britain's worst major stations named
Figures show around one in 13 scheduled stops at City Thameslink were cancelled over the past year
www.bbc.co.uk
September 23, 2025 at 1:40 AM