Migration Ecology Group
@migecol.bsky.social
News from the Migration Ecology Group
@University of Oldenburg, Germany
led by Prof. Heiko Schmaljohann
https://uol.de/en/migration-ecology
@University of Oldenburg, Germany
led by Prof. Heiko Schmaljohann
https://uol.de/en/migration-ecology
In cooperation with RWE, we proudly announce the installation of the first #MOTUS station in an offshore wind farm (Amrumbank West) in Germany and in Europe. This will help to fill key knowledge gaps in offshore environmental monitoring. We were supported by our colleagues from Wind Energy Systems
October 29, 2025 at 9:26 AM
In cooperation with RWE, we proudly announce the installation of the first #MOTUS station in an offshore wind farm (Amrumbank West) in Germany and in Europe. This will help to fill key knowledge gaps in offshore environmental monitoring. We were supported by our colleagues from Wind Energy Systems
We’re hiring a doctoral researcher in the area of migration ecology.
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
October 20, 2025 at 10:13 AM
We’re hiring a doctoral researcher in the area of migration ecology.
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
1. Yellow-browed Warbler tagged in 2025! 🤩
On September 24, @annikapeter.bsky.social tagged the first Yellow-browed warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) on Helgoland in 2025 to study its migratory behaviour. Stay tuned for fascinating bird tracks!
#Motus #Tracking #Birdmigration
On September 24, @annikapeter.bsky.social tagged the first Yellow-browed warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) on Helgoland in 2025 to study its migratory behaviour. Stay tuned for fascinating bird tracks!
#Motus #Tracking #Birdmigration
September 26, 2025 at 1:55 PM
1. Yellow-browed Warbler tagged in 2025! 🤩
On September 24, @annikapeter.bsky.social tagged the first Yellow-browed warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) on Helgoland in 2025 to study its migratory behaviour. Stay tuned for fascinating bird tracks!
#Motus #Tracking #Birdmigration
On September 24, @annikapeter.bsky.social tagged the first Yellow-browed warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) on Helgoland in 2025 to study its migratory behaviour. Stay tuned for fascinating bird tracks!
#Motus #Tracking #Birdmigration
(vii) Over all species, the departure direction within the first 1-10 km does not change from Helgoland towards the coastline within 50-100 km flight distance.
September 26, 2025 at 8:11 AM
(vii) Over all species, the departure direction within the first 1-10 km does not change from Helgoland towards the coastline within 50-100 km flight distance.
(vi) departure direction from Helgoland only aligned with ring recovery directions in Redstart, Robin and Dunnock, all towards a nortwesterly direction (as expected). Wheatears depart significantly to southeast (why?) and Garden warbers depart in a random direction (why?).
September 26, 2025 at 8:10 AM
(vi) departure direction from Helgoland only aligned with ring recovery directions in Redstart, Robin and Dunnock, all towards a nortwesterly direction (as expected). Wheatears depart significantly to southeast (why?) and Garden warbers depart in a random direction (why?).
(iv) the more fat the bird has, the more motivated it is to depart
(v) the more fat the bird has, the earlier the bird departs within the night
(v) the more fat the bird has, the earlier the bird departs within the night
September 26, 2025 at 8:09 AM
(iv) the more fat the bird has, the more motivated it is to depart
(v) the more fat the bird has, the earlier the bird departs within the night
(v) the more fat the bird has, the earlier the bird departs within the night
(iii) There is no difference in the time of night, when the birds depart, except, that Dunnocks depart during morning dawn and all other species during evening dusk - interestingly both at the same sun´s angle below horizon!
September 26, 2025 at 8:07 AM
(iii) There is no difference in the time of night, when the birds depart, except, that Dunnocks depart during morning dawn and all other species during evening dusk - interestingly both at the same sun´s angle below horizon!
(ii) Trans-Saharan migrants are less selective to wind conditions for departure. All species are similarly prone to overcast, meaning they are less motivated to migrate, when the sky is cloudy
September 26, 2025 at 8:06 AM
(ii) Trans-Saharan migrants are less selective to wind conditions for departure. All species are similarly prone to overcast, meaning they are less motivated to migrate, when the sky is cloudy
(i) stopover duration of trans-saharan migrants is shorter
September 26, 2025 at 8:05 AM
(i) stopover duration of trans-saharan migrants is shorter
NEW PUBLICATION on stopover ecology of Songbirds during spring migration: After packmor et al. 2020 (Mov Ecol) found that trans-Saharan migrants react differently to weather for migratory departure, we aked ourselves, whether this is also valid for spring migration? 🐦
a thread 🧵 on 7 hypotheses:
a thread 🧵 on 7 hypotheses:
September 26, 2025 at 8:02 AM
NEW PUBLICATION on stopover ecology of Songbirds during spring migration: After packmor et al. 2020 (Mov Ecol) found that trans-Saharan migrants react differently to weather for migratory departure, we aked ourselves, whether this is also valid for spring migration? 🐦
a thread 🧵 on 7 hypotheses:
a thread 🧵 on 7 hypotheses:
Meet Lasse,
He‘ll support the working group as a volunteer for the next year, hoping to learn and observe scientific work in the process. While his interests lay elsewhere beforehand, he‘s become curios about the groups work and likes to try to think along :)
He‘ll support the working group as a volunteer for the next year, hoping to learn and observe scientific work in the process. While his interests lay elsewhere beforehand, he‘s become curios about the groups work and likes to try to think along :)
September 11, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Meet Lasse,
He‘ll support the working group as a volunteer for the next year, hoping to learn and observe scientific work in the process. While his interests lay elsewhere beforehand, he‘s become curios about the groups work and likes to try to think along :)
He‘ll support the working group as a volunteer for the next year, hoping to learn and observe scientific work in the process. While his interests lay elsewhere beforehand, he‘s become curios about the groups work and likes to try to think along :)
This week we were at #BESMove2025, where @giovannasandretti.bsky.social presented our results on the overlooked pre-migratory flights.
The conference title of this year was "Understanding Migration", and she came back home full of fresh insights and great new connections!
The conference title of this year was "Understanding Migration", and she came back home full of fresh insights and great new connections!
September 5, 2025 at 5:37 AM
This week we were at #BESMove2025, where @giovannasandretti.bsky.social presented our results on the overlooked pre-migratory flights.
The conference title of this year was "Understanding Migration", and she came back home full of fresh insights and great new connections!
The conference title of this year was "Understanding Migration", and she came back home full of fresh insights and great new connections!
A very nice #EOU2025 @eounion.bsky.social conference in Bangor, Wales, with @thiemokarwinkel.bsky.social (hosting a symposium on #MOTUS bird tracking) and @wielandheim.bsky.social (summarizing recent advances in landbird migration studies along the Asian flyways) representing our group 🕊️🐦📡
August 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
A very nice #EOU2025 @eounion.bsky.social conference in Bangor, Wales, with @thiemokarwinkel.bsky.social (hosting a symposium on #MOTUS bird tracking) and @wielandheim.bsky.social (summarizing recent advances in landbird migration studies along the Asian flyways) representing our group 🕊️🐦📡
Great fun canoeing along the Wümme river near Bremen with the @migecol.bsky.social team!
Excellent food and some nice birds as well, incl. White-tailed Eagle, Black Kite, Kingfisher, Reed Buntings ...and a Cockatiel 😄 #birding
Excellent food and some nice birds as well, incl. White-tailed Eagle, Black Kite, Kingfisher, Reed Buntings ...and a Cockatiel 😄 #birding
July 10, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Great fun canoeing along the Wümme river near Bremen with the @migecol.bsky.social team!
Excellent food and some nice birds as well, incl. White-tailed Eagle, Black Kite, Kingfisher, Reed Buntings ...and a Cockatiel 😄 #birding
Excellent food and some nice birds as well, incl. White-tailed Eagle, Black Kite, Kingfisher, Reed Buntings ...and a Cockatiel 😄 #birding
Meet (F)Annika!
She is helping the working group as a volunteer (oeko-freiwillig.de) and gets to do all the “fun” things (as Heiko would say :)) - such as supporting field work. She has always been interested in birds, but over the past few months she has learned to truly admire them.
She is helping the working group as a volunteer (oeko-freiwillig.de) and gets to do all the “fun” things (as Heiko would say :)) - such as supporting field work. She has always been interested in birds, but over the past few months she has learned to truly admire them.
June 26, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Meet (F)Annika!
She is helping the working group as a volunteer (oeko-freiwillig.de) and gets to do all the “fun” things (as Heiko would say :)) - such as supporting field work. She has always been interested in birds, but over the past few months she has learned to truly admire them.
She is helping the working group as a volunteer (oeko-freiwillig.de) and gets to do all the “fun” things (as Heiko would say :)) - such as supporting field work. She has always been interested in birds, but over the past few months she has learned to truly admire them.
Abstract submission is still open for two more weeks and we would love to receive more contributions for the Young-Researchers-Symposium on Magnetoreception & Navigation in Animals. Travel grants are also available.
www.sfb1372.de/young-resear...
@sfb1372.bsky.social
www.sfb1372.de/young-resear...
@sfb1372.bsky.social
June 17, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Abstract submission is still open for two more weeks and we would love to receive more contributions for the Young-Researchers-Symposium on Magnetoreception & Navigation in Animals. Travel grants are also available.
www.sfb1372.de/young-resear...
@sfb1372.bsky.social
www.sfb1372.de/young-resear...
@sfb1372.bsky.social
Meet Melanie: she´s the good soul of the working group and our secret star. Nothing works without her & everything works with her. Our technician can do everything & saves the rest of us from putting our foot in our mouths. She is also into plant conservation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_0W...#isoetes
June 11, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Meet Melanie: she´s the good soul of the working group and our secret star. Nothing works without her & everything works with her. Our technician can do everything & saves the rest of us from putting our foot in our mouths. She is also into plant conservation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_0W...#isoetes
We are happy to announce to have won this year´s volleyball tournament of the institute of biology and environmental sciences. Great team, great fun. And the trophy is a bird (Avocet) - fitting very well to our group 😊
June 6, 2025 at 7:10 AM
We are happy to announce to have won this year´s volleyball tournament of the institute of biology and environmental sciences. Great team, great fun. And the trophy is a bird (Avocet) - fitting very well to our group 😊
NEW PAPER on tracking Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) and Amur Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri) from Japan with contributions of our working group:
doi.org/10.1007/s103... [Bird pic credit: changed after Ranieljosecastaneda, Wikimedia Commons CC 4.0]
doi.org/10.1007/s103... [Bird pic credit: changed after Ranieljosecastaneda, Wikimedia Commons CC 4.0]
May 27, 2025 at 4:12 PM
NEW PAPER on tracking Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) and Amur Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri) from Japan with contributions of our working group:
doi.org/10.1007/s103... [Bird pic credit: changed after Ranieljosecastaneda, Wikimedia Commons CC 4.0]
doi.org/10.1007/s103... [Bird pic credit: changed after Ranieljosecastaneda, Wikimedia Commons CC 4.0]
Great teamwork on #Norderney: we colour-ringed & sampled ~130 and tagged 40 Wheatears in just two days to study pre-migratory flights and survival - thanks to excellent preparation by @giovannasandretti.bsky.social #ringing #radiotracking
May 26, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Great teamwork on #Norderney: we colour-ringed & sampled ~130 and tagged 40 Wheatears in just two days to study pre-migratory flights and survival - thanks to excellent preparation by @giovannasandretti.bsky.social #ringing #radiotracking
Today is the 1-year-anniversary of our extensive Review-Paper: "A conceptual framework on the role of magnetic cues in songbird migration ecology" doi.org/10.1111/brv....
- it is a must-read, when you work with magnetoreception and birds!
- it is a must-read, when you work with magnetoreception and birds!
April 17, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Today is the 1-year-anniversary of our extensive Review-Paper: "A conceptual framework on the role of magnetic cues in songbird migration ecology" doi.org/10.1111/brv....
- it is a must-read, when you work with magnetoreception and birds!
- it is a must-read, when you work with magnetoreception and birds!
Meet @giovannasandretti.bsky.social
She moved from Brazil to start her PhD on the autumn migration of Northern Wheatears using #Motus tracking. Her passions include ecology and conservation, especially with birds.
She is excited to her first field season on Norderney in the coming weeks!
She moved from Brazil to start her PhD on the autumn migration of Northern Wheatears using #Motus tracking. Her passions include ecology and conservation, especially with birds.
She is excited to her first field season on Norderney in the coming weeks!
April 7, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Meet @giovannasandretti.bsky.social
She moved from Brazil to start her PhD on the autumn migration of Northern Wheatears using #Motus tracking. Her passions include ecology and conservation, especially with birds.
She is excited to her first field season on Norderney in the coming weeks!
She moved from Brazil to start her PhD on the autumn migration of Northern Wheatears using #Motus tracking. Her passions include ecology and conservation, especially with birds.
She is excited to her first field season on Norderney in the coming weeks!
new publication by our team member @thiemokarwinkel.bsky.social about the multi-year and multi site tracking of long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) from the Arctic to the Baltic Sea. @ifv-whv.bsky.social read here open access: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
April 2, 2025 at 4:36 PM
new publication by our team member @thiemokarwinkel.bsky.social about the multi-year and multi site tracking of long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) from the Arctic to the Baltic Sea. @ifv-whv.bsky.social read here open access: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
In a new article, we summarise the opportunities of the #Motus Wildlife Tracking System from a European perspective. This #tracking method offers a wide range of opportunities for research of small migratory birds, bats and insects: conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
March 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
In a new article, we summarise the opportunities of the #Motus Wildlife Tracking System from a European perspective. This #tracking method offers a wide range of opportunities for research of small migratory birds, bats and insects: conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
You wonder what is our research about? See this word cloud, we collected, about our perspective of scientific fields and topics.
March 20, 2025 at 11:57 AM
You wonder what is our research about? See this word cloud, we collected, about our perspective of scientific fields and topics.