Dan Mennill
@dmennill
Biology Professor & Associate Dean @UWindsor. I use bioacoustics to study ecology, evolution, and conservation. Husband & father. Proud Canadian 🇨🇦. I post about our team's research adventures. www.uwindsor.ca/dmennill
Zach Gayk launched our newest Motus Audio recorder on the Keweenaw Peninsula's north shore to study birds crossing Lake Superior. This recorder is hosted by the Keweenaw Bird Observatory and the Copper Country Bird Club. Learn about Motus Audio here: motus-audio.web.app @birdscanada.bsky.social
Congratulations to Laurianne on completing the first field season of her graduate studies! She’s studying the bioacoustics of Leach’s Storm-Petrels with Dr. Ingrid Pollet and me, as part of a big collaborative petrel team led by Dr. Patty Jones. @ingridpollet.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
In the Keweenaw Peninsula, on the shore of Lake Superior, Mennill Lab alumnus Dr. Zach Gayk has launched a new Motus Audio recorder, connecting our network with the Keweenaw Bird Observatory, a research initiative of the Copper Country Bird Club. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social
New Motus Audio recorder in Woodslee! 🎤🎶🕊️ Ahead of fall migration, Natalie and Joe launched our newest Motus Audio recorder in Woodslee, Ontario. Explore the 100+ microphones in our Canada-wide migration monitoring network: motus-audio.web.app @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social
Flags placed at 1 and 2 metre distances around a loudspeaker, binoculars and voice recorder ready, Nelsy is conducting a playback experiment to study vocal behaviour of Gray Seedeaters (Sporophila intermedia) in Colombia. Great field research @nelsyninor.bsky.social! [📷 N. Niño, S. Rosado Hidalgo]
How do Great Tits cope with traffic noise beneath the Eiffel Tower? On OKAY, BUT… BIRDS, I chatted with Scott about the dawn chorus, noise pollution, and the fascinating connections between conservation and birdsong. Watch or listen to the full episode here: www.okaybutbirds.com/episodes/e30
From the field, in Medina, Colombia, Nelsy is studying the ecology and evolution of vocal mimicry in tropical seedeaters. We're so thankful to Jessica Diaz for field assistance and Santiago Rosado Hidalgo for these beautiful photographs. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @animbehsociety.bsky.social
A chickadee in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? What a delight to appear on OKAY, BUT… BIRDS to chat with Scott about the dawn chorus and Hollywood’s bird song problem. Watch or listen to the full episode here: www.okaybutbirds.com/episodes/e30
I changed batteries, swapped SD cards, and ran updates on our Motus Audio recorders at Morrison Dam and Rock Glen Conservation Areas. (And hunted for brachiopods!) Thank you to our Motus Audio hosts at these great conservation areas. @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
Okay, but is the dawn chorus getting quieter? On the latest episode of Okay, But... Birds I chat with Scott Taylor about bird song and the dawn chorus. Check it out: www.okaybutbirds.com/episodes/e30
"Canada-wide nocturnal bird sound migration tracker takes flight." There's an article about our Motus Audio project, and Natalie and Madison's cross-country research expedition, on CBC.ca! Read it here: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social
Look who's profiled in the newest edition of Picoides: Madison Bygrove and her research on the Motus Audio network. Congratulations Madison! Thank you to the Society of Canadian Ornithologists and Birds Canada for supporting Madison's research. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social
"Young gulls’ drab plumage may help them avoid adult attacks". An article about our new gull plumage paper is out in ScienceNews. Read it here: www.sciencenews.org/article/youn... The research, led by Hill and Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social, was published in Anim Behav: doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
Fresh off their cross-Canada research trip, Madison and Natalie discussed Motus Audio migration monitoring with CBC Windsor Morning today. Listen to their birdy chat here: www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social @lincolnsavi.bsky.social
With help Pelee Island Bird Observatory's Emma and Vincent, I launched a new Motus Audio recorder on Pelee Island! And we changed batteries and SD cards in two long-running recorders. Motus Audio is getting ready for the next wave of migration! @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
A perfect summer day for a quick field research expedition to Pelee Island. In collaboration with the Pelee Island Bird Observatory (PIBO), I changed batteries on our Motus Audio units and talked bird ecology and conservation with the amazing PIBO staff.
Today we had a visit from lab alum Dr. Zach Gayk. We talked about his big idea of the Migration Similarity Hypothesis (that birds with similar flight calls have similar migratory journeys) and his efforts to build a migration station in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Great to see you @zachgayk.bsky.social!
As part of her dissertation research on vocal mimicry in tropical birds, Nelsy Niño has just banded her 100th Grey Seedeater. A congratulatory rainbow appeared in the Colombian sky. 🌈🐦🇨🇴🇨🇦 Keep up the great field research Nelsy and Jessica! @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @animbehsociety.bsky.social
"Listening to the night sky: UWindsor team deploys Canada-wide acoustic bird migration network" Check out this Motus Audio article in our campus newspaper about our cross-Canada migration network: www.uwindsor.ca/news/2026-06... @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social
What is it like to work on a small island with 5000 American Herring Gulls? It is a lot like this:
Nelsy is leading a research expedition in Medina, Colombia to study vocal mimicry in seedeaters. With her assistant Jessica, she’s cutting net lanes, banding birds, recording songs, & conducting playback. Amazing work @nelsyninor.bsky.social! 🇨🇴🇨🇦 @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @animbehsociety.bsky.social
"Island roost: How Margaret Atwood and her family helped turn Pelee Island into a migratory bird research hub" An essay with great photos and videos by Ivan Semeniuk is now online on the Globe and Mail: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/scien... @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @peleeislandbird.bsky.social
Pick up this morning's Globe and Mail! There's a centre spread by Ivan Semeniuk about Pelee Island Bird Observatory, the importance of Pelee Island for migratory birds, and the generous support of Margaret Atwood and her family for bird research. @theglobeandmail.com @peleeislandbird.bsky.social
"How do urban parks create opportunities for learning and connection to nature?" Congratulations to Michelle Bondy who's presenting her dissertation research at the 2026 STLHE Annual Conference in Hamilton this week. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
For our new study of acoustic communication in Leach's Storm-petrels, Laurianne and I deployed Song Meters at the entrances of birds nests to sample their vocal behaviour during incubation. A collaboration with Ingrid Pollet @ingridpollet.bsky.social, Patty Jones, and an A+ group of colleagues.
I completed my annual bioacoustic survey of the forest birds of Kent Island, with a little help from some friends. We collect these long-term data to study changes in breeding bird populations at Bowdoin Scientific Station. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @wildlifeacoustics.com @ryannorrissci.bsky.social