Ruddy Duck near Rome, C Italy, December 10, 2005

A Ruddy Duck was found by Magnus Grylle, David Nowell and Glynn Maynard and photographed by Angela Rositi on December 10, 2005, at the Maccarese basins near Rome, C Italy. The duck was found there also today by Massimo Biondi. In Italy, Ruddy Ducks occur mainly on Sardinia where there have been 12 records from 1988 to 1999. In mainland Italy there has been only few accepted Ruddy Duck records and no records along the Adriatic coasts of Italy, Albania or Greece. BirdLife International has started raising awareness at a local and national level regarding a control-campaign on Ruddy Duck. LIPU, the Italian BirdLife Partner, has requested that the INFS (National Institute for Wild Fauna) take all possible measures to implement the White-headed Duck Action Plan, including the eradication of the Ruddy Duck. The regular presence of the Ruddy Duck in Sardinia also prompted LIPU to request the Regione Autonoma Sardegna not to proceed with any White-headed Duck reintroduction project. The Cordoba workshop in 1995, and the Council of Europe White-headed Duck Action Plan recommend that all White-headed Duck reintroduction projects be suspended until the Ruddy Duck problem in Europe has been resolved.

20:11 - Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - post comment