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November 30, 2004
Hawaiian Bird Goes Extinct
A native Hawaiian bird died in captivity on November 28, probably signaling the extinction of the species.
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Hawaiian Bird Goes Extinct: Government Must Act Now to Prevent Dozens More Losses
A native Hawaiian bird died in captivity on November 28, probably signaling the extinction of the species. Saving the Po'ouli, a small honeycreeper found only on the island of Maui, had been the mission of a few dedicated biologists at the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project over the past year. Sadly, their stalwart efforts seem to have come to a sad juncture, and a lack of funding and commitment from the federal and state governments could result in the extinction of many more Hawaiian birds.
By the time the decision was made to begin captive-breeding efforts, only three birds were thought to survive on Maui. Bad weather caused delays to capture efforts, but cancellation of an expedition during one of the few available weather windows due to temporary cessation of funding seemed symbolic of the situation at such a critical time. Ultimately only one bird could be located, and though successfully caught, it has now died in a Maui breeding facility. A slim but waning hope remains that the other two known birds may yet survive; however, neither has been seen in months.
The questions being asked in the conservation community are how could the situation have been allowed to get so desperate before captive-breeding attempts were made? Why has funding been so hard to obtain recently for a species so perilously close to extinction? And how do we ensure that the Po’ouli’s plight is not repeated by other endangered species, particularly those in Hawaii?
The Po’ouli’s tragic story follows a series of bird extinctions that has swept Hawaii since humans arrived on the islands. Most of the surviving native land birds are heading towards extinction. As with the Po’ouli, a combination of introduced predators, disease, and habitat clearance have caused their declines. At the same time that these species are slipping away, seemingly unnoticed, well-funded programs to protect the Bald Eagle, California Condor, and Whooping Crane - species that faced a similar, if not greater barrage of threats - are succeeding, showing that species conservation programs can and do work if properly resourced.
"Hawaii's bird extinction crisis is a global tragedy that is largely being ignored. That the World's wealthiest nation is allowing bird extinctions to continue, largely unchecked, in its own back yard is unconscionable," said Dr. George H. Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy. "Fully one third of the birds on the U.S. Endangered Species List occur only in Hawaii, several of which may already be extinct. Funding for the conservation of those that remain needs to be increased by orders of magnitude if we are to avert a biological disaster in our lifetimes."
Thirty-two bird species that breed primarily on islands in the Hawaiian chain are listed on the global "Red List" of threatened species, several of which have not been seen in decades and may already be extinct. Others survive but in desperately low numbers. Another, the Hawaiian Crow survives only in captivity. In fact, only a handful of Hawaiian birds appear not to be in decline. The surviving species could likely still be saved from extinction if the required effort is made.
At a time when the Endangered Species Act is coming under criticism, the probable extinction of the Po’ouli should serve as a wake up call to the government and the American people. American Bird Conservancy is calling for a commitment from the Bush Administration, Congress, and the environmental community to dramatically increase their efforts to prevent bird species extinctions, particularly in Hawaii.
Background Information:
The Po’ouli was first discovered in 1973 and placed on the Endangered Species List the following year. In the mid 1980s, the total population was thought to number around 100 birds, though no more than a handful have ever been seen. At one point, three birds were shot by researchers to learn more about the species’ diet by examining their stomach contents. In 2002, one of the three known remaining birds was caught and released within the territory of another, in an attempt to get the two to breed. However, the translocated bird did not remain in the area. Captive breeding efforts began in 2003, when members of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project attempted to locate and capture all remaining birds. Only one has been located in the year since, and this was the bird that was captured on September 9, 2004. Decline and likely extinction of the Po’ouli has been attributed to loss of forest habitat, introduced species such as feral pigs, and, quite probably, disease such as avian malaria.
The Hawaiian Islands are unique in terms of their biological diversity. Many species of plants and animals there occur nowhere else on Earth, having evolved in isolation, thousands of miles from the next nearest land. Hawaii's birds exhibit one of the world's best examples of adaptive radiation, in which many forms are derived from a common ancestor. Variation observed by Darwin in finches on the Galapagos Islands gave rise to his theory of evolution. Had Darwin studied Hawaiian birds, he would have discovered an even more marked diversity among Hawaii's honeycreepers than exists among those Galapagos finches.
The decline of Hawaii's birds is symptomatic of the gradual destruction of Hawaii's ecosystems. This destruction began with the arrival of Polynesian settlers who cleared much of the lowland forest in the archipelago. This was compounded by a suite of introduced species ranging from predatory mongooses, to diseases such as avian pox and malaria. In combination these factors have caused the extinction of more than 20 Hawaiian bird species since 1500. Despite this, a few Hawaiian landbirds still have stable populations. Among them are the Apapane and Hawaii Amakihi. Captive breeding programs involving the Zoological Society of San Diego, The Peregrine Fund, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Hawaii Department of Forestry and Wildlife have been successful in the case of other rare Hawaiian species, including the Maui Parrotbill, Small Kauai Thrush, Pallila, and Hawaii Creeper. The Nature Conservancy has also played a key role in Hawaiian bird conservation through habitat acquisition and management.
Photographs of the Po’ouli can be seen at:
Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project - www.mauiforestbird.org
Hawaii Dept. of Forestry and Wildlife – www.dofaw.net
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American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a U.S.-based 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC is headquartered in Virginia, with offices in ten states and the District of Columbia. ABC has more than 300 partner organizations throughout the Americas, primarily through its leadership roles in the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, Partners in Flight, the Bird Conservation Alliance, the National Pesticide Reform Coalition, and the Alliance for Zero Extinction. ABC was recently rated one of the best-managed small charities in the U.S. by the independent group "Charity Navigator," and given their highest rating for fiscal management. For more information, see: www.abcbirds.org..
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:01 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2004
Europe must do more to save its threatened wildlife
BirdLife International, has challenged EU Member States and the European Commission
BirdLife International, represented by the RSPB in the UK, [1] has today challenged EU Member States and the European Commission to adopt a five-point challenge to stop the decline of wild birds in the EU.
BirdLife International's call for immediate action was issued in response to the latest assessment of European bird populations, published in the global organisation's new in-depth study, Birds in the European Union [2]. The study reveals that, despite EU legislation protecting many species, many are
still declining at an alarming rate and still face an uncertain future.
At an EU conference in Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands), celebrating the 25th anniversary of the European Union's Birds Directive [3], BirdLife International today (Tuesday 9 November, 2004) warned 150 delegates from European institutions, member states and NGOs, that without better
implementation of EU wildlife protection laws, birds and other wildlife would continue to be lost forever.
Clairie Papazoglou, head of BirdLife's European Community Office in Brussels said: "BirdLife welcomes the conclusions of this Conference, as it recognises the EU Birds Directive has protected many threatened birds over the last 25 years through targeted measures for species and sites." "However, as the newest information shows, we have to be very concerned about many species being in deep trouble, even some common birds are in rapid decline. This is largely because EU legislation, like the Birds Directive, is not fully implemented by member states or that other policies, like the Common Agricultural Policy, can jeopardize conservation efforts".
BirdLife's five-point recovery plan for the European Union's wildlife
includes:
* Full implementation of existing wildlife conservation laws
(in particular the EU Birds and Habitats Directives) in all EU Member
States.
* Ensuring integration of this legislation into other EU
policies, such as agriculture and transport.
* Urgent action by Member States to complete and properly
manage the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds, by
classifying all Important Bird Areas (IBAs) as such (IBAs have been
scientifically selected by BirdLife International according to EU criteria).
* Adequate and targeted EU co-funding for nature conservation
measures, provided and secured through the Commission's "LIFE Nature" fund
(or an equivalent instrument), in addition to Rural Development and
Structural Funds.
* Setting up of monitoring schemes for birds by the European
Commission with adequate information and support provided by all Member
States, as well as adoption of birds as a headline structural indicator for
the EU's sustainable development strategy.
Clairie Papazoglou added: "If these challenges are not met, it is hard to see how the EU and governments can fulfil their joint commitment to halt the loss of wildlife by 2010, on which they have agreed back in 2001 in Gothenburg."
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:04 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2004
More of Europe's birds in trouble says RSPB
The number of bird species in trouble across Europe is rising
The number of bird species in trouble across Europe is rising, warns the RSPB today (Monday 8 November, 2004). [1]
The latest assessment, published in BirdLife's International's new in-depth study, Birds in Europe, reveals that 226 species of birds - 43 per cent of all those occurring regularly in Europe - are facing an uncertain future. [2] Many are declining, rare or localised, whilst populations of others remain heavily depleted following huge declines suffered during the 1970s and '80s. Some are now so threatened that they may disappear from parts of Europe in the very near future. [3]
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director, said: "Unfortunately, losing our farmland bird populations is an issue where the UK excels in Europe. This is the first time species such as the house sparrow, snipe, starling, lapwing and corn bunting have been listed as birds of European concern, these species have been declining in the UK countryside for decades.
"The UK's highly intensive agriculture has been mainly to blame for these declines, the great danger is that we will now export intensive agriculture to eastern Europe, destroying their wildlife too."
In the ten years since the publication of BirdLife's original Birds in Europe study, an additional 45 bird species have declined in numbers and now have an unfavourable conservation status. [4]
However, it is not all bad news. 14 bird species have seen their fortunes improve across Europe; thanks, in part, to concentrated conservation efforts. In the UK, the avocet, the RSPB's logo, has increased spectacularly, and the peregrine falcon has recovered well from a severe population decline in the 1950s and 1960s. In southern Europe, the griffon vulture population has done similarly well.
Dr Avery added: "The red kite and the stone-curlew are doing very well in the UK, due to concentrated conservation action - both species are still declining across much of their European range."
Birds in Europe will be launched in the Netherlands on Monday 8 November, at a conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the European Union's Birds Directive, along with its sister publication, Birds in the European Union, which looks specifically at how the EU has done in bird conservation. [5,6] The publications, which span the whole of Europe from Greenland to Georgia
and from the Canary Islands to Russia, assess population sizes and trends for all of Europe's wild birds from 52 European countries or territories. Birds in the EU, deals solely with the 25 Member States of the European Union.
Across Europe, many bird species have begun to decline alarmingly. [7]
Declining European birds of concern in the UK, include:
* Wading birds, including snipe, curlew and lapwing are declining
rapidly in the UK, largely because of drainage of lowland river valleys and
habitat degradation;
* Migratory birds nesting in the UK and wintering in sub-Saharan
Africa, including wood warbler, wheatear and house martin;
* Woodland birds, including the marsh tit;
* Farmland birds including corn bunting, tree sparrow and linnet;
* Familiar urban birds including house sparrow and starling.
However, the new assessment does provide some welcome news, too. Better protection, partly as a result of the European Union's Birds Directive, has led to increases in the Audouin's gull - formerly one the continent's most threatened seabirds. Other winners include the white-tailed eagle - one of
Europe's largest birds of prey and the largest to nest in the UK.
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's Director of Conservation, said: "Conservation works. The increase in avocet and peregrine falcon populations reflects the attention given to these priority species. The European Union and conservation groups are right to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Birds Directive today, but everyone must remain level-headed. The struggles facing many of Europe's birds are immense.
"The European Union has promised to halt the loss of wildlife in Europe by 2010. The latest Birds in Europe assessment highlights the sheer enormity of that task. The third assessment, already planned for ten years' time, will reveal to the world whether the EU has kept its word or broken its promise." Mike Rands, BirdLife International's Director, said: "The fact that more birds in Europe face an uncertain future compared with a decade ago is deeply worrying. Birds are excellent environmental indicators and the continued decline of many species sends a clear signal about the health of
Europe's wildlife and the poor state of our environment."
Notes:
1. BirdLife International is a partnership of people working together
for birds and the environment. It promotes sustainable living as a means of
conserving birds and all other forms of biodiversity and is the leading
authority on the status of birds and their habitats. Over 10 million people
support the BirdLife Partnership of national non-governmental conservation
organisations and local networks. The RSPB is the BirdLife partner for the
UK.
2. Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation
status, published by BirdLife International (2004), is the second review of
the conservation status of all wild birds in Europe. Like its 1994
predecessor, Birds in Europe, it identifies priority species (known as
Species of European Conservation Concern or SPECs) in order that
conservation action can be taken to improve their status.
3. The most high-profile European bird extinction is the Great Auk
(Pinguinus impennis), a flightless seabird found breeding on rocky islets
across the North Atlantic. The last known pair were killed on Eldey Island,
Iceland, in 1844, and the last live bird was seen off the Newfoundland Banks
in 1852. Compared to the situation in other continents - especially in the
tropics - Europe holds relatively few species at risk of a similar fate...
However, a number of European species are now declining so fast or have such
small populations that, without immediate action, they may well disappear in
the near future. These include:
Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius), a wader related to the common (but
also declining) Northern Lapwing, which breeds only in south-west Russia and
Kakakhstan. It has declined so rapidly that there may be as few as 600
individuals left in the wild.
Mediterranean Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus), a seabird which breeds
only on the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean. It numbers as few
as 1,650 pairs and is declining fast.
Azores Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina), a relative of the common Eurasian
Bullfinch, which breeds on only one small island in the Atlantic. It numbers
fewer than 240 individuals, has a global range of less than 50 sq km, and
also seems to be declining.
4. In Birds in Europe (2004), each of the 524 species assessed is
assigned to one of five categories:
SPEC 1, birds of global conservation concern (40 species, 7.6 per cent);
SPEC 2, species with an unfavourable European conservation status and with
more than half of the global breeding or wintering population concentrated
in Europe (45 species, 8.6 per cent);
SPEC 3, species with an unfavourable European conservation status but with
less than half of the global breeding or wintering population concentrated
in Europe (141 species, 26.9 per cent);
Non-SPECE, species with a favourable European conservation status but with
more than half of the global breeding or wintering population concentrated
in Europe;
Non-SPEC, species with a favourable European conservation status and with
less than half of the breeding or wintering population concentrated in
Europe.
5.The EU Birds Directive (Directive on the conservation of wild birds,
79/409/EEC) was adopted in 1979 by nine Member States, and was the first EU
Directive on nature conservation. Since its adoption it has been a vital
legal instrument for the conservation of all birds that occur naturally
across the EU, acting in the broadest public interest to conserve Europe's
natural heritage for present and future generations. Together with the
definitions and objectives of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), adopted in
1992, it offers useful legal conceptual models and a set of standards and
norms in common use. The Birds Directive applies to all 25 EU countries
since May 2004. The Birds Directive is a primary tool for delivering against
EU obligations under global Conventions, including the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD), the Ramsar and Bonn Conventions and the WWSD
plan of implementation. Apart from its global obligations the EU has further
committed itself to halting biodiversity decline by 2010.
In 2004 the Birds Directive has its 25th anniversary.
6. Birds in the European Union: a status assessment (BirdLife
International 2004). This 50-page report is a policy and advocacy
publication, analysing the situation of wild birds within the enlarged EU
(EU25) with special reference to the impact the Birds Directive has had in
its first 25 years.
7. The following list gives the number (by country or territory) of
regularly nesting species of wild bird species considered to have an
unfavourable conservation status:
Albania - 96 species (43% of the country's 224 breeding wild bird species)
Andorra - 37 species (33% of the country's 111 breeding wild bird species)
Armenia - 95 species (42% of the country's 225 breeding wild bird species)
Austria - 79 species (36% of the country's 217 breeding wild bird species)
Azerbaijan - 107 species (42% of the country's 253 breeding wild bird
species)
Belarus - 87 species (40% of the country's 220 breeding wild bird species)
Belgium - 63 species (34% of the country's 183 breeding wild bird species)
Bosnia
Herzegovina - 62 species (39% of the country's 158 breeding wild
bird species)
Bulgaria - 110 species (42% of the country's 260 breeding wild bird species)
Croatia - 100 species (41% of the country's 246 breeding wild bird species)
Cyprus - 41 species (44% of the country's 94 breeding wild bird species)
Czech Republic - 77 species (37% of the country's 209 breeding wild bird
species)
Denmark - 70 species (35% of the country's 201 breeding wild bird species)
Faroe Islands - 19 species (27% of the territory's 70 breeding wild bird
species)
Greenland - 15 species (24% of the territory's 63 breeding wild bird species)
Estonia - 79 species (36% of the country's 222 breeding wild bird species)
Finland - 76 species (31% of the country's 247 breeding wild bird species)
France - 116 species (41% of the country's 281 breeding wild bird species)
Georgia - 106 species (43% of the country's 246 breeding wild bird species)
Germany - 92 species (36% of the country's 253 breeding wild bird species)
Greece - 108 species (43% of the country's 252 breeding wild bird species)
Hungary - 92 species (43% of the country's 214 breeding wild bird species)
Iceland - 30 species (36% of the country's 84 breeding wild bird species)
Ireland - 47 species (31% of the country's 151 breeding wild bird species)
Italy - 104 species (42% of the country's 250 breeding wild bird species)
Latvia - 80 species (37% of the country's 218 breeding wild bird species)
Liechtenstein - 34 species (27% of the country's 128 breeding wild bird
species)
Lithuania - 79 species (39% of the country's 205 breeding wild bird species)
Luxembourg - 47 species (34% of the country's 137 breeding wild bird
species)
Macedonia - 96 species (42% of the country's 230 breeding wild bird species)
Malta - 16 species (46% of the country's 35 breeding wild bird species)
Moldova - 76 species (45% of the country's 170 breeding wild bird species)
Netherlands - 70 species (35% of the country's 198 breeding wild bird
species)
Norway - 72 species (31% of the country's 234 breeding wild bird species)
Svalbard - 11 species (24% of the territory's 45 breeding wild bird species)
Poland - 89 species (38% of the country's 234 breeding wild bird species)
Portugal - 95 species (47% of the country's 201 breeding wild bird species)
Azores - 14 species (45% of the territory's 31 breeding wild bird species)
Madeira - 20 species (49% of the territory's 41 breeding wild bird species)
Romania - 106 species (42% of the country's 252 breeding wild bird species)
Russia - 163 species (40% of the country's 403 breeding wild bird species)
Serbia
Montenegro - 103 species (42% of the country's 247 breeding wild
bird species)
Slovakia - 86 species (40% of the country's 216 breeding wild bird species)
Slovenia - 71 species (36% of the country's 199 breeding wild bird species)
Spain - 119 species (46% of the country's 261 breeding wild bird species)
Canary Islands - 39 species (51% of the territory's 77 breeding wild bird
species)
Sweden - 85 species (34% of the country's 252 breeding wild bird species)
Switzerland - 62 species (33% of the country's 189 breeding wild bird
species)
Turkey - 148 species (46% of the country's 319 breeding wild bird species)
Ukraine - 118 species (43% of the country's 272 breeding wild bird species)
United Kingdom - 70 species (33% of the country's 210 breeding wild bird
species)
Gibraltar - 10 species (32% of the territory's 31 breeding wild bird species)
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:07 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2004
Black Lark admitted to British List
BOURC has admitted Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis to Category A of the British List
Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis
Male, sight record
Spurn, East Yorkshire
27 April 1984
Admitted to Category A of the British List
The British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) has admitted Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis to Category A of the British List following the occurrence of an adult male at Spurn, East Yorkshire on 27 April 1984 (sight record).
Black Lark breeds on the steppes of Kazakhstan and southern Russia where it is largely resident but individuals regularly wander west and south of the normal range, especially during periods of severe weather. There have been 23 previous extralimital Western Palearctic records involving 30 individuals (Brit. Birds 97: 558-625). These are mainly from south-east Europe (i.e. closest to the species’ winter range), but with recent records from Finland and Sweden. The most recent extralimital record was a well-watched male on Anglesey from 1-8 June 2003 (Brit. Birds 97: 558-625). The majority of records are from January to May, with one record from late November (Czech Republic 1981) and one from late July (Heligoland 1892). This was also a species involved in the ‘Hastings Rarities’ scandal, with a series of discredited records from the Kent/Sussex border between 1907 and 1915.
This record was first submitted to BBRC in 1999, 15 years after the sighting. It was seen by four observers, one of whom was a non-birder. The others included Barry Spence (then Warden of Spurn Point Nature Reserve) and the late Nick Bell, who submitted notes and also wrote an account at the time in the Spurn Bird Observatory log. It was pended by BBRC following its first circulation but during this process, additional notes were submitted by the fourth observer, Alex Cruickshanks. The file then underwent three recirculations of BBRC before finally being accepted and being passed to BOURC for ratification of the record as an addition to the British List.
Eric Meek, Chairman of BOURC commented “bearing in mind that this individual was not identified until well after the event, and with no photographic evidence available, we needed to eliminate other possible confusion species that could conceivably have originated from captivity, especially White-billed Buffalo Weaver (Bubornis albirostris). Increasing field experience of Black Larks amongst members of both Committees, especially in relation to the variability in the white mottling on the basically black plumage, helped to convince them of the validity of the description. Advice from our captive bird expert, Roger Wilkinson (Chester Zoo), indicated that there was no evidence that Black Lark was known in captivity (and this remains the case), although its congener, Mongolian Lark (Melanocorypha mongolica) was being offered for sale. Unanimous belief that the species had been identified correctly, together with the unlikelihood of a captive origin allowed the Spurn Black Lark to be accepted as the first record of this species for Britain.”
The British List now stands at 568 species
(Category A = 547; Category B = 12; Category C = 9).
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:13 PM | Comments (0)