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June 17, 2005
Taxonomic changes to the British List
Canada Goose is currently treated as a single polytypic species. Molecular, ecological and behavioural evidence suggest that populations of ‘large-bodied’ and ‘small-bodied’ taxa are best treated as separate species.
The following recommendations relating to the taxonomy of birds on the British List will take effect from the publication of the BOURC Taxonomic Subcommittee’s (BOURC-TSC) next report in Ibis.
Canada Goose Branta canadensis
Greater Canada Goose B. canadensis (polytypic, with subspecies canadensis, fulva, interior, maxima, moffitti, occidentalis and parvipes)
Lesser Canada Goose B. hutchinsii (polytypic, with subspecies hutchinsii, leucopareia, minima and taverneri).
Note that B. c. parvipes, often referred to as a ‘lesser’ Canada Goose, is placed within the Greater Canada Goose group.
Greater Canada Goose is on Category C of the British List on the basis of the established naturalised population. No vagrant ‘Canada Goose’ had, prior to this recommendation, been assigned to subspecific level. Records will now be reviewed to determine whether any individuals can be assigned to either group.
The British List remains on 568 species
(Category A = 547; Category B = 12; Category C = 9).
Posted by Surfbirds at 02:19 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2005
Dr James F Clements 1927-2005
Dr James Franklin Clements, author of Birds of the World, A Check List passed away on June 9, 2005, at Tri-City Hospital in Oceanside, California from complications associated with acute myloid leukemia.
The following obituary is by his brother.
Dr James Franklin Clements: brother, husband, father, naturalist, entrepreneur, adventurer, diplomat, leader, and friend, was born October 31, 1927 in New York. He passed away on June 9, 2005, at
Tri-City Hospital in Oceanside, California from complications associated with acute myloid leukemia.
Jim spent most of his early years in the Graham School Orphanage in Hastings-on-Hudson. He joined the Merchant Marine at age 15, and shifted to the navy when he was of age seeing service on the Philippine Sea aircraft carrier.
He started his post secondary education at Beloit College in Wisconsin, married Mary Norton, and completed his undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota. He served his country again during the Korean conflict, this time in the United Stated Air Force. His family, which now included two sons, moved to California in 1952 where he eventually became a partner in the successful printing firm of George Rice & Sons. He received his PhD from California Western University in 1975. His thesis became the first edition of his Birds of the World, A Check List, which has since sold five editions and is used by tens of thousands of bird watchers internationally. The Smithsonian Institute recently contacted Dr. Clements to use his list in their plan to classify each of the 9800 birds in the world.
After retiring in 1988 Jim founded Ibis Publishing Company, and subsequently produced a number of books, including: A Natural History of the Waterfowl, by Frank Todd, California Birds, by Arnold Small, A Field Guide to the Birds of Yap Island, Ornamental Trees of San Diego, A Field Guide to the Birds of Peru, Clements and Shany, Birds and Mammals of Antarctica, by Frank Todd.
In his role as an accomplished naturalist he has funded several enterprises in Ecuador, Peru, Baja California. In 1989 he raised money for the Schreiber Hall of Birds at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum by viewing a record number of bird species seen in a calendar year and donating funds pledged by individuals and organizations to the museum. Recently Jim received the high honor of having a bird named after him, The Iquitos Gnatcatcher, Polioptila clementsi. In 1986 Dr. Kamuzu Bonda, President of the Republic of Malawi, appointed Dr. Clements as Honorary Consul General for the State of California. He was past president of many civic organizations including the San Diego
Museum of Natural History and the Explorer's Clubs of Los Angeles and San Diego.
Dr.Clements is survived by his wife, Karen of Temecula, CA., a brother Robert of San Francisco, step son Dave of Murietta, step son Tim of Temecula, son Bob of Salt Lake City, son Dan of Everett, WA., and eight grand children.
Posted by Surfbirds at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2005
Gift your Dad a wild life this Fathers Day
Holidays like Fathers Day always present the “what to give Dad” gift dilemma. The wildlife experts at International Bird Rescue Research Center are hoping kids will look beyond ties and toolboxes and log on to their website to adopt a live duck, heron, egret or pelican for dad. Best part is he doesn’t have to care for it.
Adopters don’t actually get the bird, but they do get a beautiful official certificate for the species they adopt, with the band number of their bird and the date and place of release. With over 500 orphans at the center, and another one thousand expected, IBRRC’s the adoption program is a way to help defray the cost of raising thousands of orphaned waterfowl so they can be returned to the wild. Every bird IBRRC releases gets a Federal band put on its leg. The number on the band identifies the bird for life.
“What’s so great about this program is that it allows the public to be a part of what we do,” said IBRRC Director, Jay Holcomb. “Hopefully it makes people feel a little empowered, just by the fact one bird is out there, that is theirs.”
Although pelican adoptions go for $200, ducklings can be adopted for twenty five dollars, and herons and egrets for fifty dollars. Adoptions include a one-year IBRRC membership.
Banded birds become lifetime subjects of study, and provide a great amount of useful data for researchers. IBRRC is one of only a few rehabilitation centers in the US that is part of the USFWS Federal Banding Program. Since 1972, IBRRC has banded over 50,000 birds.
Details on IBRRC and their adoption program can be found on their website at www.ibrrc.org or by calling 707-207-0380 extension 109.
Posted by Surfbirds at 06:23 AM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2005
Northern Californians Asked to Stop Feeding Birds
For the second time in less than a year, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) asked that people take down their bird feeders to slow the spread of avian disease. In this most recent request, DFG asked residents of Northern California to remove feeders for at least one month, starting on February 10, to help slow an outbreak of salmonellosis, a bacterial disease that is affecting Pine Siskins. Hundreds of dead siskins have been reported in Grass Valley, Eureka, and Santa Cruz County – spanning a distance of some 350 miles.
In July 2004, DFG asked that all bird feeders be removed to slow the spread of the deadly parasite trichomoniasis in Mourning Dove and Band-tailed Pigeon populations (http://www.dfg.ca.gov).
Human contraction of salmonellosis from wild birds is rare, and even less likely when correct precautions are taken (see below). However, pets can contract the disease, especially if they are exposed to bird droppings below the feeders. Pine Siskins contract salmonellosis from each other, most often by eating fecal-contaminated food, but also by direct contact with the insides of contaminated tube feeders.
Pine Siskin at feeder from Surfbirds Galleries by Neil Gilbert
DFG recommended that after resuming feeding, residents use only small amounts of food in their feeders and replace uneaten food daily, each time cleaning the feeder with a 10% bleach solution. DFG also recommends removing spilt food from around the feeders daily, replacing wooden bird feeders with plastic or metal versions, (wood cannot be effectively sterilized), spreading small amounts of seed over a large area in the sun, and varying the location of feeding to avoid consistent concentration of birds at one site. To minimize the risk to humans, DFG suggests gloves should be used when handling feeders and sick or dead birds. Hands should also be washed with anti-bacterial soap.
Posted by Surfbirds at 10:23 PM | Comments (0)
UN Marine Protected Areas Proposed to Save Turtles
(New York)—Recognizing that industrial fishing threats to sea turtles also harm seabirds, billfish, and marine mammals, a number of scientists and animal welfare, environmental and recreational fishing groups have put aside former differences to lobby the United Nations to implement sustainable use high seas Marine Protected Areas in the Pacific. The UN is currently holding its Law of the Sea meeting to address the impacts of unsustainable fishing.
The Sea Turtle Restoration Project and the International Game Fish Association are two of the 281 non-governmental organizations from 62 countries joining 1,007 scientists from 97 nations calling for the moratorium on longline fishing in the Pacific as an interim measure until such time as permanent marine protected areas can be put into place.
“Leatherback sea turtles urgently need the help of the United Nations,” said Dr. Jim Spotila, whose 2000 article in the scientific journal Nature alerted the world to the threat of extinction of the leatherback.. “A network of sustainable use high seas marine protected areas is key to saving the turtles.”
The call for MPAs is driven by the need to address the crisis of industrial longline fishing in the Pacific, which annually catches or kills as many as 4.4 million billfish, sharks, sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals each year. Recent scientific reports warn that the population of adult female nesting Pacific leatherback sea turtles have declined by 95% since 1980 and the species could go extinct in the next 5-30 years if the threat of longlines are not reduced significantly.
“Longlining is an unsustainable type of fishing that indiscriminately kills sea turtles, marine mammals and billfish so it makes good sense for those working to protect these species to work together,” explained Jason Schratwieser, Fishing and Science Director of the International Game Fish Association.
“For so many years, ocean protection groups have been working in isolation. The current crisis has united us around the solution of sustainable use high seas MPAs,” concludes Robert Ovetz, PhD, Save the Leatherback Campaign Coordinator with the Sea Turtle Restoration Project.
A recent study published in the scientific journal Ecology has found that the population of large predatory fish such as billfish, sharks and tuna have declined by as much as 87% since the 1950s.
Jason Schratwieser, Fishing and Science Director of the International Game Fishing Association, warns that this rapid decline is threatening lucrative recreational fishing and tourism whose revenues far exceed that of industrial longline fishing. “In Hawai’i, for example, the value of recreational fishing far exceeds that of longline fishing. If billfish, sharks and other large game fish continue to be killed, it will have significant economic repercussions for many coastal nations that attract lucrative recreational fishing tourism.”
Posted by Surfbirds at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
Oklahomans Propose Better Use for Lake Atoka Forest
Muskogee, OK, June 4, 2005 – The Indian Nations Audubon Society of Muskogee, OK and the Caddo Nation of Binger, OK have submitted a joint proposal to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in an effort to protect the Lake Atoka forest from logging by the Lake Atoka Reservoir Association. This proposal asserts that the logging would cause catastrophic environmental damage at the Lake Atoka watershed.
The proposal states: The Lake Atoka Forest has better and higher uses than logging. We therefore propose such a use: That the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service explore the introduction and management at the Lake Atoka watershed of:
· A nesting population of threatened Bald Eagles
· A resident nesting colony of endangered Red Cockaded Woodpeckers
The Lake Atoka forest is suitable habitat for both of these species and within their traditional range. This proposal provides many long-term benefits, including:
· Preservation of this forest, which is a remaining fragment of the Ancient Cross Timbers Forest ecotone.
· Conservation of threatened Bald Eagles and endangered Red Cockaded Woodpeckers.
Bald Eagle from Surfbirds Galleries by Tim Avery
The Lake Atoka Reservoir Association on March 25, 2005 approved to begin accepting logging bids at the Lake Atoka watershed. Lake Atoka is in southeastern Oklahoma, south of McAlester, and is owned by the City of Oklahoma City. The Lake Atoka Forest is a remaining fragment of the Ancient Cross Timbers Forest ecosystem, which originally spanned three states (Kansas, Oklahoma, & Texas). In addition, this remaining fragment is a rare example of mixed pine & oak within the Ancient Cross Timbers Forest.
Jim Harman, President of Indian Nations Audubon Society, summarized, "To damage a natural feature without regard to future generations of Oklahomans is not wise. To destroy the last example of a major forest type that once named a region that crossed three states goes far beyond lack of foresight. Harvesting the commercial timber from the old-growth pine/oak of the Cross Timbers Forest is not the highest and best use of this area. Replacing this resource, if possible, would take several lifetimes."
"I've seen numerous forest areas harvested, and I understand the need for lumber. But, I've never seen a cut over forest that was a better place than it was before harvest. We should think about the result before we act because it won't be rebuilt in our lifetime,” stated Donald G. Varner, Ph.D., also with Indian Nations Audubon Society.
Both the Indian Nations Audubon Society and the Caddo Nation believe logging is not an acceptable long-term use of this watershed. Logging at the Lake Atoka watershed does not take into consideration Native American rights, future generations of Oklahomans, or the current bird and wildlife inhabitants. Habitat conservation and management does address the long-term use of the Lake Atoka Forest effectively.
About Indian Nations Audubon Society
Jim Harman is a retired U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service manager and a well known naturalist in Oklahoma. Dr. Donald Varner is actively involved in Oklahoma ornithology and bird studies. Both are members of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society. A mission of Indian Nations Audubon Society is to protect bird and wildlife habitat and species that are listed as threatened or endangered by Federal law.
About the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma
The Caddo Nation are the indigenous people of the Lake Atoka forest. Chairwoman LaRue Parker asserts that Lake Atoka and its watershed are lands of unsettled land claims and also the Traditional Cultural Property of the Caddo Nation by Federal law. Robert Cast is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and is concerned with the archaeological destruction that will occur as a result of logging at Lake Atoka. The Caddo Nation wants to protect the heritage, history, and habitat at Lake Atoka.
About Save Lake Atoka
Save Lake Atoka supporters include the National Park Trust, Concerned Citizens of Coal & Atoka Counties, Indian Nations Audubon Society, the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, the Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes, scientists, and other citizens. Save Lake Atoka friends and supporters will be holding a meeting on Saturday, June 25, at 12:00 p.m. at Lake Atoka. Further information about Save Lake Atoka and the meeting is available at www.SaveLakeAtoka.com
Contacts and Further Information
Jim Harman, President, Indian Nations Audubon Society, 918-478-3920
Robert Cast; Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Caddo Nation; 405-656-2344, hpd@netride.net
David Dyer, Vice President, Indian Nations Audubon Society, 918-688-1601, mtndd@hotmail.com
Save Lake Atoka website: www.SaveLakeAtoka.com
Posted by Surfbirds at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2005
London Wetland Centre Launches New "Wetland Worlds, Wetland Secrets" Discovery Centre
The London Wetland Centre has launched an exciting new discovery centre ‘Wetland World, Wetland Secrets’ which opened to the public on Saturday 28 May 2005. Launched to coincide with the Centre’s fifth anniversary, ‘Wetland World, Wetland Secrets’ enables children to discover the secrets of wetlands through pumping, moving, squirting and firing water in a series of interactive displays.
The new exhibits teach children about the importance of wetlands to people and wildlife, and have been made possible with support from Rediscover (a joint venture between the Millennium Commission, the Wellcome Trust and the Wolfson Foundation) and SITA Environmental Trust, which distributes funding through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.
Exhibits include ‘Where does all the water go?’ requiring children to pump water into a huge globe which then empties to show how much of the world’s water is in the seas, frozen in ice caps, or as freshwater for sustaining life.
In ‘Going with the flow’ children must decide where to build a village and manage the water in a valley with mountain, river, floodplain and reservoir. There is only a matter of minutes to decide before the rain pours down the mountain and the floodwaters begin to rise.
Mike O'Connor CBE, Director of the Millennium Commission said, "The Millennium Commission is proud to have supported the London Wetland Centre with a Lottery grant of just over £100,000.
The Centre is a fine example of how the Lottery is making a real difference to people's lives. It is a wonderful project that raises awareness about preserving our natural environment and particularly conserving wetlands and their biodiversity”.
A grant of £100,000 was given by the Wellcome Trust and £65,000 from the SITA Environmental Trust.
John Leaver, Chairman of SITA Environmental Trust, said: “We are delighted to have awarded £65,000 to this project. The London Wetland Centre brings incredible biodiversity to the capital and we hope this type of project will inspire people to conserve and recreate wetlands in the future.”
London Wetland Centre Manager, Stephanie Fudge, said of the new exhibits: “Wetland Worlds, Wetland Secrets offers a great hands-on way for children to engage with wetlands, discovering the wildlife they support, how they function and their importance in protecting our homes from flooding – in a fun exhibit that has a fairground atmosphere. They can then step outside and see one of the best wetlands in the country and the amazing wildlife it supports, right here in our capital city!”
Posted by Surfbirds at 04:05 AM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2005
Visit Europe's Countryside Alive - While you still can
BirdLife International's photo competition delivers a strong visual message to leaders on what could be lost forever without their support.
This week an award-winning exhibition of images in BirdLife International's "Europe's Countryside Alive" photo competition, depicting the breathtaking diversity of the EU's countryside and the wildlife that it shelters, will be officially opened in Brussels as European leaders hold key discussions on the future of the EU's budget with critical consequences for the countryside and its wildlife. The stunning results of this photo competition show what would be lost forever if EU decision makers cut the budget for rural development as currently proposed.
Birds and other wildlife, such as plants, insects and mammals share open fields, meadows and hedges and depend upon farmland for their survival. Populations of wild species have drastically declined over the last 30 years, as a result of European agriculture and rural development policies, which have encouraged intensive farming throughout the EU.
As leaders shape the future budget in making the final deal on the financial perspective 2007-2013 next week, BirdLife is calling for them to not only to safeguard but also increase rural development funds in order to support wildlife-friendly farming schemes throughout the EU. If the budget for this programme is cut by Member States, some of our most precious natural heritage could be lost forever.
Giovanna Pisano, BirdLife International's Agriculture Task Force Coordinator, commented on the proposals "The current budget proposal goes against the spirit of EU agricultural policy reform, which established the need for more money for sustainable farming. If it is agreed, it will be a very sad day for rural Europe. We cannot jeopardise measures that are fundamental to sustainable agriculture and rural development."
"Decisions made now should encourage not hinder the ongoing policy reforms championed by the previous EU farm commissioner, Franz Fischler. We have strong reasons (7) to protect and increase the rural development budget - and there has not been a single good reason given for cutting it.
From 31st May 2005, a series of exhibitions will display the award-winning entries to this photo competition, which has been supported by over one-thousand amateur photographers from all over the World. A special ceremony to make awards to the winners of this competition will be made in the European Parliament on 1st June hosted by Dorette Corbey, MEP.
See ''Europe's Countryside Alive" from 31st May 2005, at:
* The European Parliament, Brussels from 31-05-05 to 03-06-05 (via
parliamentary access only)
* The European Commission's Green Week, Brussels from 31-05-05 to
03-06-05 BirdLife International's stand number 50.
* Or browse the winning entries online at
www.birdlifecapcampaign.org
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
More birds slipping towards extinction
Cambridge, UK, 1 June 2005 - BirdLife International's annual evaluation of how the world's bird species are faring shows that the total number considered to be threatened with extinction is now 1,212, which when combined with the number of near threatened species gives a total of exactly 2,000 species in trouble - more than a fifth of the planet's remaining 9,775 species.
"Despite the recent rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, overall more species are currently sliding towards oblivion. One in five bird species on the planet now faces a risk in the short or medium-term of joining the Dodo, Great Auk and 129 other species that we know have become extinct since 1500," said BirdLife's Communication Officer, Ed Parnell.
Of the species currently in trouble, 179 are now categorised as Critically Endangered, the highest level of threat. These include the Azores Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina), one of Europe's rarest songbirds, which has been in decline since the early 1990s, with fewer than 300 individuals left. However, the entire home-range of the species has recently been declared a Special Protection Area (SPA) by the Portuguese Government, affording it some much-needed protection under European Union legislation.
Azores Bullfinch, Portugal, Sao Miguel 14 Oct 2002 © Leo Boon from the Surfbirds Galleries
(more pictures at: www.cursorius.com)
Several species from Europe appear in the list for the first time, like European Roller (Coracias garrulus), for which key populations in Turkey and European Russia have declined markedly; Krüper's Nuthatch (Sitta krueperi), a mainly Turkish species that has declined because of tourism development of its key habitats; and Red Kite (Milvus milvus), which has suffered large declines across Europe, despite a highly successful reintroduction programme in the UK. All three move from the Least Concern category to Near Threatened.
Despite the best efforts of conservationists in New Zealand, two more of its species have taken a step closer to joining the long list of previous extinctions there, largely because of introduced rat population explosions in 1999 and 2000. These resulted in the loss of two populations of Yellowhead (Mohoua ochrocephala) and its uplisting from Vulnerable to Endangered. Orange-fronted Parakeet (Cyanoramphus malherbi) fared even worse, with its numbers reduced to tens and the species now classified as Critically Endangered. [3]
However, it is not all bad news: five species have been downlisted to lower categories of threat, mostly because populations have recovered following successful implementation of conservation measures. These include Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii), a brightly-coloured songbird which breeds in the US State of Michigan, winters in the Bahamas, and has been downlisted from Vulnerable to Near Threatened.
"This is a credit to the efforts of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and others, who have brought this species back from the brink of extinction," commented Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's Global Species Programme Coordinator. "Their actions demonstrate the value of good conservation science: thanks to a thorough understanding of the bird's ecology, conservationists were able to create ideal breeding habitat and reduce the serious threat from parasitic cowbirds. Today, there are more than 1,200 Kirtland's Warblers, from a low-point of 167 in the 1970s, so its future certainly looks rosier."
Europe has a success story too with White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), one of the continent's largest birds of prey, increasing roughly two-fold during the 1990s, moving it from Near Threatened to Least Concern.
Several new species were also found in 2004 including the much-publicised Calayan Rail from the Philippines. Each was examined by BirdLife for validity, and to evaluate its threat status. [4]
"Overall, the number of species that have slipped further towards extinction is greater than the number we have pulled back from the brink," said Butchart. "We face a huge challenge in improving the status of the 1,212 threatened and 788 near-threatened species. But the success stories show that concerted conservation action can save these birds from extinction." [5]
BirdLife's revisions to Red List categories, and the associated documentation, are being released on their website today and will be incorporated into the 2005 IUCN Red List, released in Autumn 2005.
They can be found at: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html
Additional Notes:
Five species are known to have become extinct in New Zealand since 1900. Among these are the Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux albifacies), last definitely seen in 1914; the spectacular Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris), last recorded in 1907; and the tiny Bush Wren (Xenicus longipes), last seen in 1972. However, more recently there have been a number of success stories thanks to intensive conservation work by the New Zealand Government and others. In 2003 the New Zealand Storm-petrel (Oceanites maorianus) was spectacularly rediscovered, having been thought extinct since the nineteenth century. See: http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2004/02/nz_storm-petrel.html
Exactly one hundred years after the last visit by an ornithologist, a team of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian specialists arrived in May 2004 on the island of Calayan, one of the Babuyan Islands in the northernmost part of the Philippines archipelago. There, they made the remarkable discovery of a new species of rail, which they named the Calayan Rail (Gallirallus calayanensis). See: http://www.birdlife.org/news/pr/2004/08/calayan_rail.html
In total, 99 species have changed threat category since the 2004 assessment. There are several reasons why a species might change category-including taxonomic changes or because more information is found out about them. For example, an ornithologist visits a remote place where the species was once found and either finds more of the birds than were believed to exist, or fails to find any at all. In the Solomon Islands, BirdLife recently found no trace of Thick-billed Ground-dove (Gallicolumba salamonis), and so the species is now regretfully classified as Extinct.
Species Case Studies
UPLISTED: Azores Bullfinch
Category: from Endangered to CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
There are fewer than 300 Azores Bullfinches Pyrrhula murina and the population has been in decline since the early 1990s, hence the species has been uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered. Large swathes of native laurel forest have been felled and cleared and the remaining fragments are being degraded as the native plants which the bullfinch relies on for food are overwhelmed by non-native, invasive plants, which the birds rarely eat. However, the species's entire home range of Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme was recently declared a Special Protection Area (SPA) by the Portuguese Government, following work by SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal), thus affording it much-needed protection under European Union legislation.
Photo: [CREDIT - Simon Cook]
UPLISTED: Pitt Island Shag
Category: from Vulnerable to ENDANGERED
In 1997, the number of breeding pairs of Pitt Island Shag Phalacrocorax featherstoni was estimated at 729. It nests only in the Chathams, New Zealand, on six small islands, and its population size is notoriously difficult to determine, because of the remoteness of the islands, and because of annual variation. Nevertheless, numbers have apparently dropped significantly in recent years, although whether this is a natural fluctuation in abundance, possibly related to the onset of El Nino events, remains to be seen. It moves from Vulnerable to Endangered.
Photo: [CREDIT - Phil Hansbro]
DOWNLISTED: Abbott's Booby
Category: from Critically Endangered to ENDANGERED
Abbott's Booby Papasula abbotti is a tree-nester with 5,000 pairs breeding solely on Australia's Christmas Island. Possibly the most serious threat is the introduced yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), which spread rapidly during the 1990s to cover 28% of the island's forest. Super-colonies of ants were likely to prey directly on booby nestlings, and alter the island's ecology by killing the dominant life-form, the red crab (Gecaroidea natalis), and by farming scale insects, which damage the trees. Recent ant control efforts have proved successful and the booby's future now looks more secure. It moves from Critically Endangered to Endangered.
Photo: [CREDIT - Tony Palliser]
DOWNLISTED: Seychelles Magpie-robin
Category: from Critically Endangered to ENDANGERED
Once found on at least six islands in the Seychelles, the Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum dwindled to just 12-15 birds on Frégate by 1965, largely because of predation and competition with invasive species. A very successful recovery programme, initiated in 1990, has since 1998 been managed locally. Birds have been translocated to small, predator-free islands, and nesting success boosted by habitat creation, supplementary feeding, nest defence, provision of nest boxes, and reduction of introduced competitors. Today, there are more than 130 birds, with small populations on Frégate, Cousin, Cousine and Aride. It moves from Critically Endangered to Endangered.
Photo: [CREDIT - David Haigh]
NEWLY DISCOVERED: Calayan Rail
Category: VULNERABLE
The discovery of Calayan Rail Gallirallus calayanensis was announced in 2004 amid a wave of publicity, following the publication of its formal description in the Oriental Bird Club's journal Forktail. The population seems to be small and the area of Calayan Island it occupies appears to be tiny. As yet there is no evidence of a decline, but like many other rails on small islands, it would be susceptible to habitat loss and predation by invasive species such as rats. Hence BirdLife has assessed its status as Vulnerable.
For further information and full documentation of each of the species mentioned, see http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html
Posted by Surfbirds at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)