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April 28, 2008
Legal protection may herald better future for endangered voles
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is delighted that the government has given full legal protection to Britain's most endangered mammal, the water vole.
Speaking in February 2008 at WWT London Wetland Centre in Barnes, the Minister for Biodiversity, Joan Ruddock, announced that water voles will be protected against being killed, injured or taken from the wild. Police will also have the power to prosecute where water voles have been deliberately persecuted.
Water Vole © S.G.Davis, from the surfbirds galleries
WWT has thriving water vole populations at six of its wetland centres, including WWT London Wetland Centre where they were successfully introduced in 2001. The centre is now home to 3-400 individuals.
Debbie Pain, Director of Conservation at WWT, welcomed the new measures, "Water voles have suffered the most dramatic decline of any British mammal. Over the last century numbers have plummeted to a tiny fraction and they are completely gone from many areas where they were once common. So we're delighted with today's news that they will get proper protection. It makes the law much clearer for people who manage land and it gives the police the power to deal with people who deliberately kill water voles."
WWT has been actively working to maintain and then expand water vole populations on the land it manages wherever suitable. Water voles are present at WWT Llanelli, Martin Mere, Slimbridge and Welney Wetland Centres. WWT has also reintroduced them to WWT Arundel Wetland Centre and, most notably, successfully introduced them to the London Wetland Centre in 2001 with the Environment Agency.
Immortalised as Ratty in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, the water vole was common and widespread at the start of the 20th century. Since then they have suffered a massive decline in numbers and distribution. There is only one water vole alive today for every twenty that were alive then.
The loss of wetland habitat has been major factor in the water voles' decline. The spread of American mink, a recent introduction to the UK, has compounded their decline. American mink have become the water voles' main predator. Water voles are now so few and spread out that their future is at risk from individual incidents, such as accidental poisoning. Today's announcement makes the law much clearer for everyone whose business could affect water voles.
Posted by Surfbirds at 7:06 AM | Comments (0)
Welcome refusal for Lewis wind farm
RSPB Scotland welcomes the news that the Scottish Government has turned down the Lewis Wind Power proposal.
Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland said:
“This is an extremely commendable decision by the Scottish Government that is absolutely right for Scotland. It sends a very strong message that in meeting our ambitious, and welcome, renewable targets we do not have to sacrifice our most important environmental resources. The Government has made it clear, in repeated statements on this issue, that renewables must be delivered, but not at any price. There is clear evidence that we can meet our targets many times over without destroying our designated sites and most of the renewable energy industry operates on this principle. We hope that Lewis Wind Power now recognise that this is an inappropriate site for a wind farm and we seek reassurances from them that they will not simply seek to continue pushing modified versions of the same proposal in the same location. We are, however, very willing to work with them to identify new areas in Scotland that would be suitable for renewable energy development.”
Golden Plover © Nigel Blake, from the surfbirds galleries
The Lewis Peatlands SPA is important for species like Golden Plover.
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:58 AM | Comments (0)
No spring hunting on Malta this year
After a history of illegal bird killing, the Maltese government finally has been ordered by the European Court of Justice not to allow the spring hunting of birds – a practice which is in direct contravention of European bird protection laws.
The ruling yesterday (Thursday 25 April 2008), has delighted the RSPB and its partner organisation, BirdLife Malta. This Order implies that the Court sees urgent need to prevent irreversible damage to these migratory bird species, while a final ruling on this case is pending and not expected before 2009.
Turtle Dove © Steve Arlow, from the surfbirds galleries
The two organisations, along with BirdLife International, have been campaigning to end the practice of hunting turtle dove and quail, which migrate over the island in spring between Africa and Europe.
Alistair Gammell is the RSPB’s international director. He said: 'Having blatantly contravened European bird protection laws since 2004, the Maltese government must now recognise that Europe expects Malta to abide by the law.
'This is a momentous victory for bird conservation and we are delighted that after such a long battle. This decision has been taken that should mean that birds will enjoy a safer passage across the island.
'However, the fight isn’t completely won because the government will have to catch and prosecute those who insist on breaking the law.'
In January 2008, based on a complaint by BirdLife, the European Commission took the Maltese government to court for having allowed, every spring since the country’s accession to the EU in 2004, hunting and trapping of turtle dove and quail, in direct contravention of the EU Birds Directive.
Malta is located on an important bird migration route in the Mediterranean. Hunting during the sensitive breeding and spring migration period is prohibited under EU law, in all member states.
Joseph Mangion of BirdLife Malta commented: 'We Maltese have a special responsibility for Europe’s birds, as so many pass over our islands every spring and autumn. We should all work together now to conserve them.'
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:53 AM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2008
Climate change hitting Arctic faster and harder
Climate change is having a greater and faster impact on the Arctic than previously thought, according to a new study by the global conservation organization WWF.
The new report, called Arctic Climate Impact Science – An Update Since ACIA, represents the most wide-ranging reviews of arctic climate impact science since the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) was published in 2005.
The new study found that change was occurring in all arctic systems, impacting on the atmosphere and oceans, sea ice and ice sheets, snow and permafrost, as well as species and populations, food webs, ecosystems and human societies. Melting of arctic sea ice and the Greenland Ice Sheet was found to be severely accelerated, now even prompting the expert scientists to discuss whether both may be close to their “tipping point” (the point where, because of climate change, natural systems may experience sudden, rapid and possibly irreversible change).
Little Auk, Spitzbergen © SG Davis, from the surfbirds galleries
“The magnitude of the physical and ecological changes in the Arctic creates an unprecedented challenge for governments, the corporate sector, community leaders and conservationists to create the conditions under which arctic natural systems have the best chance to adapt,” said Dr Martin Sommerkorn, one of the report’s authors and Senior Climate Change Adviser at WWF International’s Arctic Programme.
“The debate can no longer focus only on creating protected areas and allowing arctic ecosystems to find their balance. At the same time, we need to simultaneously reduce the vulnerability of social and environmental systems of the Arctic by reducing threats from human activity and building ecosystem resilience — the ability of ecosystems to remain stable when
under a lot of pressure.”
WWF will launch this report at a meeting of the Arctic Council, the intergovernmental forum of arctic nations at the end of April. “It is now in the hand of the arctic nations to act upon this evidence for climate impacts,” said Sommerkorn.
“They can make a difference if they act strongly, and fast. It is not too late to throw the wheel around. It is just way too late for business as usual.” According to last year’s reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if the entire Greenland Ice Sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise 7.3 metres, making its status a global concern. While it is currently impossible to accurately predict how much of the ice sheet will be melting, and over which time, the new report shows there has been a far greater loss of ice mass in the past few years,
much more than had been predicted by scientific models.
Likewise, the loss of summer arctic sea ice has increased dramatically, with record lows reached in 2005 and — way more dramatic — in 2007. In September 2007, the sea ice shrank to 39 per cent below its 1979-2000 mean, the lowest since satellite monitoring began in 1979 and also the lowest for the entire 20th century based on monitoring from ships and aircraft.
“When you look in detail at the science behind the recent arctic changes it becomes painfully clear how our understanding of climate impacts lags behind the changes that we are already seeing in the Arctic,” said Sommerkorn. “This is extremely dangerous, as some of these arctic changes have the potential to substantially warm the Earth beyond what models currently forecast. That is because climate models don’t currently adequately incorporate important underlying drivers of the arctic changes we are already observing, such as the interaction between sea ice thickness and water temperature.”
The Arctic is not only one of the places on Earth most vulnerable to climate change, but also a place where vulnerability is of urgent global relevance. WWF calls for a two-pronged strategy to minimize the impacts of climate change. “We need to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases to levels that will avoid the continued warming of the Arctic and the anticipated resulting disruption of the global climate system,” said Sommerkorn.
Posted by Surfbirds at 7:02 AM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2008
Legislation Introduced to Conserve Rapidly Disappearing Migratory Birds
Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) have introduced legislation to fund efforts to help protect migratory birds. The act, H.R. 5756, reauthorizes the existing Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA), but at significantly higher levels, to meet the growing needs of our migrants, many of which are in rapid decline.
“The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act has a proven track record of reversing habitat loss and advancing conservation strategies for the broad range of Neotropical birds that populate America and the western hemisphere,” Rep. Kind said. “The public-private partnerships along with the international collaboration it provides are integral to preserving vulnerable bird populations. Expanding this program is vital to achieving conservation goals critical to our environment and economy.”
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Cook,IL, North Pond,Chicago Sep 14th © Steve Huggins
NMBCA supports partnership programs to conserve birds in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean, where approximately five billion birds of over 500 species, including some of the most endangered birds in North America, spend their winters. Projects include activities that benefit bird populations such as habitat restoration, research and monitoring, law enforcement, and outreach and education. Between 2002 and 2007, the program supported 225 projects, coordinated by partners in 44 U.S. states/territories and 34 countries. More than $21 million from NMBCA grants has leveraged over $95 million in partner contributions. Projects involving land conservation have affected about 3 million acres of bird habitat.
“By passing this legislation we can help prevent America’s native birds from disappearing,” said Darin Schroeder, American Bird Conservancy’s Executive Director of Conservation Advocacy. “Nearly half of our songbird population is now in decline or facing serious threats; the good news is that it isn’t too late to turn that around.”
NMBCA currently provides a maximum authorization of $6 million per year; last year Congress appropriated $4.5 million, a $500 thousand increase from the previous year. Under the new law, that amount would increase to $20 million by 2015. Grants require matching funds from other non-federal sources, and are distributed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Agency staff report that they currently receive many more requests for high quality conservation projects than they can currently provide grants for. FWS lists 341 bird species as Neotropical migrants: http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NMBCA/BirdList.shtm
“The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act is helping ensure that shorebirds and songbirds that migrate through Maryland have healthy and abundant habitat so they can keep returning here each year,” said Rep. Gilchrest. “Just as importantly, this federal program is a good value for taxpayers, leveraging over four dollars in partner contributions for every one that we spend.”
Of the 178 continental bird species included on the American Bird Conservancy/Audubon WatchList of birds of highest conservation concern, over one-third, 69 species, are Neotropical migrants. At least 29 species of these migratory birds are experiencing significant population declines. Several species, the Cerulean Warbler and Olive-sided Flycatcher, have declined as much as 70% since surveys began in the 1960s.
“Over the years I became aware that I was not only seeing fewer species, but also fewer total numbers of birds,” said Barth Schorre, a nature photographer who from 1977 to 2004 observed spring migrants at a single 3.5 acre site in south Texas. “Looking back through my log books I can see that on a typical spring day in the 1980s, a list of migrant species filled a page to overflowing. More recently I am logging the observations of three or four days on a single page.”
Posted by Surfbirds at 1:10 AM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2008
Sea eagle watchpoint opens
A new hide for watching White-tailed Eagles has just been opened in the best location for viewing the birds in their Scottish home, announced the Forestry Commission.
The island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, is the only location in Britain where White-tailed Eagles can be viewed from a hide specially designed for viewing them.
White-tailed Eagle © Mike Watson/Birdquest, from the surfbirds galleries
The state-of-the-art bird hide is mobile and can be moved into different positions each year, depending on where the eagles nest. Recently purchased by Forestry Commission Scotland it overlooks Loch Frisa and has a glass front for viewing, canvas interpretation panels and two TV screens featuring live footage of the birds which is beamed into the hide from CCTV cameras placed close to the nest.
The hide is the result of a partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland, RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Mull & Iona Community Trust, Strathclyde Police and volunteers. Its aim is to protect the birds and provide a unique viewing experience while increasing the social and local economic benefits.
Elaine Jamieson, for Forestry Commission Scotland said: "These are magnificent birds all the more impressive for being seen in the beautiful Mull landscape. We are all extremely proud of this partnership and the hope to see lots of visitors enjoying the experience this year."
A pair of sea eagles have been nesting on the shores of Loch Frisa on Forestry Commission Scotland land since 1998. Trips to the hide are taking place until 25 July and booking is essential. Tickets cost £2 for a child, £4 for adults and £10 for a family. To book, contact 01688 302038. For more information visit www.forestry.gov.uk/mullseaeagles
Posted by Surfbirds at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)
Shorebird staging-sites in short supply...
Migratory shorebirds, and the wetland habitats they require to complete their annual journeys, are under threat. These are the stark results of a Biological Conservation paper which reports migratory populations wintering in south-eastern Australia have plummeted by 79% over a 24 year period. “Our grandchildren will not be able to share in the excitement of marvelling at the migratory feats of shorebirds if the current decline continues”, said Dr Graeme Hamilton (CEO Birds Australia, BirdLife in Australia).
The key cause is thought to be loss of suitable feeding habitat at staging sites, where birds refuel along their epic flights. "The wetlands and resting places that they rely on for food are shrinking virtually all the way along their migration path, from Australia through Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and up through Asia into China and Russia", stated Professor Richard Kingsford (Biological Conservation paper co-author).
Bar-tailed Godwit © Arie Ouwerkerk, from the surfbirds galleries
The news comes as nearly two million migratory shorebirds are gathering on the other side of Australia in what has been described as one of the world’s greatest wildlife spectacles. The birds are preparing to make an annual flight along the ‘East Asian-Australasian Flyway’ – a route which passes through 22 countries.
Many birds have already set off - one of which is a Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica carrying a small transmitter. The GPS tag allows researchers to follow its route from Broom in north-western Australia as it travels to breeding grounds in Alaska. The bird 'H8' was last sighted on 11 April entering the Yellow Sea in China, having already travelled around 5,000 km.
The Yellow Sea provides rich feeding habitat for more than three million migratory birds annually, and is a key refuelling stop. A total of 36 species pause their journey here to rebuild their energy reserves.
The Yellow Sea is also home to 600 million people in China and South Korea - about 10% of the world’s population. The demands of this growing human population are progressively destroying the tidal feeding grounds, crucial for migratory shorebirds.
The most important shorebird site within the Yellow Sea – Saemangeum – is currently being reclaimed for development, putting millions of migratory birds under threat. The 40,100 ha construction project on the west coast of South Korea involves damming the estuaries of the Mangyeung and Dongjin Rivers with a vast 33-km long seawall.
“Our international agreements relating to shorebird conservation (Ramsar Convention), the Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA), the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention) do not seem to be working”, warned Dr Hamilton.
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:56 AM | Comments (0)
Communities unite to protect White-necked Picathartes
A survey of the Western Area Peninsula Forest (WAPF) in Sierra Leone has discovered two new breeding colonies of the Vulnerable White-necked Picathartes Picathartes gymnocephalus, in addition to the 16 sites already known.
White-necked Picathartes © Jason D Weckstein, Ben D Marks/NCRC, courtesy of Birdlife International. The globally threatened White-necked Picathartes is one of the Upper Guinea Forest's most extraordinary birds .
The survey was part of a one-year project carried out by volunteers from the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL, BirdLife in Sierra Leone), the University of Sierra Leone, and the government’s Forestry Division, with help from local communities.
The project, funded by the Disney World Conservation Fund (DWCF), also established a network of trained wardens in villages surrounding the WAPF reserve.
White-necked Picathartes is a flagship for bird and habitat conservation in Africa. Its extant population is restricted to the fragmented Upper Guinea forest in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
In Sierra Leone, numbers are estimated at 1,400, with populations in forest reserves close to the minimum for long-term viability, and numbers are apparently stable or declining very slowly. The survey established that the number of nests in the WAPF colonies had fallen by 20 percent in the ten years from 1997 to 2007.
Much of the project work was carried out by members of one of Africa’s longest established Site Support Groups, PAGE, the Peninsula Action Group for the Environment. “This group commands considerable respect and recognition among the local communities,” said CSSL volunteer Arnold Okoni-Williams. “Through PAGE’s influence and facilitation, the project team was able to plan and execute project activities with minimal difficulty at all village levels.”
A number of awareness-raising seminars and training sessions were held in the villages around the WAPF, which Okoni-Williams says has resulted in a common understanding and a strong commitment to conserve the species and its forest home.
The major achievements of the project include:
A complete database with details of geographic locations and ecological status of the 18 known sites, and population data. This is being used for monitoring and management purposes.
A wardening system around all known Picathartes colonies through a network of trained SSG members in 11 communities around the forest reserve.
Over 1,000 local people are now aware of the status and conservation needs of the White-necked Picathartes through village seminars, posters and brochures, and radio programmes.
Capacity of the project team, PAGE and local communities have been enhanced for sustainable site-level conservation initiatives.
“We are grateful to DWCF for their timely intervention to contribute to saving one the most isolated populations of White-necked Picathartes, for the sake of posterity and overall global biodiversity conservation,” Okoni-Williams added. “We continue to rely on their support on this and other potential conservation programmes in the future.”
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:49 AM | Comments (0)
Biodiversity conservation works... but more is needed
Conservation efforts have slowed the rate that species are slipping towards extinction, argues a paper published online in Conservation Biology by scientists from BirdLife International and Cambridge University. Direct conservation action has saved 16 bird species from extinction since 1994 and has substantially slowed the rate of population decline for an additional 33 Critically Endangered bird species.
“Conservation action can benefit species that are on the brink of being lost forever”, stated Dr Stuart Butchart (BirdLife's Global Species Programme Coordinator) and co-author of the paper. “However, efforts have been less targeted towards, or less effective for, moderately threatened species”, Butchart added.
Norfolk Island Parakeet © Cathy McBey, courtesy of Birdlife International,
is an example of an extinction averted.
The study focused upon the rate at which bird species of global conservation concern – those listed by BirdLife International on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List - moved between different categories over time, from the lowest threat (Least Concern) through to the most severe (Critically Endangered) and then to Extinct. The research showed that conservation initiatives - such as habitat protection, eradication of invasive species and control of hunting pressure – have effectively slowed, or even reversed, the rate at which some of the most threatened birds have moved towards extinction.
The Endangered Norfolk Island Parakeet Cyanoramphus cookii is an example of an extinction averted. Forest clearance had reduced habitat upon which the birds relied, and competition with other birds and predation by rats had taken a severe toll. By 1994 the global population of this colourful bird was estimated to be 32-37 birds, including just four breeding females, all found on the tiny Norfolk Island (Australia). Nest site protection, a captive breeding programme and control of predators resulted in the population growing to between 200 and 300 individuals within ten years.
The parakeet success story echoes the message of the Conservation Biology paper. Conservation action has succeeded in moving more species from Critically Endangered to Endangered than have become extinct.
Interestingly, an analysis focusing on Australia as a case-study showed that the positive impacts of conservation action were even more marked than at the global scale. “This probably reflects Australia’s well-developed and better-funded conservation infrastructure compared to other parts of the world” commented lead author Dr Mike Brooke (Cambridge University, UK).
The message is clear. When a species is on the edge of extinction, focussed conservation action and adequate funding can make a big difference. However, many species still face imminent extinction. Step forward the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme.
A total of 189 bird species remain classified as Critically Endangered – the highest category of extinction risk. The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme aims to raise £19 million over the next five years to improve the fortunes of these birds by recruiting BirdLife Species Champions. “We have had a tremendous response already with Species Champions coming forward from all walks of life – everybody can help!”, said Jim Lawrence (BirdLife’s Species Champion Development Manager).
With a global network of national partner organisations to implement the necessary conservation action, underpinned by scientific analysis showing the successes that result, the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme is making real difference.
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:41 AM | Comments (0)
April 8, 2008
Short-tailed Albatross chicks moved out of the shadow of the volcano
Ten Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus chicks have been moved by helicopter, from their current stronghold on Torishima Island to the site of a former colony 350 km to the South-east.
The potential for future volcanic events on Torishima is among the most serious threats to this Vulnerable species. Currently, 80-85% of the world population breeds on a highly erodible slope on the outwash plain from the caldera of an active volcano. Monsoons send torrents of ash-laden water down this slope across the colony site. A volcanic eruption could also send lava, ash or poisonous gases through the colony.
adult Short-tailed Albatross © Greg Gillson, from the surfbirds galleries
The translocation site, Mukojima, part of Japan’s Bonin Islands (and administratively part of the Metropolis of Tokyo), is non-volcanic. Short-tailed Albatross bred here at least until the 1920s.
"Establishing viable breeding colonies in other safer locations is paramount to ensuring the survival and recovery of the Short-tailed Albatross", said Judy Jacobs of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which has worked on the translocation of the albatross chicks with staff from the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, and other Japanese and US organisations which together form the Short-tailed Albatross Recovery Team (START).
The ten chicks had reached the "post-guard" state, when parents leave them alone for increasing periods, but were still some three months away from fledging. "The key assumption to this approach is that geographic imprinting on the nesting island occurs after this time; chicks that fledge from a translocation site will return to breed at their fledging site, not their hatching site", Kiyoaki Ozaki explained.
START personnel, who hand-reared Laysan and Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes chicks in preparation for this project, will spend the next three months feeding the chicks, before they take wing and head out to sea. It will be five years before they reach sexual maturity and are ready to return to breed.
The START team intends to translocate at least ten more chicks annually for the next five years.
Dr Ben Sullivan, BirdLife International global seabird programme coordinator, said: “This welcome initiative to establish new, secure breeding sites will help this rare species. Even though its numbers are increasing even a small amount of mortality due to longlining could hamper its comeback.”
This is a tremendous international conservation effort, with money coming in from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, North Pacific Research Board, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Japan's Ministry of Environment, The Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, Asahi Shimbun, and Suntory Fund for Birds Conservation.
In addition, Alaska's commercial fishing industry has played a key role in helping to secure Federal funding for this effort.
Posted by Surfbirds at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)
Save the Great Cormorants of Lake Constance
Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU – BirdLife in Germany) is protesting vehemently against the planned destruction of Lake Constance’s only colony of Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo.
“It is hard to believe that Freiburg local authority intends to commit such a destructive act, not only in a National Nature Reserve but especially within a European Special Protected Area (SPA)”, said Dr Andre Baumann (chairman - NABU Baden-Württemberg). “This persecution of Great Cormorants not only contradicts common sense, it also contravenes European bird protection legislation and is morally unjustifiable”. NABU is protesting to the authorities in Freiburg against the planned operations and has started an online petition.
Great Cormorant © Matthew Berriman, from the surfbirds galleries
Freiburg local authorities are planning to use searchlights to drive breeding birds from their nests during April. This will leave eggs to grow cold, and chicks to freeze to death. Experience in Brandenburg with such a massive disturbance has shown that the Great Cormorant offspring have no chance of survival.
The Great Cormorants at Lake Constance will also be shot form the first of August onwards. At that time of the year many of the young chicks will still be dependent upon their parents.
The Great Cormorants of Lake Constance became locally extinct in the 1970s. Strict conservation laws enabled the populations to re-establish. At present, over 90 pairs breed in the Radolfzeller Aachried Nature Reserve, in the western area of Lake Constance.
The colony is a cause of concern for local anglers and commercial fishermen, who have put pressure on the Freiburg local authority to drive the birds away. “The interests of a minority must not be allowed to override the rights of residents and the natural world. The persecution of Great Cormorants will ruin the reputation of the Lake Constance region as a holiday destination for nature lovers,” commented Baumann. Many other bird species like the Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina, Western Marsh-harrier Circus aeruginosus and the Black Kite Milvus migrans, may also suffer as a result of the searchlight attack.
Great Cormorants are accused of damage to fish stocks at Lake Constance and subsequent economic losses. These arguments lack evidence. “It has neither been proven that the Great Cormorant seriously endangers fish stocks or significantly affects the fishermen’s economic existence,” noted Manfred Lieser (chairman - NABU Radolfzell-Singen-Stockach). “Despite this, Freiburg local authority plans to erase the colony and thereby accepts the disturbance of other protected bird species in an SPA. That kind of approach calls into question the sense and purpose of legally protected areas”.
NABU is currently considering legal steps in order to stop destruction of the colony. NABU conservationists are protesting to the Freiburg authorities, and have threatened to take legal action if the “searchlight abortion” takes place. NABU has launched a protest petition on its website.
The clock is ticking - the colony is due to be destroyed this April. Please join the NABU petition and send an email to Freiburg City Council. You will find an email prepared in English and German at www.NABU-BW.de.
Posted by Surfbirds at 1:48 PM | Comments (0)