Surfbirds News: August 2008 Archives

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August 23, 2008

Fisheries Regulators Choose Short-term Economic Interest Over Species Survival

Washington, DC, August 22, 2008 − Today the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Horseshoe Crab Management Board once again failed to take the necessary action of approving a moratorium on horseshoe crab fishing in key states. In doing so, they acquiesced to the short-term interests of a few crab fishermen while ignoring the immediate and long-term needs of an imperiled shorebird, which relies on the crabs’ eggs for its survival.

Instead of imposing a ban on horseshoe crab take, the board opted to maintain current fishing quotas, still permitting each state to take 100,000 male crabs per year.

From the Surfbirds galleries. Red Knot, Cook Co.,IL, Montrose Point 5-24-08 © Paul Dacko

“By maintaining harvest levels rather than adopting a temporary moratorium on all horseshoe crab take, the Commission has dangerously underestimated the needs of both the crab and the Red Knot,” said Darin Schroeder, Vice President for Conservation Advocacy at American Bird Conservancy. “The ASMFC Management Board has failed to live up to its responsibility as an environmental steward, and ignored the Red Knot’s economic benefits. Each year birdwatchers flock to beaches in Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia to see the staging birds. Soon, there could be no more knots to watch, and it will be too late to act.”

The knot relies almost entirely on horseshoe crab eggs during an annual stopover in Delaware Bay on its arduous 10,000 mile migration from the tip of South America to the Arctic. Without the fat-rich diet of horseshoe crab eggs, the bird’s ability to successfully complete its long-distance migration to its breeding grounds in the Arctic is severely compromised. A drastic increase in the take of horseshoe crabs in the mid-1990s for use as bait in conch pots has significantly diminished their numbers in the Bay, and consequently the bird’s food supply. The decrease has jeopardized the Red Knot to the point where scientists have predicted that it could go extinct as soon as 2010.

“There is a fundamental change required at the ASMFC Management Board. Their inadequate and blinkered mandate needs to be widened to include all marine resources affected by their actions, not just limited commercial interests,” said Schroeder.

Posted by Surfbirds at 6:10 PM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2008

Humpback whale on road to recovery, reveals IUCN Red List

Some large whale species, including the humpback, are now less threatened with extinction, according to the cetacean update of the 2008 IUCN Red List. Most small coastal and freshwater cetaceans, however, are moving closer to extinction.

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) has moved from Vulnerable to Least Concern, meaning it is at low risk of extinction, although two subpopulations are Endangered. The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) has also moved to Least Concern.

Humpback Whale © Marc Guyt / AGAMI, from the surfbirds galleries

“Humpbacks and southern right whales are making a comeback in much of their range mainly because they have been protected from commercial hunting,” says Randall Reeves, Chair of the Cetacean Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, who led the IUCN Red List assessment. “This is a great conservation success and clearly shows what needs to be done to ensure these ocean giants survive.”

Despite the improvement in status of these two species, the assessment revealed deterioration in the status of others. Overall, nearly a quarter of cetacean species are considered threatened, and of those, more than 10% (nine species) are listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered, the highest categories of threat. In addition, two subspecies and 12 subpopulations are listed as Critically Endangered.

The real situation could be much worse as more than half of the cetacean species (44 species) are classed as Data Deficient, meaning future research needs to be a priority. With better information, more species could well prove to be in danger. The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) and sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) all remain listed as Endangered, pending more evidence of recovery.

Whales are under threat in many areas from ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, habitat deterioration, declining prey and noise disturbance.

Small coastal cetaceans, such as the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), the finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) and the South American franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei), are now all listed as Vulnerable, meaning they are threatened with extinction.

“Too many of these small coastal cetaceans end up as bycatch in fisheries. This remains the main threat to them and it is only going to get worse,” says Reeves.

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), a porpoise in the Gulf of California, Mexico, will most likely be the next cetacean species to go extinct. Already listed as Critically Endangered, an estimated 15% of its dwindling population is killed in gillnets every year, leaving only about 150 alive in the wild. The Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) was classified as Critically Endangered, Possibly Extinct on last year’s IUCN Red List and it is feared that the vaquita will follow the same path.

“River dolphins are one of the most threatened cetacean categories, mainly because they are locked in competition with humans for dwindling freshwater resources,” says Jean-Christophe Vié, Deputy Head of IUCN’s Species Programme.

With less whale hunting over the last few decades, accidental killing in fishing gear has become the main threat to cetaceans. Besides the vaquita, the Black Sea harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta), which moved from Vulnerable to Endangered, the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and the western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), already listed as Endangered and Critically Endangered respectively, are among the cetaceans most at risk from this threat.

“Disentanglement programmes to release whales captured in fishing gear, already carried out in the United States, New Zealand and Australia, help some individuals survive,” says Bill Perrin, Chair of the IUCN Cetacean Red List Authority. “However, areas of critical habitat need to be closed to certain types of fishing, at least seasonally, to ensure the survival of some species.”

Military sonar is another threat that particularly affects deep-diving beaked whales and other cetaceans like the melon-headed whale. Mass strandings of these species have occurred more often in the last 30 years.

“Large parts of the oceans are now filled with human-generated noise, not only from military sonar but also from seismic surveys and shipping. This noise undoubtedly affects many cetaceans, in some cases leading to their death,” says Jan Schipper, Conservation International and IUCN Global Mammal Assessment Director. “It may not always kill whales and dolphins, but it affects their ability to communicate and it can drive them away, at least temporarily, from their feeding grounds.”

Climate change is also starting to affect whales. The distribution of many species is changing, with the potential for a cascade of effects such as exposure to new diseases, inter-species competition and changes in prey populations. The Antarctic great whales, for example, depend on krill for food. As water temperatures rise, krill populations may decline, leaving such whales short of food.

Posted by Surfbirds at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)

New study shows hen harriers and waders can live together.

Rising numbers of birds of prey need not spell disaster for threatened species of ground nesting birds, contrary to repeated claims that the two go hand in hand. In fact, numbers of curlew and lapwing actually increased at the same time as hen harriers flourished in the absence of illegal persecution during a study on a grouse moor in the south of Scotland during the 1990’s.

New research - The impact of raptors on the abundance of upland passerines and waders - will be published in the August edition of the international ecological journal Oikos by scientists at RSPB Scotland, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Macaulay Institute and ACES (Aberdeen Centre for Ecological Sustainability). The paper examines the populations of hen harriers on Langholm Moor in southwest Scotland between 1992 and 1999, alongside five potential prey species including curlew, lapwing, golden plover, meadow pipit and skylark. During that time there was no illegal killing of hen harriers and other birds of prey at Langholm under the auspices of the Joint Raptor Study, in order to investigate the impact that raptors had on the number of red grouse.

Hen Harrier © Pete Hadfield, from the surfbirds galleries

Hen Harriers increased from two breeding females in 1992 to a maximum of 20 in 1997 (and 13 in 1999). Peregrine falcons also increased from three to six breeding pairs during the same period. By 1999, autumn red grouse stocks fell to a level where grouse shooting was considered economically unviable and ceased. Since then, several commentators have speculated or claimed relationships between numbers of raptors and other bird species.

This newly published research provides some definitive evidence of what happened at Langholm in the 1990s.

~ Curlew and lapwing numbers actually increased during this period, rising by 106% and 66%, respectively.

~ . Between 1994-1999, golden plovers declined by 47% at Langholm, but there was an 89% decline at nearby sites where raptors had not increased.

~ None of these population changes are believed to have been caused by harriers, Indeed they strongly suggest that harriers are not a problem for these upland waders.

~ numbers of meadow pipits and skylarks declined at Langholm, by 61% and 51%, respectively, during the study. These declines were greater than on nearby moorland areas where raptor numbers had not increased. This evidence, together with observed predation rates, suggests that harriers limited the abundance of meadow pipits, their principal prey.

Hen Harrier © Steve Round, from the surfbirds galleries

Dr Arjun Amar, Research Biologist with RSPB Scotland and lead author of the study said: “These analyses lay to rest the idea that letting hen harrier numbers increase at Langholm meant that other species like curlew, lapwing and golden plover were wiped out. On the contrary, populations of some of these species actually rose.”

Dr Stephen Tapper, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Game & Wildlife Conservation trust, commented: “This is a fascinating analysis of predators and prey which illustrates how hen harrier numbers may limit the abundance of their principal prey, the meadow pipit. The authors rightly note too that, while raptors did not appear to reduce numbers of breeding waders, any loss of grouse management in the uplands could.”

Professor Des Thompson, Policy and Advice Manager with Scottish Natural Heritage, commented: “This robust science, building on the other important scientific work on Langholm in the 1990s, provides solid evidence that harriers were not implicated in changes in number of waders at Langholm then. It is important that this sort of monitoring continues within the new Langholm Moor Demonstration Project, where the evidence base founded on observation and detailed analysis is so important.”

The publication of this research is timely, with the second phase of work at Langholm now underway. The Langholm Moor Demonstration Project has now begun, with the backing of Scottish Natural Heritage, RSPB, GWCT, Natural England and Buccleuch Estates. The hope is that by using techniques such as diversionary feeding, a way can be found to allow birds of prey to flourish on the moor, whilst at the same time running an economically viable grouse shoot.

Posted by Surfbirds at 1:44 PM | Comments (0)

Donors champion lapwing's cause

Donors are stepping in to help the rare sociable lapwing recover its numbers.

Swarovski Optik and the RSPB will this Friday become joint sponsors of work to protect and track the bird on its breeding grounds in Kazakhstan and during its annual migration.

The Austrian company, which makes binoculars, telescopes and other optical equipment, will announce its backing at the opening of the three-day international Birdfair at Rutland Water, an event likely to attract about 20,000 people.

The dual sponsorship is part of BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme, which aims to raise funds and provide support for all 190 of the world's critically endangered birds.

Sociable Plover © Leander Khil, from the surfbirds galleries

Swarovski's Johannes Davoras said: 'We consider it our duty to contribute to the preservation of endangered species. We are looking forward to working closely with the RSPB and Birdlife International and hope that with our commitment it will soon be possible to downlist the sociable lapwing from its critically endangered status. Our products, such as binoculars and telescopes, are used for the most part in nature and are held in particularly high regard by birdwatchers.'

The sociable lapwing is closely related to the northern lapwing seen in the UK, and breeds on the vast, open steppes of central Kazakhstan.

It was listed as critically endangered by BirdLife International in 2003, on behalf of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), after numbers plunged by 95 per cent.

Scientists put the losses down to the trampling of nests by cattle and the decline of the saiga antelope, which grazed breeding areas and kept vegetation in check.

Since then, sociable lapwings have been seen in Turkey, Syria and Sudan, including a flock of 3,200 birds in south-east Turkey last October. That sighting was the largest number of the bird seen together for more than 100 years.

The species became one of the smallest birds to carry a satellite-tracking device earlier this year, when it was recorded flying 5,000 miles to Sudan and back on migration.

Swarovski and the RSPB will become 'species champions' for the sociable lapwing under the BirdLife programme. Their backing will help pay for research and tracking work and complement earlier funding from the UK government's Darwin Initiative. Scientists hope to find more nesting sites in Kazakhstan, safeguard those areas and find ways of protecting the birds on migration.

Dr Rob Sheldon, the RSPB's Sociable Lapwing Project Leader, said: 'Our research so far has told us an enormous amount about the bird and uncovered populations we had no idea existed.

'The bird's problems seem to be linked more to its migration and wintering grounds than its breeding sites, and this new funding means we can step up our monitoring work to find out more about where these birds go and the problems they face on their migration routes.'

Jim Lawrence, who is managing BirdLife's Preventing Extinctions Programme, said: 'This agreement is a huge boost for the project. We are confident more international businesses and conservation organisations will follow the lead of Swarovski and the RSPB and provide the vital funding needed to save other species on the brink of extinction.'

Posted by Surfbirds at 1:32 PM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2008

Trawling: a major threat to albatrosses

A study of trawl fishing in South Africa suggests that around 18,000 seabirds may be killed annually in this fishery, highlighting trawl fisheries as a major threat to seabirds, especially several species of albatross already facing a risk of extinction.

Published in the journal Animal Conservation, the study was based on scientists monitoring catches on 14 different vessels, operating in the Benguela Current, off South Africa; one of the main hotspots for seabirds in the Southern Hemisphere. The vessels were trawling for hake, and the majority of bird deaths were a result of collisions with wires – known as warp lines – leading from the stern of the vessels.

'We believe the seabird deaths the scientists recorded might be just the tip of the iceberg', said John Croxall, Chair of BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme. 'It suggests that around 18,000 seabirds may be killed annually in this fishery alone,' he added.

Black-browed Albatross © James Lowen, from the surfbirds galleries

'Most mortality relates to the dumping of fishing waste behind the boat. This attracts seabirds which can either hit the warp lines or become entangled in the nets,' commented Dr Croxall.

Fisheries, including long-lining and trawling, are believed to kill 100,000 albatrosses annually. Eighteen of the world’s 22 species of albatross are facing extinction, and bycatch in fisheries is the most significant threat to the family worldwide.

The species killed during the study include South African breeding species such as Cape gannet, and species like the white-chinned petrel, sooty shearwater, and black-browed and shy albatrosses, which visit the Benguela Current region from nesting islands dotted around the Southern Ocean.

'The impact of this one local fishery has very widespread geographical repercussions', warned Dr Croxall. 'Potential mortality at this scale for the albatrosses is unsustainable'.

Barry Watkins, the lead author of the paper, said: 'Watching birds drown accidentally on the trawl warps is a very sad sight as these magnificent birds are just trying to feed themselves with no harm to any of us.'

Data of this nature are very difficult to obtain, as fatal collisions are relatively rare events. However, collecting this information is an obligation - under the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing - on the managers and practitioners of a fishery. 'One would hope that further data like these will now become available through appropriate collaborations involving fishery managers', noted Dr Croxall.

Potential solutions to reduce seabird mortality, such as improving waste management and using devices protecting warp cables from bird strikes, already exist. BirdLife International believes addressing the problems requires a combination of:

implementing best-practice mitigation measures immediately, and making such measures a requirement for appropriate fisheries;

and conducting research to improve mitigation measures.

BirdLife’s Albatross Task Force (ATF) is addressing these issues. The ATF, which is funded by the RSPB, has developed the world’s first international team of mitigation instructors working with fishermen and government agencies in global bycatch ‘hotspots’, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Namibia, South Africa and Uruguay. ATF instructors routinely show that the adoption of mitigation measures are both operationally and economically effective.

Posted by Surfbirds at 9:08 AM | Comments (0)

August 1, 2008

Korean delegation highlights proposed canal impacts

Representatives from three Korean organisations have visited BirdLife International in Cambridge to highlight the environmental impacts of the proposed Korean Grand Canal Project.

Buddhist Environmental Solidarity, Eco-Horizon Institute and Birds Korea all gave presentations detailing how this project is predicted to impact on wetland biodiversity and questioning whether it is economically viable, and reported that popular opinion in Korea is against the project.

The proposed first stage would cut across the country from Seoul in the north-west to Pusan in the south-east. This would involve significant amounts of dredging to deepen the shallow rivers for the use of large container ships, thereby destroying much of the current rivers’ biodiversity. It would also affect the hydrology of the rivers, impacting large areas of wetlands.

The first phase of the canal scheme would be 553 km long with 19 locks and 16 dams and would include a 26 km tunnel involving a boat lift. The second phase of the project would involve a second canal to the south-west of the country.

Scaly-sided Merganser © Peter Morris, a rare photo of this
species from the surfbirds galleries

Many species would be affected by the building of the canal including the Endangered Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus. There would be severe effects on several important sites, including up to 11 Important Bird Areas notably Upo wetland which has been designated as a Ramsar site.

The presentations also revealed that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had recently suspended the project given the environmental impacts and the concerns of the Korean public. This bold decision is especially timely as the 10th Meeting of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands entitled "Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People" will meet in Changwon, Republic of Korea from October 28 to November 4.

"We are very concerned about the potential impacts of the Grand Canal on threatened birds and other biodiversity", said Dr Mike Rands, Director & Chief Executive of BirdLife International.

Posted by Surfbirds at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)

Bullfinch benefits

For the past 5 years, SPEA (Birdlife in Portugal) and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK), together with other partners, including the Azores Regional Government, have been implementing a LIFE project to save the Critically Endangered Azores Bullfinch Pyrrhula murina - or Priolo as it is known locally - from extinction. This species is Europe’s rarest songbird, and the second most globally threatened bird species in the whole continent. It occurs only in small pockets scattered in a 6,000 hectare mountain range on São Miguel island in the Azores. The species’s natural habitat, which was already patchily distributed and degraded, is currently severely threatened through invasion by aggressive exotic plant species.

Azores Bullfinch © John Oates, from the surfbirds galleries

The LIFE project has been improving the Azores Bullfinch habitat since 2003, by clearing exotic plants and planting native trees that provide the food that the birds depend on. Project staff have also been monitoring the population, which seems to be responding well to this habitat management – the population appears to be increasing fast, at least in the transects monitored by the LIFE project team.

Last year, conservation scientists decided that there was a need for a complete snapshot of the Azores bullfinch distribution, as well as a more robust measure of the species density, habitat use and numbers. The team in Portugal and in the UK then developed a unique field experiment - a simultaneous survey of all the Azores bullfinches in the complete world range.

The event, partly funded by a generous grant of US$17,000 (€11,000) from the Disney Conservation Fund, attracted much interest and 50 volunteers from the UK, Holland, Brazil, Spain, France, mainland Portugal and the Azores spent several days in June being trained on Azores Bullfinch songs, habitat classification and distance sampling.

Almost 200 one-kilometre squares were checked and 287 point counts took place, with eight minutes spent at each point. A total of 78 Azores Bullfinches were counted, which should result in a final estimate of several hundred birds – an increase on the 200 individuals estimated five years ago. Encouragingly, there were a number of records from outside the core range for the species, suggesting it may occur more widely than previously thought.

SPEA has been appointed the Species Guardian for Azores Bullfinch as part of the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme and Birdwatch magazine recently stepped forward as a Species Champion. This support will enable SPEA to build on this work into the future.

"This is great news for Azores Bullfinch and shows how the work of the Species Guardian is really making a difference", said Jim Lawrence, the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme Development Manager.

If you would like to help Birdwatch support Azores Bullfinch visit their online donation site at www.justgiving.com/priolo

Posted by Surfbirds at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

Marine reserve on home straight

Wellington’s south coast marine reserve came a step closer recently with its formal announcement. The ‘Taputeranga Marine Reserve’ will be opened officially next month; 17 years after Forest & Bird (BirdLife in New Zealand) first started campaigning for it.

“Having Taputeranga Marine Reserve on Wellington’s doorstep will be a huge bonus,” said Forest & Bird General Manager Mike Britton. “With other marine reserves, as people have seen the growth of fish numbers and other marine life inside and outside the reserve, even opponents have become supporters.”

The 840 hectare reserve is home to Little Penguin Eudyptula minor and Australasian Gannet Morus serrator along with more than 180 species of fish. The Wellington Marine BioBlitz, coordinated by Forest & Bird in October 2007, found more than 600 species inside the proposed reserve in just one month, including at least six species new to science. Common Dolphins, Fur Seals, Orcas (Killer Whales) and whales are also regular visitors to the area.

Killer Whale © Mark Breaks, from the surfbirds galleries

"What has buoyed the members of the Coalition the most has been the overwhelming and consistent support of the Wellington community. Along with the marine life, the community will soon begin to reap the benefits", said Colin Ryder, convener of the Coalition to help designate the reserve. “The creation of the reserve has only been made possible by the support and active involvement of many enthusiastic and committed individuals. It has been a long, complex and sometimes frustrating journey, but the end result will be well worth the effort".

The marine reserve will be open for the public to enjoy. People will be encouraged to visit Taputeranga to dive, swim, kayak and explore the beach. However, fishing or taking any marine life will not be allowed.

The official opening will kick off New Zealand’s Conservation Week on September 7, and will include a marine walk with talks and activities. The week is organised by Forest & Bird, the Department of Conservation and others.

BirdLife International is currently adapting and extending the IBA programme to the oceans. The identification of Marine IBAs will make a vital contribution to global initiatives to gain greater protection and sustainable management of the oceans, including valuable input to the identification of Marine Protected Areas.

Posted by Surfbirds at 1:18 PM | Comments (0)

Puffin population plummets

A survey of the numbers of Puffins on one of their main breeding colonies has revealed a dramatic decline over the last five years, says the National Trust.

The largest colony of Puffins in England, on the Farne Islands in Northumberland, was counted this year for the first time since 2003. The results show that numbers have dropped dramatically, from 55,674 breeding pairs in 2003 to just 36,500 this year.

Puffins
Puffins, Farne Islands, July 2008 © Glynn Sellors, from the surfbirds galleries

Eight islands in the group were surveyed and Puffins had declined on all of them, some had even halved their populations. A similar survey on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth, Scotland showed a decline from 69,300 to 41,000 pairs.

The National Trust’s head warden on the Farne Islands, David Steel, said: "The results from this survey have completely surprised us as we were predicting another rise in the numbers of breeding pairs. Stocks of sandeels, the staple food of puffins in the summer, are in good supply around the Islands and there is a lack of ground predators creating a good environment for puffins to breed.

"Extensive monitoring work shows that good numbers of young puffins are successfully fledging each year but it would appear they're just not coming back to the Islands the following years. Presumably fewer birds are surviving overwinter than are needed to maintain current numbers.”

Scientists say they urgently need to know more about what happens to Puffins when they are out at sea during the winter months, especially which factors are vital for their survival. Whether climate change is involved, or over-fishing, is not clear.

Source: Birdwatch magazine

Posted by Surfbirds at 1:10 PM | Comments (0)

Bird crime figures continue to soar

Reported crimes against birds of prey reached an all-time high in 2007, increasing by a massive 40 per cent on the previous year.

As a result, the RSPB is urging the Government to make tackling the illegal persecution of birds of prey and other wildlife a higher priority for the UK’s police forces.

In its annual ‘Birdcrime’ report, the RSPB revealed it received 262 reports of incidents of illegal shooting, trapping and nest destruction of birds of prey during the course of last year.

This compared with 185 reports in 2006, a figure which prompted the Society to launch a campaign calling for an end to the illegal killing of birds of prey.

There were also 49 reports of birds of prey being poisoned, including 17 red kites - the highest number recorded in a single year - and one half of the only breeding pair of golden eagles in the Scottish Borders.

Data from the report identifies four counties that were the worst in England for reported persecution of birds of prey. They were North Yorkshire, with 78 reports, Northumberland with 22 and Shropshire and Cumbria with 16 reports each.

Reports of crimes against all wild birds were at record levels for a second year in a row, with 1,208 separate incidents reported to the RSPB’s investigations department in 2007.

In 2006, the number of reports passed the 1,000 mark for the first time, with 1,109 potential offences logged. Part of the reason for the dramatic rise in reported crimes may be due to improved sharing of data between the RSPB, the police, RSPCA and the newly-formed National Wildlife Crime Unit.

Despite this, the RSPB believes the true figure is much higher still, with many crimes taking place in remote areas where they remain undetected and unreported.

Ian West, Head of Investigations at the RSPB, said: 'The number of reports coming in to us are the highest we have ever had, but we are still only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

'It is hard to say whether the problem is increasing or whether we are just getting to hear about more of the offences that are taking place.

'What is clear is that very large numbers of birds are being illegally killed every year and that is totally unacceptable in a civilised society. There has to be a greater effort to enforce the law.'

He urged the Home Office to make it clear to police forces that wildlife crime needed to be given a higher priority.

He said: 'The RSPB can highlight the extent of the problem, but unless it is given more weight and measures to tackle it are written into individual force’s policing plans then future Birdcrime reports will continue to paint a depressing picture of crime against the UK’s wild birds.

'We will continue to do all we can to put a stop to these offences, despite the difficulty we often face in getting evidence. The public’s help will continue to be vital if we are to identify where the problems are and try to do something about it.'

Posted by Surfbirds at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)

New wetland could see continental birds arriving in Kent

Restoration of a large area of Kent countryside to wildlife-rich wetland could see the garden of England become a landing pad for bird species moving north from Europe as the climate warms.

The RSPB believes species like the once scarce little egret – already making a home along the south coast – and the little bittern, could soon be mixing with more familiar birds like lapwing, reed bunting and water rail in a rejuvenated Lydden Valley.

Now the Society has launched an appeal in an effort to raise the £1.4 million it needs to buy and manage 600 acres of the valley.

Just 50-years-ago, the Lydden Valley south of Sandwich was teeming with life, but land drainage has seen it dry out and its wildlife is now much reduced.

The RSPB would return much of it to grazing marsh and reedbed, raising water levels by disabling the drains that bleed moisture out of the fields. They will also restore the land’s ancient network of ‘grips’ – shallow meandering watercourses that provide vital feeding areas for wader chicks.

Doing so would create a home for native birds and other wildlife like water voles and brown hares, while its position near the Channel would offer a convenient refuge for species being pushed north by climate change.

Alan Parker, RSPB Kent Reserves Manager, said: 'I’ve spent most of my working life with the RSPB in Kent and this is the most exciting opportunity I have ever seen.

'Several linked pieces of farmland in the Lydden Valley have become available to buy at the same time but we have to act fast, I can’t imagine an opportunity like this coming up again in my lifetime.

'I’ve been talking to some of the people who grew up in the villages and farms in this area, and the wildlife they describe here when they were young sounds like another world. Species that have declined could be seen regularly.'

The RSPB has conducted similar projects across the UK including Pulborough Brooks, in Sussex, a once-drained piece of land that now attracts tens of thousands of wild wetland birds to the South East.

Mr Parker added: 'Water is the key to life, and when we buy this land, water will be the key to restoring it. What makes it such a marvellous opportunity is that the water’s still here, still being channelled away – it’s one of the few places in the South East where we can easily reverse the drainage process. This is people’s chance to make a real difference.'

Posted by Surfbirds at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

A taste of the Mediterranean comes to the UK

Researchers monitoring some of the rarest birds in the UK have discovered that climate change has had a noticeable impact on population levels over the last quarter of a century.

Using nesting information from 42 of the UK’s rarest nesting birds between 1980 and 2004, researchers from the RSPB and Durham and Cambridge Universities have discovered that some species with a southerly distribution are doing better in the UK, while species whose distributions are centered further north are faring less well.

The best examples include the little egret and the Cetti’s warbler, two birds that colonised the south of Britain in 1996 and 1972 respectively. The latest population information for both species shows they are doing phenomenally well, with maximum populations of 433 of little egret and 1331 pairs of Cetti’s warbler nesting in the UK. Other winners include the cirl bunting and the Dartford warbler, both more numerous in Spain than in the UK.

Conversely, the redwing – a type of Scandinavian thrush – is faring badly. The redwing is a widespread visitor to the UK in winter, but as a nesting bird it only colonised the UK in 1925, reaching a peak of up to 80 pairs in the 1980s. Subsequently, the paper shows that the population of this ‘northern’ thrush has declined sharply to a just few pairs.

Dr Richard Gregory, of the RSPB, is one of the paper’s authors. He said: “Our paper clearly shows that wildlife has been affected by climate change over the last 25 years – some nature reserves in southern Britain now have an almost ‘Mediterranean’ feel to them.

“Many scientists have used models to predict the future changes in distribution of species responding to climate change, but our paper shows that wildlife has been responding to a changing climate for a quarter of a century at least. This discovery has profound consequences for some of our most threatened and declining wildlife and shows that climate change is likely to continue to have an overwhelming impact on the threatened species.”

Professor Brian Huntley from The Institute of Ecosystem Science at Durham University added: “The results are what we expected to find given the changes in climate over the last 20 years.

“Because the UK is in the middle Latitudes of Europe, we expected that recent climatic warming would favour species with ranges located in the south of Europe and adversely affect northern species.”

The authors, using the same climate models, published a Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds earlier this year. This work showed that, on average, suitable climates for European birds are likely to shift northwards by 550km – a distance equivalent from Plymouth to Newcastle.

The paper is published today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

Posted by Surfbirds at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)

Groundbreaking satellite tagging project for Mull sea eagles

Mull Eagle Watch and RSPB Scotland are delighted to unveil a pioneering satellite tagging project to follow young white tailed sea eagles once they leave the nest. For the first time, people all over the world will be able to get interactive updates on this years chicks from the Loch Frisa nest online, and see where the birds are.

The birds fledged in mid-July and are just beginning to explore their surroundings, and visitors to www.rspb.org.uk/mulleagletracking can be with them every step of the way.

Young sea eagle chicks roam far and wide, with one bird released on the East Coast last summer taking in much of Grampian and Speyside before winging its way over to Loch Frisa itself over the winter, and recently returning to its home patch.

The famous Loch Frisa sea eagle project on Mull is a partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage who provide funding, RSPB Scotland, Mull & Iona Community Trust and Strathclyde Police to allow public viewing of a white tailed sea eagle nest - the only live and direct viewing of a nest for the public anywhere in the world. Additional funding for the satellite tagging project will come from Highland Ecology Foundation and Natural Research.

The nest produced two chicks this year: a male called Mara (meaning 'sea' in Gaelic) and a female Breagha (‘Bree-ha’, meaning 'beautiful' in Gaelic). They fledged in mid-July and are now flying strongly, but visitors to the Loch Frisa hide can still see the birds until the end of August. Now, for the first time, visitors to www.rspb.org.uk/mulleagletracking can follow Mara and Breagha via specially fitted satellite tags, as they spread their wings and explore Scotland.

RSPB Mull Officer Dave Sexton, who will be writing an on-line blog for the project said: 'As technology moves on we're able to learn a lot more about stunning birds like the white tailed eagle, and make them more accessible to people at the same time. Although they're our biggest bird of prey and truly massive, it's amazing how elusive they can become as they wander over Scotland - so this research project for the Sea Eagle Project Team will really help us get an idea of how the species recovery is faring.

'One of the birds released in Fife last year as part of the East Coast reintroduction travelled right up the East Coast to Findhorn, before heading West via Grantown on Spey and turning up right here at Loch Frisa earlier this year before heading back to Perth, which gives an idea of how far they roam.'

The tags were obtained by Roy Dennis, whose Highland Foundation for Wildlife already have expertise in satellite tracking of raptors in Scotland.

'This is the first time we’ve fitted these tags to sea eagles in the UK,' he said. 'It’s exciting to help the Mull project to follow their young sea eagles because we've learnt so much following Alma - a young golden eagle in the Cairngorms. The incredible detail of her daily life has fascinated people and given us new insights. Hopefully similar information from Mara and Breagha will show their journeys in great detail using Google Maps.

'Will they stay on Mull, will they stay together, where will they wander and where might they seek out places to breed? The more we know, the more likely we are to be able to restore the sea eagle to the UK.'

The project will also be followed by the BBC's Natural History Unit and will feature in this year's 'Autumnwatch' series with Bill Oddie, Kate Humble, Simon King and Gordon Buchanan.

Posted by Surfbirds at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)