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December 29, 2008
Christmas cracker at South African roost
Scientists monitoring at Mount Moreland - South Africa’s largest Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica roost - have captured their first overseas ringed bird from a festively snowy location. The young Barn Swallow had flown all the way from Finland – a total of 11,000 km! “This is an amazing Christmas gift”, said Hilary Vickers of the Lake Victoria Conservancy – sponsors of the Mount Moreland ringing programme.
“We were carefully fitting the swallows with rings so we can monitor their movements when we spotted a bird already carrying one”, said Mount Moreland bird-ringer Andrew Pickles. “A magnifying glass provided the words Helsinki - Finland!”
The Barn Swallow undertakes one of the world’s most remarkable migrations, with many individuals flying thousands of miles in spring to breed in Europe and then repeating the feat in the autumn, to spend the boreal winter in southern Africa.
Barn Swallow © Marc Read, from the surfbirds galleries
The Finnish Barn Swallow is the first record of an overseas ringed bird being caught at Mount Moreland. However, it is likely that swallows travel from a number of European countries to the site.
The Mount Moreland team is now awaiting details from the Finnish bird ringing data centre. This will give the exact location of where and when the bird was ringed. What is already known is that the swallow is an immature bird visiting South Africa for the first time. “It probably hatched in Finland in June so would be about six months old”, said Lauri Hänninen from BirdLife FINLAND (BirdLife in Finland).
Mount Moreland is part of the Lake Victoria Wetlands, and is the biggest roost site for Barn Swallows in South Africa. The first Barn Swallows arrived at Mount Moreland this year on 29 September. The numbers have now reached their peak and it is now possible to witness up to 3 million birds during an evening from a special viewing area on site.
“The swallows gather together about half an hour before sunset, and provide a soul-stirring sight as they fly in their vast numbers over the Lake Victoria Wetlands”, commented Mark Anderson – Director of BirdLife South Africa (BirdLife in South Africa). “As dusk falls, the swallows suddenly drop into the reed-beds and are all gone”.
The Mount Moreland roost recently hit the news when it was threatened by a proposal to build La Mercy Airport next to the site. In response, BirdLife South Africa led a successful campaign – alongside BirdLife Partners throughout Europe, most notably by the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) - to agree a number of key mitigation actions designed to protect the internationally important Barn Swallow roost.
“Following our campaign, the Airports Company of South Africa [the organisation behind La Mercy] realised the importance of the site as a reedbed of international significance”, said Neil Smith, Conservation Manager at BirdLife South Africa.
La Mercy Airport is now 40% complete and the Airports Company of South Africa are using a number of measures to ensure that the roost and airport can coexist. These include employing environmental management staff to make sure that suitable management of the reedbed continues. “The Airports Company have also purchased a bird detection radar … swallow monitoring is expected to start in early 2009”, noted Neil Smith.
Impacts on the reedbed caused by the airport’s construction are being monitored and managed by an environmental monitoring partnership which consists of several stakeholders including, the Airports Company of South Africa, BirdLife South Africa, the Mount Moreland Conservancy, Tongaat Hulett Developments, the environmental consultants and governmental conservation organisations.
“The environmental monitoring partnership ensures that all stakeholders have input into the conservation of the reedbed - not just the developer”, added Neil Smith.
Posted by Surfbirds at 7:41 AM | Comments (0)
Enough is enough
The RSPB has today welcomed a new report from Natural England, which highlights the threat to the country’s hen harriers from illegal killing.
The strongly worded report, ‘A Future for the Hen Harrier in England?’ outlines the results of hen harrier monitoring since 2002, which provides compelling evidence of illegal killing of hen harriers in England’s uplands.
Hen Harrier © Pete Hadfield, from the surfbirds galleries
Mark Avery, RSPB Director of Conservation said: “The findings of this report reinforce what the RSPB has been saying for years; the hen harrier is being driven to extinction in England by illegal killing.
'It is unacceptable in a modern society like ours that such crimes continue to be committed at all, let alone on such a scale. Hen harriers belong to the skies and to all of us; they are not pests to be killed out of hand by a selfish minority.
'The majority of those involved in shooting are decent, law abiding people. This report puts the onus on them to root out those bad apples prepared to break the law and drag the good name of shooting through the mud.”
He added: 'We would urge people to show their disgust at these crimes by pledging their support for our campaign to stop the illegal killing of birds of prey.'
The RSPB has recently launched a hotline for people wanting to report crimes against birds of prey. Anyone with information can call in strict confidence on 0845 466 3636, or visit the website at www.rspb.org.uk/goodmen
Posted by Surfbirds at 7:29 AM | Comments (0)
BirdTrack vacancy at the BTO
The BTO is looking for a birder to take up an exciting challenge! We’re wanting to recruit a dynamic, enthusiastic and knowledgeable birder to take on the running of one of our most popular surveys. BirdTrack (www.bto.org/birdtrack) is the online bird recording scheme designed to increase the personal, local and national value of your sightings. Participants are asked to enter lists of birds recorded on a birding trip or outing, and can also use the system to enter casual records. The records can then be used by individuals for their own personal use, or by county bird recorders, or to feed into national monitoring and conservation efforts.
The key attributes we’re looking for are an excellent background knowledge of birds and birding, the ability to enthuse other birders to make full use of BirdTrack, lots of ideas for developing BirdTrack in the future, and experience in using a wide range of computing technology, especially database systems and website design.
The job will be based at the BTO’s headquarters in Thetford, and the full job particulars can be found at www.bto.org/vacancies/index.htm. For an informal chat about what the job might entail, contact Andy Musgrove or Mark Grantham at the BTO on 01842 750050. (Please quote ref BT/SB-01 in any correspondence).
You can really see how your BirdTrack records count, and the maps below show the winter distribution of Buzzard in the last winter Atlas in 1981-84 (left) and BirdTrack records submitted during the first winter's fieldwork from November to February (right).
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:38 AM | Comments (0)
Conflict zone Mountain Gorillas viewed by rangers
Mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been seen by park rangers for the first time since the rangers were forced out of areas of Virunga National Park by Laurent Nkunda’s army 15 months ago.
Virunga National Park director, Emmanuel de Merode, successfully negotiated with Nkunda and got confirmation that Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) would be allowed to re-enter and work in the southern part of the park.
Mountain Gorilla, Uganda © Chris Mills
ICCN, the government institution in charge of protected areas management, park rangers and their families were forced out of the park when rebel leader Nkunda and his army took control of several parts of the park including the areas where mountain gorillas are found in September 2007. Since that time, no one outside of Nkunda’s army has been allowed to monitor the gorillas.
“We were very worried about the mountain gorillas as we had not any contact with them for over a year but ICCN rangers have already seen many of the mountain gorilla families and we are happy to report that most of them seem to be doing well,” said de Merode. “We are continuing our census of the gorillas and are reinstating our antipoaching operations.”
In spite of this good news in the southern part of the park, the central and eastern sectors of the park remain very unsafe. Over half of ICCN’s staff and their families who work in Virunga National Park (over 2000 people) are now living at IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) sites outside of the park because of fighting between Nkunda’s army and the Congolese army.
The conflict in the Congohas forced thousands of people to flee their homes and there are now an estimated 145,000 IDPs scattered in 6 sites just outside of the national park. The people living in these sites are in desperate need of food, shelter and fuelwood.
WWF has been focusing its efforts in the area on the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict and is distributing fuelwood from sustainable tree plantations to people living in IDP sites. WWF has also been passing out improved cooking stoves, which use half the amount of wood as a normal stove.
“WWF believes that the needs of people displaced by the fighting and the gorillas are inextricably linked - we are providing displaced people with the basic resources they need for shelter and cooking, while at the same time protecting Virugna National Park’s forests, which are already heavily damaged by illegal logging for wood and charcoal,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme. “We hope that a normal life can quickly be restored for local communities living near and benefiting from the park and its gorillas.”
Virunga National Park, created in 1925 as Africa's first protected area, located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Rwandaand Uganda. Despite its protected status, encroachment for farming and settlement, as well as by warring rebel factions, is leading to uncontrolled exploitation its forests.
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:34 AM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2008
Wigeon flock to Lady Fen
The first wigeon have been recorded on 38 hectares of specially created wetland habitat next to the WWT Welney Wetland Centre, thanks to the combined efforts of Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the Environment Agency (EA), who funded the project.
Since receiving planning permission in January 2008, the WWT at Welney have transformed this farmland into wet grassland by digging a system of ditches, channels and scrapes, inserting a waterproof liner to protect surrounding farmland and seeding it with native grasses. The first 100 wigeon were recorded on the new wetland in the first week of December with 114 teal, 29 mallard and 15 pintail. Other sightings on the land include eight snipe, over 200 golden plover, more than 100 lapwing, a short-eared owl and 200 whooper swans roosting on the scrapes.
Wigeon © John Miller, from the surfbirds galleries
"We started to wet-up the site for the first time at the beginning of November and already it is being used by good numbers of birds," said Emma Hutchins, head of reserves management for WWT. "The site is still in an establishment phase (the last area of grass was only seeded in October) but already it is attracting the desired wildlife."
Back in 2006, the EA purchased the former agricultural land, known as Lady Fen Farm, to establish wet grassland for wigeon as part of the compensatory habitat creation for flood defence work carried out on the Middle Level Barrier Bank of the Ouse Washes. This involved protecting sections of the Barrier Bank from erosion by installing concrete panels along the foot of bank. The land is also a part of the Environment Agency's wider biodiversity action plan.
Dr Geoff Brighty, area manager for the Environment Agency said: "The purchase of Lady Fen has enabled us to get the best of both Environment Agency worlds - to help us protect local communities from flooding while creating a wildlife habitat which is good for birds. We are delighted that WWT are managing Lady Fen on our behalf and we look forward to it attracting even more wildlife."
WWT Welney holds internationally important wintering populations of wigeon. The Ouse Washes form the largest example of internationally important washland in Britain, and is the most important area of lowland wet grassland for birds in Britain.
Posted by Surfbirds at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2008
Killer mice bring albatross closer to extinction
The Tristan albatross, one of the world’s most threatened birds, has suffered its worst nesting season ever, according to RSPB research.
The number of chicks making it through to fledging has decreased rapidly and it is now five times lower than it should be because introduced predatory mice are eating the chicks alive on Gough island - the bird’s only home and a South Atlantic territory of the United Kingdom.
The mice are also affecting the Gough bunting – one of the world’s largest finches – another species endemic to Gough Island. A recent survey of the bunting’s population reveals that the population has halved within the last two decades. Now there are only an estimated 400-500 pairs left.
Despite the grave situation for both species on Gough Island, government funding to plan for and take forward the eradication of mice is still lacking. This is despite recognition from two prominent House of Common's Committees that the "biodiversity found in the UK Overseas Territories is equally valuable and at a greater risk of loss" (than the UK) and that current levels of funding are "grossly inadequate". Eradicating mice is the single action that would solve the primary conservation threat facing both species.
Intoduced mice are responsible for declines in Tristan Albatross and Gough Bunting
© Matthieu Vaslin, from the surfbirds galleries
Because of the impact from introduced house mice, both the Tristan albatross and the Gough bunting were listed earlier this year as Critically Endangered, by BirdLife International. This is the highest level of threat before extinction.
Richard Cuthbert is an RSPB scientist who has been researching the mice problem on Gough Island since 2000. Commenting on the latest results he said: “We’ve known for a long time that the mice were killing albatross chicks in huge numbers. However, we now know that the albatrosses have suffered their worst year on record.
“The mice do not affect the adult albatrosses, but we know from our work that these are being killed by longline fishing vessels at sea. So, unsustainable numbers of this bird are being killed on land and at sea. Without conservation efforts, the Tristan albatross is doomed.
“We also know that the mice are predators on the eggs and chicks of the Gough bunting and mice predation is the main factor behind their recent decline. We also suspect that the mice may compete with the buntings for food, especially during cold winters."
Collaborator Peter Ryan from the University of Cape Town's Percy FitzPatrick Institute has been studying buntings at the island since the 1980s. He said "The decline in bunting numbers is alarming. Without urgent conservation action to remove the mice, both the albatross and the bunting are living on borrowed time.”
A complete survey of the Tristan albatross on Gough Island in January showed there were 1764 adult albatrosses incubating eggs. A later survey revealed that only 246 chicks had survived to fledging.
Richard Cuthbert added: “While some breeding failures would have occurred naturally, the majority of these would have been killed by mice. Far higher numbers of winter-breeding burrowing petrels are also predated by mice. For example, we estimate that half a million Atlantic petrel chicks will have been eaten last winter.”
The RSPB has been involved in a feasibility study to test whether it’s possible to remove the mice. So far, the trials look promising, giving both birds a more optimistic future. Funding on this year's work on Gough has come from the Overseas Territory Environment Programme (OTEP).
Removing rats from seabird islands has been conducted in several parts of the world with great success, and the RSPB is working with New Zealand conservationists to tackle removal of the smaller mice. The procedure will involve dropping poisoned bait from helicopters.
Alistair Gammell is the RSPB’s International Director. He said: “We are grateful to the Government for funding to allow us to assess the feasibility of removing mice.
“It is essential that the Government commits adequate funding for the protection of the many threatened species found on the UK’s Overseas Territories.
“We are challenging the Government to prove its commitment to conservation by properly funding conservation initiatives in these territories, and most urgently to commit to funding the removal of mice from Gough.”
The RSPB is not alone in calling for greater funding. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee on Halting Biodiversity Loss, published in November stated: "One of the most important contributions that the Government could make to halting biodiversity loss would be to provide more support for the UK Overseas Territories, where it is the eleventh hour for many species. Although England has a number of internationally important species and habitats, the biodiversity found in the UK Overseas Territories is equally valuable and at a greater risk of loss. The Government must act now to protect these areas."
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee for the UK Overseas Territories stated in June: "The environmental funding currently being provided by the UK to the Overseas Territories appears grossly inadequate and we recommend that it should be increased."
House mice were introduced accidentally to Gough island by sealers during the 18th or 19th century.
Posted by Surfbirds at 5:58 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2008
WWF’s Earth Hour 2009 set to be largest climate event in history
74 cities in 62 countries already commit to turn out lights as campaign launches with aim to reach one billion.
Dozens of events around the world today marked the launch of the campaign for Earth Hour 2009, a global climate event for which 74 cities in 62 countries have already committed to switch off their lights at 8:30 p.m.on March 28 2009.
The Earth Hour 2009 campaign aims to have more than one billion people in 1,000 cities turn off lights for one hour in a graphic demonstration of support for determined international action on climate change.
Cape Sugarbird, wondering why the lights went out on Table Mountain
© Chris Wormwell, from the surfbirds galleries
A key event is scheduled for Poznan, Poland where world nations are currently meeting under the banner of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They are charged with thrashing out a new international climate change agreement which needs to be signed off at next December’s UNFCCC summit.
“When leaders gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a new global deal on climate, they must feel that the eyes of the world are upon them,” said James Leape, Director General of WWF International. “Earth Hour provides an opportunity for the public to send a powerful signal that that they are watching and that they expect action.”
Cities already listed to participate in Earth Hour 2009 include Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Nashville, Oslo, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Warsaw.
Some of the international icons which will go dark for an hour in solidarity include the world’s tallest hotel tower (the Burj Dubaiin Dubai), the tallest towers in the Americas (the CN tower in Toronto) and the southern hemisphere (the SkyTowerin Auckland) and Moscow’s Federation Tower. Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf has confirmed his support for Earth Hour while Quirinale - the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano – will also turn its lights off. Other landmarks which plan to merge into the night sky include the normally floodlit Table Mountain over Cape Town, South Africa and the Sydney Opera House.
“The global economic meltdown has demonstrated that the world can unite and take action in times of crisis,” said Kim Carstensen, who leads WWF’s Global Climate Initiative. “That same decisive, multilateral approach is needed as we face the rapidly escalating climate crisis. Turning 'off' for Earth Hour sends a powerful message to our leaders that they must do what’s necessary to secure the future of the Earth.”
Many organizations around the world announced their support for Earth Hour, including the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group.
“The C40 Climate Leadership Group is about cities working together to drive down greenhouse gas emissions and that is why as Chair of the C40 I support Earth Hour,” said Toronto Mayor David Miller. “It's crucial that cities and the public come together to take action against climate change and Earth Hour provides a great platform to do that.”
Posted by Surfbirds at 8:06 PM | Comments (0)
December 6, 2008
Philippines Department of Tourism announces support for wildlife conservation
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is delighted that the Philippines Department of Tourism is showing support for its worldwide conservation work by becoming a corporate patron scheme member. This follows the successful launch of the Birdwatching in the Philippines campaign held at the London Wetland Centre on 10 November.
Indigo Banded Kingfisher © copyright Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
John Creedon, Corporate Relations Manager at WWT, says: "This is fantastic news, cementing what has become a very strong relationship between our two organisations. The Philippines offers an extraordinarily rich haven for birdwatchers, and we are delighted that they wish to be associated with our expertise and knowledge in wildfowl, wildlife and wetland conservation."
By becoming a member, the Philippines Department of Tourism is helping us with our vital work supporting some of the most important wetlands in the UK and around the world, as well as saving threatened species and inspiring millions of visitors. In return, we will help to enhance the reputation of the Philippines as a birdwatching destination by offering a tailored package of benefits including a range of ways to reach WWT's almost one million visitors a year.
Philippine Minister of Tourism, Joseph 'Ace' Durano, explains: "We are proud to be linked with WWT and all it stands for. Through key relationships like this one, we aim to grow the profile of the Philippines' vast range of bird species and their habitats. This will help us not only to protect the beauty of the Philippine environment, but also save our endemic bird life from extinction."
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:31 PM | Comments (0)
December 5, 2008
Good news for Europe's threatened birds of prey
In Europe, six birds of prey are threatened with extinction. A major new project in Bulgaria, one of the continent’s most important countries for wildlife, should secure the future of two species: the imperial eagle and the saker falcon.
The European Commission has funded an exciting new project to secure the future of both saker falcons and imperial eagles in key locations across Bulgaria. The populations of both species are threatened in Europe.
Saker Falcon © James Gilroy, from the surfbirds galleries
Both species face a number of threats, including direct persecution, the loss of nesting sites, accidental electrocution from power lines, and a reduction of suitable habitat. The project aims to reduce these threats as well as building a stronger public awareness of these charismatic species.
Three-quarters of the two-million Euro project has been funded through the European Commission’s Life+ programme.
The project - known as the ‘Conservation of Imperial Eagle and Saker Falcon in key Natura 2000 sites in Bulgaria’ – will begin in January 2009.
Key aims of the project include:
· preventing the extinction of the Bulgarian population of saker falcon;
· increasing the Bulgarian population of imperial eagle by one fifth;
· removing the most dangerous power lines within a 5km radio of all imperial eagle nests;
· building and siting 30 artificial nests for imperial eagle and 80 artificial nests for saker falcon within designated Natura 2000 sites;
· increasing awareness of the Natura 2000 network in Bulgaria amongst key local communities.
The project also involves: The RSPB (in the UK); MME (the BirdLife International partner in Hungary); the Central Balkan National Park; and the Bulgarian Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna.
The largest beneficiary of the project, The Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, is the BirdLife International partner for the country. Nada Tosheva, the Executive Director of the BSPB, said: “Being on the eastern fringe of the European Union, Bulgaria supports higher numbers of many species than other parts of the EU.
“Our wonderful country is one of the most wildlife-rich and varied countries in Europe. From mountains to extensive grasslands, Bulgaria’s landscapes support a rich diversity of species, including several which are facing global extinction.
“Joining the European Union in 2004 gave Bulgaria fantastic opportunities to protect its threatened species and protect sites for nature However, European Union membership presented Bulgaria with many challenges, including rapid development and intensification of agriculture. This funding will help us to provide a secure future for some of Europe’s most threatened species.”
The BSPB, which has worked in Bulgaria for 20 years, receives help from the RSPB, the UK partner of BirdLife International. The RSPB’s Mark Day, said: “For over a century, the RSPB has worked tirelessly to protect birds of prey in the UK, including aiding the recovery of red kites and trying to prevent the persecution of golden eagles, peregrines and hen harriers in vulnerable locations.
“We are delighted to share our extensive bird of prey experience with our partners, especially in Bulgaria, where the populations of these magnificent birds are of global importance.”
The imperial eagle and the saker falcon are both listed on the IUCN’s Red List as facing global extinction. The imperial eagle is listed as ‘Vulnerable’, meaning it has a high chance of becoming globally extinct, while the saker falcon is listed as ‘Endangered’, meaning it has a very high chance of global extinction.
According to Birds in Europe 2 – the most recent assessment of the status of Europe’s birds – shows that the imperial eagle nests in seven European Union countries, with Bulgaria possessing the EU’s second-most important population, after Hungary.
Having a small population in Bulgaria, the saker falcon is vulnerable to extinction in Bulgaria. The bird occurs from Austria to the steppes of Central Asia. Overall, the population is declining.
There are 23 species of bird facing global extinction for which the European Union is important. Ten of these species occur in Bulgaria: Lesser white-fronted goose; red-breasted goose; white-headed duck; Dalmatian pelican; lesser kestrel; saker falcon; imperial eagle; great bustard; and the slender-billed curlew.
The two geese and white-headed duck occur in winter, while the Critically Endangered slender-billed curlew has occurred on migration.
Posted by Surfbirds at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)
Quest launched to find Europe's rarest bird
Along with other BirdLife International partners, later today we will launch a final quest to search for the last individuals of one of the world’s rarest birds – the slender-billed curlew.
Formerly this crow-sized wading bird used to be seen regularly across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Although the last confirmed sighting was in 1999, hope remains that a few individuals may be still clinging to existence. With no confirmed sighting this millennium, the slender-billed curlew is the rarest bird in Europe, North Africa or the Middle East.
The conservation organisations will issue their call to search for and find any remaining populations of slender-billed curlews at the Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP 9), in Rome.
'Although the situation for slender-billed curlew does look gloomy, the fact that other species have risen from the 'dead' recently does fuel our optimism. We are encouraging people not to give up on this bird', said Nicola Crockford of the RSPB and chair of the slender-billed curlew working group.
She added: 'Additionally, this bird was known to inhabit remote areas – so it is just possible that small numbers of the bird may still be wintering in an isolated part of North Africa or the Middle East, or that some unknown nesting site may be discovered in the depths of Central Asia. But our quest is definitely a race against time.'
Regarded as very common in the 19th century, for example, in some areas of the Mediterranean, it declined dramatically during the 20th. It migrated from its presumed breeding grounds in Central Asia, across central and eastern Europe to wintering grounds in North Africa and the Middle East.
The slender-billed curlew is easily overlooked, challenging to identify and may use countries, such as Iraq and Iran, that have been relatively inaccessible to experienced birdwatchers in recent years.
Flocks of over 100 birds were recorded from Morocco as late as the 1960s and 1970s. However, between 1980 and 1990, there were only 103 records, and from 1990-1999, this dropped to 74, with most recent verified records being of one to three birds.
In 1994, the population was estimated at only 50-270 individuals, but the paucity of recent confirmed records suggests it may now be lower than 50 birds. However, the slender-billed curlew is easily overlooked, challenging to identify and may use countries, such as Iraq and Iran, that have been relatively inaccessible to experienced birdwatchers in recent years.
We hope that technological advances will assist with this quest. Satellite tags are now small enough for use on slender-billed curlews. If any can be found and caught then the sites used during the bird's migration could be determined.
Additionally, scientific analysis of feather samples, from museum skins, may soon enable researchers to narrow down the search area for the breeding grounds and moult sites. The only nesting records date from 1909-1924 in the Tara area of the Omsk-Novosibirsk region, south-west Siberia.
'This is the last chance to find slender-billed curlew. If we lose this species, it will be the first extinction of a European bird since Canary Islands oystercatcher in 1981', said Richard Grimmett, BirdLife’s Head of Conservation.
'We've launched The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme to save the world's most threatened birds. For many species - such as slender-billed curlew - the first step is to confirm if they still survive, and then identify and protect the sites that they use.'
The working group has developed a tool kit to help people identify and report slender-billed curlews in the field. This identification leaflet, a downloadable MP3 file of the call and a map of all recent sightings by season and other material to help birders know what to look for, and when and where to look for it can be found on www.slenderbilledcurlew.net
Posted by Surfbirds at 1:31 PM | Comments (0)