These sources of food are what birds rely on to set them up for winter.

Traditionally, people start trimming their bushes at this time of year once the breeding season is over and before birds start scoping out roost sites.

We always suggest waiting until later in the winter, but this year it’s even more important than recent years.

Fieldfare © Major Gilbert, from the surfbirds galleries.

Cutting hedges back now would deprive birds of a vital natural food source, especially as berries become more edible and a more important food source after the first frosts when they become softer.

The RSPB is appealing to gardeners, farmers and councils not to cut hedges until later in the winter or very early spring when all the berries and fruit have been eaten.

They are also suggesting cutting hedges on rotation as cutting some hedgerow species every year will prevent the plants from producing large amounts of berries.

Many bird species will benefit from this including residents like bullfinches and song thrushes and winter migrants such as redwings and fieldfares.

Richard James, RSPB Wildlife Adviser, says: 'The autumn berry and fruit crop is an important food source for many birds. If cutting can be put off until later in the year it can help provide our birds with an additional food supply.

'Usually, once any late nesters have flown the nest we would say it was a good time to start tidying hedgerows and trimming bushes and shrubs. They can get straggly and when they are stripped bare of berries they are of less use to birds.

'But this year, the weather only started to get really chilly in the last few days, and there are still plenty of berries on many hedges, in gardens and across the countryside.

'We’d urge anyone thinking of a tidy up to wait just a few more weeks until the natural food has been eaten.'

Gardener June Butlin says: 'It's devastating when you see hedgerows full of berries being chopped down as that could provide hundreds of meals for hungry birds.

'I’m all for making my garden and surrounding area look tidy but just waiting a few more weeks is no big deal and would be so helpful to wildlife.'

Dr Sharon Thompson is a senior marine policy officer with the RSPB. She said: 'The creation of a Marine and Coastal Access Act is a watershed for marine conservation.

Black Guillemot © Paul Jones, from the surfbirds galleries.

'But, for the Act to be meaningful and help safeguard vulnerable marine species, from corals to whales, the Government must use these new powers to designate sites, otherwise the legislation will be as toothless as a sea squirt!'

To help kickstart the network of protected sites, the RSPB has identified 21 sites of national importance for seabirds in English waters, creating a series of potential ‘early wins’ for the UK Government.

The sites, ranging from Northumberland to Cornwall, would provide protection for nationally-important populations of 12 species of seabird. Two of the species to benefit include the eider and the black guillemot, both of which have small populations in England.

Although the populations of some seabirds are increasing, other species are faring less well. In particular, the UK populations of the shag (-25 per cent), kittiwake (-36 per cent) and lesser black-backed gull (-41 per cent) have all dropped by a quarter or more since the start of the Millennium, sparking concern about their long-term survival.

The 21 sites identified by the RSPB, include six sites of national importance for kittiwake and two sites for the shag.

Some of the sites identified by the RSPB are nationally important for several species. For example, St Bees Head, in Cumbria, is nationally-important for fulmar, guillemot, kittiwake, puffin, razorbill, shag and black guillemot; for the latter, this is its only English nesting site.

The Marine and Coastal Access Act will be the culmination of a decade of campaigning by the RSPB and other members of Wildlife and Countryside Link, especially WWF, the Wildlife Trusts and the Marine Conservation Society.

Brown Pelican © Mike Richardson, from the surfbirds galleries.

"The delisting of this iconic Gulf of Mexico species shows that cooperation produces results," said Mary E. Kelly, senior counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund's Center for Rivers and Deltas. "Now, we need to ensure that same spirit of cooperation and results extends to restoration of coastal Louisiana's wetlands, which, among many other benefits, provide habitat and food for this beautiful bird."

"This is an Endangered Species Act victory that demonstrates the great success we can achieve when we work together," echoes NWF's John Kostyack. "Maintaining that success will require confronting climate change and its relationship to coastal restoration and the species that depend on these important ecosystems."

According to Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count, Brown Pelican population trends have risen in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and California for the past 40-50 years. Hurricane Katrina took a toll on the Gulf Coast populations that has not been thoroughly erased, but the prospects remain good, provided coastal recovery stays on track.

Continued monitoring of Brown Pelicans is essential to detect any unexpected future population declines. Conservationists also caution that proper site selection, operational guidelines and vigilance will be needed to ensure that proposed wind power projects don't threaten recovery in Texas and other areas.

For example, officials at Audubon California stated that continued threats to the birds habitat will require continued conservation if the Brown Pelican is going to fully return to its former glory. "Obviously, the dramatic return of the Brown Pelican over the last few decades is a tremendous victory for the Endangered Species Act," said Graham Chisholm, executive director of Audubon California. "But given the threats that still exist, it is important that the Department of Interior and others continue their efforts to protect this important species."

The Brown Pelican was first declared endangered in 1970 under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, the precursor to the current Endangered Species Act. At that time, pollutants such as DDT had driven the species to near extinction. Brown Pelicans along the Atlantic Coast and in the South were removed from the list in 1985.

It is estimated that there the global population of Brown Pelicans has reached about 620,000. Of these, about 172,000 live along the California and Mexico coast. This latest move by the Department of the Interior removes all Endangered Species Act protections for the bird.

Although the Brown Pelican population has increased substantially, much of its breeding grounds face near constant threat from human activity, particularly pollution risks such as oil and sewage spills. Moreover, the Brown Pelican needs fish to survive, which links the species to the continued health of marine fisheries.

Painted Lady © Mark Priest, from the surfbirds galleries.

Scientists had been baffled as to whether Painted Ladies attempted to 'tough it out' and died trying during our winters. Or was there a return southward migration to warmer climes, as is the case with Swallows, Cuckoos and Red Admiral butterflies? Part of the problem has been that, unlike these other well-known migrants, there was very little evidence of Painted Ladies flying south in the autumn.

This summer was a bumper migration year with, at the peak, up to a billion Painted Ladies in Britain.

Butterfly Conservation has been monitoring Painted Lady movements since the start of northward migration at the beginning of the year, with members of the public being able to report sightings online. There has been a huge response, not only from the UK but from across Europe. An amazing 12,000 sightings have been submitted so far, with reports still coming in.

Last month brought some particularly exciting reports. From the Channel coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Sussex and Kent sightings were reported of Painted Ladies heading straight out to sea towards continental Europe.

Now reports have been received of butterflies arriving back in the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation’s surveys manager, said “Several of these lucky observers saw more than one butterfly head out on its perilous voyage. This is exactly the evidence needed to lay this enduring mystery to rest. Painted Ladies do return southwards from Britain in the autumn enabling the species to continue its breeding cycle during the winter months”.

Blue-winged Warbler © Charlie Wright, from the surfbirds galleries.

In other good news for National Forests, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the Obama Administration will support “roadless area” conservation, and issued a directive limiting projects in roadless areas for one year to enable a final policy to be developed. This interim protection is necessary until court challenges to the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001, which protected 58.5 million acres of undeveloped National Forests from commercial logging and road building, can all be resolved. The Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals brought this resolution closer with an August ruling that previous efforts to replace the Roadless Rule had been illegal.

Roadless areas are lands exceeding 5,000 acres within National Forests that are devoid of roads, and where the impacts of development have been minimal. Scientists have found that these areas have the highest degree of ecological integrity within the forests, and are where wildlife demonstrates the greatest resilience to natural disturbances and external threats. Species that require mature forests such as the Spotted Owl and Northern Goshawk benefit, as do neotropical migrant species that rely on interior forests, such as the Kentucky and Blue-winged Warblers.

Some of the most important roadless areas at stake are in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, an ABC-designated Globally Important Bird Area that is home to some 300 bird species, including the Marbled Murrelet, Northern Goshawk, and a population of more than 10,000 Bald Eagles. This temperate rainforest also stores vast amounts of carbon, but was excluded from protections of the 2001 Roadless Rule, opening it up to a number of logging projects. The Obama Administration is now considering whether the Tongass’ roadless areas should again be protected. In what conservationists hope is a sole exception to the time-out, Secretary Vilsack recently released one small roadless area logging project on the Tongass.

Historical deforestation rates in the Amazon © INPE (courtesy WWF)

However, the Amazon did lose 7,008 square kms of forest this year, according to government officials and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who attended a ceremony Thursday to announce this year’s deforestation figures.

According to Denise Hamú, WWF-Brazil's CEO, although it is essential to recognize the efforts made by the federal and state governments as well as Brazilian society in general, further action is required. "Deforestation needs to continue falling in a sustainable manner and must take place in other Brazilian biomes in addition to the Amazon, such as the Cerrado", she stated. Hamú also said that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Copenhagenin December, will be a good opportunity for Brazilto defend the adoption of clear and ambitious emission reduction commitments by the participant countries.

"Deforestation numbers such as the ones showed today by President Lula strengthen Brazil's credentials to lead the climate negotiations and take the forefront in building a new development model for the world that respects the environment and the people", Hamú said.

Among the other biomes, the most critical situation is found in the Cerrado. While deforestation in the Amazon has finally fallen below 10,000 km2, in the Cerrado it surpasses 20,000 km2. Despite conservation efforts, global deforestation continues at an alarming rate – 13 million hectares per year, or 36 football fields a minute. It generates almost 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and halting forest loss has been identified as one of the most cost-effective was to keep the world out of the danger zone of runaway climate change.

According to Cláudio Maretti, WWF-Brazil's Conservation Director, apart from decreasing emissions caused by deforestation in the Amazon the country needs to work on achieving reductions in the industry and transport sectors, and especially in energy generation and transmission processes.

"After all, the planet urgently needs expressive greenhouse gas emission reductions", he said. Positive efforts made by the Brazilian government that should be applied in other areas include: Creating and implementing protected areas, promoting sustainable forest management, restricting public credit for land grabbers and deforesters, and promoting land tenure regularization actions. Also important are efforts to minimize the impacts of large-scale infrastructure projects such as roads and dams. In addition, Maretti said it is essential to implement a consistent payment mechanism for ecological services - which consists in compensating producers who conserve the standing forest.

The RSPB and BirdLife International hope that talks - organised by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) - will agree measures to prevent the deaths of these seabirds in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. In tuna and swordfish fisheries, albatrosses and other seabirds die on the end of longline hooks in unsustainable numbers and, for many species, this is their greatest extinction threat.

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

Dr Cleo Small - an albatross expert working with the RSPB and BirdLife International - is attending the Recife meeting to try to secure a better future for Atlantic seabirds, especially albatrosses.

Dr Cleo Small said: “The populations of albatrosses are declining faster in the South Atlantic than any other ocean. For example, the wandering albatross – possessing the largest wingspan of any bird – is rapidly declining on South Georgia, and links have been made between these declining populations and longline fishing within the ICCAT fishery. This situation is needless, because the technology exists to prevent these deaths.

“We will be urging delegates to approve rules that make it mandatory for all vessels fishing for tuna and swordfish in the Atlantic to abide by simple measures which lower the risk of albatrosses and other seabirds dying in these fisheries.”

Dr Small added: “The main problem is that albatrosses try to steal fish and squid bait from longline fishing hooks. The birds get caught on the hook and quickly drown when the lines are set. The bodies of these birds, recovered hours later, are a grim reminder of the sheer toll of seabirds that these fisheries can take.”

Monitoring of wandering albatrosses by the British Antarctic Survey on South Georgia has revealed a halving in the number in 2009 compared with the early 1960s.

Some of the most at risk species include the Tristan albatross of the South Atlantic and the Balearic shearwater of European waters. Both species, which are listed as Critically Endangered by BirdLife on behalf of the IUCN, are important to the UK. The Balearic shearwater, which nests on the Balearic Islands of the Mediterranean, is a regular non-breeding visitor to the waters off southern Britain, while the Tristan albatross is endemic to Gough Island, part of the UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha, and is found nowhere else in the world.

Eight of the top ten seabird species considered to be most at risk from Atlantic longline fisheries nest on the three UK Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands; Tristan da Cunha and South Georgia. The top six most at risk seabird species in the Atlantic are albatrosses.

The RSPB is a Partner in BirdLife's Global Seabird Programme which works around the globe to conserve seabirds, and is striving to ensure that relevant international agreements are implemented that will benefit both the birds and the legal fishing industry.

The Programme also work hard to promote simple and inexpensive mitigation measures, which are highly successful in reducing seabird bycatch. The Programme achieves this through the Albatross Task Force (ATF) - the world’s first team of dedicated instructors to demonstrate the correct use of mitigation measures to fishermen, and to develop and test new measures. The ATF has instructors in seven countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in the Atlantic. Chile and Ecuador also have ATF programmes.

“Dying at a rate of around one every five minutes, the albatross family is becoming threatened faster than any other family of birds”, added Dr Small. The Albatross Task Force began in 2006 and it’s already having huge success around the globe, but we need more help”

A variety of mitigation measures are available to prevent the deaths of albatrosses and other seabirds. One of the most popular is the tori, or streamer, line. Using this technique, fishing crews pay out lines of streamers from the stern of a vessel. Effectively, these streamers create a curtain, deterring albatrosses from coming too close to the danger zone, just off the stern of the vessel.

Mitigation measures have been used to great effect in some of the world’s other fisheries. In sub-Antarctic waters – operating in the CCAMLR fisheries region – mitigation measures have reduced albatross bycatch from thousands of birds a year to effectively zero. Additionally, fantastic reductions in seabird bycatch have been secured within the foreign tuna longline fleet, operating in South African waters. Since 2006, this fishery has cut seabird bycatch by 85 per cent.

Throughout preparations for this bilateral agreement Conservation International has provided advice and support to the Government of Guyana on its Low Carbon Development Strategy – which this agreement supports – and has worked to ensure that the nation’s efforts to protect its forests while offering development opportunities to its people is informed by the best science, effective consultation with local communities and sound monitoring standards.

Great Jacamar © Bradley Davis, from the surfbirds galleries.

Dr. Russell A Mittermeier, President of Conservation International, and a world expert on the biodiversity of the Guianas said: “The foresight of both President Jagdeo of Guyana and the Government of Norway deserve real praise – this is a truly monumental agreement that has dramatic positive implications for rainforest countries around the world, and for the global climate. It means a better future for the people of Guyana, and has major implications for other tropical rainforest countries as well.”

Three years ago President Jagdeo said that Guyana might be willing to place its entire rain forest under long-term protection “to help in the world’s fight against climate change, providing our peoples’ sovereignty is respected.” At the signing of the MOU, which took place in the indigenous community of Fairview, the President said “that goal just came closer.”

Dr Fred Boltz CI’s Senior Vice President and Climate Change Lead added: "This is a historic agreement with great relevance to the decisions that must emerge from Copenhagen to ensure that nations with a great conservation history are rewarded for their continued commitment to protecting forests. It is a visionary act, demonstrating the leadership of Guyana and Norway in ensuring the future of the Earth's remaining wilderness areas – forests critical to resolving the global climate crisis and securing the future for all life on Earth.”

Supersonic Bill arrived at Caerlaverock on Monday, with mate C9U, just in time for the morning feed. The satellite data received today not only reveals the very quick journey, but also shows that he seemed to accelerate towards the end of his journey to Caerlaverock, almost as if he knew when the morning feed was due and wanted to make it in time. Caerlaverock Reserve Warden Richard Smith said: “We know that Supersonic Bill was travelling at 114kph past Auchencairn Bay on the Solway at 8am on Monday. He covered the final 25km in just 15 minutes before flying onto the whooper pond here at Caerlaverock to be greeted by me with a barrow of grain! Not surprisingly he looked a bit tired, but otherwise not bad given that he was in Iceland only the day before!”

The unseasonably mild conditions in mid to late October saw a lull in swan migration following the arrival on 7 and 8 October of Baldur, a WWT Welney bird, and K9H, a Caerlaverock bird to Britain after spending the summer in Iceland. Baldur has since shed his satellite transmitter, but we are confident he will soon turn up at Welney where we will be able to identify him by his leg ring. But as well as Supersonic Bill and his mate, today’s satellite data download shows us that three more of our 50 Super Whoopers have taken advantage of the colder snap since the weekend. Y6K, a Welney visitor, and Y5T (a yearling) – both tagged in Iceland in August, completed their migration to Ireland at the weekend, and Sigrunn – a WWT Martin Mere regular – arrived in Northern Ireland on 4 November.

Tawny Owl © Steve Round, from the surfbirds galleries.

Owing to their nocturnal habits and secretive nature, Tawny Owls can be difficult to survey using traditional BTO monitoring schemes. These are usually carried out during the daytime and do not cover this species well. Current distribution is taken from the last breeding atlas completed in 1991, so we don’t have an up-to-date picture.

This is where the BTO Tawny Owl survey comes in. By getting people to go out into their gardens and surrounding countryside to listen for Tawny Owls calling, and then reporting them on the survey form, they will help plug any gaps in the information we already have and provide a complete picture of the Tawny Owl’s distribution in Britain and Ireland.

At this time of the year the majority of birds have stopped singing. However, this is the time of the year when the Tawny Owl is at its most vocal, and on still evenings the classic shivering ‘hoot’ of the males and the answering ‘kewvick’ calls of the females can be heard as they reaffirm pair bonds, strengthen their hold on a territory and ward off any interlopers. All in readiness for the forthcoming breeding season, which, for Tawny Owl can begin in early March.

All your records of Tawny Owl from throughout the year can be entered onto BirdTrack where they will contribute to our knowledge of distribution. To report your Tawny Owl click here

Narrow-billed Tody, Dominican Republic © Leo Boon, from the surfbirds galleries.

"Loma Charco Azul contains populations of several threatened endemic birds and migratory species and, until now, was an unprotected portion of the Sierra de Bahoruco IBA. Key among the endemics there are the Bay-breasted Cuckoo, La Selle Thrush, Hispaniolan Crossbill and a good population of the vulnerable Hispaniolan Amazon. We applaud the action of President Fernández to designate this important new protected area", said Yvonne Arias, President of Grupo Jaragua. "Grupo Jaragua thanks Leonel Fernández, Jaime David Fernández Mirabal and Eleuterio Martínez, President of the Dominican Republic, Secretary and Deputy Secretary (Subsecretario) of Environment."

The work to create the new protected area and to improve the management of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park was a result of the partnership of Grupo Jaragua, American Bird Conservancy, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales and the Consorcio Ambiental Dominicano. The work was supported by the US Fish and Wildlife Service through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grant program.

Sierra de Bahoruco IBA is one of the three core zones of the Jaragua-Bahoruco–Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve where the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supported the project “Biodiversity Conservation of the Jaragua-Bahoruco–Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve”.

"This establishes the foundations for more conservation work needed to diminished the impact of threats such as agricultural expansion, introduced animals, fires, illegal logging, capture of parrot chicks and illegal hunting", said Ernst Rupp, who coordinated the work. Moreover, this IBA connects in the west with Massif de la Selle in Haiti, another Globally Important Biodiversity Area, where forests are nearly gone.

“Thanks to the leadership of Hawaii’s Senator Inouye and Congresswoman Hirono, the federal government is taking the much needed steps to address the dire situation faced by Hawaii’s birds,” said George Wallace, American Bird Conservancy’s Vice President for Oceans and Islands, and head of the organization’s Hawaii Program. “By investing in efforts to conserve and restore habitat and reverse the multiple threats that have decimated many Hawaiian forest bird populations, we can avert the crisis. This bill marks an important beginning – it is a bold move in the right direction and will go a long way to help species in peril such as the Palila and Maui Parrotbill.”

The need for this special Hawaiian appropriation was highlighted by The State of the Birds – United States of America - 2009 (http://www.stateofthebirds.org/), a report led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service which focused attention on the dozens of bird species throughout the island chain that are in severe decline. Before human settlement, Hawaii was home to 113 bird species found nowhere else on Earth. Since then, 71 have gone extinct. Nevertheless, Hawaii still boasts an astounding 42 endemic bird species, but 31 of these (75%) are now federally protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Several are on the brink of extinction, and ten have not been seen in years.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) has proposed protection under the Endangered Species Act for two additional Hawaiian birds, the Akikiki and Akekee, due to their precariously small population sizes and ongoing threats to their survival. Those threats include habitat loss, introduced predators such as cats and rats, introduced pigs, and malaria from introduced mosquitoes. Now, the threat of rising global temperatures may be exerting still greater pressure upon the continued survival of Hawaii's birds.

The US FWS will use the $3 million in funding to develop a comprehensive conservation strategy for Hawaiian birds, hire staff, and begin on the ground projects to recover some of the endangered and threatened species.

Madagascar Pochard © Peter Cranswick/WWT

The pochard, a medium-sized diving duck, was feared extinct by the late 1990s but it
was rediscovered in 2006 when biologists from The Peregrine Fund, who were scouting
for a threatened bird of prey, the Madagascar Harrier, observed 20 adult pochards
living on a single lake in northern Madagascar.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), The
Peregrine Fund and the Government of Madagascar joined efforts to establish a
conservation-breeding programme for the ducks, with the hope of reintroducing them
back into their wetland habitats.

However, an emergency rescue plan was mounted after a reconnaissance visit in July
revealed the situation was worse than feared - with the sighting of just six females
and evidence that the young had died just a few weeks old.

As a result, members of the team monitored the tiny population during their breeding
season, reporting that three female birds were preparing to lay eggs. A team of duck
specialists from WWT and Durrell immediately flew to Madagascar in an attempt to
bring the eggs into captivity.

Patience was becoming a required skill, as Glyn Young from Durrell describes; "It
was a race against time to get the team and the equipment to the lake before eggs
started hatching. The situation was not made any easier as massive electrical storms
had delayed our arrival in the country. Once all the equipment had cleared Customs,
we had to wait for three days as a bridge was repaired on the only access road to
the lake. To add to our woes, having finally made it to the lake, we all fell ill!"

Having commandeered part of a local hotel in order to create a temporary breeding
facility, a batch of eggs was removed from a lake-side nest as near to hatching as
possible. With extreme care, the day-old ducklings were transported to their
make-shift rearing facility, 12 hours away.

Peter Cranswick from WWT describes the significance of this achievement, "This is
conservation at the cutting edge. The urgency of the situation has meant a great
deal of invention and improvisation - but next year simply may have been too late.
Safely bringing birds into captivity marks the start of a 20- or 30-year
conservation project that will also help restore wetlands across the region."

Eight ducklings are now reported to be doing very well, but work continues as the
team attempts to secure two more clutches from the wild over the next few weeks.
However, this collaborative rescue mission has provided hope for the future for the
Madagascar pochard.

"This is the first important step toward saving this rare species from extinction,"
said Russell Thorstrom, a biologist in charge of The Peregrine Fund's Madagascar
program. "It shows how organizations working cooperatively can overcome challenges
and continue onward in their conservation effort for this critically endangered
duck."

Read Saving the Madagascar Pochard, the rarest duck in the World by Dr Glyn Young"

Yellow Warbler © Sean Cronin, from the surfbirds galleries.

Forest protection is one of the most effective ways to combat climate change, improve the livelihood of local communities and protect threatened wildlife. Healthy forests provide food, shelter and income to millions of people around the world. The projects supported by Disney will also benefit species ranging from gorillas in Africa to North American songbirds.

Support for these projects, using a variety of conservation strategies including avoided deforestation, reforestation, and improved forest management, supplement Disney’s company-wide efforts to combat climate change by reducing fossil fuel use and switching to cleaner forms of energy.

“Disney has always been a conservation leader,” said Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger. “Now, more than ever, it’s essential to take swift action to preserve our most vulnerable natural environments for future generations and to be innovative in achieving that goal.”

Forests are disappearing at an alarming rate. Each year, 50,000 square miles of forest disappear around the world, equal to the size of Pennsylvania. The burning and clearing of tropical forests is responsible for nearly 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas pollution – or more than all the world’s cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships combined.

In partnership with Conservation International, Disney is providing $4 million to the Tayna and Kisimba-Ikobo Community Reserves in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the Alto Mayo conservation project in Peru. The project areas are located respectively in the Congo Basin and the Amazon, two of the world’s most important tropical forest regions.

The protection of these forests will not only reduce carbon emissions, but secure vital watersheds and habitat for a wide-variety of plants and animals, many of them threatened or endangered. These include the gorilla and okapi in the Congo and the Andean spectacled bear and yellow-tailed woolly monkey in Peru.

The majority of Disney’s funds will go towards financing community management of the forests within the project areas and expanding sustainable livelihood practices among local villages. They will also be used to complete project design, conduct forest carbon analysis and finance verification of emissions avoided through successful implementation of the projects.

These projects will decrease carbon emissions by improving forest protection through reducing logging and the impact of slash and burn agriculture. Area communities, which are working with Conservation International and its local partners to design and implement the projects, will benefit economically by preserving the environment.

“This commitment by Disney represents the largest single corporate contribution ever made to reduce emissions from deforestation and will help build confidence in these activities that generate such compelling climate, local community and biodiversity benefits,” said Peter Seligmann, CEO and Chairman of Conservation International. “In addition, as climate talks gain momentum in the US and abroad, Disney’s leadership points the way to the key role tropical forest conservation must play in emerging climate change policies.”

In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Disney is providing more than $2 million to support the development of an innovative reforestation project in the Lower Mississippi Valley. The Nature Conservancy will work with private landowners in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas to plant trees and restore up to 2,000 acres of former forest land. Restoring these native hardwood forests not only provide carbon benefits but will expand the local habitat of migrating songbirds and the black bear. In addition to planting trees, conservation easements will be purchased on the lands to ensure the forests are permanently protected.
This forest restoration program is considered a pilot project that could be significantly expanded in scale in future years.

“Protecting forests is one of our most powerful tools in the fight against climate change,” said Mark Tercek, President and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. “This innovative project will give private landowners the support they need to join the global fight against climate change and restore local habitats for the betterment of both people and nature. We are proud to partner with Disney to protect critical habitat and ensure these incredible forests will be around for generations to come.”

Disney also will invest $1 million in The Conservation Fund’s sustainable forestry work along California’s North Coast. The Conservation Fund owns and sustainably manages two redwood forests in Mendocino County in an effort to demonstrate that improved forest management, supported by selective harvests and verified carbon offset sales, can benefit both the economy and the environment. Over the past five years, the Fund’s work has bolstered the local economy and begun to revive watersheds that are home to Coho salmon, steelhead trout, spotted owl and other wildlife.

“Across America, forests are shrinking; 35 acres here, 500 there,” said Lawrence Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund. “The decline is so incremental, it masks a crisis. In partnership with leading companies such as Disney, we are pioneering new approaches to forest conservation and climate change. We’re proud to collaborate with Disney on this critical effort.”

Disney’s forest preservation investment is part of the company’s plan, announced last March, to meet aggressive 3 to 5 year goals to reduce emissions, waste, electricity and water use, and to limit its impact on ecosystems.

Building on 20 years of work by Disney’s environmental affairs department, the targets were formulated by an Environmental Council of senior executives from across the company. Charged with developing and implementing sustainable strategies for Disney’s impact on the environment, as well as ways to use the company’s media reach to encourage positive action, the Council has taken a measured, scientific approach in analyzing the company’s operations and crafting strategic objectives.

In addition to the investment announced today, Disney has over the last year committed to planting close to 3 million trees in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest and in the fire-ravaged areas in the mountains surrounding greater Los Angeles through contributions from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund and local donations.

While there is no evidence of illegal killing or nest destruction associated with this year’s breeding failures, it is illegal persecution that has led to today’s critically low breeding numbers and patchy distribution.

As a result, hen harriers are even more vulnerable to chance natural events.

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s Director of Conservation, said: “We always feared that with hen harrier numbers kept so low, the English population was extremely vulnerable to a bad year like this.

"There can be no place in England's future for the illegal killing of birds of prey. Land owners and other shooting groups need to show real commitment and start working with Natural England, RSPB and BASC to implement legal solutions such as diversionary feeding.”

In contrast to the dismal breeding success in the uplands of northern England, one ray of hope for the hen harrier came with the news that for the first time ever a pair was found nesting in a cereal field in southern England.

The hen harrier was once found throughout the English lowlands and is not, as its current range might suggest, a bird solely of mountains and remote moorland.

Although there have been two other nesting attempts in southern England in recent years, this was the first time a crop-nesting pair has been recorded. With help from the farmer, a committed group of volunteers from local bird clubs ensured the birds’ behaviour was carefully monitored and they were able to successfully rear a chick.

Dr Tom Tew, Chief Scientist for Natural England, said: “This isolated nesting site in southern England is a massive leap from the hen harrier’s recent restricted distribution. Single birds occasionally loiter around suitable habitat in the early spring but rarely attract a mate, as hen harriers have a strong natural tendency to return to the upland areas where they were reared.

“Although this was just one pair, which may or may not return next year, their success hints at the potential for the hen harrier to be re-established in southern England, however this would not mean giving up on hen harriers in the uplands."

John Swift, Chief Executive of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said: “A bad winter has left the hen harrier population even more vulnerable than before – this means that everybody must concentrate on doing what they can to ensure that the moorland habitat continues to be well managed and that persecution is confined to history.

“It is imperative that we find a solution to the conflict between grouse shooting and birds of prey and those who manage grouse moors must continue to be vigilant against persecution of harriers.