World Bird News
Peru's spectacular seabirds seeking sanctuary (20-08-2008)
Peru's seabirds, especially the spectacular aggregations at its guano islands, are world famous. However, a new BirdLife report indicates that many of the sites and species are under increased threat and urgently need better protection.
Conservation gets a common language (12-08-2008 )
BirdLife scientists have been working with a number of other organisations to define a standard lexicon for biodiversity conservation. A common language is an essential foundation of any science. For example, medical researchers and practitioners use a common set of formal terms to describe human ailments and potential treatments.
Sir David Attenborough champions BirdLife International's work to halt extinctions
(18-08-2008)
Sir David Attenborough, the greatest wildlife communicator of our age, has added his weight to the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme by becoming a Species Champion.
“We have no right to exterminate the species that evolved without us”, Sir David said. “We have the responsibility to do everything we can to preserve their continued existence.”
Saving the world's most threatened birds ( 10/06/2008)
What's the best way to save a species? Should we target conservation at individual sites, or perhaps use a much broader approach - taking action at the landscape or seascape scale? For 99% of Globally Threatened Birds, safeguarding Important Bird Areas (IBAs) is a key part of the solution.
Questions of scale for conservation programmes are the subject of a paper by scientists from BirdLife International and Conservation International published in the inaugural issue of Conservation Letters. The study identified the most appropriate spatial scale of conservation efforts for 4,239 species of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles on the IUCN Red List.
The IUCN Red List 2008: Climate change and continental drift (19/5/2008)
Climate change has become firmly established as an accelerant to many of the factors which have put one in eight of the world's birds at risk of extinction, today's publication of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of birds has found. Long-term drought and sudden extreme weather are putting additional stress on the pockets of habitat that many threatened species depend on. This coupled with extensive and expanding habitat destruction has lead to an increase in the rate of extinction on continents and away from islands, where most historical extinction has occurred.
New report shows EU biofuel policy likely to cause worldwide environmental destruction (6/5/2008)
The EU's biofuel policy is likely to cause large-scale environmental harm across the world, according to a new report [1] published today by BirdLife International [2]. The report is coming out ahead of revised proposals for sustainability standards in European legislation which remain disappointingly weak.
Europe's rarest finch finds favour (19/03/08)
Azores Bullfinch Pyrrhula murina has become the latest Critically Endangered species to find a Champion through the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme. Birdwatch magazine has stepped forward to provide vital funds for the work of the Species Guardian, SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal).
Much work has already been done for this species with significant funding to SPEA through the EU Life Fund, but this is coming to an end. With so much already achieved Birdwatch's decision has provided a timely intervention for conservation work to help Azores Bullfinch.
Crane Cam goes live! (18/03/08)
Audubon (BirdLife in US) and National Geographic have teamed-up to allow people online around the globe to witness the largest concentration of Sandhill Cranes Grus canadensis in the world from a unique ‘cranes-eye view'.
BirdLife Cyprus cries foul over weak penalty for falcon slaughterers (29-02-2008)
A pair of poachers involved in the shocking shooting of 52 Red-footed Falcons Falco Vespertinus at Akrotiri, Cyprus, last year were yesterday fined a “derisory” €1,250 each, BirdLife Cyprus protested. The British Sovereign Base Area (SBA) court could have imposed a maxiumum penalty of €17,000 and three years imprisonment. The massacre was the worst case of raptor killing ever reported in Cyprus. BirdLife Cyprus added that the poaching and trapping situation is deteriorating on the island and call for urgent EU intervention.
Workshop seeks safeguards for India's unprotected IBAs (29-02-2008)
BirdLife Partners from all over Southern Asia are in Mumbai, India, for a workshop on the conservation and livelihoods issues faced by Important Bird Areas (IBAs). The workshop has been jointly organised by the Bombay Natural History (BNHS, BirdLife in India), BirdLife International Asia Region, TILCEPA (the World Conservation Union's IUCN's Theme on Indigenous and Local Communities, Equity, and Protected Areas), and Kalpavriksh. The workshop will help develop strategy and actions to deal with issues linked with developmental threats, and livelihood dependency on IBAs. India has 466 IBAs, of which 199 are outside the protected area network. Some that have no formal protection are conserved by IBA LCGs (Local Conservation Groups) organised by local communities. The workshop will explore to what extent the existing legal framework can be used to safeguard unprotected IBAs, and will also discuss success stories from community-conserved IBAs, to assess the feasibility of replicating such experiences in different parts of India.
Climate Change study predicts hazy future for Europe's birds (15-01-2008)
On January 15th, BirdLife International welcomed the publication of ' A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds'. This Atlas marks a major advance in understanding the potential impacts of climate change on wildlife. It shows that in the course of the 21st century the changing climatic conditions will force most species to move into new areas. For many of them this will prove difficult, and combined with other threats this will increase their risk of extinction in Europe.
The study, based on the use of 'climate envelope modelling', predicts that without vigorous and immediate action against climate change, the potential future range of the average European bird species will shift by nearly 550 km north-east by the end of this century and will reduce in size by a fifth compared to the current range. For some species, the potential future range does not overlap with the current range at all. Arctic and sub-arctic birds and some Iberian species are projected to suffer the greatest potential range loss. Projected changes for some species found only in Europe, or with only small populations elsewhere, suggest that climate change is likely to increase their risk of extinction.
World Cup airport will look out for Swallows (10-11-2007)
As five million Barn Swallows migrate from across Europe to roost in South Africa's Mt Moreland Reedland, they will be greeted by more than just birdwatchers. In future air traffic controllers at La Mercy Airport will be among those watching the birds come in, if necessary informing pilots of the swallow flocks when coming into land so that collisions can be avoided.
The plan to protect the birds will be announced tomorrow (November 11) at a special ceremony at the reedbed, attended by BirdLife South Africa. The decision – one of a number of key mitigation actions announced – was made in response to global outcry last November, when BirdLife outlined its concern about the expansion of La Mercy Airport, in preparation for South Africa's hosting of World Cup 2010.
The threat that planes would pose to the adjacent roost – arguably Africa's largest – was put across by conservationists and BirdLife Partners throughout Europe, most notably by the RSPB, BirdLife's Partner in the UK, a country in which a number of the Barn Swallows breed.
Judgement day for Africa's flamingos (2/11/07)
The enormous clouds of pink flamingos that grace the skies of East Africa and ring the edges of some of its most scenic lakes with a bright band of living colour may soon be a thing of the past if the path is cleared today for a major industrial development on a remote and isolated lake in Africa's Great Rift Valley. Officials in Tanzania are to assess plans for a soda ash plant on Lake Natron, the world's single most important breeding site for the Near Threatened Lesser Flamingo, where more than a million of these beautiful birds nest. FOR MORE INFO ...Click here
Vulture-killing drug now on sale in Africa (30/10/07)
BirdLife's Council for the African Partnership has warned African BirdLife Partners that they need to be on high alert, following the discovery of the drug Diclofenac on sale at a veterinary practice in Tanzania. A survey by WCST (WildLife Conservation Society in Tanzania, BirdLife in Tanzania) is underway to establish the full facts. More info...
Calling future conservationists... (24/09/07)
The next generation of conservationists are being sought as part of a global awards scheme giving young people an opportunity to get involved in the conservation of some of world's most threatened species - many of them in BirdLife Partner countries and territories.
The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP, formerly the BP Conservation Programme) are asking for applications for their Future Conservationist Awards 2008, seeking project ideas from teams of young people with an aim to develop their skills through a practical conservation project.
Award-winning teams will be eligible to receive up to £6,000 worth of funding, with priority given to the highest quality applications.
As part of the award scheme, one member from each team will also be selected to represent their project at an international training course, learning a variety of skills covering aspects of conservation education, communication, people-oriented research, project planning and management skills.
“Alarm-call” for China's rarest bird (21/09/07)
A recent study of Chinese Crested Tern highlights that the global population has fallen to less than fifty individuals, half what they were just three years ago.
The study believes that the main cause of this decline is an unregulated expansion in trade for seabird eggs, a local delicacy that has risen in demand alongside a thriving tourist economy.
Without urgent action conservationists have given the bird less than five years before disappearing completely from its two remaining breeding areas.
Chinese Crested Tern Sterna bernstein is China's rarest bird , listed by BirdLife International as Critically Endangered – the most severe threat category.
First discovered in 1861 and rarely recorded since, Chinese Crested Tern was largely presumed extinct until 2000, when four adults and four chicks were found amongst a colony of other tern species on Matsu, an island off the coast of Fujian Province. In 2004, it was discovered breeding at another site: Jiushan Islands, on the coast of Zhejiang Province of eastern China. At present these are the only known breeding sites in the world.
WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY 2007: Migratory birds in a changing climate (24/09/07)
This weekend (12-13 May) sees the launch of World Migratory Bird Day 2007 (WMBD 2007) – a global celebration of migratory birds, aiming to raise awareness of their plight and promoting conservation worldwide.
The first World Migratory Bird Day took place last year and incorporated 68 activities in 46 countries and territories around the world, many of them BirdLife Partners.
The goal of WMBD 2007 is to focus international attention toward the plight of migratory birds and to highlight the issues responsible for their global declines. Migratory birds face a multitude of threats during migration. Human alteration of their wintering habitats is a crucial factor; forests are being converted to plantations, savannas are affected by desertification, wetlands are drained, converted to agriculture or heavily used by tourists. In many countries, millions of migrants may also be trapped and shot every year. Migratory birds may suffer further from hazardous weather, lack of food or water, or predators.
The theme for WMBD 2007 -‘Migratory birds in a changing climate'- highlights the additional impact of climate change on migratory birds and also accentuates the need for focus on global conservation efforts.
“There is overwhelming evidence that our planet's climate is changing, disrupting vital ecosystems and the key services they provide for us all. For migratory birds, all of which are dependent on a multitude of habitats, climate change is of immense concern.”
Climate change is likely to impact migratory birds in a number of different ways including increased storm frequency, lowered water tables, higher drought frequency, sea level rise and habitat shifts.
Birds to become latest indicators of climate change (24/04/07)
Birds have long been used as indicators of the state of the world's ecosystems, providing insights into habitat loss, deterioration, and pollution. Now a new project, starting this month, will add climate change to the list.
“Climate change is arguably the most significant threat that many of Africa 's protected areas may be facing,” said Julius Arinaitwe, BirdLife Africa's Important Bird Area Programme Manager. “By using birds to measure and predict the implications of changing climate and landscapes, we will be much better placed to counteract these threats.”
European outrage as Malta's spring hunting season begins (8/4/07)
On the same day Malta 's spring hunting season for birds begins, bird conservation organisations across Europe have united in protest against the Maltese government for allowing the practice to continue, despite ongoing legal and political action taken by the European Commission.
The conservation groups argue that, since joining the EU in 2004, Malta has breached the European Birds Directive by allowing spring hunting of Turtle Dove and Quail. Spring hunting is prohibited by the Birds Directive in order to protect wild birds during their migration from Africa to breeding grounds in Europe .
This is the fourth consecutive breach of the EU law since Malta joined the Union in 2004.
Legal action by the European Commission against Malta began in June 2006, with a European Court case expected to start later this year. On 15 March 2007 the European Parliament adopted a strong resolution calling on Malta to end spring hunting and trapping of birds immediately.
Indonesia's first “Restoration Forest” (2/4/07)
Following a major change in Indonesia's forestry law, a ground-breaking initiative to protect and restore an area of Sumatra's remaining dry lowland rainforest has now been made possible.
The Harapan Rainforest Initiative, planned and pursued for over five years by the coalition of Burung Indonesia, the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK) and BirdLife International, with support from BirdLife Partners, will establish Indonesia's first “forest ecosystem restoration concession” for the conservation and regeneration of a 101,000 hectares forest block in the lowlands of Sumatra.
The change in law effectively allows for the first time, ‘production forest' to be allocated for conservation and restoration.
The announcement comes just in time - the area was likely to be felled and replaced by plantations for timber or oil palm production.
The restoration of the forest will help prevent forest fires which have been badly affecting local communities as well as the entire region. The area will become a refuge for many of Sumatra's threatened birds: at least 267 bird species have been surveyed in the forest, with more surveys planned. Of these 71 are threatened with extinction.
The Harapan Rainforest Initiative has particular significance to the conservation of Storm's Stork Ciconia stormi – an Endangered bird species that has faced considerable declines owing to destruction of lowland forest through logging, dam construction and conversion to oil-palm plantations.
Harapan's five Vulnerable bird species will also benefit: Short-toed Coucal Centropus bengalensis , Large-billed Blue Flycatcher Cyornis caerulatus , Crestless Fireback Lophura erythrophthalma , Wallace's Hawk Eagle Spizaetus nanus and Large Green Pigeon Treron capelli .
Other species for which the Harapan Rainforest will become crucial habitat include: Asian Elephant Elephas maximus , Malayan Tapir Tapirus indicus , Sun Bear Helarctos malayanus and Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa - recently recognised as a distinct new cat species from the one in mainland Asia.
Indian warbler makes a spectacular return—in Thailand and the UK (6/3/07)
Ornithologists across the world are celebrating with the news that a wetland bird that has eluded scientists ever since its discovery in India in 1867 has been refound.
The Large-billed Reed-warbler is the world's least known bird. A single bird was collected in the Sutlej Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India, in 1867, but many had questioned whether it was indeed represented a true species. But on 27 March 2006, ornithologist Philip Round, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, Mahidol University, was bird ringing at a sewage treatment planr near Bangkok, Thailand, when he found a Large Billed Reed Warbler. This rediscovery of the Large-billed Reed-warbler on the shores of Inner Gulf of Thailand demonstrates the importance of wetland habitats and the remarkable biodiversity they contain.
Ornithologists “hit jackpot” on sightings of Critically Endangered bird (02/03/2007)
Damascus, Syria: A small expedition team travelling across Syria today announced the discovery of the largest wintering population of one of Eurasia’s most endangered birds, the Sociable Lapwing. Previous estimates placed the global population of this Critically Endangered species at between 400 and 1500 individuals. However the expedition team reported seeing over 1200 birds in one day and over 1500 in total during the trip, all within a few grassland sites in Northern Syria.
The finding gives tremendous encouragement to conservationists working to save the bird across Central Asia (where it is a summer resident) and the Middle East (where the bird winters).
Save the Albatross (27/02/2007)
You should already be aware of the RSPB campaign to save the Albatross.
Most albatrosses and several other seabird species are heading for extinction. They are being unintentionally drowned in large numbers by "longline" fishing boats. Longlining is the single greatest threat to the world's seabirds. Much of it is carried out by "pirate" fishing boats.
What is Longlining?
In the 1980s, longlining became an increasingly popular method of fishing, partly in response to the increasing demand for high-quality, high-value fish destined for the clientele of upmarket restaurants.
Many nations have fishing vessels engaged in longlining, but the fisheries of particular concern are those targeting Southern Bluefin Tuna and Patagonian Toothfish. During line setting, longliners set a single line up to 130 km long behind the boat. Attached to it are literally thousands of baited hooks. An estimated 1 billion hooks are set annually by the world's longline fleets.
Some of the baited hooks are eaten not by their intended targets, but by albatrosses and other seabirds. The hooked birds are dragged under water and drown.
What is the Problem?
Albatrosses and other seabirds often feed by scavenging for food behind fishing vessels and other boats, waiting for prey to be disturbed or scraps thrown overboard.
When longlining, fishing boats set thousands of baited hooks on a fishing line to catch fish. Seabirds scavenging behind these boats try to eat the bait from the hooks as they are set behind the boat. Some birds swallow the hooks and are dragged underwater and drown.
More than 300,000 seabirds are killed in this way each year. 26 species of seabird, including 17 species of albatrosses, are in danger of extinction because of the deaths caused by longlining.
Once set, the hooks are too deep for the birds to reach. To stop birds being needlessly killed, it is essential to stop them having the opportunity to swallow the baited hooks before they have sunk.
Many cheap and readily implemented solutions have been, and are being developed. Employing these will be of benefit to the fishermen themselves because the more bait eaten by birds, the smaller the catch of fish.
What are the Solutions?
To prevent birds swallowing the baited hooks before they have sunk below their reach, many simple measures have been devised some of which are cheap and easy to implement. Examples include:
- Towing bird-scaring (or tori) lines behind the vessel. These have plastic streamers tied to them that flap in the wind and scare birds away from the baited fishing line.
- Using an underwater setting tube. These set the fishing line underwater out of reach of the birds.
- Tying enough weights to the fishing line so that it sinks more quickly out of reach of the birds.
- Using thawed not frozen bait as it sinks more quickly.
- dying the bait blue. This puts birds off eating it.
- setting lines at night. Most albatrosses feed mainly by day.
Several fisheries have international regulatory bodies. They set fishing quotas and limits and encourage the implementation of best fishing practices. (For example, The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) regulates fishing in Antarctic waters and requires the use of seabird mitigation measures.)
These regulatory bodies can introduce measures like setting fishery or vessel specific by-catch quotas or closing fisheries seasonally or temporarily to protect the economic interests of fishermen or particular wildlife (for example, to concentrate fishing to times of least impact to seabirds).
Avian influenza – situation in Lao People's Democratic Republic (27/02/2007)
The Ministry of Health in Lao People's Democratic Republic has today reported the first human case of infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
The 15-year-old female was from Vientiane, where she developed influenza-like symptoms on 10 February and was hospitalized in Vietiane with fever and respiratory symptoms on 15 February. She sought medical care in neighbouring Thailand on 17 February and is currently in Nongkhai public hospital where she remains in stable condition. Samples taken by Lao epidemiologists and Thai clinicians were tested by the National Institute of Health in Thailand and were positive for H5N1 infection. The Lao Government is also providing samples to a WHO collaborating centre for examination.
On February 24 and 25, a team from the Thai and Lao ministries of health and WHO officials investigated the situation in the girl's village and those districts where poultry deaths had occurred earlier. Close contacts of the girl have been identified and are being monitored daily. The adults were provided prophylaxis with oseltamivir and to date, all of these people remain healthy.
Spring Alive in Europe... (23/02/2007)
Europe's first Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica – the messengers of spring – have been spotted in the south of Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, announcing the beginning of BirdLife's Spring Alive program and heralding the arrival of the warmer weather to the northern hemisphere.
The first reports of the return of migrating birds in the south of Europe have been recorded by young birdwatchers in Portugal.
They entered their observations on the www.springalive.net website, where people from around the continent are to share their very first spring bird sightings.
