Some of the fossils are of cormorant-like birds dating back to the late Cretaceous period – around 65 million years ago when New Zealand first separated from the ancient super continent of Gondwana, National Geographic magazine reported. read more at ninimsn
Category: nieuws
Conservationists mobilise to halt mass slaughter of birds in Malta
It is Europe’s worst and most senseless wildlife massacre, resulting in the annual death of thousands of birds about to breed all over the continent. But this spring, conservationists are heading for the Mediterranean to help end it. The Maltese bird hunt, a mass slaughter of spring migrant birds, has been illegal since the island […]
New Zealand announces measures for albatross
BirdLife International has welcomed the measures announced by New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton to reduce the number of seabirds killed in New Zealand’s fisheries. This follows an incident last year where a single longline vessel fishing in the Chatham Rise area of New Zealand was responsible for the deaths of 36 albatrosses including 12 […]
Hundreds tell NASA: Wildlife refuge is for birds, not rockets
Hundreds of people, from birders and boaters to nudists and former NASA engineers, packed a meeting room Monday with a common goal: Stop the space agency from using a world-renowned wildlife refuge for a private launchpad. read more at orlandosentinel
Biofuel Blight Threatens Spectacular Kenyan Wetland
A flourishing wetland on Kenya?s northern coast is under serious threat from plans to grow vast amounts of sugarcane, partly for biofuel production. Developers want to transform nearly 50,000 acres of the spectacular Tana River Delta into sugarcane plantations with other parts of the Delta earmarked for rice. read more at widlifeextra
Sociable Lapwings tracked to Sudan
Two Sociable Lapwings Vanellus gregarius, satellite tagged in Kazakhstan last summer, have flown more than 5,000 miles to central Sudan, where they have spent the winter. Satellite tagging is adding rapidly to our understanding of the distribution of this Critically Endangered species outside the breeding season. read more at Birdlife
Fijian island beats the rat-race?
A partnership between BirdLife International and the Nagilogilo Clan of Vatuira has resulted in the successful eradication of Pacific Rats Rattus exulans from this internationally important seabird colony. Vatuira – a small island located 15 km from the coast of Fiji?s largest island Viti Levu – is an Important Bird Area (IBA) for several seabird […]
Rats On Islands Disrupt Ecosystems From Land To Sea, Researchers Find
Seabird colonies on islands are highly vulnerable to introduced rats, which find the ground-nesting birds to be easy prey. But the ecological impacts of rats on islands extend far beyond seabird nesting colonies, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz. read more at sciencedaily
Alaska oil drilling threatens Critical biodiversity
The US Government has auctioned leases to drill for oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, putting at risk internationally important concentrations of seabirds, and a number of threatened bird species, including the Critically Endangered Kittlitz’s Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostri. Audubon (BirdLife in the USA) says the Chukchi Sea is also home to one-tenth […]
Early Experience Affects Where Birds Breed For Life: What Happens If Habitat Changes?
How young migratory birds choose the nesting location of their first breeding season has been something of a mystery in the bird world. But a new University of Maryland/National Zoo study of the American redstart suggests that the environmental conditions the birds face in their first year may help determine where they breed for the […]