A migratory bird environmentalists say is threatened because of horseshoe crab fishing should be listed under the Endangered Species Act, a coalition of environmental groups say in a letter to federal officials. read more at yahoo
Category: news
BirdLife Cyprus cries foul over weak penalty for falcon slaughterers
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 […]
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
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
Critical birds in the picture (and on the page)
BirdLife International. Last year’s Rare Birds Yearbook photo competition was a huge success with more than 1,000 images being submitted and the best were presented in Rare Birds Yearbook 2008, with each published photographer receiving a free copy of the book. The photo competition for Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 has just been launched and will […]
Paraguay?s first Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site – right on the capital?s doorstep!
Monitoring of shorebirds by Guyra Paraguay (BirdLife Partner in Paraguay) has resulted in the designation of the country?s first Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) site. Baha de Asuncin – an IBA wetland just north of Paraguay?s capital city Asuncin – has been identified as a key site for the Near Threatened Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites […]
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 […]
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 […]
Polluted Prey Causes Wild Birds To Change Their Tune
Considerable attention has been paid to the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in aquatic environments, but rather less attention has been given to routes of contamination on land. A new study by researchers at Cardiff University, reveals that wild birds foraging on invertebrates contaminated with environmental pollutants, show marked changes in both brain and behaviour: […]