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A miraculous find by Kakapo ranger boosts the Critically Endangered endemic parrot population.
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BirdLife News-Bytes
16-02-2009
Stories in this BirdLife News-Byte: Kakapo found after 22 years; Fiji Petrel Fatality; Northern Bald Ibis Website; BirdLife Africa Newsletter; Google Ocean Launched
Kakapo found after 22 years - A miraculous find by a Kakapo Strigops habroptilus ranger boosts the Critically Endangered endemic parrot population to 91. The flightless nocturnal bird was one of four male Kakapo released in 1987 on a 1,400 ha conservation sanctuary, near Stewart Island, New Zealand. The bird had not been seen since until it was recently discovered booming - its unique resonant mating call - where no Kakapo had been detected before. Click to read about the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme aiming to save all Critically Endangered birds.
Fiji Petrel Fatality - Just as a NatureFiji-MareqetiViti project gears up to work on the Critically Endangered Fiji Petrel Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi, a grounded bird was recently found on the remote island of Gau. Unfortunatly the adult female petrel did not survive. The bird constitutes the world’s fourth specimen and underlines the urgency of initiating conservation action on the ground. The Fiji Petrel was ‘rediscovered’ in 1984 and its breeding grounds in the rugged highlands of Gau are still unknown. NatureFiji-MareqetiViti are currently seeking the services of an enthusiastic and energetic volunteer to help in their conservation work. Interested people should contact Dick Watling at: watling@naturefiji.org
Northern Bald Ibis Website - International Advisory Group for the Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita (Critically Endangered) has launched a new website. Supporting scientific research, field projects and bringing governments and non-government organisations together, the new site aims to help develop and implement the conservation and rehabilitation of the species. To visit the site, please click here.
BirdLife Africa Newsletter - The BirdLife International Africa Partnership e-bulletin is hot off the press. It's full of conservation stories from across the continent. In this quarter's edition you can read about: Conservation in the Upper Guinea Forest; Saving Africa's threatened vultures; Rio Tinto and Kruger to Canyons Birding Affair; White-necked Picathartes Conservation in Sierra Leone; Nabajjuzi wetland, a newly discovered treasure in Uganda; WorldBirds on-line for Africa, and much more... Click to download your copy.
 Google
Google recently celebrated Charles Darwin's anniversary by adapting their logo to display finches in the Galapagos.
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Google Ocean Launched - Google has just announced a new tool that allows viewers to take a glimpse under the sea. This should help to address the 'out of sight – out of mind mentality' currently plaguing marine conservation efforts. Having just rolled out Google Sky following the ever-popular Google Earth, Google is now giving visitors a chance to dive into an area that occupies two-thirds of the earth’s surface. No doubt this is a powerful tool for sharing information about our oceans. So have a look for yourself and click here.
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