 Henry McLin
US Scientists fitted tags to Purple Martins before the birds began their journey to central and South America.
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BirdLife News-Bytes
06-03-2009
Stories in this BirdLife News-Byte: Tracking reveals songbirds' route; BirdLife Europe e-news; Luzon Buttonquail; WOW site becomes first African Transboundary Ramsar site; Story in photos - How to take rats off an island; Spring arrives to Europe
Tracking reveals songbirds' route - The migration routes of two species of songbirds have been tracked for the first time, say scientists. They fitted tags to Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina and Purple Martin Progne subisin the north-east of the US before the birds began their journey to central and South America. Data recovered from the devices showed that the birds took much longer to complete the autumnal migration than the return journey north in the spring. For more informaiton, click here.
BirdLife Europe e-news - In the latest issue of the BirdLife European Newsletter you will read about a project to save Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus in the Romanian Danube delta, the designation of Polish IBAs into SPAs, the launch of the Portuguese Atlas of breeding birds and much more! You can download the newsletter here.
Luzon Buttonquail - Hunters recently caught a Luzon Buttonquail Turnix worcesteri in the Caraballo mountain range, Luzon, Philippines. The buttonquail's breeding area remains unknown though ornithologists suspect it resides in the high mountain grasslands of the Cordillera mountain range to the west of the Caraballos on the main island of Luzon. Named after Dean Conant Worcester, an American zoologist who worked in the Philippines in the early 20th century, the Luzon Buttonquail is currently classified as Data Deficient. It appears to be rare, however buttonquails are a notoriously cryptic and unobtrusive family of birds, and the species could conceivably occur in reasonable numbers somewhere.
WOW site becomes first African Transboundary Ramsar site - The Saloum-Niumi Complex – a Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) Project Demonstration Site - has been officially declared as the first African Transboundary Ramsar Site by the Governments of The Gambia and Senegal. Shared between these two countries, the Saloum-Niumi complex forms a single ecological system comprising coastal wetlands and savannah forests, and includes one of the largest tracts of mangrove forest in West Africa. BirdLife are a key partner in the WOW Project which has actually been fostering the cooperation between the site authorities on the ground in both Senegal and The Gambia, building the foundation for the transboundary protected area. To read more, click here.
Story in photos - How to take rats off an island - The BirdLife Pacific Partnership is involved in various island restoration projects across the region, including Palau, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Fiji. In most cases island restoration starts with the removal of ‘alien invasive species’ such as rodents (rats and mice) and cats. We've just published a series of photos showing how rats were removed from the seven Ringgold islands in Fiji in 2008. Click to view the photo-browser.
Spring arrives to Europe - The first observations of migratory bird arrivals to Europe have been recorded. Barn Swallows, White Storks, Common Swifts and Common Cuckoos were spotted by Spring Alive participants in Cyprus, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany and Lithuania. For now most of the birds were seen in the south of Europe, but in coming weeks we should witness a rush northwards. Don't forget to add your sightings to the Spring Alive website!
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