Richard Porter / BirdLife Alien invasive House Crow has been successfully removed from the island of Socotra. Zoom In

BirdLife News-Bytes

06-07-2009

House Crow eradicated from Socotra - Alien invasive House Crow Corvus splendens has been successfully removed from the island of Socotra. “Eradication of the House Crow from Socotra has removed the risk posed to our native fauna”, said Nadim Taleb - the National coordinator for the GEF, Governance and Biodiversity Mainstreaming Project. This news follows ten years work by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Socotra Archipelago Conservation and Development Programme (SCDP). House Crow arrived on Socotra in 1996 and built up a breeding population of over 10 pairs which posed a threat to native biodiversity. Numerous attempts to trap them failed but an imaginative scheme to control their numbers was successful. Children were paid a reward for bringing a nest containing young to the Socotra Archipelago Conservation and Development Programme. The last birds were killed by a marksman this spring. “The Invasive Species Control Group freed Socotra from the invasive House Crow”, said Omar Al Saghier, National Coordinator for GEF-Small Grant programme. “We now wish them success in their efforts to work alongside local communities to eradicate invasive plants”. The work was undertaken by the Invasive Species Control Group, the EPA, Friends of Socotra and SADP using GEF-Small Grant programme funds.

First protection for Critically Endangered wren – In the Chicamocha Valley of the eastern Andes of Colombia, ProAves together with World Land Trust-US, American Bird Conservancy and the Corporación Autónoma de Santander have finalised the purchase of 1,300 hectares of dry forest habitat as part of the Conservation Leadership Programme – Chicamocha project. This includes some of the highest quality remaining forest of this type in the entire region and will result in the creation of a new reserve to protect the Critically Endangered Niceforo's Wren Thryothorus nicefori. To find out more about the Conservation Leadership Programme click here.

Summer visitor making a swift exit - The RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) recently announced that UK Common Swift Apus apus numbers have declined by 47% in the last decade. A major cause of this decline is believed to be the loss of nest sites through building improvement or demolition. In response they have launched a nationwide search to identify where Common Swifts are still seen and could be nesting. "The fact they are declining so rapidly is of huge concern, which is why we’re asking people to help us find out where they are so we can focus our efforts in the right place", said Sarah Niemann - RSPB Species Recovery Officer.