Forest & Bird (BirdLife in New Zealand) The Rowi or Okarito Brown Kiwi – are New Zealand’s rarest kiwi. Zoom In

News in Brief

19-10-2009

Stories in this News in Brief: Kiwi flies in Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year competition; Making - and keeping - Fiji’s islands rat-free; Mike Rands receives RSPB Medal; Barn Swallows arriving back to South Africa; Cracker-free zone, Call for applications for 2010 conservation awards

Kiwi flies in Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year competition - New Zealand's national bird, the kiwi, has won Forest & Bird's (BirdLife in New Zealand) title of Bird of the Year for 2009. "This forest hen is a biological oddity – it has whiskers like a cat's, it burrows like a badger, it kicks like a kangaroo and it smells like a forest mushroom", said Kevin Hackwell - Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager. "Unfortunately, it's this odour that is one of the factors in the kiwi's decline. It has become an easy lunch for predators like stoats, rats and possums". Forest & Bird's Bushy Park reserve in Wanganui is used as a 'kiwi crèche' where chicks are raised until they are big enough to have a chance of fighting off stoat attacks in the wild. To find out more, please click here. To see BirdLife's Kiwi factsheets, please click here.

Making - and keeping - Fiji’s islands rat-free - Working with partner organisations and local communities, BirdLife has launched a three-year project to make the newly rat-free status of nine Fijian islands permanent. Most documented extinctions of Pacific island birds are the result of invasive alien species such as rats. BirdLife has successfully eradicated rats from the nine islands: Vatu-i-Ra, Mabualau, and the seven Ringgold islands. A year later, surveys show all the islands are still rat-free. Communities have asked for assistance to develop Protected Area status for these islands, to prevent alien species reintroduction and unsustainable resource use, and to enhance their tourism potential. The project will work with the island-owning mataqali to establish community-based Protected Areas on all nine islands. With funding from the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative, BirdLife is implementing this project through its regional Secretariat in Suva, in close collaboration with local NGO NatureFiji-MareqetiViti and the government of Fiji. For more information, please click here. 

Mike Rands receives RSPB Medal - This year's RSPB Medal has been awarded to Dr Mike Rands – BirdLife's Director and Chief Executive between 1996 and 2009. The medal was awarded in recognition of Mike's skills and diplomacy in nurturing BirdLife International to become the world’s largest conservation alliance in terms of country Partners. "Today, through the BirdLife network, RSPB has partners in over 100 countries around the world, with a combined supporter base in excess of 10 million people", said Graham Wynne – RSPB Chief Executive. "BirdLife is now making a real impact in saving species, in protecting important sites, in conserving habitats, and in empowering people to take action for wildlife."

Barn Swallows arriving back to South Africa – Endlessly chasing the summer sun, Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica have started to return to their non-breeding sites in South Africa. Barn Swallows fly up to 16,000 km from Europe to South Africa with an average speed of 150 km/day. Their return is being documented by the joint Animal Demography Unit / BirdLife South Africa (BirdLife Partner) WHAMBing survey. WHAMBing stands for 'Welcome Home All Migrant Birds', and is a mini-project within the Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2, which has now received over 1.25 million records from bird watchers across southern Africa. If you want to read more about the project, or would like to get involved, please click here.

Cracker-free zone - A feature of the Indian festival of Diwali is the ubiquitous use of firecrackers, making it a noisy time for people and wildlife, but not so in the town of Singampunari in Tamil Nadu state, southern India. For three decades, the setting off of fire crackers has been banned so that birds at the nearby Vattangudi Bird Sanctuary are not scared away by all the explosions. This Important Bird Area (IBA) has large breeding colonies of waterbirds including Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans and Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, as well as being important for large numbers of migratory species.

Call for applications for 2010 conservation awards - The Conservation Leadership Programme is now soliciting applications for 2010 Conservation Awards. The application deadline is 6th November 2009 for ALL applications and awards will be announced in March 2010. The CLP has been helping young conservationists to achieve their goals and move into positions of influence within the conservation sector, and 2010 marks its 25th Anniversary. Successful applicants will: develop the knowledge, skills and abilities of team members; implement high-priority conservation projects combining research and action; and contribute to the long-term success of local conservation efforts. For more information, please click here.