The Amazing Journey

In order to increase our monitoring capability, two further female Sociable Lapwings were trapped and fitted with satellite-tracking devices in Central Kazakhstan this spring.

During an initial period of warm weather in mid April the first returning Sociable Lapwings were found back around the project study site at Korgalzhyn in central Kazakhstan.

A positive signal from Abaj received in a transmission made on April 14th confirms he has now made it safely back to his breeding grounds in central Kazakhstan, just north-west of Lake Tengiz.

Following a number of ambiguous signals over the past few weeks, we have just received confirmation that Dinara has made it back to southern Kazakhstan.

After spending the winter in western India (near the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat) Dinara has set off on a long journey north back towards her breeding grounds and is now already in Tajikistan about 50 km north-east of Khorog.

Delegates attending the inaugural meeting of the Sociable Lapwing International Working Group in Syria, last weekend, received the welcome news that Swarovski Optik will be providing further funding to help their international conservation action.

Conservation scientists and government officials from fourteen countries spanning three continents are meeting in Syria today to plan collaborative conservation action that aims to prevent the extinction of the Critically Endangered Sociable Lapwing.

In September 2010, Nature Iraq undertook a combined monitoring and advocacy exercise in several areas of Iraq where Sociable Lapwings have been previously found on passage.

Here you can see a group of school children holding up posters that explain the rarity of the species and urge local communities to participate in their protection.

After an absence of any firm location data since early October, Erzhan – our most experienced traveller – has just popped up on our radar again. For the fourth year running we can confirm he is now back in a wintering flock in Sudan.

A new transmission just received from Dinara now locates her close to the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat.