In an Eggshell

Good News for Mozambique’s Waterbirds

Last fall, the conservation community applauded the Government of Mozambique for deciding to ratify the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and for nominating the Marromeu Complex, in the Zambezi River Delta, as a Wetland of International Importance—the first such site in Mozambique.

The 688,000-hectare site, known for its mangrove habitat, supports up to 4 percent of the world’s endangered wattled crane population (up to 30 percent during times of drought). Also flocking here are the grey crowned crane, several species of storks, and the largest breeding colony of white pelicans in southern Africa. If these waterbirds could say “thank you,” they would.

Feathers, Flyways, and Friends

In Australia, we have so many cheeky parrots, ponderous pelicans, and endearing emus that our shorebirds tend to get overlooked. By the time they migrate here from afar, they have lost their breeding-plumage colours, and seem drab and insignificant compared to our other more charismatic birds. Even experienced “birdos” can have trouble telling some shorebird species apart. However, lately it seems more and more people are becoming interested in these birds—their amazing journey, special needs, and unique habits and behaviors.

To help people learn more about shorebirds, The Wetland Centre Australia, located in Newcastle, New South Wales, developed a Web site called “Feathers, Flyways and Friends.” Our site mirrors that of the U.S. Shorebird Sister Schools Program, but contains information specific to the birds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.

Feathers educates visitors about shorebird species identification, life cycles, statuses, and threats. Teachers and children alike will also enjoy the puzzles, games, colouring sheets, and the popular curriculum “Feathers, Flyways and Fastfood” offered on this page. Flyways explores shorebird migration routes, favoured habitats, and various international migratory bird agreements and conventions. Friends enables visitors to link to numerous related sites, communicate with other flyway friends, learn about bird-related research projects, and view children’s shorebird artwork from around the world.

It’s all waiting for you Down Under at www.wetlands.org.au/shorebirds.

Helen Aitchison, The Wetlands Centre Australia
+ 02 4951 6466, shorebirds@wetlands.org.au

Rare Falcon Nest Found in Romania

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Research Associate Zoltan Domahidi recently reported a surprise discovery near the Macin hawkwatch site in southeastern Romania—the nests of two Saker falcons with the females incubating eggs. This is the first evidence of Sakers nesting in Romania in more than 30 years.

In 2003, BirdLife International estimated the global population of Sakers to be 3,600 to 4,400 pairs, compared with 8,000 pairs in 1990, a decline of from 45 to 55 percent.
" Finding two nests in a country that has not seen a Saker falcon in more than 3 decades is an incredible discovery," said Director of Conservation Science Dr. Keith Bildstein. "Hawk Mountain will continue to work with our Romanian partners with great interest to protect and monitor these nests."

Native to southeastern Europe and much of temperate Asia, the species is threatened because of illegal capture for falconry. The Saker is an impressive predator, known to stoop on its prey at speeds that exceed 100 miles per hour. Unlike the peregrine falcon, the larger Saker prefers to hunt from a perch, much like a northern goshawk. Found in open plains, forested steppes, and arid deserts, the Saker falcon preys upon small mammals, but it is also known to take prey larger than itself. The bird ranges in color from dark brown to gray to almost white.

Mary Linkevich, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
(610) 756-6000 extension 228, linkevich@hawkmountain.org

Standing Watch for Globally Threatened Birds

BirdLife International has collated, assessed, and published information about the world’s threatened birds for more than 20 years. The organisation gathers information from a global network of experts and from publications and unpublished sources to assess each species’ risk of extinction. Using standard quantitative criteria based on a species’ population size, population trends, and range size, BirdLife scientists determine the IUCN World Conservation Union Red List Category for each species.

BirdLife’s Threatened birds of the world 2004, a compact disc containing the latest assessment of the status of the world's birds, provides startling facts. A total of 1,211 bird species—12 percent of the world’s avifuana—are currently threatened with global extinction in the wild, including 179 considered Critically Endangered (extremely high risk of extinction); 344, Endangered (very high risk of extinction); and 688, Vulnerable (high risk of extinction). One hundred twenty-nine species have been classified Extinct since 1500, 4 species are considered Extinct in the Wild, and 774 are Near Threatened (close to qualifying as a threatened species). Forest habitats are home to 76 percent of threatened species, and habitat destruction and degradation affect 86 percent of these birds.

For more information about BirdLife, visit www.birdlife.net, where you can download the State of the world’s birds 2004, a 74-page book that relates the state of biodiversity, the pressures upon it, and the solutions for dealing with these pressures. Species fact sheets derived from the online version of BirdLife’s World Bird Database also are available. Visit www.redlist.org to learn more about the IUCN Red List.

Stuart Butchart, BirdLife International
+44 (0)1223 277 318, science@birdlife.org

Counting Birds Around the World

In the 1960s, there was growing concern in Europe about declining waterfowl numbers. Scientists needed baseline data to make informed population-management decisions. So, in 1967, the International Waterfowl Research Bureau, now known as Wetlands International, headquartered in The Netherlands, coordinated the International Waterfowl Mid-winter Counts in 17 countries on some 5,000 wetlands in Europe. In the 1970s, realisation dawned that other waterbirds also could be reliably counted. The census was expanded to become an international-scale, biodiversity monitoring scheme: the International Waterbird Census.

The census uses a site-based counting system. Observers are members of an enthusiastic, often voluntary, network of conservationists, with professional coordination at the national level. They make standardised counts at the same sites every January, when many species conspicuously congregate and when movement between sites is minimal. In recent years, more than 15,000 observers in more than 100 countries, in all parts of the world except North America, have participated in the census, counting around 35 million birds annually.

The census makes a significant contribution to the conservation of wetland birds by providing long-term, flyway-scale population trends; monitoring the distribution of these populations; increasing our knowledge of waterbird species and wetlands sites about which little is known; and assessing the importance of individual sites. The data collected are used to formulate international waterbird and wetland conservation policies through instruments such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the Biodiversity Convention.

For more information about the census and the good work it does, visit http://www.wetlands.org/IWC/wpal&swa/wpal.htm.

Simon Delany, Wetlands International
+31 317 478863, simon.delany@wetlands.org