The Migration Study Group - Friday, May 7th, 2010
WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY
8-9 MAY 2010 World Migratory Bird Day focuses on globally threatened migratory birds
On 8-9 May 2010 thousands of people around the world will be attending World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) events which will celebrate bird migration and highlight migratory birds in crisis.
Events to mark World Migratory Bird Day will include bird festivals, educational programmes, presentations and birdwatching trips organised by hundreds of dedicated groups and organisations around the world. An international photo competition – The World's Rarest Bird Photo Competition is also linked to WMBD this year and is focusing on the world's most threatened birds.
“Save migratory birds in crisis – every species counts!” - is this year's central WMBD theme and aims to raise awareness about globally threatened migratory birds, with a particular focus on those birds on the very edge of extinction - the Critically Endangered.
"The threat of extinction faced by individual bird species is a reflection of the larger extinction crisis threatening other species and the natural diversity that underpins all life on Earth", says Bert Lenten - Executive Secretary of the UN Environment Programme’s African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement
(AEWA) and initiator of the World Migratory Bird Day campaign. "By focusing on migratory birds in crisis during the International Year of Biodiversity, World Migratory Bird Day 2010 is highlighting the role played by birds as indicators, enabling us to see the negative effects our current way of life is having on the planet and its biodiversity", added Mr Lenten.
As one of the best researched taxa, birds serve as vital indicators for the state of biodiversity and the biological health of the ecosystems they inhabit.
If a bird species becomes threatened with extinction it is often a clear sign that the conditions of the required habitats have changed and that other species dependent on them may also be affected.
A staggering 1,227 or 12.4% of the total 9,865 extant bird species in the world are currently classified as globally threatened and 192 of these are considered Critically Endangered.
An estimated 19% of all known birds are considered to be migratory, of which 11% are Globally Threatened or Near Threatened and 31 are classified as Critically Endangered according to BirdLife International on behalf of the IUCN Red List.
"World Migratory Bird Day is an opportunity to draw international attention to migratory birds around a central theme each year. The focus on the most threatened migratory birds in 2010 acts as yet another reminder to governments that more needs to be done internationally to conserve these species across their migratory ranges", says Elizabeth Maruma Mrema - Executive Secretary of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), a UNEP administered wildlife treaty.
Critically Endangered bird species are found throughout the world in all countries and territories, with most countries supporting at least one species with this highest risk category assigned by the IUCN.
“International collaboration is the only way to conserve migratory birds as they pass along their flyways”, said Dr Marco Lambertini – BirdLife’s Chief Executive. “That's why the BirdLife Partnership, with over 100 national organisations across the continents, can make a great difference in providing safer routes for migratory birds, as well as promoting the crucial inter-governmental co-ordinated efforts needed to address the growing threats along the flyways”.
Some prominent examples of “migratory birds in crisis” being highlighted in the context of this year’s WMBD campaign include the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris), the Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita), the Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius), the Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) and the Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) – all of which are migratory and listed as Critically Endangered.
These birds face a range of mainly human-driven threats, of which agriculture and invasive alien species are the most important. Hunting and trapping, logging, urbanization, pollution and fisheries are also significant threats, with climate change increasingly becoming a factor.
“It is time we listen properly to what the birds are telling us about the current state of our environment. Without immediate conservation action, there is a risk that the state of the world’s biodiversity will continue to get worse and that as a result some migratory bird species, including some that fall under international wildlife treaties such as AEWA might become extinct” says Mr Lenten.
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is a global initiative devoted to celebrating migratory birds and for promoting their conservation worldwide. It is being organized by the Secretariats of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement
(AEWA) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) – two international wildlife treaties administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The WMBD 2010 campaign has also received support from the following partners: UNEP, The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB), BirdLife International, Wetlands International, The Partnership for the East Asian - Australasian Flyway (EAAFP) and The World’s Rarest Project.
The WMBD campaign is made possible through part of the voluntary contribution given to the AEWA Secretariat by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
For more information please see the WMBD Partners page on www.worldmigratorybirdday.org
Events in over 40 countries
As of 6 May 2010 over 70 separate events in more than 40 countries have been registered on the campaign website. WMBD events will be celebrated in: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR (China), India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Kenya, ,Madagascar, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, the United States of America and Zimbabwe.
For more information please see the WMBD Around the World page on www.worldmigratorybirdday.org
World’s Rarest Birds Photo Competition
World Migratory Bird Day 2010 has teamed up with this year's World's Rarest Bird Photo Competition covering the world's most threatened birds and has included an additional prize for the best photo of one of the 31 Critically Endangered birds that are migratory. Photos submitted to the international photo competition will be featured in a landmark publication – The World’s Rarest Birds – which will support international conservation efforts and help fundraise for BirdLife International’s Preventing Extinctions Programme. Contributors to the photo competition, whose images are published will receive a free copy of the book and also have a chance of winning a number of attractive prizes.
For more information please see the Photo Competition page on www.worldmigratorybirdday.org
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
DEMAND THAT MALTA RESPECTS THE EU LAW
AND STOP KILLING OF PROTECTED BIRDS
In Europe and Africa, wild birds and their habitats are protected through the efforts of conservation organisations and governments that are spending millions of Euros to ensure their future.
These same birds migrate from Europe to Africa every autumn, travelling thousands of kilometres to spend the winter in warmer climates. Every spring, they migrate back to Europe to breed and replenish their numbers.
During each journey, the migratory birds are in peril as they fly over Malta, where they continue to be gunned down. Every year, protected species are killed; every spring and every autumn. Law enforcement is under resourced and unable to control the scale of illegal hunting.
There are nearly 15,000 hunters and bird trappers on the small island.
Whereas spring hunting is not permitted under the EU Birds Directive because this is the breeding season and a chance for birds to replenish their numbers, Malta has opened the spring hunting season every year since it joined the EU in 2004.
Over the last years, BirdLife Malta has been instrumental in ensuring that Malta strengthens its bird protection laws through its public and advocacy campaigns.
Spring hunting was not allowed in 2008 and 2009 thanks to an interim measure issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Last year, the ECJ found that Malta had been in breach of European law for allowing spring hunting (of turtle dove and quail) without meeting the conditions of derogation since it became a member state.
In spite of this, the Maltese government is still considering opening what it calls a “limited spring hunting season” in 2010. The government also continues to undermine the true scale and seriousness of illegal hunting.
This is where you come in.
Unless we protect the migratory ‘flyways’ over the Mediterranean, conservation efforts in Europe and Africa are in vain. This is because170 bird species regularly migrate over Malta. When they reach Malta, these birds are at their weakest. Many will try to rest on Malta and feed to build up their strength for the last leg of their journey. Instead, many meet their death.
Last September, volunteers from BirdLife Malta and another bird conservation group (CABS) found the remains of over 200 protected birds buried in a woodland used as hunting grounds.
The remains included marsh harriers, honey-buzzards and night herons among other protected species. And this case is only one example that reflects the true scale of the illegal killing of protected birds in Malta.
BirdLife Malta is a small organisation that is on the front line against the aggressive hunting lobby. Their staff and volunteers have suffered intimidation, criminal damage, arson attacks and violence. A BirdLife Ranger has been shot at and injured twice over the last two years.
BirdLife Malta does not give up and continues to work under very difficult circumstances – so we should also not give up and continue supporting our partner in Malta.
To Dr Lawrence Gonzi,
Prime Minister of Malta
Mr Prime Minister,
Do not bring renewed shame on Malta!
We urge you not to harm EU nature conservation laws for a few votes from the hunting minority.
We urge you to comply with EU law through Maltese legislation.
We urge you to ensure all hunting legislation is fully enforced.
We urge you never to allow spring shooting or trapping of Turtle Dove and Quail again.
Photograph by Joe Zammit Lucia of a Night Heron shot in Malta
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
EU seeks injunction to stop hunting of protected birds in Italy
The European Commission has called on the European Court of Justice to issue an injunction against Italy to prevent the hunting of protected bird species in the Lombardy region. Court action is already pending against a number of regions, including Lombardy, for the practice of allowing hunting derogations which do not comply with the strict conditions laid down in EU law. However, the Commission has decided to take urgent action after Lombardy passed new legislation which allows the hunting of four protected species until 31 December 2009.
EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said member sates had to follow the correct rules for the conservation of bird species to help prevent biodiversity loss.
"EU nature legislation allows for derogations for a limited number of reasons, although these exceptions are only possible when there is no alternative solution and strict conditions are met."
The European Commission said a number of regions have for many years adopted and continue to adopt legislation and derogations permitting the hunting of birds in breach of the Birds Directive. The regions concerned are: Abruzzo, Lazio, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Calabria, Apulia and Tuscany.
It said the Lombardy region recently passed new legislation which allows the hunting of four protected species - Chaffinch ( Fringilla coelebs), Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) and Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes). The injunction was requested in order to stop that legislation.
The Commission said this was only the fourth time that such an injunction had been sought, with previous cases concerning a law permitting the spring hunting of birds in Malta in April 2008, the proposed construction of a road through the Rospuda river valley in Poland in March 2007,and hunting derogations in breach of the Birds Directive for the region of Liguria, Italy, in December 2006.
Source: www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091122/local/eu-seeks-injunction-to-stop-hunting-of-protected-birds-in-italy
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Monday, October 19th, 2009
October bird migration in France
October is usually an interesting month for bird migration. The most numerous species on migraction.net between 1st and 18th October are Chaffinch (356 562 inds. - 33,8%) and Woodpigeon (238 446 inds. - 22,6%). Mind that important numbers of pigeons are not identifified at species level (no less than 11,2% of all migratory birds were unidentified pigeons - 117 782 inds.). Some interesting totals include 289 Balearic Shearwaters, 6641 Red Kites, 16437 Brent Geese and 33258 Cranes.
Several rarities were reported at the various migration watchpoints: 1 Black Brant at Cap Gris-Nez (11/10), 1 Pallid Harrier at Fort de la Revère (16/10), 1 Long-legged Buzzard at Pagny-sur-Meuse (8/10), 1 Red-footed Falcon at Fort de la Revère (3/10), 1 Olive-backed Pipit at Carolles (15/10), 5 Richard's Pipits and 1 Rustic Bunting at Cap Ferret (13/10).
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Monday, September 14th, 2009
International Conference on the Red Kite
Dear colleagues,
We would like to remind you that the international conference on the Red Kite will take place on next October 17th and 18th, in Montbéliard (France).
Though the program is already well filled we wish to advise you at last that it is still possible (until September 20th) to propose interventions, and even posters, in priority for countries having not yet proposed any subject (useful contact : Fabienne David, LPO Mission Rapaces, 62 rue Bargue, 75015 Paris France ; fabienne.david@lpo.fr; + 33 (0) 1 53 58 58 38).
Wishing keenly to meet you at this international conference.
Sincerely,
Fabienne David (LPO Mission Rapaces)
The Organizers (LPO Mission Rapaces & LPO Franche-Comté / BirdLife France)
milan-royal.lpo.fr/actualites/actualites.html
Document to download : 
FicheinscriptionRegistrationform-8832.pdf
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Thursday, September 10th, 2009
BirdLife welcomes ECJ decision on spring hunting in Malta
10th September 2009, Malta & Brussels – In a verdict delivered today, the European Court of Justice (ECJ, case
C-76/08) declared that Malta has breached European law by allowing spring hunting of Turtle Dove
Streptopelia turtur and Common Quail
Coturnix coturnix in the years 2004-2007
.
BirdLife International and BirdLife Malta welcomed the ruling as it shows that this practice jeopardizes the conservation of these species, which have been classified by BirdLife as being in unfavourable conservation status in Europe. As a consequence, BirdLife concludes spring hunting has to end permanently. Hunting in autumn can continue for these and 30 other species in Malta, under certain conditions laid out in the EU Birds Directive. [1]
BirdLife International [2] and BirdLife Malta had submitted a complaint to the European Commission on Malta’s insistence on spring hunting in 2005. “This ruling is good news for millions of European birds, including Turtle Dove and Quail that cross Malta every spring on their dangerous migration back from Africa. Once again we have an example how the EU Birds Directive can help our common natural heritage”, said Konstantin Kreiser, EU Policy Manager at BirdLife International in Brussels.
“Malta needs to come in line with the Birds Directive and ban spring hunting. At the same time, as we have said many times before, Maltese hunters have every right to continue their practice during the autumn hunting season within the parameters of the law, and respecting the list of huntable species” said Joseph Mangion, BirdLife Malta’s President.
The Maltese islands are located on an important bird migration route in the Mediterranean. A recent study analysing ring recoveries in Malta, showed that birds originating from a minimum of thirty-six European countries have been recorded migrating over Malta. [3]
At the same time, conservationists across Europe remain concerned about illegal hunting of protected species in Malta (like raptors and herons), and a lack of adequate police enforcement.
“The ALE, the Maltese police unit dealing with illegal hunting, is heavily under-resourced and struggles to keep up with the scale of illegalities. We expect the Prime Minister to use this Court Ruling as an opportunity to now focus on clamping down on illegal hunting - which has tarnished Malta’s reputation over the years”, concluded Mr Mangion.
This year BirdLife Malta will run its annual international raptor monitoring camp between 12 September and 4 October. Maltese and international ornithologists join this camp with the express aim collect data on bird migration, and to curtail illegal hunting activities by informing the Maltese police force where needed, while respecting any hunting activities that stay within the legal framework.
ENDS
Contact:
- Geoffrey Saliba, BirdLife Malta Campaigns Coordinator, +356-7905-9501
Notes for the editor
[1] The European Commission had taken Malta to Court in January 2008, arguing Malta did not comply with the EU Birds Directive, since it had allowed spring hunting of the mentioned two species since EU accession in 2004.
Throughout the EU Birds Directive bans hunting of birds during their breeding period and during their spring migration back from Africa. Member States can apply derogations to this under certain conditions..
Now the Court concluded, that spring hunting as it was carried out since 2004 has not complied with these conditions.
Already in 2008 the Court had, requested by the European Commission, issued an “interim measure” ordering Malta not to open a spring hunting season (http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/04/malta_interim_measures.html). In 2009 the government of Malta then decided on its own initiative to wait until a final ruling was given. BirdLife sees this as a clear sign that the government will from now on respect the Birds Directive and never open spring hunting again.
[2] BirdLife International is a global partnership working together for birds and the environment. It promotes sustainable living as a means of conserving birds and all other forms of biodiversity and is the leading authority on the status of birds and their habitats. Over ten million people support the BirdLife Partnership consisting of over one-hundred non-governmental conservation organisations and local networks. Visit BirdLife’s European Division: http://europe.birdlife.org
[3] Raine, A.F. 2007. The international impact of hunting and trapping in the Maltese islands. BirdLife Malta, Malta
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Monday, August 31st, 2009
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Friday, August 14th, 2009
Migraction in Spanish
Since today, Migraction is also available in Spanish. Some elements of the translation are still missing (e.g. descriptions of the watchpoints). Volunteer translators willing to help with the full translation can contact gunter.desmet@lpo.fr . Thanks in advance.
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Coming soon on Migraction: peak migration of Black Kite
Peak migration of Black Kite in the Pyrenees usually occurs during the first decade of August. With more than 13000 Black Kites over Organbidexka in July, and increasing numbers of Black Kites over the last 30 years, migration may be particularly spectacular this season.
Pictures: www.migraction.net/index.php
posted by Gunter De Smet
The Migration Study Group - Saturday, July 18th, 2009
ROQUECEZIERE: the 40th migration watchpoint on Migraction!
The watchpoint of Roquecézière (Aveyron) recently joined the club. If you are on holiday in Aveyron or Tarn between 20 August and 10 September you may want to visit this site. During that period, daily counts are organized by LPO Tarn and Aveyron. This is the peak period for Honey Buzzard migration (with up to 1000 inds. on a top day!). Many raptors can be seen here, including Griffon and Black Vultures from the Grands Causses.
Find the descripition of the watchpoint here: www.migraction.net/index.php
posted by Gunter De Smet
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