Another kakapo death – Caused by transmitter harness

Kakapo numbers down to 127
January 2012: Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said Sandra, a female discovered on Stewart Island in 1992, was found dead on Anchor Island at the weekend, caught up by her transmitter harness.

"It's gutting for the team to lose one of the birds this way. Without transmitters, our mission to support and grow the kakapo population would be virtually impossible" she said.

Transmitters are fitted on every kakapo and are crucial for locating the birds. Ms Vercoe Scott said it was the first time a kakapo had died in such a manner.

First harness death in 31 years
"The harnesses are fitted in a way that the bird will wriggle out of them if they get hooked on something. We've been using them for the past 31 years without a death like this occurring. We're not sure what happened to Sandra but she may have got really twisted up. It's extremely upsetting."

Sandra didn't have a good breeding history, raising just one chick in 1999, Morehu.

Fourth recent death
Her death is the fourth since September 2011 and sees the kakapo population fall to 127, down from a high of 131 following last year's breeding season. There will be no breeding season this year.

To read about another recent kakapo mortality, click Kakapo death ends disappointing year

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/kakapo-dies.html

Critically Endangered Philippine eagle shot dead

Young eagle had been taken back by its parents
October 2011: A Critically Endangered Philipine eagle, that had been rescued as a juvenile has been found dead in the Philippines. It appears to have been shot according to The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF).

The eagle, called Hagpa, was originally rescued after being captured by a farmer in May last year. The eagle, thought to be a six to eight-month-old female at time of rescue, was treated for minor injuries and stress at the Philippine Eagle Centre for 21 days then released back to her forest home. To protect the bird from further harm, a community-wide education campaign was conducted by volunteer teachers.

Had begun to live independentlyHagpa's release was the first case of a young eaglet accepted back by its parents after being separated for 27 days. The resumption of filial bonds between the parents and the returning eaglet was confirmed during a fieldwork in July 2010, when the eaglet was seen in active play, healthy and fed by her parents. Since then the eaglet had been venturing further away from its parents' territory as it began to live on its own.

But, after being alerted by a member of the public, the PEF team found a dead eagle that was already in an advanced state of decomposition. They were able to recover a leg band positively identifying the remains as that of Hagpa.

More bones and feathers, the frame of the head, sternum and tail feathers, the leg and tarsus were found spread on the river rocks close to the creek and its junction with the Udyangun River. Hagpa's radio transmitter however remains missing. The eagle had been fitted with both a satellite transmitter and a radio transmitter prior to its release. The satellite transmitter that was retrieved has a bullet-sized hole, prompting the PEF to believe that the eagle had been shot.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/eagle-philippines.html

When rediscovery is not enough: Taxonomic uncertainty hinders conservation of a critically endangered bird (via Chad Arment)

Abstract

In 2003, birds similar to the extinct New Zealand storm-petrel Oceanites maorianus were observed in Hauraki Gulf NZ, raising the possibility of rediscovery after 150 years. O. maorianus has and continues to be surrounded by taxonomic uncertainty, being variously described as a distinct genus, a distinct species, or merely a plumage variant. This uncertainty has hindered conservation planning and funding for the species. Here we examine the taxonomic identity of the rediscovered birds and museum specimens using phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial (1143 bp cytochrome b) and nuclear (890 bp β-fibrinogen) genes. Using cytochrome b sequence amplified from the 150+ year old specimens, we found that the extant and museum O. maorianus were the same taxon (0.01 genetic distance), with both differing from all other storm-petrel taxa. Using both genes, we examined the phylogenetic affinities of O. maorianus to the Oceanitinae and Hydrobatinae storm-petrels finding that O. maorianus was more closely aligned to Fregetta (0.08–0.09) than Oceanites (0.11–0.12), thereby confirming its status as a distinct taxon, not a plumage variant of O. oceanicus. Our analysis verifies that the previously presumed extinct New Zealand storm-petrel has been rediscovered and can now be assigned a conservation priority commensurate with its critically endangered status.

Read on...

Record number of Critically Endangered ibis seen in Cambodia – But …….

Conservationists concerned for future of White-shouldered Ibis - Courtesy of Birdlife September 2011. The 2011 Cambodian census of White-shouldered ibis has found a larger number of birds than ever before, but celebrations are muted, as this species' survival is imminently threatened by serious habitat loss.

543 birds counted
The total of 543 birds, counted concurrently in four key sites, was a record exceeding the 428 individuals at the same time last year. Nevertheless, the larger number provides little extra long-term security for this species, as up to 85% of these birds are at risk of losing their habitat from change in land use in the near future.

Critically Endangered
White-shouldered Ibis is classified as Critically Endangered by BirdLife on behalf of IUCN, of which Cambodia is a member. This means there is a high probability that the species will go extinct in the near future - a route already trod by Cambodia's national animal, the Kouprey.

As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cambodia has an international duty to conserve this and other endangered species. As a result of habitat loss, the species is extinct from its former range in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia and China, and a very small population in Indonesian Borneo (previously estimated at 30-100 individuals) has also declined.

Cambodia holds 95% of global population
Cambodia now supports at least 95% of the global population of this species and is therefore a vital last stronghold. In the wet season, the ibises flock together at roosting sites making it possible to count them. Loss of its remaining habitat in Cambodia is now the biggest single threat to White-shouldered Ibis. Although nationwide counts of White-shouldered Ibis have provided higher estimates of the Cambodian population than previously known, conservationists are cautious to claim the population has been growing.

A consortium of organisations comprising BirdLife International, the Cambodian Forestry Administration, Department for Administration of Nature Conservation and Protection of Cambodia Ministry of Environment, the People Resources and Conservation Foundation, the University of East Anglia, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and World Wide Fund for Nature all lead efforts to monitor and conserve the White-shouldered Ibis and its forest home in Cambodia. Conservation efforts across the country include guarding of nests, community-based ecotourism, law enforcement to prevent hunting and the ‘Ibis Rice' scheme, in which local people grow wildlife-friendly rice.

White-shouldered Ibis is one of the species benefiting from BirdLife's Preventing Extinction Programme. Find out more at www.birdlife.org/extinction

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cambodia-ibis.html

Endangered vultures still in peril as pharmacies flout deadly drug ban

But best-ever year at captive breeding centres as number of fledged young almost doubles September 2011: More than a third of Indian pharmacies are flouting a ban on a veterinary drug that has brought the country's vultures to the brink of extinction, according to a new study.

The manufacture and sale of diclofenac for veterinary use has been illegal since 2006, but farmers and livestock owners are purchasing human diclofenac illegally in conveniently large bottles to treat their cattle.

This is difficult to prevent, given the wide availability of the drug. Some of the other diclofenac on sale was formulated for veterinary use and had been manufactured illegally after the 2006 ban.

Dramatic decline in numbersDiclofenac is responsible for all-but wiping out three species of Gyps vultures, endemic to South Asia. The population crash of these vultures was first noted in the late 1990s. Since then their rate of decline has been steeper than nearly any other bird species, including the infamous dodo.

The Indian Government banned diclofenac veterinary use in May 2006 with bans in Nepal and Pakistan the same year. Further measures in India, in August 2008, placed additional restrictions prohibiting the manufacture, sale and distribution of diclofenac and its formulations for animal use with contravention being punishable with imprisonment.

The research to evaluate the effectiveness of the 2006 ban was conducted by surveys in more than 250 veterinary and general pharmacy shops in 11 Indian states from November 2007 to June 2010. The surveyors asked if they could buy non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for treating cattle. Diclofenac was recorded in 36 per cent of shops asked.

Banned drug still for sale in conveniently large quantitiesLead author and principal conservation scientist at the RSPB, Dr Richard Cuthbert, said: ‘The ban is still quite easy to avoid because human formulations are still freely for sale in large vials which are convenient for use on large animals such as cattle and clearly not suitable for human use. Preventing the misuse of human diclofenac for veterinary use remains the main challenge in halting the decline of endangered vultures.'

While the research shows that there is still widespread availability of diclofenac after the ban, encouragingly it also shows an increase in meloxicam (found in 70 per cent of pharmacies), a drug that has very similar therapeutic effects on cattle as diclofenac but which has been proven to be safe to vultures.

Dr Vibhu Prakash of the Bombay Natural History Society, and co-author said: ‘Firm action at Government level against pharmaceutical companies and pharmaceutical shops that are breaking the law by manufacturing and selling diclofenac for veterinary use is urgently needed if we are to save vultures from extinction.'

RSPB breeding success with 'double clutches'In contrast to the disheartening results from this research, the RSPB is happy to report the most successful year yet at the Indian captive breeding centres as the number of fledged chicks is up almost double on last year. Eighteen vulture chicks have been successfully reared in captivity in 2011 - the largest annual total to date.

Another first for the captive breeding centre this year is a number of ‘double clutches', meaning some pairs produced a second egg and chick, as the first was removed, hatched in incubators and reared by the highly trained BNHS staff.

The Bombay Natural History Society, with support from the RSPB and newly-formed consortium Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) manages three conservation breeding centres in India where 271 vultures are housed and successful breeding of all three species has now occurred.

Chris Bowden, the RSPB's head of vulture programme and SAVE spokesperson said: ‘Three species of south Asia's vultures are heading for extinction so we have to act now. With the latest success at the breeding centres we're more confident than ever that there will be sufficient numbers for reintroduction to the wild as soon as it's safe for them, but until diclofenac stops being produced and sold for veterinary use we cannot guarantee these birds have any future in the wild.

'We're on the right track, but there is a long way still to go.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/vulture-drug-ban%20.html

Two kakapo found dead

Two Critically Endangered kakapo have died September 2011. Two young female kakapo have been found dead - one on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, off Stewart Island, the other on Anchor Island in Fiordland.
Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said the two birds were discovered by rangers doing transmitter changes during the weekend. The first, Purity, hatched during the bumper 2009 breeding season. It was estimated she had been dead around ten days. The other, Monoa, which hatched in 2002, was found Sunday on Anchor Island. She had been dead for quite some time, indicating the two deaths were not linked.

Cause of death unknown
"At this stage, we have no idea what the cause of either death is. Initial autopsies have been carried out at Auckland Zoo and showed no obvious reasons," she said.

Tissue samples had been sent to Massey University. "We now have to wait for further results."

Come and meet Scirocco
The news comes during the same week "star" bird Sirocco officially launched his career as an advocate for Kakapo Recovery. Sirocco is on display at Orokonui Ecosanctuary, near Dunedin, for most of September before he heads to ZEALANDIA, in Wellington.

131 Kakapo alive
Ms Vercoe Scott said the kakapo deaths were a reminder that, although Kakapo Recovery had achieved much during the past 21 years - increasing the total population from 49 to 131 this year - the kakapo was still a critically endangered species and vulnerable.

"While it is such a shame to lose two young females, it's a fact that, as kakapo numbers increase, we can expect a natural increase in mortality rates for a variety of reasons. The good news is more than half the kakapo population is young breeding age birds, so the recovery of kakapo is still in good shape."
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/kakapo-deaths.html

3 more Californian condors released in Arizona in September

Population had fallen to just 22 birds August 2011: Three California condors will be released to the wild in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona next month.

Members of the public are welcome to watch the release from a viewing area, where spotting scopes will be set up. The release on Saturday, September 24 will be the 17th public release of condors in Arizona since a recovery programme began in 1996.

Hatched and reared in captivityCondors are hatched and reared in captivity at The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, and transported to Arizona for release to the wild. Condors also come to the release area from the Oregon Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Currently, 70 condors are in the wild in the Grand Canyon region. The world's total population of endangered California Condors is 399, with 198 of them in the wild in Arizona, Utah, California, and Mexico. Condors were reduced to just 22 individuals in the 1980s when a programme was begun to save the species from extinction. Research shows that lead poisoning from spent lead ammunition is the principle mortality agent for the condor flock, which forages largely on its own, and the programme has also made advancements in reducing the prevalence and impact of lead.

Recovery and reintroduction cooperators in Arizona include The Peregrine Fund, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/condor-release011.html#cr

Critically Endangered Northern bald ibis rear two healthy young

Syrian unrest doesn't hamper recovery of Middle East's rarest bird

July 2011. Conservationists have feared that Syria's current political unrest may have affected the fortunes of the northern bald ibis - currently the most threatened bird in the Middle East with just one breeding pair left.

There are just 3 remaining wild Northern Bald ibis in Syria. Credit RSPBimages.com

But counter to the trepidation, for the first time in the last three years the remaining pair has successfully reared two healthy young, which have left the nest and have begun their migration to the highlands of Ethiopia.

Teetering on the verge of extinction
Chris Bowden is the RSPB's international species recovery officer, coordinating the northern bald ibis programme for BirdLife International. He said: "This species has teetered on the brink of extinction in the Middle East for several years, but we're delighted to report that the fledging of two chicks has reignited our hopes for the recovery of this bird." The Syrian Desert Commission has successfully protected the birds. The northern bald ibis - named for its distinctive bald-headed appearance - is distantly related to storks, herons and spoonbills.

Symbol of the Pharaohs
Chris Bowden added: "This species has been an important cultural and religious icon in the Middle East and it had special significance to the Egyptian Pharaohs, but now it has become a symbol of optimism too.

Tracing their migration
"As we trace their migration route across the Middle East, we have colleagues across the region poised to monitor them on their journey. However, difficulties, such as petrol shortages are confounding our efforts. One of our Yemeni colleagues was forced to wait nine-hours for fuel before starting to search for the birds!"

Feared extinct until 2002

The wild population of northern bald ibis was feared extinct in the Middle East, when in 2002 birds were found nesting in the mountains of Syria, near Palmyra - after not being seen in Syria for 70 years. Since then conservationists have sought to give the birds protection by working with local people and by using state-of-the-art technology to track the birds' movements. This research has identified that the Syrian adult birds head to the highlands of Ethiopia to spend the winter, but where the juveniles go still remains a mystery.

Critically Endangered
The Critically Endangered northern bald ibis was once widespread across North Africa and the Middle East. Aside from Syria, the only other nesting population occurs in Morocco, where just over 100 breeding pairs still occur in two coastal locations near Agadir, on the Atlantic coast. The outlying birds in Syria will be an important addition but only if the population can be sustained.

Two of the three adult birds carry tracking devices and their daily progress can be followed by visiting the following website: www.rspb.org.uk/ibistracking and for more background visit www.iagnbi.org

Captive birds released in 2010

Despite apparently breeding well, and rearing plnety of chicks, the colony has dwindled from 7 birds in 2002 to just 3 in 2011. So in 2010 2 birds from the small captive population in Turkey were relased alongside the Syrian birds, but sadly it appears that they didn't survive their first winter migration, though it is possible that they have just got lost - Their transmitters stopped working last autumn. The lone chick reared by the wild birds in 2010 was found dead during the migration - He was very undernourished.

Two birds have fledged from the nest in 2011 and they both seemed healthy when they left on their migration, so it is hoped that they will survive their winter migration.

Their were unconfirmed reports of 3 unringed birds spotted in Ethiopa last winter - It is just possible that they are juveniles that fledged in 2007 in Syria but have not (yet) returned there.

WORLD FIRST: spoon-billed sandpiper chicks hatch in captivity

July 2011. The first critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper to hatch in captivity in the world was always going to be a spectacular sight, but when a Heritage Expeditions boat docked in Anadyr last night not one, not two, but an incredible 17 tiny, hatched spoon-billed sandpiper chicks emerged.


The incredibly ambitious mission to collect eggs from the rapidly dwindling number of nests on the breeding grounds in Chukotka and transport them thousands of miles via land, sea and air to the conservation breeding facility at WWT Slimbridge hatching has reached an important milestone.

Chicks hatched at sea
Incredibly eight of the chicks actually hatched just as the team were preparing to leave Chukotka. Describing his elation on docking safely in Anadyr, WWT's Head of Conservation Breeding, Nigel Jarrett said: "We boarded the boat with the eight newly hatched chicks, 12 fertile eggs, considerable anxiety about the trip on rough seas and a great deal of hope. We got off the other end with only three eggs, but an amazing 17 chicks and the remaining eggs poised to hatch any day, so I am as happy as happy can be."

Things have gone as well as could possibly have been hoped for so far, but saving this species is still going to be an uphill battle. A couple of the hatchlings aren't quite as strong as the others and we will have to accept that we will lose some.


Only 10% survive to adulthood
The survival rate for spoon-billed sandpiper chicks in the wild is extremely low. On average just four chicks fledge out of around 20 eggs laid and only one of these would survive to recruit into the adult population two years later. Taking these newly hatched chicks from hatching to fledging will be enough of a challenge on its own. However, even this is dwarfed by the work that we and our partners need to do to tackle the threats to the species in the wild.

Elizabeth Tambovtseva from Birds Russia is part of the team on the expedition. She said: "The excitement from the team when the first egg hatched and a tiny chick appeared was off the scale - we haven't slept for days with the stress and worry so it was a pretty emotional experience. All the partners have been working hard as a team to pull off this very important stage of the mission and it's paid off. I didn't get a chance to celebrate my birthday last week, but this belated present more than makes up for that!"
The conservation breeding expedition, led by staff from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and Birds Russia, has support from the RSPB, BTO, BirdLife International, ArcCona, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force and Moscow Zoo. The project is funded by WWT and RSPB, with additional financial contributions and support from BirdLife International, the East-Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership, the Convention on Migratory Species, Heritage Expeditions and the Australasian Wader Study Group of Birds Australia.


WWT has launched a public fundraising appeal to save the spoon-billed sandpiper www.wwt.org.uk/spoonbilledsandpiper

All this work has been going on and around a Heritage Expedition trip

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/spoon-billed-sandpiper-chicks.html