As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Monday 5 December 2016

Training fishermen to prevent seabird deaths in Namibia

Fishing vessels now have to use ‘seabird safe’ measures such as bird scaring lines, night setting and line weighting. These measures have been proven to massively reduce seabird mortality in fisheries around the world. In South Africa use of these methods has successfully reduced albatross deaths by 99%, which is what we want to see happen in Namibia.

As with any regulation, it is only effective if the law is enforced, in this case with a fine of up to NAD 500,000 (£29,300), and up to 10 years imprisonment. There is a need to increase awareness of and education about seabird bycatch issues, mitigation requirements and options available to crews aboard fishing vessels.  

To ensure that this happens our Albatross Task Force (ATF) team in Namibia (part of the Namibian Nature Foundation) partnered up with the ATF team from BirdLife South Africa and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to deliver a two day training workshop to fishing industry stakeholders and to fisheries observers who will be on the front line ensuring compliance and preventing seabird deaths.  

After the Pink-headed Duck and the King Vulture, the magnifient White-bellied Heron (WBH) in Assam is all set to go the Dodo way. The absence or disappearance of the White bellied Heron is a matter of grave concern for conservationists. The bird is on the edge of extinction or may have gone extinct in Assam since sighting of the bird becomes very rare. Ornithologists say, there may be a few White bellied herons left in Manas National Park along the Bhutan border, but not sure whether they are resident or flew in from the Bhutan side. A few years back, photograph of this rare bird with a noose around its neck in a village in lower Assam sent shock waves among bird lovers of the state. There was also a news of a rare heron pair seen hanging from electric lines in the Bhutan side a couple of years back.

Once a resident and also a locally migratory species in Assam, shrinking of habitat brought the bird to the edge. These birds are often seen along the banks of Punatshangchu basin in central Bhutan and there are occasional sightings in the Assam-Bhutan border areas and in the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border areas. There has been no report of nesting of this recluse bird in the Assam side for the last ten years.

The survival of the White-bellied heron (Ardea Insignis), one of the 50 rarest birds in the world that has an estimated global population of less than 250, greatly depends on the existence of their wetland habitat.
- See more at: http://www.assamtimes.org/node/17920#sthash.V0s4dA6e.dpuf
After the Pink-headed Duck and the King Vulture, the magnifient White-bellied Heron (WBH) in Assam is all set to go the Dodo way. The absence or disappearance of the White bellied Heron is a matter of grave concern for conservationists. The bird is on the edge of extinction or may have gone extinct in Assam since sighting of the bird becomes very rare. Ornithologists say, there may be a few White bellied herons left in Manas National Park along the Bhutan border, but not sure whether they are resident or flew in from the Bhutan side. A few years back, photograph of this rare bird with a noose around its neck in a village in lower Assam sent shock waves among bird lovers of the state. There was also a news of a rare heron pair seen hanging from electric lines in the Bhutan side a couple of years back.

Once a resident and also a locally migratory species in Assam, shrinking of habitat brought the bird to the edge. These birds are often seen along the banks of Punatshangchu basin in central Bhutan and there are occasional sightings in the Assam-Bhutan border areas and in the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border areas. There has been no report of nesting of this recluse bird in the Assam side for the last ten years.

The survival of the White-bellied heron (Ardea Insignis), one of the 50 rarest birds in the world that has an estimated global population of less than 250, greatly depends on the existence of their wetland habitat.
- See more at: http://www.assamtimes.org/node/17920#sthash.V0s4dA6e.dpuf

Shrinking habitat push magnificient bird to the edge

After the Pink-headed Duck and the King Vulture, the magnifient White-bellied Heron (WBH) in Assam is all set to go the Dodo way. The absence or disappearance of the White bellied Heron is a matter of grave concern for conservationists. The bird is on the edge of extinction or may have gone extinct in Assam since sighting of the bird becomes very rare. Ornithologists say, there may be a few White bellied herons left in Manas National Park along the Bhutan border, but not sure whether they are resident or flew in from the Bhutan side. A few years back, photograph of this rare bird with a noose around its neck in a village in lower Assam sent shock waves among bird lovers of the state. There was also a news of a rare heron pair seen hanging from electric lines in the Bhutan side a couple of years back.

Once a resident and also a locally migratory species in Assam, shrinking of habitat brought the bird to the edge. These birds are often seen along the banks of Punatshangchu basin in central Bhutan and there are occasional sightings in the Assam-Bhutan border areas and in the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border areas. There has been no report of nesting of this recluse bird in the Assam side for the last ten years.

The survival of the White-bellied heron (Ardea Insignis), one of the 50 rarest birds in the world that has an estimated global population of less than 250, greatly depends on the existence of their wetland habitat.

Distribution and habitat:

The White-bellied Heron is Critically Endangered in the IUCN list, with a population as low as 50–249 individuals. These birds exist in very low numbers over a large area comprising Bhutan, Yunan in China, northern Myanmar and northeast India. The species is found in the wetlands of tropical and subtropical forests in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas -- in India and Myanmar. It is spotted in Bhutan's sub-tropical areas and was also once found in Nepal. Traces of heron chicks were sighted in Zhemgang in Central Bhutan also. Herons mostly dwell in Southeast Asian countries and Bhutan shelters a little over 30 herons in the Himalayan region. Once eight nesting sites were identified amongst lofty flowing waters with pebbly substrates and Chir pine forests in Bhutan. A nesting site of this extremely rare White bellied Heron was also discovered in the Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the first known nesting site of the WBH in India. Nest of the bird was found about 18 metres above ground on an East Indian almond (Terminalia myriocarpa) tree. In 2015, ornithologists observed the courtship of a pair of white-bellied heron.The courtship begins in the winter from January to February as the river water recedes. The birds chase after each other playfully with sticks and calling out to partners. The pair went on to build a nest at the site. This is the first nesting site of the bird to be scientificly identified in Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Before the discovery of this site, Bhutan was (thought to be) the only country in the world to have a breeding population of the White-bellied Heron. Bhutan is home to about 10 per cent of the world’s total population of these birds.
- See more at: http://www.assamtimes.org/node/17920#sthash.V0s4dA6e.dpuf

Shrinking habitat push magnificient bird to the edge

After the Pink-headed Duck and the King Vulture, the magnifient White-bellied Heron (WBH) in Assam is all set to go the Dodo way. The absence or disappearance of the White bellied Heron is a matter of grave concern for conservationists. The bird is on the edge of extinction or may have gone extinct in Assam since sighting of the bird becomes very rare. Ornithologists say, there may be a few White bellied herons left in Manas National Park along the Bhutan border, but not sure whether they are resident or flew in from the Bhutan side. A few years back, photograph of this rare bird with a noose around its neck in a village in lower Assam sent shock waves among bird lovers of the state. There was also a news of a rare heron pair seen hanging from electric lines in the Bhutan side a couple of years back.

Once a resident and also a locally migratory species in Assam, shrinking of habitat brought the bird to the edge. These birds are often seen along the banks of Punatshangchu basin in central Bhutan and there are occasional sightings in the Assam-Bhutan border areas and in the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border areas. There has been no report of nesting of this recluse bird in the Assam side for the last ten years.

The survival of the White-bellied heron (Ardea Insignis), one of the 50 rarest birds in the world that has an estimated global population of less than 250, greatly depends on the existence of their wetland habitat.

Distribution and habitat:

The White-bellied Heron is Critically Endangered in the IUCN list, with a population as low as 50–249 individuals. These birds exist in very low numbers over a large area comprising Bhutan, Yunan in China, northern Myanmar and northeast India. The species is found in the wetlands of tropical and subtropical forests in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas -- in India and Myanmar. It is spotted in Bhutan's sub-tropical areas and was also once found in Nepal. Traces of heron chicks were sighted in Zhemgang in Central Bhutan also. Herons mostly dwell in Southeast Asian countries and Bhutan shelters a little over 30 herons in the Himalayan region. Once eight nesting sites were identified amongst lofty flowing waters with pebbly substrates and Chir pine forests in Bhutan. A nesting site of this extremely rare White bellied Heron was also discovered in the Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the first known nesting site of the WBH in India. Nest of the bird was found about 18 metres above ground on an East Indian almond (Terminalia myriocarpa) tree. In 2015, ornithologists observed the courtship of a pair of white-bellied heron.The courtship begins in the winter from January to February as the river water recedes. The birds chase after each other playfully with sticks and calling out to partners. The pair went on to build a nest at the site. This is the first nesting site of the bird to be scientificly identified in Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Before the discovery of this site, Bhutan was (thought to be) the only country in the world to have a breeding population of the White-bellied Heron. Bhutan is home to about 10 per cent of the world’s total population of these birds.
- See more at: http://www.assamtimes.org/node/17920#sthash.V0s4dA6e.dpuf

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