Protecting the last home of the Spiny Babbler

The habitat of this unique to Nepal bird and other rare species is threatened by a new road

Bird Life International and Bird Conservation Nepal have concluded that the Gadi-Siraichuli Forest is an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) of international value. There are only 37 other IBAs in Nepal, and this is one of the few not located within a protected area.

But now the forest is threatened by the construction of a new road that will be a short cut from Mathillo Kaule to Gadi (map). The alignment is along the steep forested slope, and locals are worried that it will destroy trees, disrupt water sources and threaten landslides. They have been protesting at Ichyakamana Rural Municipality to stop the road being built on this route.

Located at 1,150m, the Chepang village of Gadi lies at the foot of this forested slope that features a wide variety of shrubs, subtropical mixed broadleaf trees and wildlife. In fact, this is the largest and richest forest of this type remaining in Nepal, with 15 species of mammals, including the endangered Black Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor).

The Spiny Babbler (Turdoides nipalensis) lives on terraces built by the Chepang people at the edge of the forest. The Gadi-Siraichuli Forest has one of the highest populations of this rare endemic bird in the country. 

“The road will destroy the forest on the slope that is the main source of  spring water for our villages. How can we live here without water?” asks Ganesh Thapa Magar, a farmer.

Another Gadi villager, Suk Bahadur Chepang, agrees: “My home is just below the forested hill where the new road is planned. Landslides in the monsoon will make it too dangerous to live there anymore.” 

Besides these threats, the road will also put the 320 bird and 56 butterfly species found here at risk. Members of the Sauraha-based Bird Education Society have been visiting the area since the 1990s, and say it is a treasure trove for nature.

Bird species also include the Red-faced Liocichla (Liocichla phoenicea) a beautiful scarlet and brown bird that was thought to have become extinct in Nepal until it was re-sighted in 2016 after 178 years, by watchers from the Bird Education Society and the Nepalese Ornithological Union.

Eight of these birds were found at 1,600m on Chisapanitar, close to the planned route of the road. The Red-faced Liocichla has not been found elsewhere in the country, and is listed as critically endangered in the national red list of the birds of Nepal. 

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New Rare, Endangered Bird Species Found in Nepal

Three rare bird species belonging to the bird family of Accipitridae were spotted in a community forest in Gorkha

Nepal is known for its rich biodiversity profile backed by a supportive climate that favors various kinds of flora and fauna.

Over the years, the Himalayan nation has left its unique mark in conserving and identifying various endangered species. Here is another update from the country on similar lines!

According to a recent update, three rare species of birds belonging to the bird family of Accipitridae were spotted in a community forest in Gorkha region.

The community forest is already home to 99 species of bird varieties and researchers were happy about finding three new species: White-Rumped Vulture, Asian Woolyneck Stork and Steppe Eagle.

This is the result of a seven-month-long research by Kushal Shrestha and his team in the region. As part of their research, the team also found another bird called ‘Spiny Babbler’ found to be available only in Nepal.

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Conservation of white-rumped vultures in progress in Nepal

Published: March 16, 2018 3:32 pm On: Nepal

CHITWAN: The conservation of critically endangered white-rumped vultures conducted by the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre (VCBC) in Kasara, Chitwan National Park (CNP) is in progress.

The VCBC was established in 2007 to conduct captive breeding of critically endangered vulture species that have gone through catastrophic decline across South Asia.

Currently, there are 57 white-rumped vultures in VCBC. Of the total, 25 are males and 24 females while eight others are babies which have not been identified yet. Agriculture and Forestry University Rampur, Chitwan has been conducting DNA tests on the scavenger birds to identify their gender.

Although it was difficult to hatch the eggs in the beginning, six out of 18 eggs were hatched this season at the centre that conducted breeding of vultures brought from different places, according to Supervisor of VCBC, CNP Assistant Conservation Officer Bed Bahadur Khadka.

Last year, 15 vultures had laid eggs, but only nine of them hatched. The scavenger birds had laid eggs for the first time in 2012 but were unable to hatch out. Nevertheless, they hatched for the first time in 2013. In the following year, no eggs were laid, but an egg was hatched successfully in 2015.

The conservation of critically endangered vultures has been expedited to facilitate growth in their population, CNP Assistant Conservation Officer and Information Officer Nurendra Aryal said. The breeding has played a significant role in conservation of the near-extinct birds as many of them have been set free into the nature, Aryal added.

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Siberian birds start to arrive in Nepal to avoid cold

Kathmandu

Jan 5, 2018-Birds of various species have started to arrive in Nepal to escape the biting cold.

President of Ornithologists Association Hem Sagar Baral said that a large number of birds have entered Nepal to escape the cold in Siberia and Tibet.

Mostly birds from Tibet travel to the warmer regions of Nepal after the plunge of temperature in Tibet.

According to Baral, some birds have come to Nepal even flying over the Mt Everest. Flocks of birds have come from Siberia.

He said birds of 150 species come to Nepal to avoid cold. Among this many species, duck species alone constitute more than 22. Over 50 species are water fowls.

It is said mostly birds started to arrive in Nepal since October and most of the migratory birds have already arrived till now to escape the harsh winter.

The largest number of such migratory birds comes to the Jagadishpur Lake in Kapilvastu district. A census conducted last year counted 20 thousand birds inhabiting the Jagdishpur Lake and around.

Baral said this year also they plan to count the number of water birds. The bird census is being carried out to know the birds' status so as to augment to the bird conservation strategy.

According to him, bird conservation is becoming challenging in the recent years because of loss of habitat and other problems in the food species of these birds. 

Published: 05-01-2018 15:10

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The big moment: Nepal releases its first ever captive-reared vultures

20 Nov 2017

Watch as conservation history is made: six captive-reared Critically Endangered White-rumped Vultures venture out into the wild. This comes at a time when the world is finally waking up to the plight of vultures.

By Jessica Law

The moment has finally arrived. Bait is placed outside the entrance of the pre-release aviary, and the door is opened from a remote hide. As wild vultures descended to feed, five out of our six yellow-tagged protagonists are lured outside to join in in the scrum. Soon they are squabbling and interacting with them as if they’d always been part of the gang. And, in a way, they had – in the weeks before their release, they had been socialising with wild vultures through the wire while exercising their wings.

It’s been a fantastic couple of months for vultures. In October, the ambitious Multi-species Action Plan to save 15 vulture species over 128 countries was endorsed with enthusiasm at the Convention on Migratory Species Conference of Parties in Manila. At almost exactly the same time in India, the Madras high Court ruled to uphold the dosage restriction on vulture-killing drug diclofenac. And last week, in Nepal, six captive-reared White-rumped Vultures were finally released into a wild that, for the first time in decades, could be truly vulture-safe.

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Captive-reared Critically Endangered vultures soon to be released in Nepal

8 Nov 2017

Conservationists are making great progress in removing vulture-killing drug diclofenac from Nepal, with vulture populations stabilising as a result. Now, in this safer environment, it’s almost time for six captive-reared White-rumped Vultures to venture out into the wild.

South Asian vultures have famously suffered devastating population declines in recent decades. For example, 99.9% of White-rumped Vultures Gyps bengalensis were wiped out between 1992 and 2007. This was due to the use of diclofenac: an anti-inflammatory drug given to reduce pain in livestock, but deadly to vultures that subsequently feed on their carcasses. A ban on veterinary diclofenac in India, Nepal and Pakistan in 2006 and Bangladesh in 2010 has allowed vulture populations to stabilise and possibly start to recover in some areas.

However, five of South Asia’s nine vulture species remain Endangered or Critically Endangered; the misuse of human diclofenac to treat livestock, as well as the use of other vulture-toxic veterinary drugs, continues to threaten some South Asian vulture populations with extinction. BirdLife Partners are changing that, through a combination of advocacy, legislation and education.

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New immigrants in Nepal

In the mountainous region of Nepal, a new species of birds has been discovered, making the overall number of avian species in the Himalayan country to 866.

A Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Monticola saxitilis), seen as an autumn channel migrant bird species in Pakistan and India, photographed nearby Shey monastery within the Shey Phoksundo National Park at voyage last year. Investigators from an NGO Friends of Nature (FoN) Nepal covered the bird while reviewing Himalayan wolf, wild yak and snow leopard. The proper identification of the bird informed by the squad was completed by Carol Inskipp and Hem Sagar Baral, who are the bird experts.

The Branch of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and Bird Conservation Nepal sanctioned the presence of a new bird species in the nation, said Naresh Kusi, from FoN.

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush is considered an autumn passage migrant bird species in Pakistan and India, ‘The Kathmandu Post’ reported.

“The detection of the sight was very isolated and rarely visited by ornithologists. More research is needed to establish the position of Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush in Nepal,” said Yadav Ghimirey, director, Wildlife Research at FoN.



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New bird species sighted in Upper Dolpa

- Post Report, Kathmandu

Feb 11, 2017- A new species of bird was recently sighted, for the first time in Nepal, in the high mountainous region of Upper Dolpa.

A Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Monticola saxitilis) was seen and photographed by an expedition in the region on May 27, 2016 near the renowned Shey monastery within the Shey-Phoksundo National Park in Dolpa district.

The discovery brings the total number of bird species to 866.

Naresh Kusi from Friends of Nature (FoN) Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working in the field of environment and biodiversity conservation, along with team members Geraldine Werhahn, Tshiring Lhamu Lama and Pema Rikzin Lama spotted the bird while studying Himalayan wolf (Canis himalayensi), wild yak (Bos mutus) and snow leopard (Panthera uncial) during May-July.

The identification of the bird reported by the research team was confirmed by the bird experts Carol Inskipp and Hem Sagar Baral. Later, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and Bird Conservation Nepal authorised the presence of a new bird species in the country, said Kusi.

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush is considered an autumn passage migrant bird species in Pakistan and India. “The sighting location was very remote and rarely visited by ornithologists. More research is needed to ascertain the status of Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush in Nepal,” said Yadav Ghimirey, director, Wildlife Research at FoN.

During the same study, the team had also reported the sighting of a young male Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni) in Upper Dolpo, for the first time in more than four decades.

 

 
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New report highlights the need for Nepal's bird conservation efforts to take flight

27th January 2017

A new assessment of the country’s bird life finds a fifth of species are under threat.

Conservationists from ZSL are calling for greater efforts to protect Nepal’s native birds, as the first comprehensive assessment of the status of the country’s avian species reveals that nearly a fifth are threatened with extinction.

Nepal’s National Red List of Birds, the topic of a report published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, was compiled over five years by a team from ZSL and led by independent bird expert Carol Inskipp, alongside Nepal’s National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC); the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and with the help of Himalayan Nature. The first complete assessment of Nepal’s bird species made using the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the report also reveals that only nine avian species – representing just one per cent of the country’s rich bird life – are currently on the list of strictly protected birds.

From the soaring peaks of the Himalayas in the north of the country, to the lowland grasslands in the south, the team combined official surveys with historical observations, to assess the conservation status of all 878 bird species native to Nepal. Alongside an IUCN classification of each species (using the Red List categories of ‘Least Concern’, ‘Near-threatened’, ‘Vulnerable’, ‘Endangered’ and ‘Critically Endangered’), the report identifies the key threats to bird life alongside recommended conservation action. 

Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation top the list as the most urgent threats, driven by the country’s rapid population increase as human settlements, agriculture and industry increasingly encroach into the birds’ natural habitats.

Species of particular concern include those native to lowland grassland habitats, such as the Bengal florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis), which face increasing threats due to the conversion of habitat into farmland, with associated issues including use of pesticides. Many of these grassland birds are now entirely restricted to Nepal’s protected areas. 

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New discovery takes no. of bird species in Nepal to 879

- Post Report, Kathmandu

Oct 16, 2016- Grey-sided Thrush, a globally endangered species of bird has been discovered for the first time in Makwanpur district, making up the total bird species in Nepal to 879.

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) under the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation last month verified the presence of the new bird species for the first time in Nepal. This bird species, yet to be given a Nepali name, is 25-centimeter long and was photographed in central Nepal by Som GC, bird conservation officer with Friends of Nature, during one of his bird-watching trips in January last year.

GC has already discovered two other bird species in Nepal—Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albirfrons) and Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva).

“The good news from each discovery is that it opens room for other ornithologists and enthusiasts to explore the rich bird diversity that is still left unexplored,” said GC, a professional birder for the last 12 years, adding, “We need adequate funding for research works and monitoring on regular basis.”

Besides Nepal, the Grey-sided Thrush with global population estimated to be between 2,500 and 9,999 has been previously recorded in India, China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. This globally threatened bird species listed as vulnerable in the IUCN’s Red List of “Threatened Species” is threatened from the loss of forests.

There have been discoveries of new and extinct bird species in various parts of Nepal by group of birders and professionals in recent time. In June this year, a group of ornithologists, during their bird watching holiday, photographed red-faced liocichla (Liocichla phoenicea)—a species of bird believed to be locally extinct for the first time in 178 years in the forest of Darhakhani Chisapanitar in Upardang Gadi, Chitwan district.

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