Mojave Desert birds crashed over the last century due to climate change

Bird diversity dropped by nearly half, primarily because of decreased rainfall from changing climate

Date:  August 7, 2018

Source:  University of California - Berkeley

Summary:

More than 100 years ago, biologists conducted a thorough survey of birds in the Mojave Desert. A recent resurvey shows that the species richness of the desert habitat has dropped by 43 percent over the past century, on average, at the sites revisited. The main environmental change correlated with bird decline was a decrease in rainfall caused by climate change, which suggests that temporary sources of water might help prevent further decline.

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Isle of Man bird survey nearly finished

19 April 2018

A comprehensive census of the Isle of Man's seabird population is nearing completion, conservationists have said.

Manx BirdLife said the project, the first of its kind since 1999, "will reveal the fortunes of 17 coastal and marine species".

More than 10,000 birds have been logged in the study, which has involved 947 miles (1,525km) of boat travel.

A charity spokesman added that the findings will "underpin all future bird conservation strategies".

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First Malwa bird counting Four new species found in first bird survey

By TOI

Sunday | 8th April, 2018

These species were Siberian yellow wagtail, black redstart and red throated flycatcher.“The forest department organises vultures counting annually since it is an endangered species but for the first time an overall bird survey has been organised in Malwa region. Surprisingly during the survey, some species of winter migratory birds were also seen at the sanctuary, despite rise in temperature in the region. Indore: For the first time in the Malwa region, the forest department along with an NGO organised a bird survey in a wildlife sanctuary to create a baseline data of bird species seen there.

The survey was carried out at the Kheoni wildlife sanctuary in Dewas district and saw the participation of 32 bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts from Indore, Dewas, Ujjain and Bhopal.The bird survey, organised along with Wildlife & Nature Conservancy and Bird Count India, began on Saturday morning and ended on Sunday afternoon after holding three sessions of bird watching. It is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna and is mostly covered with dry deciduous forest with teak and bamboo cover. White capped Bunting, Brown fish owl, Indian Eagle owl and Stork billed kingfisher are among the few birds which are rare in this region but are not endangered or vulnerable,” Ajay Gadikar, bird watcher and coordinator of bird count India said.Kheoni Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1955 and is spread over an area of 123 sq.

Indore: For the first time in the Malwa region, the forest department along with an NGO organised a bird survey in a wildlife sanctuary to create a baseline data of bird species seen there.The survey was carried out at the Kheoni wildlife sanctuary in Dewas district and saw the participation of 32 bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts from Indore, Dewas, Ujjain and Bhopal.The bird survey, organised along with Wildlife & Nature Conservancy and Bird Count India, began on Saturday morning and ended on Sunday afternoon after holding three sessions of bird watching.

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92 species recorded in bird survey

KERALA

E.M. Manoj

KALPETTA,AUGUST 30, 2017 23:30 IST

UPDATED: AUGUST 30, 2017 23:30 IST

 ‘Presence of birds show conservation significance of the Brahmagiri grasslands’

A three-day monsoon bird survey, organised jointly by the Forest Department, College of Forestry, Thrissur, and the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology (HCEWB), in the North Wayanad Division recently recorded 92 species.

No bird surveys have been conducted in the forest division in the past eight years. The survey found five species of bulbuls, seven species of babblers, five species of pigeons, and three species of raptors. It recorded Bright Headed Cisticola and broad-tailed grassland birds in the higher grasslands of the Brahmagiri hills. “Presence of these birds showed higher conservation significance of the Brahmagiri grasslands,” C.K. Vishnudas and R.L Rathish of the HCEWB, which performed scientific and technical coordination of the survey, told The Hindu.

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Bird survey bares issues of concern

IGNATIUS PEREIRA

Green shank and (right) northern pintail spotted during the survey in Kollam wetlands.

Green shank and (right) northern pintail spotted during the survey in Kollam wetlands.

Annual waterfowl census held in six wetlands in Kollam district

The annual Asian Waterfowl Census (AWC) held in six select wetlands last Saturday in Kollam has revealed matters of concern and elation for birdwatchers.

While the waterbird population was a cause for excitement, questions have been raised about the conservation of the traditional wetland habitats of such birds.

The census was carried out in association with the WWF-India and the Social Forestry Division of the Forest Department.

The wetlands covered are Kandachira - Sakthikulangara harbour, Pallikkodi -Neendakara harbour, Thodiyur - Vattakkayal - Vellanathuruthu, Chittumala - Karali marshes, Polachira, and Kappil beach. The highest count was from Polachira, near Chathannur, from where around 3,500 birds were counted. Among them were five types of wild ducks, namely lesser whistling ducks, pigmy cotton goose, garganey ducks, spot billed ducks, and northern pintails, the latter three being migratory. The Neendakara harbour and Pallikkodi wetlands stood second with a count of around 1,500 birds, of which the majority were little egrets. Migratory birds such as painted stork, greater sand plover, lesser sand plover, grey plover, green shank, green sandpiper, brown headed gulls, and whiskered terns were sighted at Thodiyur - Vattakkayal and on the Vellanathuruthu beach.

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Rare and endangered species feature in Megamalai's first-ever bird survey

THENI: The first-ever bird survey in Megamalai wildlilfe sanctuary in Theni district recorded 198 bird species, including 26 migrant bird species. The sanctuary- which is relatively new compared to other sanctuaries in the region- shares its boundaries with Srivilliputhur grizzled squirrel sanctuary and Periyar tiger reserve in Kerala. It is rich in flora and fauna, ranging from shrub forests to evergreen forests and also hosts a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and butterflies.

Between November 15 and 16, expert bird watchers had carried out a bird survey in the sanctuary, setting up 14 camp sites. Teams of bird watchers, each consisting of an expert and an assistant, covered the whole sanctuary. They recorded a total of 172 resident species. Among these, the red-whiskered bulbul was spotted in all the 14 camp areas, followed closely by the grey jungle fowl which was seen in 12 sites and the spotted dove, southern coucal, white-cheeked barbet and purple-rumped sunbird in 11 areas.

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Bird health check offers encouragement

Published on the16April 

2014 

09:33

The results of a survey to gauge the health of winged wildlife on farms show that “huge” conservation efforts by Yorkshire farmers are paying off, environmental experts say.

Sightings of birds were voluntarily recorded at 28 farms in the region as part of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s first Big Farmland Bird Count.

More than 6,000 hectares of farmland was monitored in Yorkshire, and over 4,400 birds were spotted during a seven-day period in February. In total, farmers across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland noted 116 different species. Starlings were seen at more than 40 per cent of farms and were the most abundant bird recorded.

Otherwise, in Yorkshire, the most populous species included the fieldfare, jackdaw, lapwing, linnet, rook and woodpigeon.

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Bird survey at Palamu Tiger Reserve throws up two new species

DALTONGANJ: The three-day bird survey, which concluded on Wednesday, threw up quite a few surprises for the officials of Palamu Tiger Reserve(PTR). Led by veteran ornithologist Prof S Subramaniya of Kerala and Satya Prakash of Hazaribag, the team toured the Maoist-affected tiger reserve throwing caution to the wind.

This was the first-ever survey of its kind to be conducted in PTR. Neha Sinha, advocacy officer with Bombay Natural History Society, Prabhat Thakur, S Subramaniya, Raju Kasamde and Satya Prakash were part of the team that conducted the survey.

Continued