Spaceport would threaten rare wildlife, RSPB warns

Mike Merritt

Wednesday April 01 2020, 12.00am, The Times

A major blow has been dealt to Britain’s first vertical launch spaceport, which is planned for Sutherland.

RSPB Scotland has officially objected to the scheme, saying it would threaten breeding dunlin, greenshank, golden plover and red-throated diver bird populations.

The organisation also said there had been a lack of detailed information over the £17.3 million scheme, including insufficiently robust surveys and uncertain mitigation measures to protect wildlife. It also had concerns over peatlands in the area.

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Fishermen chasing away birds, says environmentalist

Nivedha Selvam | Nivedha.Selvam1 | Feb 16, 2019, 00:41 IST

For the first time in a decade, the Vellalore lake is filled with water, attracting a large number of birds. While a total of 641 birds belonging to 76 species have taken refuge in the lake, they are at the risk of being chased away by fishermen.

“We had put in so much effort to revive the lake and we were happy that a large number of birds, some of them rare species, have made it their habitat,” said R Manikandan of Kovai Kulangal Padukappu Iyyakam, which along with the city corporation and Public Works Department (PWD) desilted the lake last year. “During one of our visits, we spotted several hundreds of birds in the lake. But they weren’t there when we came next day.

If the birds disappear, it will affect the ecosystem in the long run.” Another environmentalist, who didn’t want to be named, said fishermen, who are fishing in  the lake, have been chasing away the birds with stones.

“The fishermen think all the birds are feeding on fish and hence chase them away. It will have an impact on the number of birds returning to the lake.” P R Selvaraj, member of Coimbatore Nature Society, said only a section of birds survive on fishes, while others feed on insects and plant cells. “

As the Vellalore tank has both shallow and deep waters, apart from a good number of trees, it has attracted a variety of species. Chasing them away would cause severe damage to the ecosystem.” Refusing the allegations, M Balamurugan, president of Kovai Fishermen’s Cooperative Society, said the fishermen belonging to the society were not harming the birds in anyway. “Instead, there are many incidents when the fishermen have rescued the injured birds.”

When contacted, officials with the PWD and the fisheries department said they would look into the issue and take necessary action.

Source

Major oil spill in Turkey; emergency teams deployed

By Doğa Derneği, 19 Jan 2017 

A major oil spill is affecting coastal areas in western Turkey. Doğa Derneği (Birdlife Turkey) has deployed an emergency team of volunteers to help oiled wildlife.

In the clear waters of Izmit Bay in western Turkey, a major oil spill is putting human health and marine biodiversity at risk. The spill occurred last Friday near the rich Key Biodiversity Area of Kocaeli Tepeleri, affecting bird species such as European Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis, Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo and Common Coot Fulica atra.

Over the weekend, locals rang the alarm as oiled birds and deep-sea marine life started washing up ashore. As soon as the leakage began, Doğa’s Local Conservation Groups began work to rescue the affected wildlife, transferring them to the nearest wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre, Faruk Yalçın Zoo.

Itri Levent Erkol, Conservation Manager at Doğa Derneği, visited the coast and surrounding marine areas as soon as they were informed of the disaster. “Even if officially the cleaning and rescue work is now considered finished, we are still finding dead bodies of cormorants and coots”, says Erkol. “We are even finding oiled birds alive and citizens are having to take them home to clean them up, which is not recommended.”

Zoo officials informed Erkol that 17 of 58 rescued birds died for different reasons related to the oil spill, but the conditions of the survivors are improving.  

Continued 

Indonesian birds on the brink as forests plundered

Monday, 25 January 2016 | MYT 11:24 AM

BOGOR, Indonesia: Barely a few days old, perched on a nest of twigs inside an incubator, a newborn Indonesian songbird -- cherished for its melodious chirp -- tweets weakly as a tiny metallic ring is attached to its leg.

The tag shows potential buyers the chick was bred in captivity. It’s an important symbol, which shows it was not trapped in the wild and smuggled, an illegal trade which sees birds packed in their thousands in shipping crates or stuffed in plastic bottles before being sold in giant avian markets in Indonesia’s major cities.

The hatchling was born at Megananda Daryono’s vast aviary in Bogor, a city on the island of Java, where he runs a breeding programme that is a sustainable alternative to the roaring trade in birds caught in the wild.

“I realised the birds being caught in the forest would one day be gone for good,” Daryono told AFP at the site, now a cornucopia of exotic macaws, brilliant parrots and vulnerable songbirds.

He is among a small number trying to turn the tide in a country where once-common bird species are being driven to the brink of extinction, as an obsession for bird-keeping and even avian singing contests fuels unprecedented demand.

The jungles of the archipelago are home to 131 threatened bird species, according to wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC, more than any other country except Brazil. There are a dizzying array of exotic species, from the Sumatran Laughingthrush, to the Chattering Lory and the Black-winged Myna.

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Whither our feathered friends? Concrete jungle pushing out Lahore’s birds

LAHORE: As Lahore’s green cover slowly gives way to concrete structures and urban development, the city’s birds must find a place to go. And though there have been no surveys on the migration pattern or population of birds in Lahore, Dr Uzma Khan of the WWF-Pakistan, says it doesn’t take much to notice that Lahore’s ecosystem has suffered badly over the past decade. 

Khan, director of biodiversity at the WWF, says the last survey of the ecosystem was conducted when the government cut trees along the Lahore Canal to widen the road. “The ecosystem changes with increasing urbanisation and yet there has been no assessment of bird migration in the city.”

The old endemic trees of the city’s gardens, once a popular haunt of fruit bats and several resident bird species and many summer, winter and transit migrants, are now limited to a few sites including Lawrence Garden and the Punjab University’s New Campus, she says.

On the other hand, the population of scavenger birds, including mynahs, crows and kites, is on the rise. The birds live off human waste and sometimes feed on the young of smaller birds. “This, too, creates an imbalance in the ecosystem.”

She says Lahore was once home to several species that feed on fruit – including the grey hornbill, green pigeons, woodpeckers, barbets and parakeets. “Now you can rarely spot them.” The Indian roller and kingfisher birds can be spotted in former agricultural, recently urbanised, areas, she says. “Piling on concrete in such areas cannot bode well for the birds.”

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Scientists hope bird migration maps will help protect threatened species

by Sanden Totten September 17, 02:22 AM

A recent study found that half of California's bird species are threatened by climate change, and many populations are already in decline.

Scientists are looking for ways to help protect these animals, but that can be hard since many birds spend half the year traveling.

"We can't even begin to understand how the various factors come into play to cause the declines we are seeing," said Kristen Ruegg, a research biologist with UCLA. 

As part of a new research effort called the UCLA Bird Genoscape Project, announced Wednesday, Ruegg and a team of researchers will create maps showing where specific sub-populations of birds go as they migrate.

They started with the Wilson's Warbler, a song bird found in various parts of North America.

They used a new method of genome analysis to identify signature traits of various sub-groups of Wilson's warblers.

They then took DNA samples of various warblers across North America and used that to trace each bird back to its home population.

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As demand for African timber soars, birds pay the ultimate price

Date: September 8, 2015

Source: Drexel University

Summary: The devastating impact has been revealed of illegal logging on bird communities in the understory layer of Ghana's Upper Guinea rain forests, one of the world's 25 "biodiversity hotspots" where the most biologically rich ecosystems are most threatened.

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N.Z. Officials Urge Hunt for ‘Angry Birds’ in Auckland Skies

New Zealand officials are urging Auckland residents more familiar with “Angry Birds” on their mobile phones to try spotting the real thing in the nation’s biggest city.

A number of aggressive red-vented bulbuls are on the loose in the wider Auckland area and the Ministry for Primary Industries is asking the public to help track them down. In a press releaseheadlined “Angry Birds Still at Large in Auckland,” the ministry warns that the species is a threat to native vegetation and birdlife and must be eradicated.

“The red-vented bulbul is aggressive to other birds and is regarded as one of the world’s most invasive bird species,” said Jaap Knegtmans, a response manager at the ministry. “While the bulbuls may appear cute, they’re anything but and urgent action is required to locate and capture them before they establish.”

The birds, originally from China and Pakistan and considered good luck in some Asian communities, may have arrived on a commercial vessel or a recreational yacht from elsewhere in the Pacific, Knegtmans said in an interview. Unobtrusive when alone, in numbers the bulbuls tend to bully other birds and compete with them for food and space, he said.

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RSPB Objects to proposed Killington Lake 433ft giant wind turbines

The RSPB has objected to the Banks Renewables planning application to install three giant wind turbines next to Killington Lake in Cumbria. The developer has calculated that 1 Osprey would collide with the Turbines every 3.5 years or 6.5 birds killed over the life of the scheme (25 years).

The RSPB are not comfortable with this figure bearing in mind that there are only 180 breeding pairs of Osprey in the UK (figure from BTO).  The RSPB are also very concerned with the impact these turbines will have on the 3000+ nesting pairs of Black Headed Gull which nest on Killington Lake. This is the largest nesting colony in Cumbria and at this level they make up 2.34% of the nationalpopulation. The colony is therefore of national significance based on established criteria for the selection of biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Continued:  http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2013/03/13/rspb-objects-to-proposed-killington-lake-433ft-giant-wind-turbines/

Wind farm in Lesotho could cause the local extinction of vultures

Wind farm could endanger Cape and Bearded vultures - Courtesy of Birdlife

January 2013. BirdLife South Africa and BirdLife International are very concerned that the proposed development of a wind farm at Letseng in Lesotho could have severe impacts on the already declining populations of Cape Vultures and Lammergeiers. South Africa and Lesotho share the responsibility of safeguarding the populations of Lammergeiers and Cape Vultures in the Lesotho Highlands and the surrounding escarpment of South Africa.

PowerNET Developments (Pty) Ltd propose to erect 42 wind turbines (each with a capacity of 850 kW) near Letšeng-La-Terae, on the north-eastern escarpment of the Drakensberg. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed Letseng Wind Farm is in its final stages of completion. The avifaunal specialist report, compiled by well-respected ornithologist Dr Andrew Jenkins, indicates that even with mitigation, the anticipated impacts of the project on highly unique and sensitive avifauna will be of high to very high negative significance, rendering the project unsustainable.

Significant impacts on bird populations
While wind energy is fairly new to southern Africa, poorly located wind turbines elsewhere in the world have had significant impacts on bird populations. Impacts include loss of habitat, disturbance and mortality through collisions with the turbine blades. In Smøla, Norway, for example, wind farms caused the local population of White-tailed Eagles (also known as Sea Eagles) to plunge by 95% - reducing the number from 19 eagle pairs to only one pair.

Such devastating impacts have not occurred at all wind farms. "The considered location of wind farms is the key to ensuring that impacts on birds are kept to a minimum", says Samantha Ralston, Birds and Renewable Energy Manager for BirdLife South Africa. Among other things, turbines should be kept well away from areas frequently used by collision-prone birds such as large-bodied raptors.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cape-vultures.html

Wet winter is taking its toll on our birdlife says RSPB

TORRENTIAL rain and flooded fields are effecting breeding birds says conservation body the RSPB.

On some affected sites and reserves , endangered species on the conservation ‘red-list’ have failed to produce any chicks entirely.

But, the charity also says there is evidence to show that some wildlife is already adapting to a changing climate, aided by conservation work.

2012 was a year of extreme weather in the UK starting with a very dry winter - 50 per cent less rain than expected fell in March - that led to drought fears. However, this was followed by 75 per cent more rainfall in April than average and the wettest June on record.

Martin Harper, RSPB Conservation Director, said: nests and chicks have being washed away by the flood waters. Many parts of the country were at their wettest during the breeding season, which meant fewer chicks fledged even from breeding sites that are vital for some of our most threatened birds.

“The last thing these struggling species need are further pressures from erratic and extreme weather.”

The number of Nightjars has declined as a direct result of the weather and Lapwings, common the Rye area, are struggling to breed in the conditions.

Martin Harper said: ““This is a stark reminder as to why, if we want to protect wildlife in this country. We need to adapt and do everything possible to help wildlife adapt too.”

http://www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/news/local-news/wet-winter-is-taking-its-toll-on-our-birdlife-says-rspb-1-4627295

Pollution, oil spills threaten Stanley Park birds

Conservation group says several species have declined over last decade.

Chronic industrial pollution and small spills from oil tankers moving through Burrard Inlet are contributing to declining numbers of birds in Stanley Park, according to the conservation program manager for the Stanley Park Ecology Society.

Robyn Worcester said in the past decade conservation group Bird Studies Canada has found a decline in the number of loons and grebes that rely on small fish in the intertidal areas for their food. Birds also feed on the Pacific blue mussels and barnacles that live close to shore.

Worcester said minor oil spills aren’t the only cause of the declines, but they do play a role along with other factors, such as climate change and fluctuating ocean temperatures.

“We’re seeing declines of these birds,” she said. “Maybe there is stress on their food supply, which is the small fish. Instead of increasing the amount of pollution, I think we have to focus on making things better.”

Worcester is one of three panelists at a discussion Monday on the effects of oil spills on Stanley Park.

The ecology society is holding the discussion to raise the public profile of environmental issues in Stanley Park related to Kinder Morgan’s proposal to expand its pipeline from Alberta to the Westridge Terminal in Burnaby. The energy company wants to more than double its capacity from 300,000 barrels a day to 750,000. The number of tankers going through Burrard Inlet, the company says, would increase from 96 a year to as many as 300.

Many bird species, including great blue herons, that populated Stanley Park are threatened by industrial pollution and small oil spills affecting Burrard Inlet, according the Stanley Park Ecology Society.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Pollution+spills+threaten+Stanley+Park+birds/7424078/story.html#ixzz2A2SLNA00