tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/bird-conservation-8692/articlesBird conservation – The Conversation2024-02-12T04:05:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2227582024-02-12T04:05:14Z2024-02-12T04:05:14ZFirst Peoples’ land overlaps with 130 imperilled bird species – and their knowledge may be vital to saving them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574854/original/file-20240212-29-rjgkix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C0%2C6020%2C4019&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s First Peoples have a strong and continuing connection to the land. Their determination to maintain this connection provides important opportunities for conservation. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2023.2290008">new research</a> explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples. We defined such land as anything considered part of the Aboriginal or Indigenous estate. The includes but is not confined to <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/environment/indigenous-protected-areas-ipas">Indigenous Protected Areas</a>, native title land and areas controlled by Indigenous land councils.</p>
<p>More than 200 Australian bird species are <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-200-australian-birds-are-now-threatened-with-extinction-and-climate-change-is-the-biggest-danger-172751">threatened with extinction</a>. Our analysis found 64% of these, or about 130 species, occur on lands and waters to which First Peoples’ groups have a legal determination. </p>
<p>We hope our research may lead to greater collaboration between First Peoples and conservationists. We also hope it elevates First Peoples’ voices to inform how we understand and care for our precious birds.</p>
<h2>‘Threatened species’ is a Western concept</h2>
<p>In the decades since Australia’s <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2004A04485">threatened species legislation</a> was passed in 1992, First Peoples have become <a href="https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/news-and-media/latest-news/indigenous-people-critical-for-threatened-species">key partners</a> in conservation.</p>
<p>Australia’s First Peoples <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples">make up just 3.2%</a> of the population. Yet Indigenous Protected Areas – land, sea, and river Country managed by Traditional Owners and Custodians, and Indigenous ranger groups – comprise <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/publications/australia-indigenous-protected-area-program">87 million hectares</a>, or more than 50% of Australia’s conservation reserve system.</p>
<p>For millennia, birds have been <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/publication/35018">integral</a> to the cultural practice and livelihoods of Australia’s First Peoples. They play a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12542">major role</a> in many songlines, are sung and danced in ceremony, act as totems and are managed as key food resources. Many First Peoples are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000632071200314X?via%3Dihub">keenly aware</a> of declines in once-common bird species.</p>
<p>The concept of “threatened species” is founded in Western science and is not necessarily a term First Peoples use. And a bird species considered threatened may not be culturally significant to First Peoples.</p>
<p>However, many First Peoples have chosen to <a href="https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/media/44vjrs2b/6-2-quantifying-current-potential-contributions-of-aust-indigenous-peoples-to-threatened-species-management.pdf">engage actively</a> in the conservation of imperilled species and there are opportunities to expand this. Exactly where those opportunities lie was the subject of our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2023.2290008">new research</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-stench-of-tokenism-how-environmental-reforms-ignore-first-nations-knowledge-198393">'A stench of tokenism': how environmental reforms ignore First Nations knowledge</a>
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<img alt="small bird on branch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574864/original/file-20240212-26-ylqszg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574864/original/file-20240212-26-ylqszg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574864/original/file-20240212-26-ylqszg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574864/original/file-20240212-26-ylqszg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574864/original/file-20240212-26-ylqszg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574864/original/file-20240212-26-ylqszg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574864/original/file-20240212-26-ylqszg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The chestnut-rumped heathwren, one of about 130 threatened birds found on Country connected to First Peoples.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Many non-Indigenous people think of Australia as one country. But for First Peoples, the continent comprises <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/map-indigenous-australia">many countries</a>, each of which is home to distinct groups, each with their own culture, customs, language and laws.</p>
<p>Under Australian law, First Peoples lack legal title to much of their ancestral lands. Regardless, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/education/in-my-blood-it-runs-connections-to-country/13810318">connections to Country</a> – and <a href="https://theconversation.com/allowing-duck-hunting-to-continue-in-victoria-is-shameful-and-part-of-a-disturbing-trend-222156">species that live there</a> – remain. </p>
<p>Our study identified 463 First Peoples’ Country on which about 130 threatened birds occur. Mapping of First Peoples’ Country is incomplete, and boundaries between groups are often blurred or disputed, so the actual number is likely to be higher still.</p>
<p>More than 20 species are found on the Country of four First Peoples groups - the Ngarrindjeri People of south-east South Australia, the Nywaigi of the Wet Tropics of north Queensland, and the Wiradjuri and Yuin of New South Wales.</p>
<p>Some 14 species have highly restricted ranges. For example, the entire population of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/02/six-australian-birds-you-may-never-have-heard-of-and-may-not-be-heard-from-again">Australia’s rarest bird</a>, the mukarrthippi grasswren, lives on Ngiyampaa Country in central NSW. Mukarrthippi is a name created by the Ngiyampaa Elders. </p>
<p>Similarly, the forested hills north of Adelaide are both Nukunu Country and home to the chestnut-rumped heathwren. The Wurundjeri are the Traditional Owners of Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area, home of the last helmeted honeyeaters. And the entire range of three threatened species is on the Country of Tiwi Islander First Peoples.</p>
<p>Some 15 threatened bird species occur on Country of more than 50 First Peoples groups. Some of these, such as southern boobook owls and southern whitefaces, are declining rapidly across their vast ranges. Others, such as the <a href="https://environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/929-conservation-advice-09072020.pdf">grey falcon</a>, are exceedingly scarce.</p>
<h2>How First Peoples can become more involved</h2>
<p>We don’t expect our research to guide First Nations people in identifying their priorities. But it may help First Peoples know which threatened bird species occur on their Country. They may then choose to seek support to protect these species.</p>
<p>For example, First Peoples may seek expansion of <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/environment/indigenous-protected-areas-ipas">Indigenous Protected Areas</a> where the species occur. These areas comprise land, sea, and river Country managed by First Nations groups.</p>
<p>Or the threatened species could become a focus of management by <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/environment/indigenous-rangers-program">Indigenous rangers</a>, a form of employment for First Peoples that has proliferated in recent decades. </p>
<p>The monitoring of imperilled birds is another activity where First Peoples already contribute strongly but could be more involved. Some First Peoples may have been monitoring species themselves and be willing to share their knowledge of population trends and cycles. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humpback-whales-hold-lore-for-traditional-custodians-but-laws-dont-protect-species-for-their-cultural-significance-213073">Humpback whales hold lore for Traditional Custodians. But laws don't protect species for their cultural significance</a>
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<h2>Compensation for centuries of damage</h2>
<p>Numerous opportunities exist for First Peoples to engage in threatened bird conservation should they choose to. But one big barrier to this is a perennial lack of funding.</p>
<p>For example, Indigenous Protected Areas make up almost half of Australia’s conservation areas, yet <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-rangers-dont-receive-the-funding-they-deserve-heres-why-115916">receive just a fraction</a> of funding for the federal conservation estate.</p>
<p>This is unjust. Our research also found all threats to Australia’s imperilled birds were a consequence of colonisation. They include habitat destruction, changed fire regimes, invasive species and climate change.</p>
<p>This suggests governments have a moral, and potentially legal, responsibility for supporting the conservation work of First Peoples. Such support should be viewed not as charity or welfare, but through the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0047117818782595">lens</a> of restorative and <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp/vol8/iss2/4/">intergenerational justice</a>.</p>
<p>Australia’s First Peoples were begrudgingly granted land rights after two centuries of having their ownership denied. They also have a right to compensation for the damage done.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-rangers-dont-receive-the-funding-they-deserve-heres-why-115916">Indigenous rangers don’t receive the funding they deserve – here's why</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Lilleyman is affiliated with BirdLife Australia. She works for and consults to Aboriginal ranger groups and Charles Darwin University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Pascoe is affiliated with Back to Country and is Co-Chief Councilor of the Biodiversity Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Garnett works for Charles Darwin University. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with BirdLife Australia. </span></em></p>Australia’s First Peoples have a strong and continuing connection to the land. Their determination to maintain this connection provides important opportunities for conservation. Our new research explored…Amanda Lilleyman, Adjunct associate, Charles Darwin UniversityJack Pascoe, Research fellow, The University of MelbourneStephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2178862023-12-07T13:28:32Z2023-12-07T13:28:32ZWhy dozens of North American bird species are getting new names: Every name tells a story<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563741/original/file-20231205-19-huatts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C0%2C2193%2C1462&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Birders participate in the Christmas Bird Count on Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2017. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/diana-handy-looks-at-a-bird-during-the-christmas-bird-count-news-photo/893985384">Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This winter, tens of thousands of birders will survey winter bird populations for the National Audubon Society’s <a href="https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count">Christmas Bird Count</a>, part of an international bird census, powered by volunteers, that has taken place every year since 1900.</p>
<p>For many birders, participating in the count is a much-anticipated annual tradition. Tallying birds and compiling results with others connects birders to local, regional and even national birding communities. Comparing this year’s results with previous tallies links birders to past generations. And scientists <a href="https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count/christmas-bird-count-bibliography">use the data</a> to assess whether bird populations are thriving or declining.</p>
<p>But a change is coming. On Nov. 1, 2023, the American Ornithological Society <a href="https://americanornithology.org/american-ornithological-society-will-change-the-english-names-of-bird-species-named-after-people/">announced</a> that it will rename 152 bird species that have names honoring historical figures. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A gray-blue bird with black markings perches on a branch, eating a berry." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563952/original/file-20231206-15-8ztay4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A Townsend’s Solitaire, one of the species to be renamed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jared Del Rosso</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Soon, Christmas bird counters will no longer find Cooper’s hawks hunting songbirds. They won’t scan marshes for Wilson’s snipes. And here in Colorado’s Front Range, where I’ll participate in a local count, we’ll no longer encounter one of my favorite winter visitors, Townsend’s solitaires. </p>
<p>New names will take the place of these eponymous ones. With those new names will come new ways of understanding these birds and their histories.</p>
<h2>Names matter</h2>
<p>In my time birding over the past decade, learning birds’ names helped me recognize the species I encounter every day, as well as the ones that migrate past me. So I understand that it may not be easy to persuade people to accept new names for so many familiar North American species. </p>
<p>But as a <a href="https://jdelrosso.com/">scholar of politics, culture and denial</a>, I also know that language shapes our understanding of history and violence. This includes bird names, as I’ve learned through my ongoing research into <a href="https://lonesomewhippoorwill.com/the-book/">one iconic species’ place in American culture</a>: the Eastern whip-poor-will. </p>
<p>Eastern whip-poor-wills are nocturnal birds who nest in forests of the eastern U.S. and Canada. English colonialists named the species for their <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Whip-poor-will/sounds">distinct, repetitive call</a>, which sounds like a malicious command to inflict punishment: “Whip poor Will, whip poor Will, whip poor Will.” </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jIxfVSS_65o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An Eastern Whip-poor-will’s distinctive call.</span></figcaption>
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<p>This naming had consequences. Generations of <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Whip_Poor_Will_A_Series_of_Engraving/bByLdRHWi3UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP11&printsec=frontcover">poets</a> and naturalists, like <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Writings_of_John_Muir_The_story_of_m/VMtPacVUW6IC">John Muir</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tommy_Anne_and_the_Three_Hearts/NzVAAAAAYAAJ">Mabel Osgood Wright</a>, associated the species with whippings. Their writings often tell us as much about 19th and early-20th century Americans’ views of morality and punishment than about this remarkable bird.</p>
<h2>What’s wrong with eponymous names</h2>
<p>The whip-poor-will’s name translates the species’ song, leaving room for interpretation. Eponymous names based on a specific person, like Audubon’s oriole or Townsend’s solitaire, are less descriptive. Even so, these names <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12984">shape how people relate</a> to birds and the history of ornithology.</p>
<p>Many of these names honor people, usually white men, who engaged in racist acts. For example, <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/the-myth-john-james-audubon">John James Audubon owned slaves</a>, and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5403/oregonhistq.115.3.0324">John Kirk Townsend robbed skulls from Native American graves</a>. Changing these names helps separate birds from this harmful, exclusionary history. </p>
<p>But for multiple reasons, the American Ornithological Society is <a href="https://americanornithology.org/about/english-bird-names-project/english-bird-names-committee-recommendations/#recommendation-1">changing all eponymous names</a>, not just those linked to problematic historical figures. First, the organization decided that it did not want to make judgments about which historical figures were honor-worthy. Second, it recognized that all eponymous names imply human ownership over birds. Third, it acknowledged that eponymous names do not describe the birds they name.</p>
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<h2>Change as a constant</h2>
<p>While birders certainly will have learning to do once these changes become official, change is a constant in how people relate to birds. </p>
<p>Consider the technologies birders use. In the early 20th century, binoculars became more affordable and readily available. As <a href="https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/history/profile/thomas-r-dunlap/">Texas A&M historian Thomas Dunlap</a> <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/in-the-field-among-the-feathered-9780199734597">has shown</a>, this helps explains why birders now “collect” birds by spotting them, rather than by shooting them, as Audubon and others of his time did.</p>
<p>Field guides, too, have come a long way. Early guides often relied on dense written descriptions. Today, birders carry compact, smartly illustrated guides, or we use smartphones to check digital guides, share sightings and <a href="https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/merlin-sound-id-project-overview/">identify birds from audio recordings</a>. </p>
<p>Names, too, have long been open to revision. When the American Ornithological Union, the predecessor of today’s American Ornithological Society, created an <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/16484#page/6/mode/1up">official list of bird names in 1886</a>, it erased untold numbers of Indigenous names, as well as local folk names.</p>
<p>Since then, some names have come into use and others have fallen out of fashion, especially as ornithologists lump and split species. Consider the ongoing adventure of just one species: <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Snipe/overview">Wilson’s snipe</a>, a round marsh bird whose name will be among those changed. </p>
<p>In the American Ornithological Union’s original checklist of North American birds, Wilson’s snipes were a distinct species from the Common snipes of Europe and Asia. Then, in the mid-1940s, the Union decided the two were one, and Wilson’s snipes became Common snipes. In 2000, the Common snipe was split back into two species, and Wilson’s snipes again became Wilson’s snipes. </p>
<p>Either way, many early accounts of the North American species simply call these birds “Snipes.” This is the name Alexander Wilson, for whom the bird is named, himself used in <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Ornithology_Or_The_Natural_Hist/V1BHAAAAYAAJ">his account of them</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Watercolor of three brown and white snipes, a type of shorebird, in a marsh." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562836/original/file-20231130-25-ujzawe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">John James Audubon’s illustration of American snipes, from ‘Birds of America.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/american-snipe">Courtesy of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Montgomery County Audubon Collection, and Zebra Publishing</a></span>
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<h2>Names reflect new knowledge and values</h2>
<p>Science has greatly expanded human understanding of birds in recent decades. We now recognize that birds are <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-crows-really-that-clever-212914">intelligent</a>, with rich <a href="https://theconversation.com/laughs-cries-and-deception-birds-emotional-lives-are-just-as-complicated-as-ours-69471">emotional lives</a>. Radar, lightweight transmitters and satellite telemetry have helped scientists map the <a href="https://theconversation.com/birds-migrate-along-ancient-routes-here-are-the-latest-high-tech-tools-scientists-are-using-to-study-their-amazing-journeys-187967">transcontinental migrations</a> that many bird species make each year.</p>
<p>Trading eponymous names, which treat birds as passive objects, for richer descriptive names reflects this sea change in our understanding of avian lives. </p>
<p>Our thinking about race and racism has evolved dramatically as well. For instance, we no longer use folk names for birds based on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/453677">racial and ethnic slurs</a>, as Americans of the 19th and early 20th centuries did. The decision to change eponymous bird names reflects this shift. </p>
<p>It also reflects broader efforts to reckon with the legacies of racism and colonialism in our relationships with the natural world. There is increasing recognition that legacies of racism shape our natural landscapes. Just as public monuments can have “<a href="https://theconversation.com/monuments-expire-but-offensive-monuments-can-become-powerful-history-lessons-143318">expiration dates</a>,” so can names for species, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-landmarks-bearing-racist-and-colonial-references-are-renamed-to-reflect-indigenous-values-157850">geographic features</a> and places that no longer reflect contemporary values.</p>
<p>Birders no longer live in Audubon’s world. We rarely consult his heavy, multi-volume folios. We celebrate that we list birds that we have seen in the wild and left unharmed, rather than collecting their bodies as specimens.</p>
<p>Soon, we’ll also stop using some of the names that this world gave to birds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217886/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jared Del Rosso does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What’s in a name? A lot, if you’re an Audubon’s Oriole or a Townsend’s Solitaire.Jared Del Rosso, Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology, University of DenverLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166452023-11-29T02:35:13Z2023-11-29T02:35:13ZWe analysed citizen science to find Australia’s top 10 most elusive birds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562126/original/file-20231128-19-uea8xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=72%2C36%2C5934%2C3908&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-sun-hat-looks-view-through-2316061461">Jjay69, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is one of the greatest places to see birds. We are fortunate to have more than 800 different bird species across the nation. At least 370 species are found nowhere else on Earth. They range from the iconic <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-smarter-the-magpie-the-better-they-can-handle-our-noisy-cities-214387">Australian magpie</a> to the migratory <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-dead-and-dying-seabirds-washing-up-on-our-beaches-in-their-hundreds-217349">short-tailed shearwater</a>, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/100-years-ago-this-man-discovered-an-exquisite-parrot-thought-to-be-extinct-what-came-next-is-a-tragedy-we-must-not-repeat-171939">golden-shouldered parrot</a> and the delightful <a href="https://theconversation.com/fairy-wrens-are-more-likely-to-help-their-closest-friends-but-not-strangers-just-like-us-humans-198231">superb fairy-wren</a>. </p>
<p>Every day, thousands of birdwatchers are out spotting birds. Yet despite this enthusiasm, there’s a lot still to learn. <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-200-australian-birds-are-now-threatened-with-extinction-and-climate-change-is-the-biggest-danger-172751">More than 200 species are already listed as threatened with extinction</a> but others may also be struggling and we just don’t know it yet. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2023.2283443">our new research</a>, we used citizen science data to rank Australia’s birds in terms of how well they are known. We looked at how often birdwatchers spot each species and where they find birds, compared with how often they look, to determine rates of survey success. This quantifies how “well known” each species is.</p>
<p>We found a quarter of all Australian bird species can be considered well surveyed and adequately represented in our sightings databases. Many of these species have ranges that overlap with the densely populated regions of Australia. And some, like the southern cassowary and eastern rosella, are well known to most Australians. At the other end of the spectrum, some birds are very hard to find. Here’s Australia’s top 10 most elusive birds. </p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-998" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/998/7601ad3ea3922b23e926988a3918ffea7ec96b8b/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-more-native-bird-species-than-almost-anywhere-else-what-led-to-this-explosion-of-diversity-215809">Australia has more native bird species than almost anywhere else. What led to this explosion of diversity?</a>
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<h2>Taking advantage of citizen science</h2>
<p>Before smartphones took off, birders would take notes in their private notebooks. They might share details of interesting sightings on internet forums or birdwatching clubs, but otherwise most knowledge was locked away from scientists and conservationists.</p>
<p>Now birders are increasingly taking advantage of easy-to-use birding apps such as <a href="https://ebird.org/home">eBird</a> run by Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the United States, and <a href="https://birdata.birdlife.org.au">Birdata</a> from Birdlife Australia. </p>
<p>Collectively, these two platforms contain more than 40 million bird occurrence records spanning the entire country. That represents 3.8 million volunteer hours, or more than 430 years of effort.</p>
<p>Using these apps, birdwatchers and scientists alike can quickly collate bird records at a specific location. </p>
<p>As conservation scientists and ornithologists, we wanted to work out how to identify species we know very little about because poorly known species may be disappearing without us realising. While some researchers have already highlighted serious declines in poorly known species like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-red-goshawk-is-disappearing-how-can-we-save-our-rarest-bird-of-prey-from-extinction-200339%5d">red goshawk</a>, <a href="https://www.difficultbirds.com/swift-parrot#:%7E:text=Swift%20Parrots%20are%20a%20critically,in%20south%2Deastern%20mainland%20Australia.">swift parrot</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-buff-breasted-button-quail-still-alive-after-years-of-searching-this-century-old-bird-mystery-has-yet-to-be-solved-175647">buff-breasted buttonquail</a>, we recognised citizen science databases as a vast untapped source of knowledge for all of our native birds. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Australia's red goshawk, flying with outstretched wings in a cloudless a blue sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560600/original/file-20231121-27-zkey1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Despite being highly sought after by birdwatchers, Australia’s red goshawk is one of the least reported bird species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Watson</span></span>
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<h2>Australia’s most elusive birds</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2023.2283443">our new study</a>, published in the journal Emu (Austral Ornithology), we looked at millions of citizen science bird records. We focused on 581 terrestrial, native species. </p>
<p>We found a group of 56 “hide and seek” champions of Australia. These are the species which are seen least often by birdwatchers. Many of these species exhibit cryptic behaviour or are primarily nocturnal, which explains why they are not regularly seen by citizen scientists. However, we have serious concerns for a handful of these species. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=59714">Coxen’s fig parrot</a> emerges as a species of major concern. Birders recorded more than 300,000 surveys within this species’ range in the rainforests of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales. Yet only four sightings of this tiny green parrot are documented in our combined citizen science database. None of these sightings were accompanied by photo or video evidence. In fact there has never been a photo of a live bird of this species. Our research suggests this species is well and truly “lost to science” and may already be extinct.</p>
<p>Another species of increasing concern is the buff-breasted buttonquail of far north Queensland. Only seven sightings of this bird are recorded in our combined dataset. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2022.2090962">Recent research</a> suggests many <a href="https://www.worldsciencefestival.com.au/news/the-birding-mystery-of-the-buff-breasted-button-quail">reported sightings of this species may be mistaken</a>. As with the Coxen’s fig parrot, no photo of a living buff-breasted buttonquail has ever been taken. Nevertheless, there is some hope for this elusive species, as its range has been less comprehensively surveyed by birdwatchers. There is now a <a href="https://conservationpartners.org.au/cape-york-button-quail-3/">concerted effort to find them</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1591872122946977792"}"></div></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-200-australian-birds-are-now-threatened-with-extinction-and-climate-change-is-the-biggest-danger-172751">More than 200 Australian birds are now threatened with extinction – and climate change is the biggest danger</a>
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<h2>We can all play a role</h2>
<p>Our analysis shows much of Australia is not frequented by birdwatchers, so birds in our least populated areas are still poorly known to contemporary science. Some of the most sparsely surveyed regions include Australia’s many deserts, and remote areas such as the Nullarbor Plain, Arnhem Land and western Cape York Peninsula. </p>
<p>Australians can help these elusive birds by heading outdoors with a smartphone and a pair of binoculars. Records of scarce birds will become increasingly important as species continue to decline. Even records of more common birds in backyards have value too. The more information we have, the more chance we can slow the rate of extinction and conserve our amazing birdlife.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-mysterious-night-parrot-has-terrible-vision-but-we-discovered-it-might-be-able-to-hear-like-an-owl-200058">Our mysterious night parrot has terrible vision – but we discovered it might be able to hear like an owl</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216645/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Watson has received funding from the Australian Research Council, National Environmental Science Program, South Australia's Department of Environment and Water as well as from Bush Heritage Australia, Queensland Conservation Council and Birdlife Australia. He serves on scientific committees for Bush Heritage Australia, climate start up Subak Australia, BirdLife Australia and has a long-term scientific relationship with the Wildlife Conservation Society. He serves on the Queensland Government's Land Restoration Fund's Investment Panel as the Deputy Chair. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louis Backstrom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers used ‘citizen science’ birdwatching data to rank Australian species. Among the most elusive birds were ‘hide and seek’ champions and a few possibly headed for extinction.Louis Backstrom, PhD Student, University of St AndrewsJames Watson, Professor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093912023-07-14T02:59:43Z2023-07-14T02:59:43ZDrones are disturbing critically endangered shorebirds in Moreton Bay, creating a domino effect<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536434/original/file-20230710-25-l6rwkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C44%2C5955%2C3943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua Wilson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Drones are increasingly swarming our skies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/eyes-on-the-world-drones-change-our-point-of-view-and-our-truths-143838">capturing images</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/farmers-of-the-future-will-utilize-drones-robots-and-gps-37739">managing crops</a> and soon, <a href="https://theconversation.com/drone-delivery-is-a-thing-now-but-how-feasible-is-having-it-everywhere-and-would-we-even-want-it-193301">delivering packages</a>. But what do the birds make of this invasion of their territory? </p>
<p>With strict animal ethics approval, we flew drones towards <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14467">flocks of birds</a> in Queensland’s Moreton Bay. We found many species were not disturbed, provided the drone was small and flew above 60m. </p>
<p>The exception was the critically endangered eastern curlew, which became alarmed and flew away – even when a tiny drone approached at the maximum legal altitude of 120m. But when the eastern curlew took flight, other nearby species were often startled, creating a domino effect that eventually caused the whole flock to take flight.</p>
<p>Drone disturbance can interrupt birds as they rest or feed. It can even cause them to avoid some locations altogether. If birds are consistently interrupted or scared away from their preferred habitats, they may find it difficult to eat and rest enough to survive and reproduce. This is particularly concerning for species such as the eastern curlew, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-birds-stamina-is-remarkable-it-flies-non-stop-for-5-days-from-japan-to-australia-but-now-its-habitat-is-under-threat-165964">migrate thousands of kilometres to breed</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A drone’s view of a flock of royal spoonbill. Drone disturbance may contribute to population declines. Joshua Wilson.</span></figcaption>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-birds-stamina-is-remarkable-it-flies-non-stop-for-5-days-from-japan-to-australia-but-now-its-habitat-is-under-threat-165964">This bird's stamina is remarkable: it flies non-stop for 5 days from Japan to Australia, but now its habitat is under threat</a>
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<h2>Yet another threat to shorebirds</h2>
<p>We studied a diverse group of birds typically found along coastlines, known as shorebirds. Heartbreakingly, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-numbers-are-in-australia-must-do-more-to-protect-migratory-birds-5839">their global population has plummeted</a> as they continue to battle <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-birds-stamina-is-remarkable-it-flies-non-stop-for-5-days-from-japan-to-australia-but-now-its-habitat-is-under-threat-165964">habitat destruction</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-get-smarter-to-save-shorebirds-from-rising-seas-41603">sea level rise</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/birds-on-beaches-are-under-attack-from-dogs-photographers-and-four-wheel-drives-heres-how-you-can-help-them-155962">disturbance</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/be-still-my-beating-wings-hunters-kill-migrating-birds-on-their-10-000km-journey-to-australia-138382">hunting</a>. </p>
<p>The last few decades have been bleak for the eastern curlew, which is the world’s largest migratory shorebird. Research in 2011 indicated a population decline of <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/action-plan/priority-birds/eastern-curlew">80% over three generations</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A side view of an eastern curlew wading in water, with the shore in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536442/original/file-20230710-15-ruryie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The eastern curlew is a critically endangered shorebird that is highly sensitive to drone-induced disturbance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JJ Harrison</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While drones are unlikely to have played a major role in shorebird decline so far, our results, combined with the increasing presence of drones along our coastline, indicate they could become <a href="https://theconversation.com/contested-spaces-saving-nature-when-our-beaches-have-gone-to-the-dogs-72078">yet another source of disturbance</a> for these birds, many of which are already endangered.</p>
<h2>Use with care</h2>
<p>At the same time, drones have proven to be a valuable tool. They’ve been used to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-19/giant-drones-dropping-tree-seeds/101150496">plant trees</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-drones-can-improve-healthcare-delivery-in-developing-countries-49917">deliver healthcare</a> in developing countries, and have even proven useful for bird conservation. </p>
<p>Drones can observe birds in places that are hard to reach on foot, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/flying-scarecrows-and-caribou-counters-using-drones-for-conservation-36847">birds of prey nesting in tree tops</a>, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-used-drones-to-track-the-feeding-habits-of-seabirds-new-research-160744">seabirds feeding on tidal inlets</a>. In some cases, they can even be <a href="https://theconversation.com/epic-duck-challenge-shows-drones-can-outdo-people-at-surveying-wildlife-90018">more accurate</a> compared to traditional ground-based survey methods.</p>
<p>Shorebirds spread out across vast mudflats to feed, making it very difficult to survey them on foot and identify critical foraging habitats. Our research has shown that, for certain species, drones may overcome this barrier, providing information that may be pivotal in arresting shorebird population declines.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Drones may be a valuable tool for surveying shorebirds as they spread out across vast mudflats to feed. Joshua Wilson.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Drones can be beneficial in many ways, but we must identify <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-guide-to-using-drones-to-study-wildlife-first-do-no-harm-57069">when and how drones can be used</a> to minimise potential harm. In some locations, such as <a href="https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/before-you-visit/visit-with-care/drone-safety#local_restrictions_on_parks_and_forests">some Australian national parks</a>, drone use is already prohibited or restricted. But managers need to understand how drones affect wildlife to inform these regulations.</p>
<p>Our findings provide clear-cut parameters around how much space to give birds to keep drone disturbance to a minimum. In most cases this is about 60m, but it can vary significantly between species. For the eastern curlew, we don’t recommend approaches within 250m, even with small drones.</p>
<p>The Moreton Bay Marine Park, where this research was undertaken, is the single <a href="https://www.eaaflyway.net/importance-of-moreton-bay-to-far-eastern-curlew/">most important site in Australia</a> for the eastern curlew. Disturbing shorebirds within the marine park is an offence that can result in fines. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has already used our findings to place conditions on research projects and media activities involving drones.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536441/original/file-20230710-21-1c8qad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536441/original/file-20230710-21-1c8qad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536441/original/file-20230710-21-1c8qad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536441/original/file-20230710-21-1c8qad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536441/original/file-20230710-21-1c8qad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536441/original/file-20230710-21-1c8qad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536441/original/file-20230710-21-1c8qad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Within Queensland’s Moreton Bay Marine Park, it is an offence to disturb shorebirds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Des Thureson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sharing the skies</h2>
<p>We recommend organisations with influence on this issue, such as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and national parks authorities, regulate drone use near bird flocks – especially those containing at-risk and highly sensitive species. </p>
<p>We also encourage those researchers considering adding drones to their conservation toolkit to carefully evaluate the risk of disturbance before using them to conduct wildlife surveys.</p>
<p>By understanding how shorebirds react to drones, we can inform effective and efficient management actions. Regulating drone use near critical shorebird habitats will help us to avoid exacerbating population declines, while still allowing the use of a valuable tool, where appropriate.</p>
<p>Hopefully, through small steps like this we can arrest the decline of shorebird populations, ensuring we can continue to share our shorelines with these beautiful birds for generations to come.</p>
<p><em>This research was supported by <a href="https://moretonbayfoundation.org/research/surveying-shorebirds/">The Moreton Bay Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://waders.org.au/">Queensland Wader Study Group</a>. It was conducted under strict ethical clearance with the purpose of benefiting the birds with the knowledge gained.</em></p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eyes-on-the-world-drones-change-our-point-of-view-and-our-truths-143838">Eyes on the world – drones change our point of view and our truths</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Wilson receives funding from The Moreton Bay Foundation and The Queensland Wader Study Group. </span></em></p>Drone use has increased dramatically, but what effect will this have on our endangered shorebirds? New research shows the eastern curlew is easily startled, prompting others to take flight.Joshua Wilson, PhD Candidate, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1820642022-05-08T19:58:13Z2022-05-08T19:58:13ZBringing the tūī back to town – how native birds are returning to NZ’s restored urban forests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461210/original/file-20220504-14-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C68%2C4136%2C2201&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/SCurtis</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urbanisation, and the destruction of habitat it entails, is a major threat to native bird populations. But as our new <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13700">research</a> shows, restored urban forests can return native birds to our cities and improve species richness.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A path through a forested urban park" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461212/original/file-20220504-15-ltsf9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461212/original/file-20220504-15-ltsf9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461212/original/file-20220504-15-ltsf9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461212/original/file-20220504-15-ltsf9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461212/original/file-20220504-15-ltsf9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461212/original/file-20220504-15-ltsf9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461212/original/file-20220504-15-ltsf9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The older the restored forest, the more native bird species it can support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Dmitry Naumov</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We define restored urban forests as green areas within a city, dominated by native vegetation that has been planted intentionally. To evaluate restoration success, we tracked changes in native bird communities in 25 restored forests in two of New Zealand’s cities, Hamilton and New Plymouth. </p>
<p>The forests we used in our study ranged widely in their ages, including one where initial restoration efforts began 72 years ago. We also compared these restored forests to remnant patches of native, mature forest – both within and beyond the city – that had never been clear-felled.</p>
<p>Our findings show older restored forests support more species of native birds, and some are close to the species richness of untouched remnants of native forest. The abundance of birds increased as the forest canopy became denser.</p>
<p>Contrary to our initial predictions, introduced invasive mammals had no significant effect on either species richness or abundance of native birds in urban forests.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-urban-forest-of-the-future-how-to-turn-our-cities-into-treetopias-134624">The urban forest of the future: how to turn our cities into Treetopias</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Older restorations are better</h2>
<p>We found the younger forests supported small-bodied insect-eating and omnivorous birds such as fantails, silvereyes and grey warblers. Older plantings were also home to nectar and fruit-feeding species such as tūī.</p>
<p>This increase in native species richness suggests older sites provide a greater variety of food and other resources, meeting the needs of more species over time. We also found greater overall numbers of fantails and tūī in older restored forests.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fantail on a tree branch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461214/original/file-20220504-11-w1cy6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461214/original/file-20220504-11-w1cy6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461214/original/file-20220504-11-w1cy6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461214/original/file-20220504-11-w1cy6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461214/original/file-20220504-11-w1cy6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461214/original/file-20220504-11-w1cy6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461214/original/file-20220504-11-w1cy6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Insect-eating fantails are among the first to return to restored urban forests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/William Booth</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To monitor these native bird communities, we counted all terrestrial birds seen and heard along 200m transects. </p>
<p>It appears native bird diversity in restored forests is becoming increasingly similar to what we find in urban forest remnants, but there is still a noticeable gap between the oldest restored areas and both urban and rural remnants. </p>
<p>This could mean it might take more than 72 years for a forest to provide the same quality of habitat as remnant forest, underscoring the importance of protecting the remaining forests, both within and beyond the city limits.</p>
<h2>Rats and possums also like restored forests</h2>
<p>We also needed to know how mammals affect native birds at our sites, so we used camera traps to detect cats and chew cards to track rats and possums. </p>
<p>Chew cards are small sheets of corrugated plastic, with the edges filled with peanut butter, which allow us to identify rodents and possums by their bite marks. To our surprise, we did not find any significant influence of rat and cat numbers on the diversity and abundance of native birds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cat sitting on a tree branch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461216/original/file-20220504-26-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461216/original/file-20220504-26-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461216/original/file-20220504-26-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461216/original/file-20220504-26-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461216/original/file-20220504-26-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461216/original/file-20220504-26-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461216/original/file-20220504-26-snek9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Native birds that survive in cities are less affected by predation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/JARASNAT ANUJAPAD</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This was unexpected because both rats and cats prey on native birds and rats also take their eggs. However, other <a href="https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3296.pdf">research</a> has shown three of our widely detected native birds (grey warbler, fantail and silvereye) are capable of coping with a certain level of predation. </p>
<p>In 2006, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534705003848">study</a> proposed the idea that the bird communities we see in our cities today are those less affected by predation – the “ghosts of predation past”. </p>
<p>We believe this to be the case in our study – birds that are highly vulnerable to predation by invasive mammals have already disappeared from New Zealand cities. The remaining birds are those that can survive despite current levels of predation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-city-trees-have-been-lost-to-development-when-we-need-them-more-than-ever-132356">Thousands of city trees have been lost to development, when we need them more than ever</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We never detected rats and possums in the youngest restored forests. They seem to prefer a certain level of vegetation complexity, canopy cover and tree height in restoration plantings. Once these habitat requirements are met, after about nine years, rats and possums become relatively widespread. </p>
<p>It appears the changes in vegetation structure and complexity that occur as the restored forest ages benefit native forest birds but also provide habitat for invasive predators.</p>
<h2>Urban forests benefit people and nature</h2>
<p>In urban areas that have undergone extreme deforestation and habitat modification, increasing the number and quality of native forest through restoration planting is a necessary first step towards re-establishing native forest bird communities. But this should eventually be accompanied by invasive mammal control. </p>
<p>Our findings highlight the considerable opportunity forest restoration presents to enhance native bird diversity. This allows us to reconcile human development with protection and improvement of native biodiversity in cities. </p>
<p>As people continue to move to cities, urban restoration provides a renewed link between people and native environments.</p>
<p>Despite the conservation challenges urban environments present, there is growing recognition of the benefits to both native species and people. Ecological restoration is a potentially powerful tool for mitigating the detrimental effects of urbanisation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/save-the-trees-never-ending-construction-in-cities-threatens-the-urban-forest-154540">Save the trees: Never-ending construction in cities threatens the urban forest</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>By providing habitat for birds, urban green spaces also allow city residents daily contact with charismatic species. This facilitates an emotional connection with nature which in turn promotes public support for conservation and restoration. </p>
<p>The United Nations has declared 2021-2030 the decade of <a href="https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/">ecosystem restoration</a> – a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. </p>
<p>Our study shows every New Zealander can contribute to this revival of our iconic native birds by planting native trees in their own urban neighbourhoods.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182064/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Elliot Noe receives funding from Bioprotection Aotearoa. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew D. Barnes receives funding from MBIE, the Marsden Fund, and the University of Waikato. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Clarkson receives funding from MBIE.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Innes receives funding from MBIE, NZ Transport Authority and occasionally Waikato Regional Council. </span></em></p>Invasive mammals have already removed some native bird species from our cities. It’s why urban forest restoration and predator control are crucial to support the ‘ghosts of predation past’.Elizabeth Elliot Noe, Postdoctoral Fellow, Lincoln University, New ZealandAndrew D. Barnes, Senior Lecturer in Community Ecology, University of WaikatoBruce Clarkson, Professor of Restoration Ecology, University of WaikatoJohn Innes, Senior Research - Wildlife Ecology, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1659642021-08-30T03:00:07Z2021-08-30T03:00:07ZThis bird’s stamina is remarkable: it flies non-stop for 5 days from Japan to Australia, but now its habitat is under threat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416941/original/file-20210819-17-b4kqzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4950%2C2460&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Bassett</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine having to fly non-stop for five days over thousands of kilometres of ocean for your survival. That’s what the Latham’s Snipe shorebird does twice a year, for every year of its life. </p>
<p>This migratory shorebird, similar in size to a blackbird, completes this gruelling migration to warmer climes, where it prepares itself for its return flight and the next breeding season. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, their wetland habitat is now being lost to development and other pressures, putting this tough little bird at risk. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Latham's Snipe flies past." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416945/original/file-20210819-17-mcm1k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Latham’s Snipe arrives at its destination severely malnourished and spends the Australian summer months build up its strength and body fat to complete its long return flight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Sinnott/instagram.com/birdsbydave/</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/be-still-my-beating-wings-hunters-kill-migrating-birds-on-their-10-000km-journey-to-australia-138382">Be still, my beating wings: hunters kill migrating birds on their 10,000km journey to Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A feat of incredible endurance</h2>
<p>Latham’s Snipe breeds in northern Japan and parts of eastern Russia during May-July and spends its non-breeding season (September to March) along Australia’s eastern coast.</p>
<p>Like other migratory shorebirds, it has incredible endurance, undertaking a non-stop, over-ocean flight between its breeding and non-breeding grounds. </p>
<p>It arrives at its destination severely malnourished and spends the Australian summer months building up its strength and body fat to complete its long return flight.</p>
<p>Unlike many other migratory shorebird species in Australia, you won’t find Latham’s Snipe in large flocks enjoying picturesque estuaries and bays. Instead, it hides away in thickly vegetated wetlands during the day to avoid local predators. </p>
<p>Their characteristic brown mottled feathers help them hide in wetlands.</p>
<p>Large eyes high on their heads allow them to see far and wide. Their exceptional eyesight helps them constantly scan for dangers at night, when they forage for food in open wet and muddy areas.</p>
<p>Latham’s Snipe is the ultimate sun-seeker. It breeds in the northern hemisphere when the snows have melted and the weather is warm, then returns to the southern hemisphere to take advantage of spring rains, warmer weather and food-rich wetlands.</p>
<p>It spends its entire time in Australia feeding, resting and growing new flight feathers in preparation for the long haul back to Japan in autumn.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416946/original/file-20210819-13-4rzau6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Latham’s Snipe’s characteristic brown mottled feathers help it hide in wetlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Lethlean</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>No food and nowhere to rest</h2>
<p>Latham’s Snipe, formerly known as the Japanese Snipe, was once a popular game bird. Hunting and wetland loss during the 20th century have contributed to a decline in Latham’s Snipe in south-eastern Australia.</p>
<p>The signing of the Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement in 1981 has stopped snipe hunting in both countries. However, their wetland habitat continues to be lost due to land development and drying of wetlands. </p>
<p>Imagine flying for five days straight, arriving at your destination emaciated and exhausted, only to find your habitat has disappeared. No food and nowhere to rest. This is the crisis facing Latham’s Snipe and many other migratory shorebird species. </p>
<h2>No formal protection for many of its wetlands</h2>
<p>Under the Australian government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, any grouping of 18 or more snipe at a wetland site is considered nationally important. Unfortunately, however, development on snipe habitat still occurs.</p>
<p>In 2014 — triggered by a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2014/02/24/3950997.htm">plan</a> to allow housing construction on an important snipe wetland area — a team of passionate researchers and citizen scientists banded together to initiate a <a href="https://lathamssnipeproject.wordpress.com/news/">monitoring program of Latham’s Snipe</a> in south-west Victoria.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1427784557953093644"}"></div></p>
<p>After the first year of the monitoring, the Latham’s Snipe Project expanded to other parts of the country with help from a large number of dedicated volunteers and professionals. </p>
<p>The story from this monitoring is still unfolding but two clear patterns are emerging: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Latham’s Snipe often congregate in urban wetlands; and </p></li>
<li><p>the majority of these important wetlands have no formal protection from development or disturbance. </p></li>
</ol>
<h2>7,000km, non-stop, in three days</h2>
<p>Between 2016 and 2020, the Latham’s Snipe Project started tagging snipe with small electronic devices to try and learn about their migratory routes. </p>
<p>The team uncovered an amazing migration from a female snipe captured in Port Fairy. She left her breeding grounds in northern Japan and flew directly to south-east Queensland in three days, a non-stop flight of around 7,000km. A trip that might normally take around five days, this incredible individual did in three.</p>
<p>This is one of the fastest bird migrations on record and highlights how demanding these over-ocean migrations are. It also shines the spotlight on the critical importance of good quality wetland habitat when the snipe return to Australia.</p>
<p>Urban development continues to threaten Latham’s Snipe habitats. Several snipe sites in eastern Australia are at risk from housing developments and large infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>However, a different way of doing things is possible.</p>
<p>Eco-friendly developments like the Cape Paterson Ecovillage in Victoria provide hope. Here, researchers and citizen scientists have worked with the developer to help design conservation areas within the development to protect and restore wetlands for snipe. </p>
<p>Such progress is heartening, but a critically important next step is to make changes to local planning schemes that explicitly recognise wetlands for Latham’s Snipe.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416947/original/file-20210819-21-aezjfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Imagine flying for five days straight, arriving at your destination emaciated and exhausted, only to find your habitat has disappeared.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Lethlean</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/birds-use-massive-magnetic-maps-to-migrate-and-some-could-cover-the-whole-world-154992">Birds use massive magnetic maps to migrate – and some could cover the whole world</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165964/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Birgita Hansen has received funding in the past from the Victorian and ACT state governments and through Glenelg Hopkins CMA.
</span></em></p>Imagine flying for five days straight, arriving at your destination emaciated and exhausted, only to find your habitat has disappeared. Such is the plight of the Latham’s Snipe.Birgita Hansen, Senior Research Fellow, Federation University and Better Data for Better Decisions Constellation Leader, Food Agility CRC, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1383822020-05-25T01:20:32Z2020-05-25T01:20:32ZBe still, my beating wings: hunters kill migrating birds on their 10,000km journey to Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336474/original/file-20200520-152311-bs7du0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C5%2C3657%2C1884&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A bar-tailed godwit.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Lucas DeCicco, US Fish and Wildlife Service.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is low tide at the end of the wet season in Broome, Western Australia. Shorebirds feeding voraciously on worms and clams suddenly get restless. </p>
<p>Chattering loudly they take flight, circling up over Roebuck Bay then heading off for their northern breeding grounds more than 10,000 kilometres away. I marvel at the epic journey ahead, and wonder how these birds will fare.</p>
<p>In my former role as an assistant warden at the Broome Bird Observatory, I had the privilege of watching shorebirds, such as the bar-tailed godwit, set off on their annual migration.</p>
<p>I’m now a conservation researcher at the University of Queensland, focusing on birds. Populations of migratory shorebirds are in sharp decline, and some are threatened with extinction. </p>
<p>We know the destruction of coastal habitats for infrastructure development has <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14895">taken a big toll</a> on these amazing birds. But a study I conducted with a large international team, which has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719311036">just been published</a>, suggests hunting is also a likely key threat. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336511/original/file-20200520-152349-tnf9k9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336511/original/file-20200520-152349-tnf9k9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336511/original/file-20200520-152349-tnf9k9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336511/original/file-20200520-152349-tnf9k9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336511/original/file-20200520-152349-tnf9k9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336511/original/file-20200520-152349-tnf9k9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336511/original/file-20200520-152349-tnf9k9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Bar-tailed Godwits and great knots on migration in the Yellow Sea, China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yong Ding Li</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>What are migratory shorebirds?</h2>
<p>Worldwide, there are 139 migratory shorebird species. About 75 species breed at high latitudes across Asia, Europe, and North America then migrate south in a yearly cycle. </p>
<p>Some 61 migratory shorebird species occur in the Asia-Pacific, within the so-called East Asian-Australasian Flyway. This corridor includes 22 countries – from breeding grounds as far north as Alaska and Siberia to non-breeding grounds as far south as Tasmania and New Zealand. </p>
<p>In between are counties in Asia’s east and southeast, such as South Korea and Vietnam.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335073/original/file-20200514-77276-r18mz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335073/original/file-20200514-77276-r18mz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335073/original/file-20200514-77276-r18mz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335073/original/file-20200514-77276-r18mz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335073/original/file-20200514-77276-r18mz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335073/original/file-20200514-77276-r18mz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335073/original/file-20200514-77276-r18mz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (bounded by blue line) showing schematic migratory movements of shorebirds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">figure credit: Jen Dixon</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The bar-tailed godwits I used to observe at Roebuck Bay breed in Russia’s Arctic circle. They’re among about 36 migratory shorebird species to visit Australia each year, <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/da31ad38-f874-4746-a971-5510527694a4/files/revision-east-asian-australasian-flyway-population-sept-2016.pdf">amounting to more than two million birds</a>. </p>
<p>They primarily arrive towards the end of the year in all states and territories – visiting coastal areas such as Moreton Bay in Queensland, Eighty Mile Beach in Western Australia, and Corner Inlet in Victoria.</p>
<p>Numbers of migratory shorebirds have been falling for many species in the flyway. The trends have been detected since the 1970s <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/MU/MU15056">using citizen science data sets</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-weather-radar-can-keep-tabs-on-the-elusive-magpie-goose-126278">How weather radar can keep tabs on the elusive magpie goose</a>
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<p>Five of the 61 migratory shorebird species in this flyway are globally threatened. Two travel to Australia: the great knot and far eastern curlew. </p>
<p>Threats to these birds are many. They include the <a href="http://decision-point.com.au/article/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place/">loss of their critical habitats</a> along their migration path, <a href="https://theconversation.com/contested-spaces-saving-nature-when-our-beaches-have-gone-to-the-dogs-72078">off-leash dogs</a> disturbing them on Australian beaches, and climate change that is likely <a href="https://theconversation.com/arctic-birds-face-disappearing-breeding-grounds-as-climate-warms-62656">contracting their breeding grounds</a>.</p>
<h2>And what about hunting?</h2>
<p>During their migration, shorebirds stop to rest and feed along a network of wetlands and mudflats. They appear predictably and in large numbers at certain sites, making them relatively easy targets for hunters. </p>
<p>Estimating the extent to which birds are hunted over large areas was like completing a giant jigsaw puzzle. We spent many months scouring the literature, obtaining data and reports from colleagues then carefully assembling the pieces.</p>
<p>We discovered that since the 1970s, three-quarters of all migratory shorebird species in the flyway have been hunted at some point. This includes almost all those visiting Australia and four of the five globally threatened species. </p>
<p>Some records relate to historical hunting that has since been banned. For example the Latham’s snipe, a shorebird that breeds in Japan, was legally hunted in Australia until the 1980s. All migratory shorebirds are now legally protected from hunting in Australia.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bird-brained-and-brilliant-australias-avians-are-smarter-than-you-think-51475">Bird-brained and brilliant: Australia's avians are smarter than you think</a>
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<p>We found evidence that hunting of migratory shorebirds has occurred in 14 countries, including New Zealand and Japan. The most recent records were concentrated in southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, and the northern breeding grounds such as the US. </p>
<p>For a further eight, such as Mongolia and South Korea, we could not determine whether hunting has ever occurred.</p>
<p>Our research suggests hunting has likely exceeded sustainable limits in some instances. Hunting has also been pervasive – spanning vast areas over many years and involving many species. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334959/original/file-20200514-77239-azzix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shorebirds being sold as food in southeast Asia, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Toby Trung and Nguyen Hoai Bao/BirdLife</span></span>
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<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>The motivations of hunters vary across the flyway, according to needs, norms, and cultural traditions. For instance, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/condor/article-abstract/121/2/duz023/5523065?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Native Americans in Alaska</a> hunt shorebirds as a food source after winter, and low-income people in Southeast Asia <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c1a9e03f407b482a158da87/t/5c42eb8e8a922d3a72d42879/1547889551203/Chowdury-Sonadia.pdf">hunt and sell them</a>.</p>
<p>National governments, supported by NGOs and researchers, must find the right balance between conservation and other needs, such as food security.</p>
<p>Efforts to address hunting are already underway. This includes mechanisms such as the <a href="https://www.cms.int/en/taskforce/ittea">United Nations Convention</a> on Migratory Species and the East Asian-Australasian Flyway <a href="https://www.eaaflyway.net/task-force-on-illegal-hunting-taking-and-trade-of-migratory-waterbirds/">Partnership</a>. Other efforts involve helping hunters find <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/asia/news/targeting-hunters-save-spoon-billed-sandpiper">alternative livelihoods</a>.</p>
<p>Our understanding of hunting as a potential threat is hindered by a lack of coordinated monitoring across the Asia-Pacific. </p>
<p>Additional surveys by BirdLife International, as well as <a href="https://cpree.princeton.edu/research/biodiversity/saving-endangered-species">university researchers</a>, is underway in southeast Asia, China, and Russia. Improving hunting assessments, and coordination between them, is essential. Without it, we’re acting in the dark. </p>
<p><em>The author would like to acknowledge the contributions of Professor Richard A. Fuller (University of Queensland), Professor Tiffany H. Morrison (James Cook University), Dr Bradley Woodworth (University of Queensland), Dr Taej Mundkur (Wetlands International), Dr Ding Li Yong (BirdLife International-Asia), and Professor James E.M. Watson (University of Queensland).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eduardo Gallo-Cajiao has received funding from the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, and an Endeavour Research Fellowship (Australian Government's Department of Education and Training).</span></em></p>Researchers have discovered an alarming new threat to one of the most incredible wildlife migrations on Earth.Eduardo Gallo-Cajiao, PhD Candidate, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1373202020-05-15T10:57:37Z2020-05-15T10:57:37ZStork chicks hatch in UK for first time in 600 years – why that’s great news for British wildlife<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330981/original/file-20200428-110748-1boj503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=373%2C0%2C1895%2C1232&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Keeping the nest warm.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexander Lees</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a spring marked by bad news, events unfolding in the crown of an old oak tree could offer a dose of optimism. Three pairs of white storks settled down to breed on the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, southern England, in March 2020. On May 15, <a href="https://twitter.com/ProjectStork/status/1261220266924965888">it was announced</a> that the first chicks had hatched – the first to be born in Britain since a pair nested on the roof of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh in 1416.</p>
<p>This was no chance event – we owe this precious conservation breakthrough to the efforts of all those involved in the <a href="https://www.whitestorkproject.org/">White Stork Project</a>, who have released over 100 storks at three sites in southeast England. </p>
<p>Wildlife, such as the storks and the <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/white-tailed-eagles-25metre-wingspan-21837082">white-tailed eagles</a> reintroduced to the Isle of Wight in 2019, has provided a lockdown distraction. Both species have treated <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-discover-the-wildlife-wonders-of-your-own-garden-134197">garden birdwatchers</a> to spectacular sights as they’ve toured southern England, and in the case of the eagles even <a href="http://www.roydennis.org/category/sea-eagle/isle-of-wight-sea-eagles/">further afield</a>.</p>
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<p>Stork bones have been found in the limestone caves of the Peak District dating from the late glacial period, between 43,000 and 10,000 years ago, and in human settlements from the Isle of Scilly to the Shetlands in the Bronze Age, as far back as 2,500 years ago. But their sparse remains suggest that they were probably always rare in the UK. </p>
<p>Despite this, the history of Britons <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/595ca91bebbd1a1d0aaab285/t/5cd2ea7b08522957d7fe4dd9/1557326478324/Final+White+Stork+Reintroduction+Feasibility+Report+December+2017.pdf">living alongside storks</a> is preserved in place names like <a href="https://www.storrington.org.uk/">Storrington</a>, close to the Knepp estate, which in Saxon times was called “Estorchestone” – village of the storks. But storks, along with other large wetland birds like cranes and spoonbills, were erased from Britain after centuries of hunting and the draining of their wetland habitats.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bison-moose-and-caribou-stepped-in-to-do-the-cleaning-work-of-extinct-mammoths-132627">How bison, moose and caribou stepped in to do the cleaning work of extinct mammoths</a>
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<p>Storks have held a significant role in different cultures throughout recorded history. Ancient Egyptians associated storks with the soul, while Greek mythology cast them as baby-stealers. European Christians have imagined storks as everything from carers to adulterers. Their penchant for eating snakes was seen as a particularly holy trait, in protecting people from serpentine evils. </p>
<p>In more recent history, storks provided a eureka moment for scientists studying bird migration. A few 19th-century storks returning to Germany from their African winter grounds arrived with hunters’ arrows stuck in their bodies. These “arrow storks”, or <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/news/bird-solved-migration-mystery-now-illegally-killed-its-journey">Pfeilstörche</a>, as the Germans named them, offered ornithologists proof of their intercontinental wanderings.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330996/original/file-20200428-110779-1bsplgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A migrant white stork foraging alongside Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexander Lees</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Standing under the stork umbrella</h2>
<p>White storks now commonly nest at the top of tall trees across Europe. Their numbers have been boosted by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.845">multiple reintroduction schemes</a> in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden. Storks are touted as potent symbols of ecosystem health, and with European governments spending millions on <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/life/publications/lifepublications/lifefocus/documents/wetlands.pdf">restoring wetlands</a>, they’re joining cranes and spoonbills as another long lost wetland bird which has recolonised old haunts in recent decades without any direct help from humans. </p>
<p>But the success of these wetland species stands in stark contrast to the declines of many other birds <a href="https://nbn.org.uk/stateofnature2019/reports/">in other habitats</a>. It’s easier to care for species that live in discrete patches of habitat like wetlands, than it is to save the wildlife of the wider countryside. Nevertheless, like the beaver, white-tailed eagle and pine marten, white storks are thought to make excellent “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-conserving-natures-umbrella-species-could-benefit-whole-habitats-119122">umbrella species</a>” – species whose habitat needs match up with lots of other wildlife, so protecting storks can help countless other species. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330987/original/file-20200428-110734-1kleu0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">White storks are a familiar sight in lightly farmed rural landscapes in some parts of Europe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexander Lees</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But storks are adaptable creatures too. News that Spanish storks have given up migrating to “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/storks-give-up-migrating-to-binge-on-junk-food-in-landfill-sites-a6932916.html">binge on junk food</a> in landfill sites” suggests that they may not always be the best indicators of ecosystem health.</p>
<p>The white is not western Europe’s only stork either. The more furtive black stork has been expanding westwards in recent decades. This is a success that’s also partially the result of a reintroduction programme. The return of beavers to the forested waterways of western Europe has been a boon for black storks. Beavers are ecosystem engineers, meaning they create large wet woodland habitats full of the amphibians that storks like to eat. </p>
<p>Migrant black storks have even visited the Knepp Estate, where the new white chicks hatched. This wild estate is expecting to receive <a href="https://knepp.co.uk/new-blog/2020/2/3/bringing-beavers-back-to-sussex">beavers</a> soon, meaning black storks might naturally join their white cousins as breeders one day.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331992/original/file-20200501-42913-1oy60g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331992/original/file-20200501-42913-1oy60g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331992/original/file-20200501-42913-1oy60g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331992/original/file-20200501-42913-1oy60g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331992/original/file-20200501-42913-1oy60g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331992/original/file-20200501-42913-1oy60g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331992/original/file-20200501-42913-1oy60g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Black storks are known to move into wetland areas when beavers return.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/black-stork-ciconia-nigra-120767752">CezaryKorkosz/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In contrast to some reintroduced species which shy away from people, white storks have a long association with human settlements, offering an opportunity to welcome the wild right into the heart of British towns and villages. This new generation of native British storks could be a conduit for greater public engagement with nature, bringing <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/12055/element/4/481/">wider awareness of the issues</a> facing a broad range of British wildlife. After all, it’s hard to ignore a stork nest on your chimney pot.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137320/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Storks – those harbingers of new life – are breeding in Britain again.Alexander C. Lees, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Biology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityOliver Metcalf, PhD Candidate in Ornithology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1371362020-04-28T09:43:03Z2020-04-28T09:43:03ZWant to help rare birds? Dig a pond<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330329/original/file-20200424-163088-13s3yp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C3079%2C2278&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A barn swallow scoops an insect from the pond's surface.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/swallow-bags-bug-barn-high-speed-1423561910">Richard Seeley/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first swallows have made landfall in the UK, fanning out over the greening landscape. The early arrivals, generally males, are a streak of electric blue in the spring sunshine.</p>
<p>These heralds of a new season were once common on the agricultural lowlands of Europe and North America, but many species of farmland bird are in trouble. In the UK, 19 of these species <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541593/agindicator-de5-29jul16.pdf">declined by almost half</a> between the 1970s and the late 2000s, as <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/conservation-and-sustainability/farming/near-you/farmland-bird-declines/">agricultural efforts intensified</a> and vast fields of pesticide-drenched crops replaced a patchwork of meadows, woodland and pasture.</p>
<p>The insects these birds eat <a href="https://theconversation.com/insects-species-that-prefer-crops-prosper-while-majority-decline-114206">have also declined</a>. With fewer habitats and less food, the UK’s turtle dove population has <a href="https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/state-uks-birds/state-uks-birds-2017">fallen by 98% since 1970</a> while grey partridge numbers are <a href="https://www.gwct.org.uk/research/species/birds/grey-partridge/long-term-trends-in-grey-partridge-abundance/">down by 91% on 1967 levels</a>. Swallow populations are holding up, but <a href="https://app.bto.org/birdtrends/species.jsp?year=2016&s=swall">fluctuate from year to year</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330835/original/file-20200427-145544-9t7ueu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330835/original/file-20200427-145544-9t7ueu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330835/original/file-20200427-145544-9t7ueu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330835/original/file-20200427-145544-9t7ueu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330835/original/file-20200427-145544-9t7ueu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330835/original/file-20200427-145544-9t7ueu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330835/original/file-20200427-145544-9t7ueu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Changes in farming over the last 50 years have removed much of the food and habitat farmland birds need to thrive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-summer-grass-silage-fields-1586720899">Juice Flair/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>John Clare, the farm labourer and poet of the English countryside captured the aerial mastery of <a href="http://johnclare.blogspot.com/2010/04/swallow.html">the swallow in a poem</a>, noting “the horse pond where he dips his wings”. Clare was right to associate this bird with farm ponds. You can still see swallows hawking over them 200 years later, although this has less to do with inspiring poets than getting a good meal. </p>
<p>Ponds are hotspots of insect life in the increasingly barren landscapes of intensive farmland. The adult stages of midges, mayflies and dragonflies hatch from them after a year or two growing as nymphs in the murky depths. When they emerge from the water, they fly up to create what has been called an “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632071931016X?via%3Dihub">insect chimney</a>” of abundant and particularly nutritious bird food – a beacon for birds to home in on.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ponds-can-absorb-more-carbon-than-woodland-heres-how-they-can-fight-climate-change-in-your-garden-110652">Ponds can absorb more carbon than woodland – here's how they can fight climate change in your garden</a>
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<h2>Restoring insect chimneys</h2>
<p>Researchers first discovered these insect chimneys after noticing how farmland bird numbers tended to increase around ponds that had been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.12.015">restored in north Norfolk</a>. Like many lowland landscapes, the once abundant ponds of Norfolk – dug out for watering livestock, producing fish, washing equipment and a host of day-to-day tasks – are now abandoned, shrouded in impenetrable willow and alder. Restoring the ponds by cutting back the trees and digging out the sludge brings them <a href="https://www.norfolkfwag.co.uk/norfolk-ponds-project/">back to life</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632071931016X">In the latest study</a>, ecologists compared insects caught from these restored ponds with bugs emerging from abandoned ponds of a similar age and history nearby, using floating net traps.</p>
<p>The differences between the ponds was startling. There were over 18 times more insects emerging from restored ponds compared to those that hadn’t been restored, and the sheer mass of insects hatching from the restored ponds was 25 times greater. Healthy ponds which have the shroud of overgrown vegetation cut back and the sludge dug out rapidly recover the aquatic plants and insect life they lost, producing many more fatter, juicier insects.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-im-bringing-centuries-old-ghost-ponds-back-to-life-80625">Why I'm bringing centuries-old 'ghost ponds' back to life</a>
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<p>The insects from restored ponds were mostly mayflies, compared to the true flies (<a href="https://bugguide.net/node/view/55">Diptera</a>) hatching from their gloomy, unrestored neighbours. A juicy mayfly is more of a meal than the average gnat. Either is still likely to be more nutritious than the meagre fare on the surrounding landscape, but aquatic insects have much higher levels of the best fatty acids for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1603998113">chick health and development</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330974/original/file-20200428-110738-t8p0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330974/original/file-20200428-110738-t8p0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330974/original/file-20200428-110738-t8p0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330974/original/file-20200428-110738-t8p0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330974/original/file-20200428-110738-t8p0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330974/original/file-20200428-110738-t8p0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330974/original/file-20200428-110738-t8p0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Farm ponds can offer a vital food source to struggling bird species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/farm-pond-33007246">Bkp/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Most bird species – 33 of the 36 recorded – were much more numerous at the restored ponds. All three aerial specialists – swallows, house martins and swifts – were only recorded at these sites, probably as they’re unable to hawk through the gloom and tangle of the unrestored ponds. They may also have been tempted there <a href="https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081473/">by tasty pollinator insects</a>, which tend to be lured towards open ponds.</p>
<p>Insects hatching from the different ponds did so at different times, too. So not only do the birds benefit from a chimney of food at each pond, the staggered timings of these chimneys developing creates a seasonal conveyor belt of food. Each pond hits its peak of insects emerging at different times, so food supply can last throughout the season.</p>
<p>Eventually, autumn will come and the swallows, martins and swifts will return south to “cheat the surly winter into spring”, as John Clare once wrote. But beneath the still surface of little ponds, next year’s bird food buffet will be brewing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Jeffries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ponds create ‘insect chimneys’ which are a boon for hungry farmland birds.Mike Jeffries, Associate Professor, Ecology, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1306952020-02-10T19:12:41Z2020-02-10T19:12:41ZBuildings kill millions of birds. Here’s how to reduce the toll<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313910/original/file-20200206-59183-gmd8dv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=312%2C551%2C5104%2C3311&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">These birds were killed by flying into a set of surveyed buildings in Washington DC in 2013.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/">USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As high-rise cities grow upwards and outwards, increasing numbers of birds die by crashing into glass buildings each year. And of course many others break beaks, wings and legs or suffer other physical harm. But we can help eradicate the danger by good design. </p>
<p>Most research into building-related bird deaths has been done in the United States and Canada, where cities such as Toronto and New York City are located on bird migration paths. In New York City alone, the death toll from flying into buildings is about <a href="https://www.amny.com/news/deadly-flights-thousands-of-birds-die-each-year-from-crashing-into-nyc-glassy-buildings/">200,000 birds a year</a>. </p>
<p>Across the US and Canada, bird populations have <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/sites/default/files/newsroom/overall_bird_decrease_infographic.jpg">shrunk by about 3 billion</a> since 1970. The causes include loss of habitat and urbanisation, pesticides and the effects of global warming, which reduces food sources.</p>
<p>An estimated <a href="https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/management/lossetal2014buildingcollisions.pdf">365 million to 1 billion birds</a> die each year from “unnatural” causes like building collisions in the US. The greatest bird killer in the US remains the estimated 60-100 million free-range cats that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380">kill up to 4 billion birds a year</a>. Australia is thought to have up to <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/factsheet-tackling-feral-cats-and-their-impacts-faqs">6 million feral cats</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-whom-the-bell-tolls-cats-kill-more-than-a-million-australian-birds-every-day-85084">For whom the bell tolls: cats kill more than a million Australian birds every day</a>
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<p>But rampant global urbanisation is putting the reliance on glass buildings front-of-stage as an “unnatural” cause of bird deaths, and the problem is growing exponentially.</p>
<h2>In the line of flight</h2>
<p>Most birds <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/How_Fast.html">fly at around 30-50km/h</a>, with falcons capable of up to 200km/h. When migrating, birds generally spend five to six hours <a href="https://www.birdnote.org/show/how-high-birds-fly-i">flying at a height of 150 metres</a>, sometimes much higher. </p>
<p>And that’s where the problems start with high-rise buildings. Most of them are much taller than the height at which birds fly. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-16/australia-tallest-building-melbourne-southbank-not-approved/10123248">In Melbourne</a>, for example, Australia 108 is 316 metres, Eureka 300 metres, Aurora 270 metres and Rialto 251 metres. The list is growing as the city expands vertically. </p>
<p>The paradigm of high-rise gothams, New York City, has <a href="https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buildings">hundreds of skyscrapers</a>, most with fully glass, reflective walls. One World Trade is 541 metres high, the 1931 Empire State is 381 metres (although not all glass) and even the city’s 100th-highest building, 712 Fifth Avenue, is 198 metres. </p>
<p>To add to the problems of this forest of glass the city requires buildings to provide rooftop green places. These attract roosting birds, which then launch off inside the canyons of reflective glass walls – often mistaking these for open sky or trees reflected from behind. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313912/original/file-20200206-43102-bnysst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Reflections of trees and sky lure birds into flying straight into buildings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Frank L Junior/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>A problem of lighting and reflections</h2>
<p>Most cities today contain predominantly glass buildings – about <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/design-guidelines/bird-friendly-guidelines/">60% of the external wall surface</a>. These buildings do not rely on visible frames, as in the past, and have very limited or no openable windows (for human safety reasons). They are fully air-conditioned, of course.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/glass-skyscrapers-a-great-environmental-folly-that-could-have-been-avoided-116461">Glass skyscrapers: a great environmental folly that could have been avoided</a>
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<p>Birds cannot recognise daylight reflections and glass does not appear to them to be solid. If it is clear they see it as the image beyond the glass. They can also be caught in building cul-de-sac courtyards – open spaces with closed ends are traps.</p>
<p>At night, the problem is light from buildings, which may disorientate birds. Birds are drawn to lights at night. Glass walls then simply act as targets.</p>
<p>Some species <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0364">send out flight calls</a> that may lure other birds to their death. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314103/original/file-20200207-43084-1i35jlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">White-throated Sparrows collected in a University of Michigan-led study of birds killed by flying into buildings lit up at night in Chicago and Cleveland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.futurity.org/birds-migration-artificial-light-collisions-2028542/">Roger Hart, University of Michigan/Futurity</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-save-millions-of-migratory-birds-turn-off-your-outdoor-lights-in-spring-and-fall-114476">Want to save millions of migratory birds? Turn off your outdoor lights in spring and fall</a>
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<h2>We can make buildings safer for birds</h2>
<p>Architectural elements like awnings, screens, grilles, shutters and verandas deter birds from hitting buildings. Opaque glass also provides a warning. </p>
<p>Birds see ultraviolet light, which humans cannot. Some manufacturers are now developing glass with <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/design-guidelines/bird-friendly-guidelines/">patterns using a mixed UV wavelength</a> range that alerts birds but has no effect on human sight.</p>
<p>New York City recently <a href="https://www.citylab.com/design/2019/12/migratory-bird-conservation-safe-window-design-architecture/603394/">passed a bird-friendly law</a> requiring all new buildings and building alterations (at least under 23 metres tall, where most fly) be designed so birds can recognise glass. Windows must be “fritted” using applied labels, dots, stripes and so on.</p>
<p>The search is on for various <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/design-guidelines/bird-friendly-guidelines/">other ways of warning birds</a> of the dangers of glass walls and windows.</p>
<p><a href="https://abcbirds.org/get-involved/bird-smart-glass/">Combinations of methods</a> are being used to scare or warn away birds from flying into glass walls. These range from dummy hawks (a natural enemy) and actual falcons and hawks, which scare birds, to balloons (like those used during the London Blitz in the second world war), scary noises and gas cannons … even other dead birds.</p>
<p>Researchers are using lasers to produce light ray disturbance in cities especially at night and on dark days. </p>
<p>Noise can be effective, although birds do acclimatise if the noises are produced full-time. However, noise used as a “sonic net” can effectively drown out bird chatter and that interference forces them to move on looking for quietness. The technology has been <a href="https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2016/05/sonic-net-too-noisy-for-airport-birds/">used at airports</a>, for example. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-28/the-curtain-saving-birds-from-hitting-glass-windows/11638774">zen curtain</a> developed in Brisbane has worked at the University of Queensland. This approach uses an open curtain of ropes strung on the side of buildings. These flutter in the breeze, making patterns and shadows on glass, which birds don’t like. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1188595732120506368"}"></div></p>
<p>These zen curtains can also be used to <a href="https://birdseedandbinoculars.com/wordpress/reducing-bird-strikes-diy-birdsavers-project/">make windows on a house safer</a> for birds. However, such a device would take some doing for the huge structures of a metropolis.</p>
<p>More common, and best adopted at the design phase of a building, is to mark window glass so birds can see it. Just as we etch images on glass doors to alert people, we can apply a label or decal to a window as a warning to birds. Even using <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-canhelp-prevent-it/">interior blinds semi-open will deter birds</a>.</p>
<p>Birds make cities friendlier as part of the shared environment. We have a responsibility to provide safe flying and security from the effects of human habitation and construction, and we know how to achieve that.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct the figure for the estimated number of birds killed by the cats in the US to “up to 4 billion”, not 4 million.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130695/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norman Day does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The tall buildings of our cities kill horrifying numbers of birds. But some cities are adopting mandatory design measures to cut the toll.Norman Day, Lecturer in Architecture, Practice and Design, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1078492018-12-04T13:39:21Z2018-12-04T13:39:21ZWe’ve saved pink pigeons from extinction – now let’s be kinder to their grey cousins<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248823/original/file-20181204-34148-tiol5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C356%2C2552%2C1555&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A pink pigeon in the wild of Mauritius.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/29229281@N00/6329183903">Arcalexx/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a touch of the Dickensian about the urban pigeon, often seen hobbling about on gnarled stumps, pecking at trash. The mongrel mix of grey and brown plumage on feral pigeons adds to the dowdy look, the occasional iridescent flash on neck feathers too obvious, too cheap. Dickens himself wrote of the <a href="http://spitalfieldslife.com/2010/01/26/dickens-in-spitalfields/">pigeons of Spitalfields</a> in London, associated with the poorest hovels:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The pigeon hutches and pigeon traps on the tops of poor dwelling. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our local shopping mall entrance regularly echoes to the wheeling scream of a recorded peregrine falcon, played purposefully to scare away the pigeons. Urban animal life, whether domestic or feral, has often been lumped in with the socially excluded – beggars, drunks and revellers and the like.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248789/original/file-20181204-34157-8o59j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248789/original/file-20181204-34157-8o59j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248789/original/file-20181204-34157-8o59j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248789/original/file-20181204-34157-8o59j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248789/original/file-20181204-34157-8o59j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248789/original/file-20181204-34157-8o59j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248789/original/file-20181204-34157-8o59j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A couple of ‘feral’ pigeons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kissing-pigeons-feral-pigeon-columba-livia-450837580?src=IKiRrDIwf2Ajt7OoSaLbuQ-1-8">Cristian Gusa/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The prettier pink cousin</h2>
<p>Meanwhile other pigeons provoke intense concern. The pink pigeon of Mauritius is a heartwarming example of what we can do to protect endangered species. In 1975 only ten birds lingered at just one site. It was listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered in 1994 – “<a href="https://www.durrell.org/wildlife/species-index/pink-pigeon/timeline/%23myCarousel">possibly the most threatened bird in the world</a>”. Today there are <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/two-iconic-birds-make-a-striking-comeback-but-much-work-remains/">around 400</a> in the wild of Mauritius. </p>
<p>This pigeon has some distinct advantages. It is pink, it lives on an exotic island famous for the Dodo and it has had some big-name backers – notably author Gerald Durrell, who brought some into captivity in 1976 to breed and started a programme of releasing them back into the wild – along with intensive habitat management.</p>
<p>As a result, the pink pigeon’s numbers and range have <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/red-list-northern-bald-ibis-pink-pigeon-making-comeback">markedly increased</a>, with wild-bred young now turning up. Pink pigeons in Mauritius have turned the corner. Meanwhile their urban grey brethren remain every bit the unloved city mob.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247769/original/file-20181128-32191-1ttna6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There were just ten pink pigeons left on Mauritius in 1990, now the population is stable at 400.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/1083289394?src=NtSN-TZ3T17H8AJE_Yspfg-1-0&size=huge_jpg">Peter Hatch/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The beak shall inherit the Earth</h2>
<p>The urban pigeon is a great example of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/02/inheritors-of-the-earth-chris-d-thomas-review-gaia-vince">inheritors of the Earth</a> described by ecologist Chris Thomas – species that do well because of us, thriving in the world we have created. Theirs is a biodiversity of cityscapes, a zoopolis deserving of our respect. Not least because the rats, racoons and pigeons of our cities are so like us – at home in concrete landscapes and on diets of processed food.</p>
<p>I am not against the effort expended on the pink pigeon at all. They are cute and exotic, two prime criteria for conservation – but the urban pigeon deserves our respect too. The great shame is that other members of the pigeon family are also at risk, species that were once commonplace, which can hardly be said of the pink pigeon. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/where-are-all-the-dead-pigeons-98874">Where are all the dead pigeons?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Take the turtle dove, for example, which belongs to the <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/pigeons-and-doves/">same family as pigeons</a>. In the UK, the turtle dove population has declined by <a href="https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/publications/state-of-uk-birds-_2017.pdf">more than 95% in barely two decades</a>. This once common farmland dove is a bird of high summer – its call is a sleepy drone on the hottest days. It is the dove of poetry and ballads, the <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45085/the-phoenix-and-the-turtle-56d2246f86c06">Phoenix’s lover</a> in a Shakespeare sonnet.</p>
<p>We understandably focus so much effort on rare species while we don’t notice that the commonplace is in sharp decline. Thankfully, the turtle dove is now the focus of its own <a href="https://www.operationturtledove.org/get-involved/habitat/">conservation projects</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247770/original/file-20181128-32214-qi2ujv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two turtle doves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/turtle-dove-european-streptopelia-turtur-591893375?src=tbWbksdU9J8psoHSalUl_A-1-11">Wildlife World/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>From charming Darwin to fine pets</h2>
<p>The urban pigeon needs no such help, although they have fallen from grace since the days when pigeon fancying was a widespread hobby, which even had Charles Darwin hooked. Pigeons in all their domestic variety feature large in <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/darwins-other-bird-the-domestic-pigeon/">Darwin’s book</a>, The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication.</p>
<p>Darwin installed a <a href="http://darwinspigeons.com/">pigeon breeding loft in his home</a> and gathered invaluable insights into how traits are inherited through reproduction by studying their breeding. Pigeons are likely to be more qualified muses for Darwin’s theories on evolution by natural selection than the commonly cited <a href="https://theconversation.com/charles-darwins-theory-of-evolution-owes-more-to-his-garden-than-the-galapagos-100984">Galapagos Island finches</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humans-not-entirely-at-fault-for-passenger-pigeon-extinction-28024">Humans not entirely at fault for passenger pigeon extinction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The story lends a distinct air of erudite science and respectability to the gentlemen pigeon fanciers of Victorian times. Not so any more – pigeon fancying is now a peripheral pastime of a lost world of old men tending their pigeon crees in tucked away allotments and backyards.</p>
<p>Turtle doves and pink pigeons will always arouse our sympathy, while the dodo and passenger pigeon – once the most numerous bird in North America before <a href="https://theconversation.com/humans-not-entirely-at-fault-for-passenger-pigeon-extinction-28024">dying out in 1914</a> – stand as accusing witnesses. Meanwhile the feral pigeon battles on, hobbling, chased by kids, tormented by mall managers, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phUs2kIGY9M">swallowed whole by pelicans</a>. You can’t help but admire them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107849/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Jeffries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pink pigeons may make more charismatic subjects for our adoration, but their feral relatives who keep us company in towns and cities are just as deserving.Mike Jeffries, Associate Professor, Ecology, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/950382018-04-16T02:19:26Z2018-04-16T02:19:26ZThe Trump administration is cutting back protection for migratory birds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371796/original/file-20201128-16-1te4clp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3604%2C2640&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trumpeter swans wintering at the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/kwGySL">Tom Koerner, USFWS/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Trump administration is <a href="https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/eis/details?eisId=314796">finalizing a rule change</a> on protecting migratory birds that is a drastic pullback from policies in force for the past 100 years. The final rule is <a href="https://www.fws.gov/regulations/mbta/">open for public comment through December 28, 2020</a>.</p>
<p>In 1916, amid the chaos of World War I, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and King George V of Great Britain signed the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/birds/mbtreaty100/files/Treaties-Legislation/Treaty-Canada.pdf">Migratory Bird Treaty</a>. The <a href="https://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/migtrea.html">Migratory Bird Treaty Act</a> wrote the treaty into U.S. law two years later. These measures protected <a href="https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/policies-and-regulations/MBTAListofBirdsFinalRule.pdf">more than 1,100 migratory bird species</a> by making it illegal to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell live or dead birds, feathers, eggs and nests, except as allowed by permit or regulated hunting. </p>
<p>This bold move was prompted by the decimation of bird populations across North America. Some 5 million birds – especially waterbirds like egrets and herons – were dying yearly to provide <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-two-women-ended-the-deadly-feather-trade-23187277/">feathers to adorn hats</a>, and the passenger pigeon <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/meet-martha-the-very-last-passenger-pigeon/380473/">had just become extinct</a>. Fearing that other species would meet the same fate, national leaders took action. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Snowy egrets were hunted close to extinction in the late 1800s to supply plumes for hats.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-2049758/stock-photo-snowy-egret-preening.html?src=stOZyN5FzcmlOobGhw3gXg-1-0">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Interior Department’s proposed rule reinterprets existing law to say that prohibitions on pursuing, hunting, capturing or killing migratory birds, or attempting to do so, apply only to actions directed at migratory birds, their nests, or their eggs. In other words, activities that are not intended to harm birds, but do so directly in ways that could have been foreseen – such as filling in wetlands where migrating birds rest and feed – will no longer be prosecuted. </p>
<p>But this new rule directly counters the way the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has been enforced for decades. It is applied to cases of gross negligence where potential harm should have been anticipated and avoided, such as <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/354079/united-states-v-fmc-corporation/">discharging water contaminated with toxic pesticides</a> into a pond used by migratory birds. This new approach means that companies will escape legal responsibility and liability for actions that kill millions of birds every year.</p>
<h2>Pollution, development and habitat loss kill birds</h2>
<p>Purposeful killing is only one threat to migratory birds. Habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and collisions with buildings take heavy tolls on many species. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, every year <a href="https://www.fws.gov/birds/bird-enthusiasts/threats-to-birds.php">more than 40 million birds are killed</a> by industrial activities or structures such as power lines, oil pits, communication towers and wind turbines. The 2010 <a href="http://www.audubon.org/news/more-one-million-birds-died-during-deepwater-horizon-disast">Deepwater Horizon oil spill</a> in the Gulf of Mexico killed more than 1 million birds in a single event. </p>
<p>Seventeen former Interior Department officials representing every presidential administration from Nixon through Obama wrote a <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4347239/MBTA-Letter.pdf">memo</a> in 2018, which this policy was first announced, expressing deep concern. As they explain, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has given industries a strong incentive to work with government agencies to anticipate, avoid and mitigate foreseeable death or injury to birds. </p>
<p>For example, it prompted energy companies to install nets above pits where they store waste fluids from oil drilling. Because these pits look like water sources, birds often land on them and can become trapped and die. Installing nets over the pits has <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0201-7">cut annual bird deaths</a> from roughly 2 million birds yearly to between 500,000 and 1 million. Not perfect, but a meaningful improvement.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lBg66IJop5Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Thousands of migrating snow geese died after landing in contaminated pit mine waters in Montana in 2016.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Global citizens, global consequences</h2>
<p>Migratory birds don’t recognize international boundaries, so the consequences of reinterpreting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act may be felt across borders. In one year an individual warbler may spend 80 days in Canada’s boreal forests, 30 days in the United States at resting and refueling sites during migration and over 200 days in Central America. </p>
<p>At the <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478">Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a>, we have constructed maps and <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/mesmerizing-migration-watch-118-bird-species-migrate-across-a-map-of-the-western-hemisphere/">animations</a> using data collected by volunteers for <a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/">eBird</a>, the world’s fastest-growing biodiversity database. These references show how migratory birds connect countries. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Migration pathways for populations of 118 migratory birds species within the Western Hemisphere from 2002 to 2014, based on data from eBird.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">La Sorte et al., 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2588.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Eastern-breeding <a href="http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2016/resources/species-abundance-maps/magnolia-warbler/">magnolia warbler</a>, for example, spends winters in areas in the Yucatan Peninsula and Central America that are fractions of the size of its breeding range. Seeing how densely these birds are clustered in their winter habitat shows us that each acre of that territory is important to their survival.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breeding, migration and winter abundance of the magnolia warbler based on computer models using eBird data.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State of North American Bird report</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, most populations of the Western-breeding <a href="http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2016/resources/species-abundance-maps/western-tanager/">Western tanager</a> overwinter in Mexico. By identifying where bird populations winter in this way, we can better target conservation actions to protect species throughout their annual cycles. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Year-round abundance map for the Western tanager based on computer models using eBird data.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State of North American Birds Report</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Still at risk</h2>
<p>Today we know much more than early conservationists did about the value of birds. Healthy bird populations <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3721">pollinate crops</a> and help plants grow by <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01440.x">dispersing seeds</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1774-2">preying on insects</a>. Migratory birds also contribute billions of dollars to economies through <a href="https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/fhw11-nat.pdf">recreational activities like hunting and birdwatching</a>. And they connect us with nature, especially through the dazzling spectacle of migration. </p>
<p>Conserving migratory birds requires effective protection both in the United States and through international agreements and partnerships. The most important threats are loss and degradation of habitat, which can be caused by land conversion – for example, clearing forests for farming – or by climate change. </p>
<p>In October 2019, a team of scientists from government agencies, universities and nonprofit groups published a study estimating that North American bird populations had <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw1313">declined by one-third since 1970</a> – a loss of some 3 billion birds. This followed the 2016 <a href="http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2016/">State of North American Birds</a> report, in which an international team of scientists found that over one-third of all North American bird species were at risk of extinction without meaningful conservation action.</p>
<p>There are no easy solutions, but new science is supporting responses. Transformational citizen science projects like <a href="https://ebird.org/home">eBird</a> are developing vast data sets to help pinpoint where conservation action should focus. Bird conservation groups and government agencies have formed international teams to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1521179113">eradicate invasive predators on islands</a> that are critical to breeding seabirds, and drafted multinational agreements to <a href="http://www.nowpap.org/ML-on_global-level.php">clean up large floating mats of garbage</a> in our seas that can choke, trap or poison seabirds and other animals. </p>
<p>Birds are a shared resource among nations. Where governments have acted, they have successfully protected migratory birds and the habitat they depend on. In my view, the Trump administration’s shift would abdicate U.S. leadership on migratory bird conservation and undermine public good for private profit.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-borders-why-we-need-global-action-to-protect-migratory-birds-62070">article</a> originally published on August 15, 2016.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95038/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda D. Rodewald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Trump administration is narrowing protection for migratory birds to cover only deliberate harm such as hunting, but not threats like development or pollution that kill millions of birds yearly.Amanda D. Rodewald, Garvin Professor and Senior Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/851112017-11-20T13:44:21Z2017-11-20T13:44:21ZWhy a proper record of birds in Africa is so important – for Europe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189977/original/file-20171012-31375-rlbuy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Carefully tracking the migration habits of birds like the Barn Swallow can help to conserve these species.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of Europe’s birds head south each year around September to escape the northern winter. Some species only migrate as far south as southern Europe. But most cross the <a href="http://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/news/protecting-mediterraneans-migratory-birds">Mediterranean Sea to Africa</a>. And many species cross the Sahara Desert to destinations in West Africa such as Nigeria and in East Africa, such as Kenya. Some travel as far south as South Africa. </p>
<p>These European birds are <a href="http://www.ebcc.info/index.php">diligently monitored</a>. Every April, during the breeding season in the early part of the northern summer, teams of citizen scientists in most European countries gather vast amounts of data on the distribution and densities of breeding – for almost every bird species. Thousands of citizen scientists are involved. They diligently generate the data in their leisure time.</p>
<p>Europe is also completing its <a href="http://www.ebba2.info/">second atlas</a> of breeding birds. This provides a map, for each species, of the places where it has actually been recorded breeding. With this information resources can be dedicated to protecting the areas where birds breed, and to improving their breeding habitat.</p>
<p>But all this effort is worth little unless it is matched by carefully planned initiatives in the non-breeding season, in Africa. The problem is that there’s not much accurate or up-to-date knowledge about distributions and migration routes in non-breeding areas.</p>
<p>Development – cities, agriculture, mining and industry – is changing the face of Africa. The impact of climate change is predicted to hit Africa <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/nov/28/africa-climate-change">harder than any other continent</a>. These factors will certainly affect the bird species that migrate to and from Europe to breed; for many species, more than half the year is spent in Africa. </p>
<p>If Europe is going to reap the benefits of conservation measures at home, the greatest need for research in ornithology that’s relevant to conservation is an understanding of where “their” birds migrate to when they head off to Africa.</p>
<p>That’s where the African Bird Atlas comes in. </p>
<h2>Tracking sometimes subtle shifts</h2>
<p>Southern Africa has had atlas projects for <a href="http://www.adu.uct.ac.za/adu/past-projects/sabap1">birds</a>, <a href="http://www.adu.uct.ac.za/adu/past-projects/safap">frogs</a>, <a href="https://www.sanbi.org/news/sanbi-launches-suricata-new-publication-series">reptiles</a> and <a href="https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2013-05-13-africas-first-butterfly-atlas-takes-wing-1">butterflies</a>. Only the bird atlas was truly comprehensive: almost every corner of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe was visited by citizen scientists who collected and compiled all the data.</p>
<p>The first bird atlas was developed in the late 1980s. The participants generated seven million records of bird distribution – a project described as the biggest biodiversity project conducted on the African continent. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://sabap2.adu.org.za">second bird atlas</a> was initiated in 2007 to cover South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. This project is ongoing. In August 2017, its database reached 10 million records. It has sister projects, using the same protocol, running in <a href="http://kenyamap.adu.org.za/">Kenya</a> and <a href="http://nigeriabirdatlas.adu.org.za/">Nigeria</a>. Europe focuses on the breeding season, but work on the African bird atlas continues throughout the year. This allows us to gather precious data on the timing of the arrival and departure of migrant birds.</p>
<p>Other countries in Africa such as Ethiopia and Zambia have had bird atlas projects. These were mostly undertaken by expatriate birdwatchers from Europe and North America. While most of the distribution maps produced by these projects are well out of date, they remain incredibly valuable because they help show how distributions have changed. </p>
<p>The two bird atlas projects in southern Africa are a quarter century apart. Many species have shown massive changes in distribution. The <a href="http://bo.adu.org.za/content.php?id=294">Glossy Ibis</a> has expanded westwards. The <a href="http://bo.adu.org.za/content.php?id=281">Maccoa Duck</a> has decreased to the point where it ought to be listed as a threatened species.</p>
<p>The timing of migration is also changing. This is especially true for long-distance migrants. Comparisons between the two bird atlas projects have revealed <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/279/1733/1485">subtle shifts</a> in the timing of migration to and from South Africa of the iconic bird of the European spring, the Barn Swallow – <a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/320830/a-swallow-does-not-make-a-summer-or-a-spring">famous for the saying</a> “one swallow does not make a summer”. </p>
<h2>A vital project</h2>
<p>So who can get involved in gathering information for the bird atlas, and why should they?</p>
<p>Anyone with a good ability to identify birds in their home can be a citizen scientist for the project. People who think they fit the criteria are encouraged to register as an observer on the project’s <a href="http://sabap2.adu.org.za">website</a>.</p>
<p>The guidelines for participation are all there, including a description of the protocol which needs to be followed. In a nutshell, this involves spending a minimum of two hours in a grid cell, about 9 km square, making a bird list which is as comprehensive as possible. We are currently looking for citizen scientists from across the continent.</p>
<p>All of this work is enormously important for Africa itself. For example, in planning species conservation and setting priorities for action, the first questions asked are: “Where does the species occur?” and “Is this range changing?” Only proper fieldwork through a project like the bird atlas can assure that the answers are not guesswork.</p>
<p>Also, biodiversity tourism – including bird tourism – has huge potential for <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/1882unwtowildlifepaper.pdf">sustainable employment</a> in Africa. But bird tourism is best planned if there is access to comprehensive distribution maps, especially in the field guides. </p>
<p>And the African Bird Atlas will also be of tremendous use to Europe. A 2014 review showed that Europe’s long distance migrants to Africa are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12118/abstract">in decline</a>. The weak link in the annual cycle is not clear. The same review <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12118/abstract">points out</a> that we “understand little about distributions patterns” in Africa, and recommends that this is a priority for further research.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project, which Les Underhill leads, has received funding from the South African National Biodiversity Institute.</span></em></p>If Europe is going to reap the benefits of conservation measures at home, its experts need an understanding of where “their” birds migrate to when they head off to Africa.Les Underhill, Professor, Biodiversity Informatics, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/702582017-01-05T21:07:00Z2017-01-05T21:07:00ZBirdbath, food or water? How to attract your favourite birds to your garden<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150906/original/image-20161220-26759-17bmgvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Seed-eating birds like this male king parrot enjoy birdbaths - but they like food even more. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Pure</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This summer, when a rainbow lorikeet or kookaburra comes to visit your home, what will you do? Will you offer them a slice of apple, or simply watch until they take flight?</p>
<p>It brings many people joy to <a href="https://theconversation.com/bath-bullies-bacteria-and-battlegrounds-the-secret-world-of-bird-baths-65629">provide food and water for birds</a>, to encourage them to stay a while and be given the chance to observe them more closely. But some people are reluctant to interact with birds in this way because they’re worried it might damage the birds’ health. </p>
<p>In contrast with other countries, little research has been done on the effects of feeding birds in Australia. As a result, there are no established guidelines around how to feed and provide water for local birds. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149599/original/image-20161212-31364-13fhr2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kookaburra having a snack.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo supplied by Wanda Optland, provided by author.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s why we ran the <a href="https://csdb.org.au/feedingbirds/home.aspx">Australian Bird Feeding and Watering Study</a>. We asked nearly 3,000 people to monitor the birds that visited their feeding areas and birdbaths. We wanted to know if there was a difference in the species that visited different types of gardens.</p>
<p>We examined the numbers and types of birds visiting:</p>
<ul>
<li>birdbaths where no food was provided</li>
<li>birdbaths where food was provided</li>
<li>bird-feeders where birdbaths were provided</li>
<li>places where only food was provided.</li>
</ul>
<p>The early results from the winter stage of the <a href="http://www.feedingbirds.org.au">Australian Bird Feeding and Watering Study</a> suggest that if you provide food and water, you will get more birds in your garden. But the species you attract will depend on what exactly your garden has to offer.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150889/original/image-20161220-26710-j1gt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Common bronzewings like to eat seeds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Pure</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3XHP7Rsr3HA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Providing different combinations of food and water will attract different species.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Granivores</h2>
<p>Granivores are seed-eating birds. They include species such as parrots, crested pigeons, sulphur-crested cockatoos, crimson rosellas and galahs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150871/original/image-20161220-26729-53qule.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gang gang cockatoos refresh themselves in a garden.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Pure</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We noticed a spike in the number of granivores in gardens where both food and birdbaths were provided. But when food was on offer, fewer granivores chose to use the birdbath. We don’t yet know exactly why this is, but it could be because these seed-eaters need less water, or they can get it more easily from other sources than they can food.</p>
<p>Also, most of the bird food sold in shops is seed-based. People who buy these products will naturally attract more seed-eating birds to their garden.</p>
<p>We were, however, surprised to see crested pigeons visiting gardens where food was provided. These birds are only recent urban arrivals, and were previously restricted to semi-arid environments as opposed to the more urban areas where most of our citizen scientists lived. But crested pigeons are very adaptable and now compete fiercely for food and territory with the introduced spotted dove in some Australian gardens.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aK9l-qXTAn4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Many people derive great joy from feeding Australian birds.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Nectarivores</h2>
<p>“Small” nectarivores are nectar-eating birds that weigh less than 20 grams. The main birds in this group are New Holland honeyeaters, eastern spinebills and Lewin’s honeyeaters. </p>
<p>The early results of our study suggest small nectarivores prefer gardens with birdbaths more than their granivore and insectivore friends. In fact, it seems that these small nectarivores like birdbaths so much, they will choose birdbaths over food when both are provided. </p>
<p>“Large” nectarivores are nectar-eating birds that weigh more than 20 grams. These species including noisy miners, rainbow lorikeets and red wattlebirds – seem to prioritise food over birdbaths. This may be because they’re looking for a source of protein that they can’t easily find in their natural environment. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149596/original/image-20161212-31352-1d804pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rainbow lorikeets seem to prioritise food over birdbaths.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo supplied by Wanda Optland, provided by author.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Honeyeaters – such as Lewin’s honeyeaters, blue-faced honeyeaters and noisy miners – will forage on nectar but will eat insects as well. They switch from one to the other, but once they have found their meal they will defend it vigorously from other birds. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149614/original/image-20161212-31391-ud8s41.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Honeyeaters will forage on nectar but will consume invertebrates as well.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Wanda Optland, supplied by author.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Insectivores</h2>
<p>Insectivores feed on insects, worms, and other invertebrates. Some insectivore species include superb fairy-wrens, willie wagtails and grey fantails.</p>
<p>Insectivores are most attracted to gardens where both food and water are provided. While superb fairy-wrens were frequently found in gardens where food was provided, willie wagtails and grey fantails preferred to visit gardens where only water is provided. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150891/original/image-20161220-26738-ert5zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The striated thornbill feeds mainly on insects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Pure</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people have told me how confident fairy-wrens and willie wagtails can become around houses and gardens. These tiny birds can be bold and aggressive, and can work together to get what they want. A mum and dad fairy-wrens will conscript their older children into looking after younger ones – and siblings who refuse to help find food and defend territory may even be kicked out of the family. So these tough breeds have a competitive advantage in their new urban environments, and aren’t afraid to mix with or even chase off bigger birds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149612/original/image-20161212-31367-12702vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149612/original/image-20161212-31367-12702vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149612/original/image-20161212-31367-12702vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149612/original/image-20161212-31367-12702vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149612/original/image-20161212-31367-12702vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149612/original/image-20161212-31367-12702vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149612/original/image-20161212-31367-12702vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fairy wrens can become surprisingly bold around gardens and houses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Wanda Optland, supplied by author.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150919/original/image-20161220-9515-1e5phf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bolder than they look – a fairy wren eats from a citizen scientist’s hand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Brazier</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You may be wondering exactly what type of seed to put out to attract which granivore, or which meat attracts a carnivore like a Kookaburra. I’m afraid we can’t yet say for sure, as we are yet to analyse the data on this question. Watch this space.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150920/original/image-20161220-26759-14vm693.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We don’t yet know exactly what offering will attract which bird.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janette and Ron Ford</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Could birds become reliant on humans for food?</h2>
<p>Many people worry that birds will become reliant on humans to provide food for them. But this mightn’t be as big a concern as we once though.</p>
<p>The birds turning up at feeding areas and birdbaths are species that are highly adaptable. Many Australian birds live long lives, and relatively large brains when compared to their European counterparts. Some experts have <a href="https://theconversation.com/bird-brained-and-brilliant-australias-avians-are-smarter-than-you-think-51475">argued</a> that some Australian birds have evolved a larger brain to cope with feast and famine conditions in the Australian environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150893/original/image-20161220-26715-1ggrph2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">White browed scrubwrens feed mostly on insects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Pure</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many Australian bird species can switch easily between estates and gardens in one area, be semi-nomadic, fully nomadic or seasonally migratory. This ability to adapt and switch between diets makes Australian bird species very resourceful, innovative and adaptable. </p>
<p>Of course, Australia also has birds that have highly specialised diets or habitats, and they’re the ones usually most threatened or limited to one territory – birds like the regent honeyeater or ground parrot. In this study, we’re concentrating on birds that are adapting to urban areas and turning up at birdbaths and feeding areas in gardens. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150918/original/image-20161220-26710-xj2f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A crested pigeon tucks in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brad Walker</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Building our knowledge of bird feeding behaviour</h2>
<p>We plan to develop guidelines around providing food and water for birds in a way that has the highest conservation value for our feathered friends. But before we can do that, we need more data from you. </p>
<p>So please take part in the summer stage of the study and pass the word around to others who may wish to be involved.</p>
<p>The summer survey will run for four weeks, beginning on January 30 2017. Visit <a href="https://csdb.org.au/feedingbirds/home.aspx">feedingbirds.org.au</a>to download the complete report on our early findings or to register to take part in our summer study.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150922/original/image-20161220-26718-1076ed9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Different species may congregate at a feeding spot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brad Walker</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70258/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grainne Cleary receives funding from MARS BirdCare through a grant.</span></em></p>Is providing birds with food and water making them too dependent? Or are gardens just the new frontier of Australia’s urban landscape? New research aims to find out.Grainne Cleary, Researcher, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/708172017-01-05T14:32:51Z2017-01-05T14:32:51ZAfrica’s most toxic lakes are a paradise for fearless flamingos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151839/original/image-20170105-18659-ut1vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">matthieu Gallet / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world’s most seemingly-toxic lakes are under threat. And they are also home to one of our most familiar birds: the flamingo.</p>
<p>All flamingo species have evolved to live in some of the planet’s most extreme wetlands, like caustic “soda lakes”, hypersaline lagoons or high-altitude salt flats. </p>
<p>One species, the <a href="http://www.arkive.org/lesser-flamingo/phoeniconaias-minor/">lesser flamingo</a>, has taken this relationship to the limit. Most are found in super-alkaline lakes throughout Africa’s Great Rift Valley, which host immense blooms of microscopic blue-green algae (called cyanobacteria). These <a href="http://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-5-6">poisonous plants</a> produce chemicals that, in most animals, can fatally damage cells, the nervous system, and the liver. The lesser flamingo, however, can consume <a href="http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/11/thousands-of-pink-flamingos-at-lake.html">enormous amounts</a> with no ill effects (unless you count their <a href="http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lesser-flamingo-phoeniconaias-minor/text">colourful plumage</a>, which comes from a pigment in the algae).</p>
<h2>Birds in paradise</h2>
<p>Two of the lesser flamingo’s preferred habitats, Lake Bogoria in Kenya and Lake Natron in Tanzania, are hypersaline and hostile to practically all other forms of life (Natron water can even <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-planet-earths-ice-skating-flamingos-collectively-get-in-the-mood-for-sex-68784">strip away human skin</a>). </p>
<p>For the flamingos this a bonus. Special tough skin and scales on their legs prevent burns, and they can drink water at near boiling point to collect freshwater from springs and geysers at lake edges. If no freshwater is available, flamingos can use glands in their head that remove salt, draining it out from their nasal cavity. </p>
<p>With few other animals able to cope in such conditions, there is minimal competition for food, and these toxic wetlands are home to massive flocks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151846/original/image-20170105-18641-rcy0zv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feeding time on Lake Boringa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GUDKOV ANDREY / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Million-strong gatherings provide several benefits. Mass <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-planet-earths-ice-skating-flamingos-collectively-get-in-the-mood-for-sex-68784">synchronised nesting</a> gives flamingos the best possible chance to raise the maximum number of chicks, while on choppy days a dense mass of birds swimming together also helps create the <a href="http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lesser-flamingo-phoeniconaias-minor/text">optimal feeding environment</a> (still water) within the centre of the group. Sheer numbers also make it harder for predators like hyenas or jackals to identify individual victims.</p>
<p>As such, a single flamingo is not a happy flamingo. The species is happiest in huge gatherings, and these won’t occur around any old lake – the lesser flamingo specifically needs its toxic, salty paradise. </p>
<p>But these places are rare. Across the six flamingo species there are only 30 or so regularly used breeding sites worldwide and, while the global population of <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22697369/0">around 3.2m lesser flamingos</a> is impressive, it is largely reliant on a few huge groups (<a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/295362/">about 75%</a> nest at Lake Natron alone). What if something happens to one of their highly-specialised breeding sites?</p>
<p>Unlike many other species that can still breed in smaller populations as their habitats become damaged, these birds cannot easily survive in small groups. Having evolved in such a hostile environment with few rivals, they would have trouble adapting to a more competitive lifestyle elsewhere. With most of their eggs in one toxic basket, the lesser flamingo is unusually vulnerable for a species with millions of individuals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151850/original/image-20170105-18665-xlh6a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lesser flamingos’ Latin name <em>Phoeniconaias minor</em> means ‘little crimson water nymph’, an apt description of their dancing, ballet-style moves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steffen Foerster / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Indeed, the number of lesser flamingos in the wild is already decreasing each year. And humans are to blame. Wetland habitats have been polluted by agricultural chemicals and sewage, feeding and breeding grounds have been disturbed, and declining algal blooms mean some populations are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2010.00915.x/full">starving to death</a>.</p>
<p>Even a diet of toxic algae can’t save flamingos from ecological disturbances. If humans take too much water from a lake, or climate change causes excess evaporation, then salinity levels will become unstable. Populations of cyanobacteria can explode and the birds end up <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568988305001101">consuming new species</a> which can poison them and cause <a href="http://www.saltworkconsultants.com/blog/lake-nakuru-life-response-to-feast-and-famine-in-schizohaline-lacustrine-hydrologies">mass deaths</a>.</p>
<h2>Soda ash mining threatens the entire species</h2>
<p>Attempts to extract sodium carbonate (a useful industrial material known as soda ash) from Lake Natron represents another danger. Mining would disturb the birds, who like privacy when breeding and tend to nest far from shore, on remote islands that have been isolated by flooding. It would also make the water more choppy, affecting their food gathering. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151657/original/image-20170103-29222-1rjc83f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The same algae that gives flamingos their colour sometimes turns Lake Natron red.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given how slow flamingos are at adapting and changing to new nesting areas, any Natron development must be avoided. Anthropogenic disturbances have previously caused lesser flamingos to <a href="http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/PDF/pub07_waterbirds_part3.4.5.pdf">abandon suitable breeding sites</a>, and back in 1993, polluted water in Lake Bogoria and nearby Nakuru killed more than <a href="http://www.worldlakes.org/uploads/18_Lake_Nakuru_27February2006.pdf">20,000 lesser flamingos</a> – the first of a series of recurring deaths.</p>
<p>The latest mining proposal has been withdrawn but such developments <a href="http://africageographic.com/blog/tanzania-mine-worlds-important-flamingo-breeding-ground/">haven’t been completely shelved</a>. Conservation groups <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/our-positions-and-campaigns/campaigning-for-nature/casework/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-228219">remain alert</a>. Monitoring and protecting the population at Lake Natron is the top priority for lesser flamingo conservation, according to a <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22697369/0">recent assessment</a> by BirdLife International. Large-scale soda ash extraction, the report says, would be “disastrous for the species” and could see the flamingos become officially “vulnerable” or even “endangered”.</p>
<p>The importance of these unique, and apparently hostile, wetlands is clear to see. Life in the Rift Valley lakes is a delicate balance. And it is clear that we are already harming these unique and fragile ecosystems. If humans were to cause drastic changes, their spectacular pink inhabitants would vanish forever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Rose is a WWT / University of Exeter PhD student. He is affiliated with the IUCN Flamingo Specialist Group. WWT coordinates the Conservation Action Plan for the lesser flamingo. </span></em></p>Millions of birds breed in lakes so alkaline they can burn human skin.Paul Rose, Associate Fellow, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/620702016-08-15T14:01:28Z2016-08-15T14:01:28ZBeyond borders: Why we need global action to protect migratory birds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133994/original/image-20160812-16375-89l3km.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Terns at sunset, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsnortheast/11823312896/in/album-72157627124473557/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One hundred years ago, amid the chaos of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson and King George V of Great Britain turned their attention to a surprising issue: protecting migratory birds. On August 16, 1916 they signed the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/birds/mbtreaty100/files/Treaties-Legislation/Treaty-Canada.pdf">Migratory Bird Treaty</a>, a landmark conservation agreement. The treaty and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which wrote its provisions into U.S. law, protected <a href="https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/policies-and-regulations/MBTAListofBirdsFinalRule.pdf">more than 1,100 migratory bird species</a> by making it illegal to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell live or dead birds, feathers, eggs and nests, except as permitted through hunting regulations for game birds. </p>
<p>Why did migratory birds warrant so much attention? Hunters were decimating bird populations across North America (King George signed the treaty representing Canada). Some five million birds, especially waterbirds like egrets and herons, were dying yearly to provide feathers to adorn hats. The last known passenger pigeon had died just two years earlier at the Cincinnati Zoo. Fearing that other species would meet the same fate, national leaders took action. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133997/original/image-20160812-16330-9f3f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Snowy egrets were hunted close to extinction in the late 1800s to supply plumes for hats.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-2049758/stock-photo-snowy-egret-preening.html?src=stOZyN5FzcmlOobGhw3gXg-1-0">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today we know much more than early conservationists did about the value of birds. Healthy bird populations provide valuable ecosystem services: They <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3721">pollinate crops</a> and help plants grow by <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01440.x">dispersing seeds</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1774-2">preying on insects</a>.</p>
<p>Migratory birds also contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy alone through <a href="https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/fhw11-nat.pdf">recreational activities like hunting and birdwatching</a>. And they connect us with nature, especially through the dazzling spectacle of migration. </p>
<p>We also know that they face many threats. International cooperation under the Migratory Bird Treaty and subsequent agreements virtually halted the plume trade and most unregulated harvest, but today habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and collisions with buildings and other structures are taking heavy tolls on many species. Everything we learn about how widely migratory birds range around the globe underlines the need for coordinated international action to protect birds across borders.</p>
<h2>Birds are true global citizens</h2>
<p>Migratory birds don’t recognize international boundaries. In one year, an individual warbler may spend 80 days in the boreal forests of Canada, 30 days in the United States at resting and refueling sites during migration, and over 200 days in Central America. </p>
<p>At the <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478">Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a> we have constructed maps and <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/mesmerizing-migration-watch-118-bird-species-migrate-across-a-map-of-the-western-hemisphere/">animations</a> using data collected by volunteers for <a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/">eBird</a>, the world’s fastest-growing biodiversity database. These resources illustrate how migratory birds connect countries. In the figure below, which tracks 118 species that breed in North America, we see that they spend the year in locations that span the Western Hemisphere. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132362/original/image-20160728-12103-16b43vs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Migration pathways for populations of 118 migratory birds species within the Western Hemisphere from 2002–2014, based on data from eBird.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">La Sorte, F. A., D. Fink, W. M. Hochachka, and S. Kelling. 2016. Convergence of broad-scale migration strategies in terrestrial birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283:20152588</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The eastern-breeding <a href="http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2016/resources/species-abundance-maps/magnolia-warbler/">Magnolia Warbler</a>, for example, spends winters in areas in the Yucatan Peninsula and Central America that are fractions of the size of its breeding range. Seeing how densely these birds are clustered in their winter habitat shows us that each acre of that territory is more important to their survival than we ever realized. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132283/original/image-20160728-21564-1djxhkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breeding, migration and winter abundance of the Magnolia Warbler based on complex computer models using millions of citizen-science observations contributed to eBird.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State of North American Bird report</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, most populations of the western-breeding <a href="http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2016/resources/species-abundance-maps/western-tanager/">Western Tanager</a> overwinter in Mexico. By identifying where bird populations winter in this way, we can better target conservation actions to protect species throughout their annual cycles. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132288/original/image-20160728-21584-dhpxi1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Year-round abundance map for the Western Tanager based on computer models using eBird data.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State of North American Birds Report</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Strategies for the next century</h2>
<p>International cooperation to conserve migratory birds takes many forms, from agreements restricting trade in certain species to partnerships that address specific challenges. The most important threats to migratory birds today are loss and degradation of habitat, which can be caused by land conversion – for example, clearing forests for farming – or by climate change. Because migratory birds rely on so many different locations from season to season, joint efforts to protect habitat are especially important and urgent.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, an international team of scientists associated with the <a href="http://www.nabci.net/vision.htm">North American Bird Conservation Initiative</a> published the <a href="http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2016/">State of North American Birds</a> report, assessing the conservation status of 1,154 birds across Canada, the United States and Mexico. The findings were sobering: Over one-third of all North American bird species are at risk of extinction without meaningful conservation action.</p>
<p>Birds associated with oceans and tropical and subtropical forests year-round are in the most dire straits. More than half of North American seabirds are declining due to pollution, unsustainable fishing, energy extraction, pressure from invasive species and climate change. Birds that rely on coasts, arid lands and grasslands also are in serious decline. </p>
<p>There are no easy solutions, in part because successful conservation efforts must reach across countries to all of the places birds touch over the course of a year. But new science is supporting these efforts. Through transformational citizen science projects like eBird, we are developing vast data sets to help pinpoint where conservation action should focus – and, consequently, where we need to find partners in the places where birds breed, overwinter and stop over during migration. </p>
<p>Many bird conservation groups and government agencies are paving the way forward. As examples, they have formed international teams to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1521179113">eradicate invasive predators on islands</a> that are critical to breeding seabirds, and drafted multinational agreements to <a href="http://www.nowpap.org/ML-on_global-level.php">clean up large floating mats of garbage</a> in our seas that can choke, trap or poison seabirds and other animals. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133999/original/image-20160812-16327-8bh4ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133999/original/image-20160812-16327-8bh4ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133999/original/image-20160812-16327-8bh4ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133999/original/image-20160812-16327-8bh4ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133999/original/image-20160812-16327-8bh4ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133999/original/image-20160812-16327-8bh4ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133999/original/image-20160812-16327-8bh4ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A dead albatross on Midway Atoll in the North Pacific with plastic waste in its stomach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq/8080507529/in/photolist-dj3Hnk-dfsAP9-8kaJvB-9NvF6h-9Nvxqd-bmAQWL-9NDgMs-5RFKx7-9twz11-9NJhg3-9ttC38-9tNoUP-ba531M-eeFfz6-9u2kHp-9uoq8p-9u2iKv-bf5vik-EqQxtc-9u34rT-9urfAw-6ZRUm7-eeLZ3U-9uKxXj-9uKQVm-9uHn5a-FGiKcw-EjHqrJ-9uKQ3S-9uHy6F-9twAeN-9NJdLE-9NJfwE-87jd25-9Dy8jf-9Dv8rk-9DveT2-5f4TyK-Dt7oRq-9uS5wf-iESAhY-5f9hbQ-9sXzr8-9unUy4-ba53dT-6Nnev2-biL7az-9uKxfd-9tfcRu-c633cy">Chris Jordan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They come together in organizations like the <a href="http://www.whsrn.org/">Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network</a>, which is working to protect nearly 100 key migratory shorebird sites from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. And they engage decision-makers so that legislation like the <a href="http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2013/Farm%20Bill%20and%20Birds%20Factsheet%206_13.pdf">U.S. Farm Bill</a> includes programs to help landowners conserve habitat. </p>
<p>Bird conservation is also about people. Many nonprofit groups, such as the <a href="https://abcbirds.org">American Bird Conservancy</a>, work with in-country partners to develop practices that meet local community needs while conserving bird habitat. Approaches like this are an essential part of conservation, especially in working landscapes that support already struggling communities. </p>
<p>At a time when political divisions dominate the news, the Migratory Bird Treaty and <a href="https://www.fws.gov/birds/MBTreaty100/timeline.php">subsequent international collaborations</a> show the power of countries acting together. Birds are a shared resource among nations, and where we have acted, we have successfully protected migratory birds and the habitat they depend on.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62070/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Rodewald currently receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.</span></em></p>Migratory birds play key ecological roles. and connect us with nature. The 1916 Migratory Bird Treaty curbed overhunting, but birds face other threats today that require international solutions.Amanda D. Rodewald, Professor and Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/570692016-05-23T19:35:21Z2016-05-23T19:35:21ZA guide to using drones to study wildlife: first, do no harm<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122661/original/image-20160516-11105-1y8ouvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A UAV's perspective of southern elephant seals (_Mirounga leonina_) on Australia's sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">J. Hodgson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Technological advances have provided many benefits for environmental research. Sensors on southern elephant seals have been used to <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201428">map the Southern Ocean</a>, while tracking devices have given us a new view of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa2478">mass animal migrations</a>, from birds to zebras. </p>
<p>Miniaturisation of electronics and improvements in reliability and affordability mean that consumer drones (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs) are now <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-drones-can-improve-scientific-research-in-the-field-54696">improving scientific research</a> in a host of areas. And they are growing more popular for wildlife management, as well as research.</p>
<p>Wildlife drones can be used in many different ways, from small multi-rotor units that can <a href="https://theconversation.com/flying-scarecrows-and-caribou-counters-using-drones-for-conservation-36847">scare invasive birds away from crops</a>, to fixed-wing <a href="https://conservationdrones.org/">aircraft</a> that fly above rainforests to spot <a href="https://theconversation.com/conservation-drones-here-comes-the-animals-air-force-35220">orangutan nests</a>. UAVs have also been shown to provide <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep22574">more precise data</a> than traditional ground-based techniques when it comes to monitoring seabird colonies. </p>
<p>Other industries, from mining to window-cleaning, are looking at using drone technology. Some forecasts <a href="http://www.pwc.pl/clarityfromabove">predict that the global market for commercial applications of UAVs will be valued at more than US$127 billion</a>. Given their usefulness in the biologist’s toolkit, the uptake of UAVs for environmental monitoring is likely to continue. </p>
<p>But this proliferation of drones raises questions about how best to regulate the use of these aircraft, and how to ensure that wildlife do not come to harm. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1182&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1182&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122655/original/image-20160516-11119-1pfochk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1182&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A UAV-mounted camera provides an aerial view of a Sumatran elephant (<em>Elephas maximus sumatranus</em>) in North Sumatra.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">L. P. Koh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wildlife disturbance</h2>
<p>Biologists carrying out field studies are typically interested in animals’ natural state, or how their behaviour changes when conditions are altered. So it is important to know whether the UAVs disturb the animals and, if so, exactly how. </p>
<p>Of course, different species in different environments are likely to have very different responses to the presence of a UAV. This will also depend on the type of UAV and how it is used. Our current understanding of wildlife responses is limited. </p>
<p>A team of French and South African biologists observed the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0754">reaction of semi-captive and wild birds to UAVs</a>. They found that the approach angle had a significant impact on the birds’ reaction, but approach speed, UAV colour and flight repetition did not. </p>
<p>In polar regions, where UAVs may be particularly useful for sampling inaccessible areas, researchers found that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1838-1">Adélie penguins were more alert</a> when a UAV was in range, particularly at low altitudes. </p>
<p>These studies, and similar observational studies on other animals besides birds, provide an initial understanding of wildlife behaviour. But the animals’ behaviour is only one aspect of their response – we still need to know what happens to their physiology. </p>
<p>Cardiac bio-loggers fitted to a small number of free-roaming American black bears in northwestern Minnesota have shown that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.07.024">UAV flights increased the bears’ heart rates</a> by as much as 123 beats per minute. Even an individual in its winter hibernation den showed stress responses to a UAV flying above. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the bears rarely showed any behavioural response to the drones. This shows that just because animals do not appear visually disturbed, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not stressed. </p>
<h2>A code of practice</h2>
<p>We have developed a code of best practice, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.001">published today in the journal Current Biology</a>, which seeks to mitigate or alleviate potential UAV disturbance to wildlife. It advocates the precautionary principle in lieu of sufficient evidence, encouraging researchers to recognise that wildlife responses are varied, can be hard to detect, and could have severe consequences. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122659/original/image-20160516-11098-1b58kwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jarrod Hodgson launches a fixed-wing UAV on Macquarie Island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J. Hodgson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also provides practical recommendations. The code encourages the use of equipment that minimises the stimulus to wildlife. Using minimum-disturbance flight practices (such as avoiding threatening approach trajectories or sporadic flight movements) is advised. The code also recognises the importance of following civil aviation rules and effective maintenance and training schedules, and using animal ethics processes to provide oversight to UAV experiments. </p>
<p>The code isn’t just food for thought for biologists. It is relevant to all UAV users and regulators, from commercial aerial videographers to hobbyists. Unintentionally or otherwise, such users may find themselves piloting drones close to wildlife. </p>
<p>Our code urges the UAV community to be responsible operators. It encourages awareness of the results of flying in different environments and the use of flight practices that result in minimum wildlife disturbance. </p>
<h2>Low-impact conservation</h2>
<p>As researchers continue to develop and refine UAV wildlife monitoring techniques, research that quantifies disturbance should be prioritised. This research will need to be multi-faceted, because responses could vary between species or individuals, as well as over time and in different environments. Greater knowledge could help us to draw up species-specific guidelines for drone use, to minimise disturbance on a case-by-case basis. </p>
<p>UAVs are a useful wildlife monitoring tool. We need to proactively develop and implement low-impact monitoring techniques. Doing so will expand our technological arsenal in the battle to manage Earth’s precious and increasingly threatened wildlife.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lian Pin Koh receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jarrod Hodgson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Drones are useful tools for studying and protecting wildlife. But with their growing popularity comes a growing need to make sure they don’t harm the animals they’re trying to observe.Jarrod Hodgson, PhD Candidate, University of AdelaideLian Pin Koh, Associate Professor, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/564422016-04-04T02:26:24Z2016-04-04T02:26:24ZCocky count: how Perth’s ‘green’ growth plan could wipe out WA’s best-loved bird<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115994/original/image-20160322-32323-qpa0rm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Clinging on: Carnaby's black cockatoo has already lost much of its habitat.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Georgina Steytler </span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/factsheet-carnabys-black-cockatoo-calyptorhynchus-latirostris">Carnaby’s black cockatoo</a> lives only in southwestern Australia. Although a much-loved cultural icon, it is now facing a major threat to its persistence: urban growth. Will <a href="http://www.birdlife.org.au/birdvote">Western Australia’s favourite bird</a> survive Perth’s expansion?</p>
<p>It is already <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=59523">listed as endangered</a> under state and federal legislation. Historical land clearing has decimated Carnaby’s numbers, felling their breeding grounds and reducing their range. Today, the birds are thought to be using all of their remaining habitat, which is barely enough to sustain the population. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117047/original/image-20160401-9712-2wvqyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Current distribution range of Carnaby’s black cockatoos.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Forshaw/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But there is a major new threat to this charismatic cockatoo. The new “<a href="http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/publications/8220.asp">Green Growth Plan</a>” for Perth and the nearby Peel region could pave the way for the clearing of tens of thousands of hectares of important feeding and roosting habitat, in the name of urban development.</p>
<h2>A rocky road ahead</h2>
<p>State environment minister Albert Jacob has <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-02/cockatoos-at-risk-if-land-use-goes-ahead-report/7215244">claimed</a> that the Green Growth Plan is “the absolute best opportunity” for the cockatoo population’s long-term survival. </p>
<p>But under the current draft plan, which is <a href="https://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/Consultation/StrategicAssessment/Pages/how-to-make-a-submission.aspx">open for public consultation</a> until May 13, Carnaby’s will lose more than 50% of their remaining feeding habitat in the Perth-Peel region, with a proportionate decline possible if key food resources are lost.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115987/original/image-20160322-32323-1j8db4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115987/original/image-20160322-32323-1j8db4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115987/original/image-20160322-32323-1j8db4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115987/original/image-20160322-32323-1j8db4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115987/original/image-20160322-32323-1j8db4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115987/original/image-20160322-32323-1j8db4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115987/original/image-20160322-32323-1j8db4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perth’s unique Banskia woodlands are the critical native feeding habitat for Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert Davis</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Carnaby’s is already declining at an alarming rate, according to BirdLife Australia’s <a href="http://www.birdlife.org.au/projects/southwest-black-cockatoo-recovery/great-cocky-count-swbc">Great Cocky Count</a> – one of the largest citizen science surveys of its kind in Australia. </p>
<p>The past six years of Great Cocky Counts suggest that the population has <a href="http://www.birdlife.org.au/documents/GCC-2015-Report-Summary-Flyer.pdf">dropped by 15% each year</a>. Without drastic action, the window of opportunity to save this population is rapidly closing.</p>
<p>Yet instead of addressing this decline, the Green Growth Plan is poised to lock in destruction of more than 30,000 hectares of Carnaby’s habitat, because the conservation measures it proposes are more than cancelled out by the loss of habitat in areas of prime habitat that are zoned for urban development.</p>
<h2>New foods</h2>
<p>In response to dwindling natural food sources, the adaptable Carnaby’s black cockatoos have been feeding on non-native pine plantations since the 1940s. These plantations have become even more important to the species as remaining native habitat continues to be cleared. </p>
<p>At their peak, Perth’s Gnangara pine plantation provided 23,000 ha of prime feeding and roosting habitat. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061145">One study</a> found that the plantations support several thousand Carnaby’s black cockatoos from January to June each year, and more than half (59%) of the birds counted in the Perth region in 2014 were associated with Gnangara. </p>
<p>However, since 2004 these pines have been harvested without replacement. The plantations stand over an underground aquifer called the <a href="http://www.water.wa.gov.au/water-topics/groundwater/understanding-groundwater/gnangara-groundwater-system">Gnangara Mound</a>, one of Perth’s most important water resources. With Perth’s rainfall <a href="http://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/fisheries-a-water/item/1937-declining-runoff-into-perth-reservoirs-linked-to-groundwater">continuing to decline</a> while the city’s water needs grow, the pines are no longer seen as a responsible use of water. </p>
<p>As removing the pines will <a href="https://www.water.wa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/4908/90294.pdf">increase recharge</a> of the aquifer, the WA government has decided that the pines will have to go. </p>
<p>Even though the pines are not native, their loss will have a major impact on a species already imperilled by habitat loss. Many birds are likely to starve when the food source on which they have come to rely is taken away.</p>
<h2>Why the Green Growth Plan doesn’t stack up</h2>
<p>So what does the Green Growth Plan offer to protect the cockatoos in the face of the planned habitat loss? Unfortunately, not a lot. </p>
<p>In exchange for the loss of more than 14,000 ha of native habitat and 24,000 ha of pine forest in the Perth-Peel region, the plan proposes that 5,000 ha of pines should be replanted. But young pines take many years to produce the same amount of food as established trees, so there will be a time lag before the food source is even partly replaced.</p>
<p>The plan also proposes to increase the level of protection of more than 100,000 ha of existing feeding habitat. But of course, that habitat is already there, and is being used by the cockatoos. Most of it is also already protected to some degree, which raises questions about <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-tree-for-a-tree-can-biodiversity-offsets-balance-destruction-and-restoration-3682">how much genuine benefit</a> schemes like this really provide. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that less habitat cannot sustain the same number of cockatoos. They and other species that rely on Banksia woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain have been suffering from Perth’s unchecked urbanisation for many decades. </p>
<p>For the Perth-Peel plan to truly be considered green, the needs of a growing city must be balanced fairly against preservation of our unique flora and fauna by prioritising habitat retention and looking to alternatives to the ongoing loss of critical habitat.</p>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Tegan Douglas and Sam Vine of <a href="http://birdlife.org.au/">Birdlife Australia</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56442/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Davis is a Director of Birdlife Australia</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martine Maron receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Environmental Science Program, and the New South Wales Environment Trust. She is a Director of BirdLife Australia. </span></em></p>Plans for managing Perth’s rapid urban growth have been touted as green. But they still look like robbing the iconic Carnaby’s black cockatoo of yet more crucial habitat.Robert Davis, Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate Biology, Edith Cowan UniversityMartine Maron, ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor of Environmental Management, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/417772015-05-21T04:32:57Z2015-05-21T04:32:57ZFarmers hold the key to nature conservation: let’s treat them that way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82434/original/image-20150520-11428-1mtrbb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">To have any chance of coaxing species like the Secretary bird back from the brink of extinction we must reconcile the pressures of food production with the need for nature conservation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Michael Evan Potter/Shu</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The town of Bethlehem in the Free State Province, South Africa, gets its name from the Hebrew words “Beit lechem” - house of bread. It is a fitting name for a town nestled within a patchwork of privately-owned commercial farmland. Much can be learnt here about the challenges farmers face when conserving nature.</p>
<p>Although renowned for producing wheat, Bethlehem is also an important habitat for hundreds of bird species, some of which are threatened by extinction. Bird watchers have spotted <a href="http://sabap2.adu.org.za/pentad_info.php?pentad=2815_2815#menu_top">257 different species in a 9km by 9km area</a> just south of the town. This is only eight species fewer than on the entire island of Madagascar. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.birdlife.org/">BirdLife International</a> even recognises the region as the <a href="http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/important-bird-areas/iba-directory/item/189-sa048-rooiberge-riemland">Rooiberge-Riemland Important Bird and Biodiversity Area</a>.</p>
<h2>Exposing nature to agriculture</h2>
<p>This small corner of Africa typifies what is happening worldwide. Agriculture is the single largest user of land globally, with <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v478/n7369/full/nature10452.html">cultivated land and permanent pasture already covering 38%</a> of the ice-free parts of our planet. In South Africa, <a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/part2_land.pdf">farmers are responsible for 80% of the total surface area</a>, of which 11% has arable potential and the rest is used for grazing. </p>
<p>As these percentages increase, so too will the number of species living in or around agricultural landscapes. To have any chance of coaxing these species back from the brink of extinction we must reconcile the pressures of food production with the need for nature conservation.</p>
<h2>What are the options?</h2>
<p>Farmers can potentially reduce their impact on nature by using <a href="http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sowb/casestudy/227">wildlife-friendly farming methods</a>. Such methods attempt to maintain natural habitat across the cultivated landscape, plant a variety of crops in smaller patches and minimise the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers. <a href="http://www.ask-force.org/web/Biotech-Biodiv/Phalan-Minimising-Harm-Biodiversity-2011.pdf">This strategy is known as land-sharing</a> because it assumes that agriculture and conservation share the land for their separate purposes.</p>
<p>The downside of land-sharing is that it tends to reduce agricultural yields per unit area. To compensate for such reductions, farmers need to increase the area under cultivation to meet the demand for food. Thus, land-sharing generally exposes more species to agricultural activities.</p>
<h2>A second strategy</h2>
<p>Farmers can increase their yield per unit area by producing <a href="http://nature.berkeley.edu/%7Emiguel-alt/modern_agriculture.html">monocultures</a> on larger individual fields and liberally applying pesticides and fertilisers. In doing so, they can produce more food while maintaining, or even reducing, the area under cultivation. This limits the number of species exposed to agricultural impacts. This strategy is called <a href="http://www.ask-force.org/web/Biotech-Biodiv/Phalan-Minimising-Harm-Biodiversity-2011.pdf">land-sparing</a> because it aims to prevent conversion of natural habitat by increasing yields on existing farmland.</p>
<h2>A delicate trade-off</h2>
<p>Land-sparing and land-sharing are two extremes of a continuum, so it is possible to use a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12084/abstract">mixture of both approaches</a>. For instance, large monoculture fields (a feature of land-sparing), can be separated by corridors of natural grassland (a feature of land-sharing). </p>
<p>The contrast between land-sparing and land-sharing creates an easy-to-understand starting point for discussing the trade-off between food production and nature conservation.</p>
<h2>Are we getting it right?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, if we consider a recent policy proposal, South Africa seems to be ignoring these potential trade-offs. The draft Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Framework <a href="http://www.nda.agric.za/docs/media/Draft%20PD-ALFA%20Bill%2020130625%20%282%29.pdf">Bill</a> effectively commits farmers to the land-sparing approach.</p>
<p>Even though the draft bill states that sustainable agriculture must complement ecological and biodiversity conservation, it also promises to entangle farmers in new regulations.</p>
<h2>Sending the wrong message</h2>
<p>To illustrate the suffocating nature of these proposed regulations, imagine a farm near Bethlehem that happens to be a breeding site for the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22692046/0">endangered grey crowned crane</a>. This bird regularly forages in agricultural land. The bill does not provide farmers with the correct incentives to conserve these birds. Agriculturally there is no benefit for them.</p>
<p>Section 7 of the <a href="http://www.nda.agric.za/docs/media/Draft%20PD-ALFA%20Bill%2020130625%20%282%29.pdf">draft bill</a> states that farmers will have to apply, at their own expense, to use high potential cropping land for conservation. Such an application requires an agro-ecosystem report compiled by a registered agricultural specialist.</p>
<p>Moreover, according to section 54(3) of the draft bill, if farmers ignore these regulations and fail to use the land “for active agricultural production on a continuous basis over a period of at least 3 years” they risk having their land expropriated “at a lower price than would be paid for similar land in the same geographical area which is used optimally”.</p>
<p>No farmer would risk their livelihood in this scenario for the sake of conservation. </p>
<p>Such policies ultimately consign species, like the grey crowned crane, to formally-protected areas. This is particularly concerning for the <a href="http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/important-bird-areas/iba-directory/item/189-sa048-rooiberge-riemland">Rooiberge-Riemland Important Bird and Biodiversity Area</a> near Bethlehem – and for other areas like it – which relies completely on conservation in agricultural landscapes.</p>
<p>Whether the bill will be accepted by parliament remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the situation in Bethlehem illustrates the important role agriculture plays in conserving nature. By ignoring this role, we risk creating one-sided policies that jeopardise our <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/SAConstitution-web-eng-02.pdf">constitutional right</a> to prevent ecological degradation and promote conservation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Falko Buschke is affiliated with the University of the Free State and is currently working on conservation initiatives in collaboration with BirdLife South Africa</span></em></p>Farmers hold the key to prevent ecological degradation and promote conservationFalko Buschke, Macroecologist and conservation biologist, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/380832015-03-06T11:04:56Z2015-03-06T11:04:56ZBlack Stork Down: the trap of communicating the ‘Wildlife Wars’<p>As the world’s tigers, elephants, rhinos and pangolins continue to be poached, smuggled and sold, wildlife conservationists have declared war on wildlife trafficking and illegal hunting. These <a href="https://vimeo.com/11315192">“wildlife wars” have received wide media coverage</a> and led to an exceptional increase in enforcement through, for example, the use of drones for surveillance.</p>
<p>Military metaphors are powerful because they offer a way to explain abstract ideas about species conservation. Conservation is cast as a kind of war, something most people are more familiar with, if only through television. This comparison makes it easier to show how vital it is for donors and decision makers to support these issues. It is thus not surprising that military comparisons are now used not only to talk about topics such as wildlife poaching and invasive species, but also when discussing conservation in general.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73858/original/image-20150304-15283-1psgpot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73858/original/image-20150304-15283-1psgpot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73858/original/image-20150304-15283-1psgpot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73858/original/image-20150304-15283-1psgpot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73858/original/image-20150304-15283-1psgpot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73858/original/image-20150304-15283-1psgpot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73858/original/image-20150304-15283-1psgpot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">CABS Bird Guards survey the countryside.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">International Animal Rescue Malta</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, using military metaphors has a price. They often don’t clearly describe what conservationists do. War metaphors change the story conservationists are telling and sometimes make complex issues seem too simple. We <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10745-015-9724-6">studied</a> bird hunting on the small Mediterranean island of Malta – a case that shows the problems with military metaphors in conservation. </p>
<h2>Military talk</h2>
<p>Like many Mediterranean countries, Malta receives birds in spring when they fly north to breed in Europe and again in autumn when they travel back to Africa for the winter. However, Malta has a strong hunting tradition and the highest density of hunters in Europe. This has created many challenges to sustainable hunting and led to repeated violations of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27108910">Maltese and European Union law</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73859/original/image-20150304-15294-1d666uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73859/original/image-20150304-15294-1d666uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73859/original/image-20150304-15294-1d666uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73859/original/image-20150304-15294-1d666uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73859/original/image-20150304-15294-1d666uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73859/original/image-20150304-15294-1d666uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73859/original/image-20150304-15294-1d666uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Carcasses of migratory birds, including Bee-eaters Merops apiaster and Swifts Apus sp., discovered by the German NGO Committee Against Bird Slaughter on the Dwejra Lines, Malta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">International Animal Rescue Malta</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So NGOs such as Birdlife Malta and the Committee Against Bird Slaughter have set up strict <a href="http://www.komitee.de/en/projects/bird-protection-camps/timetable-2015">monitoring “operations”</a>. They now <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10745-015-9724-6">“deploy” drones and “recruit”</a> international volunteers, who are trained to “patrol” and “survey” the Maltese countryside. Volunteers also “escort” rare birds when they visit Malta, “guard” nature reserves and help police “ambush” poachers. </p>
<p>Hunters have reacted by not allowing anyone into their hunting grounds. It is now common for the two sides to insult each other, and <a href="http://www.komitee.de/en/projects/malta/camp-spring-2010/cabs-team-under-attack">the confrontation sometimes gets physical</a>. </p>
<p>These NGOs regularly use war metaphors to talk about what is happening in Malta. This is reflected in operations with titles such as “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Dj1oceGxk">Black Stork Down</a>” and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u75xmJUFt1c">Operation Darth Wader</a>.” In these, birds are commonly described as innocent victims, “massacred” by “blood-crazed” hunters.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73860/original/image-20150304-15291-183kwrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73860/original/image-20150304-15291-183kwrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73860/original/image-20150304-15291-183kwrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73860/original/image-20150304-15291-183kwrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73860/original/image-20150304-15291-183kwrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73860/original/image-20150304-15291-183kwrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73860/original/image-20150304-15291-183kwrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Administrative Law Enforcement agents dismantling clap-nets from an illegal trapping site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">International Animal Rescue Malta</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It can be difficult for NGOs to demonstrate to their supporters that they’re helping the long-term survival of a species, which is an abstract concept. However, brave activists fighting to stop the killing of innocent animals by violent hunters is something most people can easily understand. </p>
<h2>From animal conservation to animal welfare</h2>
<p>The problem is that describing migratory birds in this way has important effects. If we are trying to determine the effects of hunting on a species or on a population, then our job is to find out which species and how many birds can be hunted. </p>
<p>But if an NGO’s focus is on the welfare of the individual bird and how all life is valuable and must be protected, then their job becomes stopping all hunting as soon as possible. Even the death of one bird is a problem. Using military metaphors emphasizes this blanket approach. Hunters will obviously not agree to this a complete end to their activities and there is no room for compromise.</p>
<p>In other words, by using war metaphors, NGOs stop talking about animal conservation, which focuses on animal populations and species, and start doing animal welfare, which focuses on the individual animal. The two are very different. This can explain why in Malta the two sides cannot reach an agreement, despite sharing a core common goal: to make sure that Malta’s birds do not disappear. </p>
<h2>It’s not a battle, but a journey</h2>
<p>War metaphors are useful, but NGOs need to find better ways to generate support without losing sight of their aims. At the very least, they need to bear in mind how their language can affect their message, and realize that the metaphors they use are making them more confrontational. </p>
<p>Conservationists long ago learned that the long-term survival of species depends on delicate agreements reached through difficult negotiations with stakeholders. Getting this wrong creates resistance that is hard and costly to deal with. Conservation and conversation go hand-in-hand. Describing the other side as the enemy leaves no room for conversation. </p>
<p>NGOs should try to find different metaphors. For example, the language of navigation takes NGOs’ attention away from the images of killers and victims. Instead, one can see conservation as a journey. Using this metaphor, the language of conservation includes skillful navigation that explores new opportunities, charts charts achievable landmarks and avoids the hazards that leave projects in the doldrums, immobile and stagnant. </p>
<p>Such ideas allow the Maltese hunting scenario to be more clearly described without taking away the chance to discuss conflicts and agree on solutions. This is what conservation is all about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38083/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diogo Veríssimo received funding from the the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Campbell receives funding from the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent</span></em></p>When conservationists use war metaphors – as in the battle to halt bird hunting in Malta – they hurt their cause by closing down paths to negotiation.Diogo Veríssimo, David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow, Georgia State UniversityBrian Campbell, Lecturer in Social Anthropology, University of KentLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/287202014-08-11T04:44:00Z2014-08-11T04:44:00ZFinding new nests for birds threatened by climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52847/original/4pypz6bg-1404272321.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C631%2C484&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Rufous Scrub-bird: will it have to move to Tasmania to survive?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Allan Richardson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rufous Scrub-birds have been calling loudly from the mountains of eastern Australia ever since Australia parted from Gondwana 65 million years ago. They are still there today – as noisy as ever, though incredibly difficult to see – but perhaps not for much longer.</p>
<p>Models predict that the climate of places like the Lamington Plateau in southeast Queensland will change to something quite unlike what is there at the moment. That is one of the scenarios described in the <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6995.htm">Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds</a>. </p>
<p>More than 100 Australian bird species face the prospect, within half a century, of having nowhere in the country with a climate quite like the one they now enjoy. It begs the question of what we should do, should these model predictions be confirmed.</p>
<h2>Limited options</h2>
<p>There is a fairly limited range of actions we can take, and climate change is challenging some fundamental beliefs about the very purpose of conservation. No longer can protected areas be expected to safeguard all of the species that currently live within them.</p>
<p>One option is to do nothing: to accept human-induced changes to the planet as natural, and let evolution take its course. After all, previous mass extinctions have been followed by a prolific emergence of new species. But that wouldn’t occur in our lifetime, and perhaps not even within the lifetime of humans as a species. </p>
<p>An alternative to this long-term perspective is to help climate-challenged species to survive where they are, especially in places that have proved to be <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aec.12146/full">refuges</a> in the past, such as pockets of the Wet Tropics or the northwest Kimberley. </p>
<p>Relieving species of pressure from predators and competitors by protecting their nests and providing extra food may lift survival rates enough to compensate for extra climate-related deaths. Such intensive management is already applied to some threatened species – so perhaps we should just extend it to the climate-challenged. Such interventions may become increasingly expensive, but at least they will keep species in their “natural” environment.</p>
<h2>A moving problem</h2>
<p>Another option is <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320712003898">assisted colonisation</a>. For Rufous Scrub-birds, the climate in Tasmania should become suitable even as that in New South Wales and Queensland becomes unsuitable. A relative of the scrub-bird, the Superb Lyrebird, has been <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/03/1041566222793.html">introduced successfully to Tasmania</a>, so we might expect scrub-birds to have at least a reasonable chance of survival. </p>
<p>There are now many examples from around Australia of animals being moved to places, particularly islands, where they have not been recorded before so that a population <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mam.12020/full">can be secured</a>. </p>
<p>For some birds it is not whole species that need be moved, just some of their genes. In our Action Plan, many of the birds that are predicted to lose their climate space could be replaced by close relatives that live in a slightly different climate. For instance, the population of Tasmanian Brown Thornbills could be augmented by bringing in members of the mainland subspecies that is adapted to warmer climates. The purity of both subspecies would be compromised, but that is surely better than having them go extinct.</p>
<p>Then there are zoos. The investment would need to be substantial, and keeping enough genetic diversity is a challenge, as evolutionary processes in captive populations can end up with animals quite different to their wild counterparts. </p>
<p>However, captive insurance populations are key to the conservation of <a href="http://www.zoo.org.au/healesville/animals/helmeted-honeyeater">Helmeted Honeyeaters</a> and <a href="http://www.zoo.org.au/sites/default/files/orange-bellied-parrot-priority-species.pdf">Orange-bellied Parrots</a>. We have no idea whether zoo populations can persist in perpetuity, or at least until the climate improves (effectively the same thing), but it can be done. Père David’s Deer has been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_David%27s_deer">extinct in the wild for 2,000 years</a>, while still surviving in captivity.</p>
<p>Eventually, the option of last resort for threatened birds may be <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jpsa/50/1/50_0120083/_article">cryogenics</a>, or even a virtual life as preserved genetic code. Currently, such options are science fiction, and somehow I suspect that society will put less value on a frozen egg or a string of nucleic acid codes than a real-life squawking, feathered animal, even one in a zoo.</p>
<h2>Tough decisions</h2>
<p>All of the options above are feasible, if expensive, and at some stage the government will to have to make some hard decisions about where to invest in climate change adaptation. However, politicians have had little guidance on what options the public might prefer. </p>
<p>While there has been heated debate on the merits of <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534709000767">assisted colonisation</a> (see also <a href="http://www.academia.edu/851746/Assisted_migration_part_of_an_integrated_conservation_strategy">here</a>), and some researchers have assumed captive populations have little conservation value, these are personal opinions on what are fundamentally moral issues. In democracies, government investment is ultimately decided through the ballot box, so a key recommendation for the adaptation plan has been surveys on the social acceptability of different adaptation options.</p>
<p>This social consultation is one of our reasons that we have written this article. What do <em>you</em> think might be the best option for the Rufous Scrub-bird? Leave it adapt, help it stay where it is, move it to Tasmania, or establish a population in a zoo? What about Brown Thornbills? Where would you like the government to invest in saving species from climate change? What might you personally be willing to invest? If funds are limited, which options or birds would you abandon? </p>
<p>If you have an opinion about how to respond, should climate change start affecting wild bird species in Australia, we would welcome hearing it. Anyone can take this <a href="http://www.unipark.de/uc/Birds_Australia/e858/">short, anonymous, online survey</a> – and what you say can help us, policy makers and managers develop appropriate climate change adaptation strategies for wild birds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Garnett has received funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerstin Zander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rufous Scrub-birds have been calling loudly from the mountains of eastern Australia ever since Australia parted from Gondwana 65 million years ago. They are still there today – as noisy as ever, though…Stephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityKerstin Zander, Senior Research Fellow, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195552014-05-06T04:54:51Z2014-05-06T04:54:51ZSugar gliders are eating swift parrots – but what’s to blame?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47825/original/vmbqkbxs-1399329654.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Caught: a female swift parrot emerging from her tree-hollow nest.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dejan Stojanovic</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/swift-parrot">Swift parrots</a> are one of Australia’s most endangered birds, but until very recently we didn’t know why. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ddi.12214/abstract">New research</a> shows that they’re being eaten by sugar gliders at their breeding grounds in Tasmania, but even that’s not the full story. </p>
<p>Conservationists have known for decades that swift parrots are in trouble. Across southeastern Australia, the forests and woodlands where swift parrots live have been converted to farmland, swallowed by urban sprawl and been chipped away by logging. </p>
<p>These processes are well known to drive the decline of forest wildlife, but until recently, we didn’t fully understand the subtler effects of deforestation on swift parrots.</p>
<h2>A difficult bird to study</h2>
<p>Swift parrots are difficult to study. Although they migrate from the Australian mainland to Tasmania to breed each spring, swift parrots rarely reuse the same nesting area in successive years. Each year the parrots move to a new location to breed depending on where food (nectar from flowering eucalyptus trees) is most abundant. They use hollows high in trees as nests, and these hollows are most abundant in old growth forests. </p>
<p>Finding nests for research demands an intensive annual search across the east coast forests of Tasmania, and once found, the trees have to be climbed to monitor breeding success. However, this intensive research effort has resulted in the revelation of new and astonishing impacts of forest loss on the breeding biology of swift parrots.</p>
<h2>Surprises caught on camera</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47828/original/y56d6gym-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sugar glider entering a swift parrot nest…</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dejan Stojanovic</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47827/original/w2njrnxp-1399331850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">… and leaving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dejan Stojanovic</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using motion activated camera traps deployed high in trees to monitor swift parrot nests, we recorded unexpectedly high rates of parrot deaths. The cameras revealed that sugar gliders visit the nests of swift parrots at night where they kill and eat the adult bird and her eggs. </p>
<p>Although sugar gliders are widespread across the Tasmanian mainland, there is good evidence to indicate that they were introduced there early last century. Sugar gliders are typically considered primarily nectar/insect feeders, but our data reveal that they are an opportunistic but important bird predator. </p>
<p>Cameras revealed that sugar glider predation results in an abysmal survival rates for swift parrot nests. Only 17% of swift parrot nests were successful on mainland Tasmania, and we found that although many predators attempted to prey on parrot nests, only sugar gliders were successful. Over 80% of sugar glider predation events resulted in the death of the adult female parrot in addition to her eggs, and sugar gliders have been recorded at all of the regions where swift parrots breed on mainland Tasmania. </p>
<p>Interestingly though, sugar glider predation pressure is not the same at all regions across Tasmania where swift parrots breed. For instance, sugar gliders are absent from Tasmania’s offshore islands, and island breeding swift parrots rear 100% of their nests successfully.</p>
<h2>Deforestation ultimately responsible</h2>
<p>But it turns out sugar glider predation may be a symptom of a deeper problem. On the Tasmanian mainland, where sugar gliders can be found at all swift parrot breeding grounds, we found a link between glider predation and forest cover. Where there was less logging, mature forest cover was higher and there was less predation from gliders.</p>
<p>In contrast, at regions where mature forest cover had been reduced (by agriculture, logging, urban development, wildfire etc), swift parrot nests suffered predation rates as high as 100%. These data point to a more complex relationship between forest loss and breeding success for swift parrots than previously supposed. Urgent research is needed to tease out the interactions between swift parrots, sugar gliders and the availability of mature forest (and the tree hollows such forests support), particularly given that deforestation is still ongoing. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47829/original/wtrj3gdb-1399331992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pair of swift parrots at the nest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dejan Stojanovic</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Saving swift parrots needs a rethink</h2>
<p>For the last 20 years, concerns about swift parrot conservation have focused on the loss of habitat on the Australian mainland, where the birds migrate for winter. Although loss of Tasmanian forests is known to be a threat, lack of detailed information about breeding success concealed the complex relationship between forest loss and predators. </p>
<p>Discovering this relationship has highlighted the urgent need to consider new approaches for managing swift parrots. Presently, conservation management of swift parrots focuses on retaining patches of potential habitat, but typically these patches are surrounded by highly disturbed forest. </p>
<p>Our research suggests that sugar glider predation is worse when total forest cover near swift parrot nests is low.</p>
<p>This has major implications for current approaches to managing human impacts on the forests where swift parrots breed. There is an urgent need for longer-term data to understand how landscape scale forest loss impacts sugar gliders, and what conditions swift parrots need to survive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19555/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dejan Stojanovic receives funding from the Australian Research Council and from the Australian Federal Government (Environmental Offset).</span></em></p>Swift parrots are one of Australia’s most endangered birds, but until very recently we didn’t know why. New research shows that they’re being eaten by sugar gliders at their breeding grounds in Tasmania…Dejan Stojanovic, Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/255522014-04-11T13:17:15Z2014-04-11T13:17:15ZConservation should protect genetically isolated species, not just the most rare<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46215/original/q89jxp4s-1397210588.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A conservation success story, Bald Eagle numbers are now sky high</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/3151525302"> Frank Kovalchek</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The number of endangered bird species is rising and even with our best intentions, there isn’t enough money to save them all – so how do we decide which species we should let go? </p>
<p>A new approach has been pioneered by a <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(14)00270-X">collaboration of universities</a> that could provide a method to decide how limited conservation funds should be spent. The technique uses genetics to ascertain how many relatives a bird species has, evolutionarily speaking, with the aim of identifying and prioritising species that demonstrate the most genetic uniqueness for conservation efforts, rather than simply those that are few in number.</p>
<p>It could be argued that we shouldn’t have to do this at all. We could petition governments and funding organisations to spend more money to stop the ongoing loss of biodiversity right now. But conservation will always be less important than societal needs such as health care, and this means we have to conserve species efficiently. </p>
<p>So we have to assign species some value, to help us decide which ones to save. We might value species by their benefit to humans as ecosystem services providers (for example bees and pollination), their charismatic value (pandas and tigers) or their importance for ecological processes (elephants felling trees). The problem is that we don’t really know in a directly measurable way the value of a species ecologically or economically. </p>
<h2>Family trees</h2>
<p>It has long been <a href="https://royalsociety.org/events/2014/phylogeny-extinction-conservation/">argued</a> that we can use the evolutionary history, or <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/458573/phylogeny">phylogeny</a>, of a species to capture their uniqueness and value. Phylogenies show how species are related to one another – they are the evolutionary equivalent of family trees. By examining <a href="http://tolweb.org/tree/learn/concepts/whatisphylogeny.html">phylogenetic trees</a> we can see whether a species has many or few close relatives. </p>
<p>Most species have lots of close relatives and are not very distinct. For example, the <a href="http://species.mol.org/info/birds/Carduelis_chloris">greenfinch (<em>Carduelis chloris</em>)</a>, a familiar garden bird, has many close relatives and is ranked at 7909 on the list of evolutionary distinct birds. But any phylogenetic tree will usually have a small number of species whose closest relatives diverged many hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago and who now have very few recent relatives. These are the species that are termed the most evolutionarily distinct.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46235/original/7kkzy3sz-1397222847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A comparison between evolutionary distinctiveness and species number of imperilled species across the globe</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cell.com/cms/attachment/2012528686/2034711935/gr6_lrg.jpg">Jetz et. al./Current Biology</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Keeping this concept in mind, we looked at every bird species – 10,000, in total – and found out how genetically isolated they were from each other. We used a measure called <a href="http://www.edgeofexistence.org/about/edge_science.php">evolutionary distinctness</a> (ED). A species that is highly distinct has few evolutionary relatives and is genetically distinct. A species that scores low on the distinctness scale will have many relatives and will have a common genetic make-up. Less genetic biodiversity will be lost if these species go extinct.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46224/original/9hbr66dj-1397214390.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The unique Oilbird perches on its own branch of the phylogenetic tree</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oilbirds.jpg">The Lilac Breasted Roller</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, if highly distinct species become extinct we risk losing entire branches from the phylogenetic tree of birds, and with that we lose important ecological functions (such as pollination by nectar-feeding hummingbirds or seed dispersal by fruit-eating waxwings) and large amounts of our evolutionary heritage. For instance, our most evolutionary distinct bird is the <a href="http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/oilbird.html">Oilbird</a> (<em>Steatornis caripensis</em>) of northern South America, which has almost 80 million years of unique evolutionary history. There is simply nothing quite like it. </p>
<p>But identifying those most distinct species is just a first step. A challenge for conservationists is not just to identify which species to save, but where and how to save them. In <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(14)00270-X">our study</a> we show that the measure “evolutionary distinctness” can be combined with information about the size and placement of species’ ranges to generate a means to efficiently protect them, and the evolutionary history that lies within their genes. If we can identify those areas containing species that are both highly distinct and are restricted to occurring only in those regions, then it makes sense to target conservation efforts there.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46230/original/4dxvzb6r-1397222021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Priority areas identified that would benefit from habitat conservation</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(14)00270-X">Jetz et. al./Current Biology</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Change has begun</h2>
<p>Despite being a goal of conservation biologists for more than 20 years, the technique of identifying the most evolutionarily distinct species has only slowly been incorporated into real world conservation. But things are beginning to change – the Zoological Society of London’s <a href="http://www.edgeofexistence.org">Edge of Existence programme</a> now ranks species by combining their evolutionary distinctness with the level of threat to their survival. And this concept is not just limited to birds; with the amount of genetic data available – and initiatives such as the <a href="http://www.mol.org">Map of Life project</a> making geographical data accessible – we can expand the scope to many other groups of organisms. </p>
<p>Using evolutionary information is just one way to value species for conservation, but there are many practical challenges that lie between the recommendations the technique suggests and conservation decisions made on the ground. Our work can be seen as one step along the road of making better decisions that fully encapsulate species’ ecological, evolutionary and social value, alongside practical aspects such as financial cost and future environmental threats. This way we can ensure the future survival of the species we cannot afford to lose.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Thomas receives funding from NERC and the Royal Society.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Redding receives funding from the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme (project no. NE-J001570-1). The ESPA programme is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
</span></em></p>The number of endangered bird species is rising and even with our best intentions, there isn’t enough money to save them all – so how do we decide which species we should let go? A new approach has been…Gavin Thomas, Royal Society University Research Fellow, University of SheffieldDavid Redding, Research Associate, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/223372014-01-24T14:38:17Z2014-01-24T14:38:17ZFrigatebird’s return shows even severe losses can be reversed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39789/original/shv5yxjf-1390511654.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not useful for carrying lunch, unfortunately.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Weber</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rich biodiversity of the UK’s far-flung overseas territories was highlighted recently by a <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/news/publication-of-ukots-report/">Parliamentary report</a>. Scattered throughout five oceans, these 14 islands account for much of the species biodiversity for which the UK is responsible: more than 500 threatened species, many of them unique to the islands, and undisturbed habitats of global importance.</p>
<p>While the report revealed the mother country’s lack of support needed to safeguard their natural treasures, it also highlighted examples of conservation successes. One of these is on Ascension Island, whose <a href="http://www.ascension-island.gov.ac/government/conservation/">Conservation Department</a> have had great success restoring breeding seabirds to the island after it was overrun with cats.</p>
<p>A small, remote, volcanic island in the South Atlantic, <a href="http://mcee.ou.edu/bweaver/Ascension/ai-tour.htm">Ascension Island</a> is rich in unique flora and fauna. At the time of its discovery in the 16th century, it hosted huge seabird colonies, among them the unique Ascension frigate (<em>Fregata aquila</em>). But when cats were deliberately introduced to the island in the early 19th century to control the accidentally introduced rats and mice, they also decimated the birds. For over a century seabirds, in particular the frigatebird, have been largely confined to breeding on Ascension’s tiny outlying islet, <a href="http://www.smsg-falklands.org/blog/2012/09/04/diving-boatswain-bird-island/">Boatswainbird Island</a>, taking refuge there from the feral cat population roaming the mainland. </p>
<p>In 2002, the RSPB began a project to trap and kill feral cats from the island, while domestic cats were neutered to prevent the problem returning. By 2006, Ascension was declared feral cat-free. Starting with the masked boobies, seabirds began nesting on the mainland immediately, followed by brown boobies, brown noddies and both red-billed and yellow-billed tropicbirds. But it wasn’t until 2012 that the island’s most iconic seabird, the Ascension frigatebird returned to the mainland, <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/336398-ascension-seabirds-on-the-ascent">after 180 years away</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39790/original/52gftcym-1390512400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39790/original/52gftcym-1390512400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39790/original/52gftcym-1390512400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39790/original/52gftcym-1390512400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39790/original/52gftcym-1390512400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39790/original/52gftcym-1390512400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39790/original/52gftcym-1390512400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">O RLY?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IUCN</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Ascension frigatebird, found nowhere else in the world, is <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22697728/0">considered Vulnerable</a> on the IUCN’s threatened species’ Redlist. In fact it is one of 32 globally threatened birds found in the UK’s Overseas Territories. The large black seabirds, known as frigatebirds or pirate birds from their habit of stealing other bird’s food in flight, are also known for the males’ impressive red neck pouches, which during courtship are inflated to form a heart-shaped balloon.</p>
<p>The discovery of the first two frigatebirds nesting on the mainland caused a lot of excitement. This season, the Ascension Island Government Conservation Department has carried out routine searches of Letterbox Peninsula, where the first nest was found, and a further 12 new nests have been discovered. Frigatebirds have truly made a return to Ascension.</p>
<p>The islands’ seabird conservation scientist, Dr Eliza Leat, and fieldworker Kenickie Andrews led the surveys and made the first discovery close to the site of the nest in 2012. To minimise disturbing the birds, the nests are monitored by movement-triggered camera traps, which can provide valuable data on such aspects as how frequently each chick is fed, and how often they are left alone.</p>
<p>These data will also help inform our current project to devise and implement the first national <a href="http://www.ascension-island.gov.ac/government/conservation/projects/bap/">Biodiversity Action Plan for Ascension Island</a> (BAP). This will identify current threats to species that are a conservation priority, and also important habitats such as the Green Mountain and shallow marine waters. This project is run by the island’s Conservation Department, but brings together independent scientists and specialists from the University of Exeter, Queen Mary University London, RSPB, Kew Gardens, and the Centre for Ecology to produce a strong plan that will protect the Island’s biodiversity.</p>
<p>It’s marvellous that our frigatebirds appear to be recolonising the mainland, and 12 nests are more than we dared hope for. Funded by the British Foreign Office, Defra’s <a href="http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/">Darwin Initiative</a>, the European Union and the RSPB, with help from New Zealand ecologists <a href="http://www.wmil.co.nz/">Wildlife Management International</a> and the <a href="http://www.armybirding.org.uk/">Army Ornithological Society</a>, successes like this and others, such as a similar project to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-birdlife-of-south-georgia-is-handed-another-chance-16105">exterminate rats from South Georgia</a>, demonstrate what is possible with sufficient resources and expertise.</p>
<p>Hopefully this will raise the profile of the rare and wonderful species found within the overseas territories, the plight of some of their <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-birdlife-of-south-georgia-is-handed-another-chance-16105">most fascinating species</a>, and highlight the need for the money and manpower that will ensure they’re still there into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Weber works for Ascension Island Government Conservation Department. The department also receives funding from UK Government bodies and charities for specific project work. Funding for the seabird restoration work on Ascension has come from the FCO, Defra's Darwin Initiative Fund, the European Union, RSPB and Ascension Island Government.</span></em></p>The rich biodiversity of the UK’s far-flung overseas territories was highlighted recently by a Parliamentary report. Scattered throughout five oceans, these 14 islands account for much of the species biodiversity…Nicola Weber, Visiting Researcher/ Head of Ascension Island Government Conservation Department, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.