Rare ibis tagged in race to save bird of pharaohs

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have tagged three northern bald ibis, among the last survivors of a species of Middle Eastern bird once so revered that it had its own ancient Egyptian hieroglyph, in an effort to save them from extinction.

Only 13 of the birds remain in Syria, Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the conservation agency BirdLife International said in a news release.

The birds, with their distinctive black Mohican-style plumage and long, downward-curved red bills, were once revered by pharaohs and were found throughout the Middle East, northern Africa and the European Alps.

They are now classified as critically endangered, the highest level of threat, by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Until four years ago the species was thought to be extinct in Syria. The only other wild population is in Morocco.

"Without this tracking project, the bird would have been consigned to history and hieroglyphics," Ibrahim Khader, head of BirdLife Middle East, said in the statement.

"We knew they were in Palmyra because of reports from Bedouin nomads and local hunters."

Scientists from BirdLife and the RSPB tagged the three ibis, named Zenobia, Sultan and Salam, in southeast Syria's Palmyra region, hoping to track them when they begin their annual migration this month to discover where they breed.

"Tracking the birds and finding their wintering sites may be the last chance to save them," RSPB scientist Ken Smith said. "We won't be able to help them until we know where they go and the threats and pressures they are facing."

...this rare bird is an amazing find for scientists, and all birders...

Rare ibis tagged in race to save bird of pharaohs | Tech&Sci | Science | Reuters.com

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Birdwatching tourism ready for take-off in Eritrea

By Ed Harris.

ADI KE, Eritrea (Reuters) - High above a rocky cliff top south of Eritrea's capital, Asmara, an Augur Buzzard glides overhead, its broad white wings outstretched.

Down on the ground, Ken Harte, 70, an American tourist and passionate birdwatcher treads past a narrow valley's candelabra trees and prickly pear, hoping for a rare glimpse of a species not yet recorded in the Horn of Africa country.

"The holy grail would be the Blue-Winged Goose," he said, adjusting the cameras hanging from his body. "There are vague reports of it being found in Eritrea, but as far as I know no reliable records."

Eritrea's diversity of forest, desert, mountain, and beach -- lying between 1,396 miles of Red Sea coastline and mountains thousands of feet high -- provide a rich variety for birdlife, experts say.

"Ethiopia-Eritrea are one of Africa's birding hotspots possessing 861 species, including the 30 species endemic (to the two countries)," Jose Luis Vivero Pol wrote in his 2001 book, "A Guide to Endemic Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea."

Of these 30 species found nowhere else, some 13 have been recorded in Eritrea, attracting birdwatchers keen to expand the lists of rare species they have seen.

"(Thirteen) is a tremendous number for a country this small," said Harte, grinning through his thick beard and boasting that in just two weeks, he has seen 10 of the 13 endemic species.

Harte suspects there were another two species not yet recorded -- the Blue-Winged Goose and the Abyssinian Long-Claw -- though their sightings have not been confirmed.

...this is excellent news for all birders and birdwatchers...

Birdwatching tourism ready for take-off in Eritrea | In Depth | Reuters.com

technorati tags:birders, birdwatching, Eritrea, Adi, KE, Asmara, Augur, buzzard

Adopt your favourite feathered friend

"Adopt" one of 10 bird species from the Canadian Museum of Nature. Funds raised support education programmes for the new Bird Gallery opening on October 20, 2006. For info and pledge forms, go to nature

Want to befriend a Blue Jay or a Black-capped Chickadee? How about a Peregrine Falcon or a Great Blue Heron? The Canadian Museum of Nature’s is giving Canadians the chance to take a bird “under their wing” in the new Adopt-a-Bird initiative to support public education about bird diversity and conservation in Canada.

Funds raised through the Adopt-a-Bird programme will go towards complementary national educational programming for the Museum’s new Bird Gallery opening on October 20, 2006 at the Victoria Memorial Museum Building in Ottawa, the public exhibition site of the Canadian Museum of Nature. This initiative is part of the Museum’s Natural Partnerships Campaign, a national fundraising project to raise $10 million for new galleries and national public education programmes. To date, the campaign has reached 70 % of its goal.

Close to 500 bird species found in Canada will be handsomely represented in a bright and airy newly-created exhibition space. This tranquil gallery with 380 specimens – one of the largest collections of birds on display in the world – will provide an ideal setting for observation and study. Designed to be interactive, auditory, visual and educational, the exhibition will serve as a life-size bird-watching field guide and is sure to inspire visitors of all interest levels to venture further into the world of birding. There will even be a section on how to care for injured birds, designed to appeal to children.

More details about the new galleries can be found at nature.ca.

...what a great program! adopt a bird...

Adopt your favourite feathered friend | Ottawa Start

technorati tags:birdwatching, bird, species, Adopt-A-Bird, programme, Museum, Bird, Gallery, Ottawa, 500, bird, species