Socotra Being Considered as a World Heritage Site

Egyptian Vulture on a sign at Socotra. Images courtesy of Richard Porter.

Socotra Island with its diversity of endemic species is being considered as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

"Its unique ecosystem, the outstanding endemic flora and fauna and its relatively unspoilt habitats are the main reasons for the island being considered," said Richard Porter, currently an adviser to the Middle East Programme of Birdlife International.

"There are over 300 endemic plants, nine endemic birds, 60 butterflies, 21 reptiles, etc. In terms of globally threatened birds 11 have been recorded on Socotra of which the most important are: Socotra Bunting, Socotra Cisticola, the endangered Egyptian Vulture (Socotra has the highest concentration in the world), Socotra Cormorant and Jouanin's Petrel."

The island which has a land mass of 3,500 square kms, is in the Indian Ocean eastward from the Horn of Africa, and part of an archipelago which includes the smaller Darsa, Samha and Abd El Kurl islands.

Detailed surveys of the birds on the island have been conducted since 1993, when Porter first visited the island with a team from the Ornithological Society of the Middle East. Later he helped initiate and setup the BirdLife Middle East programme in which Socotra conservation is a high priority. This programme is now based in Amman, Jordan, and run by Middle East nationals.

"Ahmed Saeed Suliman, who is knowledgeable on birds (and all wildlife) and who works for the Socotra Conservation and Development Programme, and I have been organising a breeding bird survey of the island and assessing the breeding bird populations since 1999," Porter said.

Ahmed Saaed at Sirhan Lagoon.

Male Socotra Bunting.

A database of all birds recorded is being maintained, and the current tally is 205 species, Porter said, of which 43 are breeders. There are at least 10 endemic subspecies.

His interest in the birdlife of Socotra started 15 years ago on the OSME expedition of 1993 "and I've been visiting most years since 1996," he said. "Its endemic birds and the fact its birds had been little studied, provided lots of chances for new discoveries. In terms of bird endemism, Socotra is second only to the Highlands of Yemen in the whole of the Middle East."

Porter has been captivated by the island and its birdlife.

"I love the island and visit at least once a year," he said. Among the better places to find especially notable birds are the slopes of the Haggier Mountains, Hadibu's Sirhan Lagoon, Qalansiya estuary and the Mahlih Plains.

During his last visit in October and November 2007 , he made several observations of species not previously recorded, including Common Kingfisher and Short-eared Owl. On a previous visit a major new breeding area for the Socotra Cisticola was found.

"My next visit will be in October to continue surveys of the breeding bird populations, set up a monitoring programme on the effects of grazing and continue to survey the Egyptian Vulture population. I'll also continue training SCDP staff in bird survey and identification skills."

The biggest challenge for conserving birds is "tackling over-grazing and development threats from new infrastructures especially roads," Porter said. One particular goal is to have new roads placed in "appropriate places. There is no serious threat from feral animals."

Dragons Blood Trees at the Haggier Foothills.

View of a badly landscaped road, after completion of its construction.

The SCDP is an active conservation programme backed by international funding, and is addressing concerns which may affect the birds, Porter said.

Birding tourism is currently limited. "Less than five birding groups currently visit Socotra each year, but it is increasing," Porter said. There is currently no bird watching community present.

Designation of the island as a world heritage site would lead to "greater international support - both financially and administratively - for resource conservation. It would also provide a valuable 'watch dog' over any potentially damaging developments - such as sections and structure of the proposed new road system."

About 95 km2 (2.5%) of the four islands have already been designated as a nature sanctuary. There are also areas of special botanical interest with unique flora and associated fauna.

A decision on the designation is expected during the 2-10 July meeting of the World Heritage Committee, according to Roni Amelan with UNESCO.

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Socotra recognised as World Heritage Site

"The Socotra Archipelago was recently added to the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization list of World Heritage Natural Sites. Many international organisations including BirdLife have long campaigned for the Socotra Conservation and Development Programme's submission for this prestigious designation." - news issued by Birdlife International

International Efforts Continue to Conserve Ivory Gulls

Ivory Gulls nest in colonies, sometimes in large numbers, up to many hundreds. Their nests can be placed densely, and intra-specific aggressive behaviour is characteristic in this species. Image courtesy of Maria Gavrilo, whom also provided the image captions.

Research this summer in the polar Arctic regions will continue to provide details essential for a better understanding of the Ivory Gull and how to conserve this imperiled species.

The Russian team will work in a recently discovered colony on Alexandra Land, west Frantz-Josef Land where 300 pairs bred both in 2006 and 2007, according to Maria Gavrilo, a research scientist at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The Russian team includes Andrey Volkov and Mikhail Ivanov, both from Moscow.

“To evaluate the status of the species on their core breeding range is the main goal of the studies needed to better understand processes observed with the species worldwide. Other breeding areas will be studied as well with a Norwegian team working on Svalbard, and the French group continuing in north-east Greenland.”

Efforts to better understand the Ivory Gull are needed because it “is a rare species in a global context and is one of the most poorly known seabird species in the world,” she said. “There is growing concern in the circumpolar Arctic that the Ivory Gull may be in decline. The most recent information on population trend of Ivory Gulls exists for Canada, Svalbard and Russia. In Canada, the Ivory Gull has a highly restricted range, breeding exclusively in Nunavut Territory. Until recently, the Canadian Arctic was thought to support 15-20% of the entire global breeding population, and colonies of continental and global importance. However, aerial surveys conducted in 2002-2006 allowed Canadian scientists to record an 80-85% decline in national breeding population since the early 1980s. Estimate from 1990s suggested Russia supported 10,000 breeding pairs from 14,000 breeding pairs worldwide.”

An Ivory Gull on the nest, Domashny Island, Severnaya Zemlya, 2006. Both images taken by Maria Gavrilo.

In spite of the rest of the gull species nesting on land, Ivory Gulls have uniformly-coloured grey downy chicks. These several-days old chicks are from the north-eastermost breeding colony in Russia, Komsomolets Island, Severnaya Zemlya, at 80.48 N/97 E.

In the “Status report on marine birds breeding in the Barents Sea Region” prepared by seabird experts from Russia and Norway, the Ivory Gull is listed as a high priority species The main breeding area of the species stretches from the Kara Sea through the chain of high-latitudinal islands to the Greenland Sea. Recent survey in Svalbard suggests that only a few of the known colonies are still being used and that the total population is smaller than previously estimated. Information obtained currently (2006-2007) on Russian breeding grounds indicate stable populations in some key colonies, although considerable fluctuations in numbers of breeding birds. Thus Russian Arctic is core breeding area for the species which supports nesting colonies of global importance.”

“The Ivory Gull project was initiated several years ago within the framework of the Russian-Norwegian co-operation on environmental protection after ornithologists of our two countries clearly understood that only joint and coordinated efforts in studying this species will be effective for solving the problem of the Ivory Gull population status,” Gavrilo said. “The field work started in 2006 at both Russia and Svalbard. That year we (Russian team) made extensive survey from Severnaya Zemlya (Central Siberian Arctic) westwards till Victoria Island, visiting the Frantz Josef Land Archipelago. This ambitious survey of a vast area of remote Arctic islands during short summer season was possible only because of the support provided by the Federal Border Guard and its Arctic network. In 2007, we continued and visited in Russia Severnaya Zemlya and FJL, partly the same islands, but also new ones. This work was partly supported by Russian IPY program. Valuable services were also provided by the network of Sevhydromet (Northern Directorate of Federal Hydrometeorological Service) and its network of polar weather stations.”

Andrey Volkov is preparing a bait for trapping Ivory Gulls, Hayes Island, Franz-Josef Land, 2007. Pictures by Maria Gavrilo.

Mikhail Ivanov just caught an Ivory Gull. Field camp on Hayes Island, Franz-Josef Land, 2007.

“We plan to place two satellite transmitters on birds, trap and ring birds with metal and individual encoded plastic rings, sample blood (used for studies of genetics, physiology, immune status, cytogenetics, and sexing), sample food items, collect samples for contaminant analysis (eggs and blood), count birds, and evaluate reproductive success count birds, and evaluate reproductive success.” Accessible islands will also be surveyed for population numbers and reproductive success.

Satellite transmitter’s placed on several Ivory Gull’s have been used to track a birds’ movements in the Arctic Ocean, northwest Russia and around southern Greenland, an assessment essential to understanding the species range and habitat use. The most recent “registered position” of several Ivory Gulls can be tracked at the Norwegian-Russian Project on Ivory Gull interactive satellite tracking map at a website sponsored by the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

Movements of the birds which receive a transmitter this summer around mid-July will be viewable at the tracking map as soon as device will start signaling.

“Telemetry in coming season is a continuation of the project successfully started 2007, when satellite transmitters were attached to 18 Ivory Gulls for the first time,” Gavrilo said. “We obtained very valuable and amazing data on ivory gull migrations. One of the important finding was that birds both from Svalbard (Norway) and Franz-Josef Land (Russia) use the same flyways and share wintering grounds, and birds from the same colony use both major wintering grounds, i.e. gulls from neighboring nests may go to the North Atlantic while another goes to the North Pacific. Thus, the birds from the same breeding colony may face different hazards while on different wintering grounds and using different flyways, i.e. they may accumulate different contaminants or experience different climatic and feeding conditions. Later, during breeding this may affect their reproductive capability in different ways. We also hope that satellite tracking will draw light on the problem of breeding site fidelity in Ivory Gulls – do birds return to the same nesting colony next year and can they change their breeding sites or just miss breeding in the case of poor season, i.e., too little sea ice around. Knowing what types of ice habitats Ivory Gulls prefer will allow us to predict species distribution according to models describing climatic and sea ice cover changes. Tracking movements with help of transmitters is possibly the only way to study migration and habitat use in Ivory Gulls since traditional ringing provides very few information due to extremely low recovery rate.

Ivory Gull Summary Courtesy of Maria Gavrilo The Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea, is a high Arctic seabird which is associated with sea ice all year round. In spite of an early discovery by Jonas Poole in 1609, it still remains one of the less studied seabird species in the world. The Ivory Gull has semi-circumpolar breeding distribution in the high latitudes of Atlantic sector of the Arctic. Scattered, mostly small colonies occur in Arctic Canada, Greenland, Svalbard, and the northern islands of Russia in the Barents and Kara seas. The wintering distribution of the Ivory Gull is poorly known, although it generally winters along the southern edge of Arctic pack ice in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean (Davis Strait and Labrador, Greenland and Barents seas), and the North Pacific Ocean (Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, and perhaps Beaufort and Chukchi seas). Ivory gull breeding colonies are indicated by large dots on map. The gulls typically spend most of the winter at sea off the icepack areas of the Arctic Ocean, shown by the stippled areas. Map prepared by Environment Canada/Canadian Wildlife Service. Being a characteristic species of the ice zone of the Arctic it has a restricted breeding range and a relatively low overall population size. The Ivory Gull project is a joint effort of the Norwegian Polar Institute, Troms and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg. It is a part of the working plan of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Commission on Environmental Protection in the Barents Sea Region. Effective fulfillment of the project was not possible without mutual cooperation between all parties involved in the project as well as the assistance of many engaged people and facilities of different organizations. The satellite tracking project has been funded by the Norwegian oil company StatoilHydro. The population survey, contaminant analyses and monitoring activity have been financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, the Governor of Svalbard, the Norwegian State Pollution Control Authority, the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

“The Ivory Gull keeps all year round in remote oceans far from human settlements; it is also not a game species, therefore we can’t obtain information from the hunters like for example goose people do. Moreover, I’d say that following birds from their home island all way on their traveling over the thousand miles of ice covered oceans is quite thrilling amusement, and every morning while running my notebook, I first come to the project website to see what’s going on with our birds at their ice-bound home country.”

The Ivory Gull – a top predator in its marine ecosystem – is a “characteristic high Arctic species associated with ice seascapes and landscapes throughout the annual cycle and is a good indicator of the ecological status of the Arctic Ocean. It is at risk of climate changes and environmental pollution, hence, it is believed of high conservation concern.” As a rare species, it is recently uplisted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to the “Near Threatened” category, and Red listed in Russia, Norway and Canada.

“Seabirds are good indicators of the health of marine environment in polar regions,” Gavrilo said. “There are two major long-term and persistent impacts affecting Arctic seabirds currently: global change and persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs).”

“In spite of the remoteness of the areas and long distance of the major industrial activity spots, seabirds in high Arctic are facing several global threats currently and potentially as well. One is global pollution with long-distance transportation of contaminants ending in the Arctic Ocean. Our study revealed amazingly high concentrations of POPs in Ivory Gull eggs, with dominance of DDE and PCBs.

“Climate change poses considerable challenge especially to those species which make use of ice habitats in the Arctic (i.e. pagophilous species, like the Polar Bear and Ivory Gull). Northwards penetration of industrial activity, i.e., shipping, shelf oil and gas extraction and transportation, tourism following recent climate warming in the Arctic will bring new threats to the remote wilderness areas and seabirds of the high Arctic. Oil pollution is of special concern since seabirds are the most vulnerable group of biota in relation to oiling. Nowadays, there is a threat to Arctic seabirds from oiling on their wintering grounds, i.e., in the Sea of Okhotsk for the Ivory Gulls.

“Disturbance from mass tourism might become a problem in some areas, especially taking into account easier access to previously ice-blocked areas in high latitudes. Mining is an increasing problem in some areas, i.e. already in Arctic Canada, probably in some Russian islands as well.”

“Considering the very low public awareness of Ivory Gulls – the species is virtually unknown to the general public – we used every chance to introduce Ivory Gulls to the people who live in the High Arctic side by side with this interesting and enigmatic bird. Collaboration between the expedition team and personnel involved in logistic support of the project provided a good opportunity to distribute information about the importance of the Ivory Gull study. Before the expedition, promotional material such as press-release and souvenir products was prepared. Special envelope, stickers and expedition logo were designed. Press release and souvenirs were distributed among crew members, personnel of frontier outposts and polar stations. Libraries of frontier outposts, as well as Dikson Hydromet and the polar stations were given a Russian edition of the book ‘The status of marine birds breeding in the Barents Sea Region.’ As a feedback valuable information on Ivory Gull was later obtained from remote settlements on the islands.”

The “High Arctic islands of Russia is a unique areas of so-called arctic desert, still enough remote to keep pristine wildlife far away from major centers of industrial activity like petroleum industry and commercial fishing. These areas still support viable and to a certain extent undisturbed populations of wildlife, and seabirds in particular. The central Russian Arctic ‘sector’ including Kara and Laptev seas under current climatic changes is a refuge for many species tied up with ice habitats, i.e., for the Ivory Gull. Other seabirds surveyed in the Kara Sea during our recent visit like Glaucous Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes, are also in a good state demonstrating stable and even increasing population trends in contrast to many areas in the Barents Sea region.

“The great value of the wildlife and wilderness of these islands allowed to propose and almost establish a national park named The Russian Arctic covered Franz-Josef Land Archipelago and the northernmost portion of Northern Island of Novaya Zemlya. The project is currently in the final stage of consideration by the Russian Government.

“The most difficult side of the work in such regions in Russia is inaccessibility of the areas, where the virtually absent infrastructure leads to high costs of the project, and unpredictability including availability of transportation, getting permissions and funds. After all this, harsh Arctic climate, absence of comfortable facilities and unavailability of internet is not a trouble at all.”

Maria Gavrilo with first tagged Ivory Gull at the Krenkel Polar station, Hayes Island, Franz-Josef Land, 31 July, 2007. This gull #74888, after completing the breeding season on Franz-Josef Land, went along the ice edge to its South Greenland wintering quarters. The last satellite signal was received on 2 January, 2008.

Foggy weather was dominating both in 2006 and 2007 seasons and seriously limited visibility and restricted our ability to watch polar bears. Oleg Prodan, our expedition leader in 2006, guards with a rifle nearby our field "lab" on Domashny Island, where we had polar bears every day. Photograph by Maria Gavrilo.

The unique Ivory Gull is of special interest to Ms. Gavrilo, and recent studies and education by her and other researchers have initiated efforts to help the species survive, and in particular, preparing and implementing a plan for its conservation.

“The Circumpolar Seabird Group (CBird) under CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna of the Arctic Council) are currently developing a Conservation Strategy and Action plan for the Ivory Gull,” she said. Her current studies will “follow many recommendations stated in this Strategy which aims to conserve the Ivory Gull not only in Russia but worldwide.”

Following the 2006 expedition, there was a broadcast about the effort on Novosibirsk state television, Gavrilo said. A video in the news program entitled “Ivory Gulls rear offspring under protection of frontier guard” was shown later, “both regionally and on central Russian channel, and received the recognition among the best TV reports of the Company in 2006.” After the expeditions had been completed, special calendars for year 2007 and 2008 with pictures of Ivory Gulls were designed and widely distributed.”

Other successful efforts to publicize the Ivory Gull and its plight include:

• A talk entitled “In search of the ivory gulls: heliborne insert on the High Arctic islands” was given by Maria Gavrilo at the session of Polar Commission in The Russian Geographical Society, Saint-Petersburg in February 2006 to present results of the expedition to a general audience.
• A scientific talk “In search of the ivory gulls. Results of the Russian-Norwegian project in 2006” (by Maria Gavrilo, Andrey Volkov and Hallvard Strom, who is Ivory Gull project leader from Norwegian side) was given at the joint session of Menzbir’s Ornithological Society and Moscow Society of Nature Explorers, at Moscow in April 2007.
• Expedition highlights were also announced in “National Geographic Russia” (February, 2007, p. 28) and in World Wildlife Fund Arctic Bulletin in 2007, issue 3.
• Most recently, in April 2008 an exhibition devoted to the project was opened in State Biological Museum in Moscow entitled “Beyond the 67 N: We study the Arctic”

Envelope commemorating the Ivory Gull, 2006.

Commemorative envelope in 2007.

Gavrilo has also studied polar birds for more than two decades, following her graduation as a zoologist from Leningrad State University with a specialty in ornithology.

“I have been working in polar region regions, both Arctic and Antarctic (mostly in the Arctic) studying seabirds, their distribution in polar oceans and mapping, doing assessment of their vulnerability to different human impacts such as oiling and petroleum activity, shipping etc., and also dealing with conservation issues,” she said. “I’m really enjoying my work. I love to work in remote polar areas, in ice-covered oceans, observing birds at their wild pristine Arctic habitats. I’m thrilled at the observing wildlife under extreme Arctic conditions, trying to understand how they survive and what are their adaptations to harsh climate conditions.”

Maria Gavrilo taking blood sample from the Ivory Gull in the largest worldwide breeding colony on Domashny Island, Severnaya Zemlya, 2006. Photograph by Oleg Prodan.

Andrey Volkov and Maria Gavrilo separating blood samples for plasma and cells in the "laboratory" at the frontier post on Domashny Island, Severnaya Zemlya, 79 N. Photograph by Alexey Lokhov.

Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary an Important Locale For Long-term Waterfowl Research

Snow Geese at Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary. Images courtesy of Dr. Ray T. Alisauskas.

The largest bird reserve in the world is the site for long-term research on the life history of several species of waterfowl.

The focus of the current research at Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary are Ross's Geese, Snow Geese, White-fronted Geese, King Eiders, and Long-tailed Ducks, said Dr. Ray T. Alisauskas, research scientist and adjunct professor based at the Prairie and Northern Wildlife Research Centre of Environment Canada, on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon.

"The research started with a focus on understanding what role spring nutrition and arctic climate play in driving population biology of arctic-nesting geese," he said. "Also, we were interested in understanding how annual survival of geese changed and whether there were any longer-term trends in survival. With each additional year, it became obvious that we were in a unique position to address other unknowns about species for which there were conservation concerns such as King Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks. So, we exploited our presence in the area, to expand our focus on more than the species we were originally interested in."

This season's efforts will include "studies of body condition and nutrient analysis of harvested geese, sampling of nest density, species composition, habitat selection, breeding effort and success" of the nesting geese and sea ducks, according to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry. Researchers will also monitor, on an incidental basis, nests of gulls, loons, terns and other waterfowl.

The number of people involved varies with the number of objectives each year, Alisauskas said. "This summer there should be about 12 people involved at one time or another during the summer," not including pilots for the fixed and rotary wing aircraft used for access to and from the sanctuary, and to reach remote study sites.

A base camp at the Karrak Lake Research Station will be occupied for all or part of the period from 1 May to 31 August.

During part of this year's field season, a British Broadcasting Company film crew will accompany some of the staff "during their daily activities, in an attempt to film arctic wildlife for a documentary on polar regions," according to the environmental assessment.

"One of the most important benefits of the research is that it helps us to understand not only what the natural ecological factors are that influence populations, but also what role humans might play in this," Alisauskas said. Once we know this, we can make recommendations about how to manage human behavior that affects a population either positively or negatively.

"By marking birds, we can estimate annual survival rates, and also population size in some cases, depending on the source of the information about when marked birds are re-encountered. So, we can start to understand how much of changes in population growth/decline is due to changes in survival or production and recruitment of new young. Once you know which of these two components of population growth is more important to changes in population growth, you focus on the priority and start to investigate the main ecological factors that are influencing either survival or recruitment. It is hoped that once there is knowledge about the ecological problem (climate change, predation, toxic chemicals), then it may be possible to offer prescriptions for conservation."

Research camp.

Researchers prepare for an aerial survey of waterfowl.

Research that spans many years is essential to help understand the dynamics of the breeding geese and ducks.

"Long-term research is not only valuable, but necessary, since it is difficult to know if annual changes in population size or survival between two years are just random or part of a longer-term trend," Alisauskas said. "If part of a trend, then it requires more years to detect this. Another reason is that, depending on the species, they don't mature and begin to breed until they are at least three years old, and some individuals may not be detected as first-time breeders until they are 7-8 years old. So, a study has to continue longer than this to be able to detect and estimated such things.

With the bird sanctuary recognized as having the largest variety of nesting waterfowl in North America, a variety of topics have been investigated during recent decades. Surveys of nesting waterfowl were started in 1949, and determined the distribution of nesting Ross's geese and the lesser Snow Goose. Additional aerial surveys have been done in 1976 and during several years in the 1980s.

There have been several reports published that describe results of the research. Recent examples, published by Alisauskas and a number of other investigators, including university students earning advanced degrees, include:

• Previously unrecorded colonies of Ross' and Lesser Snow Geese in the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary; in 1994, which showed an expansion of nesting range for both species, due to increasing populations
• Diet and growth of Glaucous Gulls at a large Arctic goose colony; in 1999
• Nest-site selection, interspecific associations, and nest success of King Eiders; at Karrak Lake, in 2003
• Comparative reproductive strategies between Long-tailed Ducks and King Eiders at Karruk Lake: use of energy reserves during the nesting season; in 2005

The Queen Maud Gulf area is the "largest bird sanctuary not only in Canada, but in the world apparently," Alisauskas said. "It has been relatively isolated, and because of its size, difficult to get around in without using aircraft. There are also logistical challenges because fixed-winged aircraft cannot land in many areas, and we have to rely on helicopters. So the isolation and size of the sanctuary can make it overwhelming to work in."

Alisauskas, however, finds "the landscape itself is beautiful to my eye. My main motivation for working in the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary is that it supports a diverse array of arctic waterfowl, some of which are extremely abundant. However, the fact that there are few modern developments in the sanctuary is an added bonus. The solitude and isolation are enjoyable."

The Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary, designated as a Ramsar site on 24 May 1982, sprawls across more than 63,000 square kilometers, extending from just south of the arctic circle and north to the gulf, and from the Kaleet River south of the Adelaide Peninsula, west to the Tingmeak River basin. Most of the land is federal Crown Land, with small portions owned by the Inuit of Nunavut.

A management plan for the area is currently being evaluated, and is expected to be released this summer.

Report on mapping of the land cover with illustrations of the waterfowl habitat

Island Birds to Thrive Following Removal of Invasive Stoats

Several species of native birds on wild Resolution Island, are expected to thrive following the removal of stoats to restore conditions more suitable for native flora and fauna.

"Small bush birds such as the New Zealand Bellbird, Tomtits and the kaka (a parrot), as well as the Kiwi, seabirds (Sooty Shearwaters) and the New Zealand Robin," said Murray Willans of the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Once the predatory stoats - an invasive species present for more than a century - are removed, "birds will recover very quickly," said Willans. "Bellbird numbers should double within 12 months."

Annual bird counts will be undertaken on the island to monitor recovery of bird species once an initial trapping project is completed.

Traps to be used to remove stoats from Resolution Island. Picture courtesy of the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

The trapping will get started in July, with the positioning of 2500 traps, and "will be completed by mid-August, after which about 90% of all the stoats should be removed," Willans said. "A team of approximately 14 people will be involved in the trapping checks, and all the stoats will be kept for analysis."

Resolution Island, comprising ca. 21,000 hectares is part of Fiordland National Park, and within the 2.6 million hectare Southwest New Zealand World Heritage Area that was established in December 1990.

Stoats have already been trapped and removed from nearby Secretary Island, encompassing 8000 ha., also part of the park.

Both removal projects are financed by $7 million allocated in 2004 by the New Zealand government.

"The work was funded due to our growing confidence in the outcome and the work will provide a substantial island for threatened species management in the future," Willans said.

Following the trapping program on Resolution Island, traps will be "maintained on the island to stop re-establishment of stoats," Willans said, and will also be "maintained on the adjacent mainland to at least slow re-invasion."

Endemic New Zealand species such as the Kakapoo, a flightless parrot, and the Yellowhead are benefiting from other conservation efforts by the government in the Fiordland National Park environs.

Downtown Omaha Buildings Deadly for Migratory Birds

An injured Nashville Warbler taken from the hazardous sidewalk at the Edward Zorinsky Federal Building to the tree in a landscaped area on the north edge of downtown.

A survey of bird strikes in downtown Omaha recorded 102 instances during the month of May.

Starting early in the month, a casual survey was made around the tall buildings of downtown Omaha, to evaluate where birds might be found to have hit and structure, causing their death. Once a very significant number of carcasses were noted on May 10, 2008, a survey via bicycle was made daily around the downtown sidewalks in the early morning to document instances of bird carcasses, and occasionally injured birds.

During each survey, the building name and the particular location of the bird species - noting only those classified under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act - was recorded, with a picture or two taken of nearly every instance. If a species identification could not be made, the picture was useful to get assistance from other birders in order to determine the particular identification of the species. Each instance entered into a database according to each building, to help with data compilation and analysis.

When an injured bird was found, it was carefully picked up and moved away from the building sidewalk and any pedestrian traffic, and placed in a landscaped area, and in the case of those within the core area of the downtown building district, it was taken to a park area on the north side of downtown.

Downtown Omaha buildings. View from the northeast.

Most of the bird strikes occurred repeatedly at several prominent buildings with extensive glass areas serving as exterior walls. Those with the greater number of known instances were:

• Qwest Center Omaha - 33, with six strike occurrences denoted on May 26th; all but one of the occurrences on the west side, including one bird which struck the glass-enlosed, elevated walkway to the hotel across the street

• 1200 Landmark Center - 14, mostly on the north side

• Holland Performing Arts Center - 9, about two-thirds occur in the courtyard area, which as the trees get larger, will be a greater hazard

• Union Pacific Center - 9, mostly at the northeast corner of the structure

• Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center - 9, nearly all were along the west side, though one occurred in the recessed courtyard at the southwest corner of the building

• Central Park Plaza - 8, on the north, south and east sides of both towers

• Omaha World-Herald Building - 5, in the southeast corner

• American National Bank - 4, on the south side

Reflectivity of the glass wall on the west side of the Qwest Center Omaha.

View of a portion of the west wall at the QWest Center Omaha.

The strikes occur because of the combination of three items, designated as the deadly Ls: 1) the look of the building, each with a prominent glass exterior wall; 2) lights are known to confuse nocturnal migrants, which are most of the species noted; and 3) landscaping where in most instances leafy trees were planted and are growing in relatively close proximity to a reflective wall, so birds landing in the tree and looking to go elsewhere, would fly towards what would appear to be a suitable destination, but would be a false image. The distance away from the tree would be sufficient for a flight speed where the bird would be strike the reflective surface hard enough for the flying bird to become a fatality.

North side of the 1200 Landmark Center building.

View from the north of the Union Pacific Center. The area being cleared is where the Wallstreet Tower of glass, 330 feet high will be constructed.

A map is indicates the places and dates where the bird strikes occurred, and many of the instances include a photograph of the scene where the carcass was found.

Map of Bird Strikes in Downtown Omaha View a Larger Map - This option is recommended in order to best view the text and photographs for the complete list of bird strike records.

There would be additional strikes at some of these buildings during the month, but only those where visible evidence was present were recorded. If a bird fell onto the entry way overhangs at the Qwest, or on the courtyard ledge at the Holland Performing Arts Center, the carcasses would not be visible, and could not be tallied. Other prominent buildings which may have had bird strikes, could not be evaluated for this same reason. There would also likely be additional instances of strike mortality, but restrictions on accessing private property did not allow any evaluation; the Con Agra Campus for example, with its mix of the three deadly Ls. Some carcasses may have also been carried away by cats and/or dogs, or maybe the few other wild animals that occur, such as opposums.

A table illustrates where 35 different species have flown into a building.

Tally of Omaha Buildings Where Birds Strikes Occurred in May

Bird Species	1200 Land. Ctr.	1405 Harn.	17th Harn.	All Makes	Amer. Nat. Bk.	Cent. Park Plaz.	Zorin. Fed. Bldg.	Fir. Nat. Bk.	Fir. Nat. Twr.	Holl. Ctr.	OWH Bldg.	OWH Free. Ctr.	Qwest Ctr.	Slow- down	NE Off. Bldg.	UP Cntr.	Wood. Park
Sora	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	4	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Mourning Dove	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Hairy Woodpecker	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Olive-sided Flycatcher	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Eastern Wood-Pewee	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -
Willow Flycatcher	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -
Flycatcher	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Least Flycatcher	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Eastern Kingbird	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Warbling Vireo	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Red-eyed Vireo	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Swainson's Thrush	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
American Robin	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -
Gray Catbird	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	1	- -	- -	- -	- -
Tennessee Warbler	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	1	- -	1	- -	- -	5	- -	1	4	- -
Nashville Warbler	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	1	- -
Yellow Warbler	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	1	1	- -	- -	- -	- -
Chestnut-sided Warbler	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Yellow-rumped Warbler	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Palm Warbler	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -
Black-and-white Warbler	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -
American Redstart	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -
Worm-eating Warbler	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Ovenbird	2	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	1	- -	- -	1	- -
Louisiana Waterthrush	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Mourning Warbler	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Common Yellowthroat	3	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	2	7	- -	- -	- -	- -
Chipping Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -
Clay-colored Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	3	- -	- -	- -	- -
Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	1
Lincoln's Sparrow	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -
White-throated Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Blue Grosbeak	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Indigo Bunting	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	4	- -	- -	- -	- -
Common Grackle	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Baltimore Oriole	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	1	- -
Total Number:	14	1	1	1	4	8	2	2	1	9	5	9	33	1	1	9	1

The species with the greatest extent of deadly impacts were the Common Yellowthroat, with 14 instances of known strikes, Tennessee Warbler (13), Ovenbird (7), Indigo Bunting (5), Sora (5), Yellow Warbler (4), Clay-colored Sparrow (4), Eastern Wood-Pewee (3), Nashville Warbler (3), Willow Flycatcher (3), and White-throated Sparrow (3). About half of the total were warblers, with sparrows also well represented.

A number of the birds killed were females struck down during a hazardous trek to the breeding grounds. They will not be able to raise a brood that would have contributed to the population of their species.

The dates when a greater number of strikes were noted were May 29th, with 11 instances, May 10th and 26th, both with ten instances, and May 31st, with 8 instances. Most of the records - 92 - are during the period of May 10-31, giving an average of nearly four strikes per day.

Reflectivity of the west wall of the Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center. The First National Bank Tower and buildings to the north are shown.

Setting of the courtyard area of the Holland Performing Arts Center. Dead birds have been found under the large square area on the right, and to the left. The trees of the Central Park Mall are directly south of this building.

Each of these species are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The demise of a bird caused by a building is considered taking under this Act, and the building owner is liable for the death.

Ten carcasses found on 10 May.

Carcasses from building strikes in downtown Omaha on 31 May.

The Nebraska office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been informed of the results of this survey, and their representative was asked to inform representatives of the building with the largest strikes that each death of a bird is a violation of the MBTA, which may be subject to law enforcement.

Injured female Indigo Bunting, Qwest Center on June 2nd, 2008.

"Migratory birds are federally protected under provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712: Ch. 128 as amended). The MBTA prohibits the intentional and unintentional direct take (e.g., killing, wounding, destruction of active nests) of migratory birds."