On Monday 19 December the EU Environment Council in Brussels came out with conclusions on the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, in which the interests of the farm lobby purveyed over biodiversity protection. BirdLife Europe isdeeply concerned by the long and painful efforts of certain EU Environment Ministers that were revealed in weakening biodiversity protection in […]
Whooping Crane Found Fatally Shot in Indiana
News report that a Whooping Crane has been shot and killed in Indiana. What kind of person can wilfully shoot and kill such a graceful creature?
My Top 20 for 2011
It’s that time of year again…a time for resolutions and reflection. I think most nature photographers make resolutions about visiting more exotic locations and getting that one elusive image that keeps evading them…and I would be lying if I said I don’t have at least some aspirations like that. On the whole I would just […]
Save the Last Houbara Bustards in Tunisia
Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata undulata is protected by the Tunisian law and several international conventions to which Tunisia is signatory. This did not prevent the near-extermination of the Tunisian population of Houbara Bustard by poaching of the emirs of the gulf states and which was authorised during more than 20 years by the Ben Ali […]
Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge Very Productive In December
In the past Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge has had good activity during the months of Jan-March, but this year it started early. The ducks started to arrive, then the roseate spoonbills, avocets, reddish egrets and the like. Also, a local favorite gave us some really nice photo ops by staying in the same place, with […]
Timor Bush-warbler rediscovered
There had been no confirmed field observations of Timor Bush-warbler Bradypterus timorensis since two specimens were collected on Mount Mutis, West Timor, in 1932. A paper published online in BirdLife’s journal, Bird Conservation International (BCI) [1], reports the rediscovery of the Timor Bush-warbler in Timor-Leste (East Timor) in 2009, prompted by the discovery of a […]
State of the Maya Biosphere Reserve
In a recent ceremony in the National Palace in Guatemala City, staff of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) presented Álvaro Colom Caballeros, president of Guatemala, and other high-level officials with the State of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, a report detailing the successes of, and current threats to, the country’s largest protected area. With the assistance […]
2011: “Annus horribilis” for African Elephants, says TRAFFIC
As the year draws to a close, TRAFFIC warns that 2011 has seen a record number of large ivory seizures globally, reflecting the sharp rise in illegal ivory trade underway since 2007. Although official confirmation of the volume of ivory involved in some cases has not yet been registered, what is clear is the dramatic […]