Last July, novelist and bird-watcher Jonathan Franzen wrote a devastating account for National Geographic magazine about the mass slaughter of migrating birds across the Mediterranean. The situation, he wrote, was especially dire in Albania, which lies along a major migratory flyway. Due to indiscriminate hunting, the skies above Albania were literally being emptied of birds. […]
Tag: migratory birds
Birds’ migration secrets to be revealed by space tracker
Small birds, butterflies, bees and fruitbats will be fitted with tiny radio transmitters and tracked throughout their lifetimes from space when a dedicated wildlife radio receiver is fitted to the International Space Station next year. The ability to follow the movements of very small organisms hour by hour from space will revolutionise our understanding of […]
Wind Turbines and Birds: Incompatible?
One reason alternative energy as a home power source (and beyond) is so popular is that it’s supposed to be better for the environment. It’s nonpolluting, doesn’t involve harmful extraction and refining techniques, and it’s highly scalable. But what if it had unintended consequences? That’s long been a concern with wind energy, an energy source […]
6 Reasons You Should Be Drinking “Bird-Friendly” Coffee
Environmentally conscious coffee drinkers already know that the brew they choose matters. They comb supermarket shelves looking for labels like “USDA Organic,” “Rainforest Alliance Certified” and “Fair Trade Certified.” Did you know, however, that there’s one more label you might want to be sure your morning cup of joe carries? Check to see whether your […]
Stronger BirdLife Partnership takes action for Mediterranean migrants
The BirdLife Partnership’s project to develop flyway conservation capacity in the Mediterranean – funded by the Mava Foundation – is already delivering results, including a hunting ban at an important stopover site in the Balkans, and progress in two Mediterranean hunting and trapping blackspots. CZIP (BirdLife in Montenegro) has secured a two-year hunting ban at […]
Massive Bird Slaughter Around the Mediterranean – Shocking Photos
Each year, millions of songbirds are killed for food, for profit or just for the joy of shooting something, as they move from their winter grounds in Africa to their summer breeding territories in Europe. In Egypt, hundreds of miles of nets cover the entire coastline, catching almost every bird that makes its way to […]
Rarities and Early Migrants at Jahra Pools Reserve, Kuwait
Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) is a small fenced wetland reserve just off the Arabian Gulf coastline to the north of Kuwait City. Previously the pools were formed from a sewage outfall, but more recently a water network has been provided and this has allowed the pools to remain filled since the end of 2012. As […]
The Duck Stamp Brings in a Lot of Money
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), in their 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation report, there are approximately 13.7 million hunters in the United States and nearly 71.8 million wildlife watchers. Of those 13.7 million hunters, only 2.6 million hunt migratory birds and only about 1.3 million hunt waterfowl. […]