In a gully between the dirt road and a field of softly waving grass, a brolga stands, straightens its elegant grey neck and gazes at the two four-wheel-drives crawling to a halt a short distance away. In the centre of a lagoon on the other side of the road, a second brolga sits atop a […]
Tag: Migratory Shorebirds
Which way will the wind blow? Decision day looms for planned windfarm on Tasmania’s Robbins Island
More people have heard of Robbins Island than have seen it. Separated from Tasmania’s north-western tip by a stretch of water that can be navigated only at low tide, the island is nearly 10,000 hectares of heathland and woodlands, paddocks, unusual geology and wetlands, all ringed by pristine beaches. The island has been owned by […]
Dangerous Lines in Sacred Waters: The Cost of Commercial Fishing in a Pacific Marine Sanctuary
Imagine a vast, protected marine sanctuary, which contains extraordinary and unique marine life and globally important bird nesting sites, all amid a remote chain of islands, atolls, reefs, and shoals. From octopods and the world’s largest sponge, to the oldest marine organism—a deep-sea black coral that can live up to 4,500 years—and the biggest colonies […]
State of Birds Report Shows Shorebird Numbers Are Still Declining
Migratory shorebirds travel thousands of miles between wintering and breeding grounds. For years, scientists, ornithologists, and ordinary birders have been concerned about habitat loss along established flyways. Analysis of shorebird migration data reveals negative population trends for the vast majority of the species studied, with many species having lost significant portions of their populations. The […]
Slender-billed curlew, a bird last photographed in 1995, is likely extinct
For decades, the slender-billed curlew, a grayish-brown migratory wetland bird with a long, arched bill, has evaded detection, prompting speculation about whether the species is still out there. Now, a new study has confirmed that the species is indeed most likely extinct. “Speaking personally it’s a source of deep sadness,” Geoff Hilton, conservation scientist at […]
Shorebird populations drop globally, some by a third: Report
Sixteen shorebird species have been reclassified to higher threat categories as the global population of migratory shorebirds across the world saw a substantial decline, according to the latest update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Conservation partnership BirdLife International, which helps examine the status of the world’s birds for the IUCN Red List, […]