Six of Africa’s 11 vulture species – the continent’s largest and most recognisable birds of prey – are now at a higher risk of extinction, according to the latest assessment of birds carried out by BirdLife International for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The main causes of the drop in African vulture populations […]
Tag: vulture
Veterinary diclofenac now completely banned in Iran
Iran’s Department of Environment has officially banned the export, import, production and veterinary use of the drug diclofenac in the country. Diclofenac is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug whose veterinary use as a painkiller for livestock has been the main cause of the decline of several species of vultures around the world. Vultures are scavengers, often […]
POLL: Should Diclofenac “the vulture killing drug” be banned?
Would you care if vultures were dying because of a man-made drug? Meet a man in Spain who really cares about vultures—so much so that he travels great distances and climbs rocks to feed them. The majority of Europe’s vultures live in Spain, and these vultures are in danger of being decimated, following the country’s […]
Let’s Stop Vulture Poisoning Now – Video
BirdLife is fighting to stop vultures from slipping towards extinction. Thanks to everyone that has supported our campaign so far, we are now 79% of the way towards our urgent target of £20,000. Nearly there! But like the vultures in Africa and Europe, we need some more help. So we are launching a video, and asking for your […]
Sabi Sands: February 2010 (Part 1)
Some of you may recall that I have been posting some WAY overdue trip reports on my blog as well. I am still far behind, but I thought it best to get going again…my last report was a series of posts on a trip with my wife to the Kruger National Park in 2009. Let’s […]
Israel sets an example in the protection of migrating birds
HULA VALLEY, Israel — It’s chilly and still dim at 6 a.m. when Haggai Hochman, a Galilean farmer, slides into his tractor and sets out on his dusty course. Behind him, in a repurposed fertilizer spreader, he drags four tons of dried corn kernels. It’s “for the birds,” he says. As Hochman turns off the […]
From the steppe to central Spain, Europe echoes to the howl of the wolf
A twig snaps, a crow calls, but nothing moves in the dense pine forests of Spain’s Guadarrama mountains. Vultures and eagles soar over the snowcapped peaks and wild boars roam the valleys below, as they have for centuries. But for the farmers who work this land, a threatening and worrying comeback is taking place in […]
Migrating Raptors on The Strait of Gibraltar
It’s been a busy six weeks with almost non-stop birding here on The Strait and across Europe. I thought I’d quickly post some of the raptor shots I have managed to edit so far on the blog to show at least some of the autumn delights… Black-winged Kites (old name is Black shouldered Kite) have […]