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Announcement of EAAFP Partners Workshop leading up to MOP 11
In preparation of and to increase dialogue with and between Partners in the months leading up to MOP11, which will be held in Brisbane Australia, from 12th – 17th March 2023, the Secretariat is organizing a series of webinars endorsed by the EAAFP Management Committee with the following schedule and program. The webinar series will give Partners the opportunity to be briefed on important ongoing activities of the Secretariat and follow-up on Decisions made at MOP10. The EAAFP Secretariat is inviting all Partners to mark these dates and participate in the webinars. Title: EAAFP Partners Workshop lead up to MOP 11 Date/Time: 1 – 5 August 2022; 15:00 – 17:30 KST Organizers: EAAFP Secretariat and Management Committee Participants: EAAFP Partners, EAAFP Working Groups and Task Forces, Flyway Network Site Managers Language: English Meeting Platform: Zoom Register: https://cutt.ly/dJJgCmV *We invite everyone to join as many sessions as possible EAAFP Provisional Programme Day Programme Presenter/Moderator Day 1 Opening Remarks Robb Kaler, MC Chair Briefing on MOP11 Doug Watkins, Secretariat Chief Executive/Nick Davidson, TsC Chair Activities of the Management Committee Robb Kaler, MC Chair Report on the Secretariat’s workplan and budget Doug Watkins, Secretariat Chief Executive Day 2 Presentation on the Partner New Reporting Template for MOP11 Doug Watkins, Secretariat Chief Executive Interactive Session 1: How to increase the effectiveness of Working Group/Task Forces for EAAFP, following up on the Discussion Paper presented at MoP10 (link). (TBC) Day 3 MOP10 DD08: EAAFP Guidelines for National and Site Partnerships (link) Jennifer George, Consultant MOP10 DD 09: EAAFP Guidelines for the Sister Site Program (link) Day 4 Presentation on the revised CEPA Action Plan 2023 – 2028 Casey Burns, CEPA Working Group Chair Update on the ADB Regional Flyway Initiative Ding Li, BirdLife International / Yoon Lee, Secretariat, External Relations Manager Day 5 Conservation Status Review of Migratory Waterbird Populations for the EAAFP [MOP10 DD 12] / Q&A Taej Mundkur, Consultant to Wetlands International Interactive Session 2: How to expand, strengthen and engage the Flyway Site Network, including adopting a more simplified and focused nomination form (SIS) Nick Davidson, TsC Chair/Qing Zeng, Science Officer Closing Remarks Robb Kaler, MC Chair For inquiries, please email to secretariat@eaaflyway.net.
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Literature list (Jan-June 2022)
1) Biology & ecology Liu, D., Y. Zhou, Y. Fei, C. Xie, and S. Hou. 2021. Mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered Baer’s Pochard, Aythya baeri, and its…
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Alert on Avian Influenza detected in seabirds
A dead Common Tern on Maine’s Stratton Island is a victim of a possible avian influenza outbreak. © Michael Rickershauser/National Audubon Society Since November 2021 there have been several cases of serious outbreaks of Avian Influenza (AI) in the western Palearctic: on Eurasian Cranes in Israel, Barnacle Geese in the UK, and Dalmatian Pelicans in Greece (link). In recent weeks, there were more reports on avian flu outbreaks attacking seabird colonies mainly on both sides of the Atlantic (links 1, 2) . Notably serious avian influenza casualties of hundreds to thousands of Northern Gannets and Great Skuas were reported from Shetland (link) and Bass Rock (link), in St. Kilda in Scotland, UK (link); Norfolk UK (link); Norway (link), Magdalen Islands of Canada (link); Great Skua colony hundreds of Common Terns found dead in Germany (link); the entire colony of Sandwich Terns ripe out in Netherlands (link). Species like Northern Gannets and Sandwich Terns form big and high-density colonies, which explains rapid infection at some of these sites. However, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was also reported in U.S.A. In Alaska, HPAI outbreaks reported over the past few months in both wild waterbirds and poultry (link); over thousand of Caspian Terns died from bird flu on Lake Michigan islands (link). In Asia, although there is no detection of large-scale casualties due to AI, but there are alerting situations. For example, a flock of migrating Whiskered Tern at Hualian, eastern Taiwan was found dead in late May with some shorebirds (link). In June this year, the Little Tern Project in Japan reported a notably drastic decline of breeding Little Terns in Japan. It needs further investigation of these unexplained decrease of the population if it is related to the situation in wintering grounds or due to other factors. There are also concerns that an outbreak of AI might strike globally threatened species to extinction. The Critically Endangered Chinese Crested Tern breeds only in five very dense colonies in China and Korea and terns are known to move between colonies of Wuzhishan, Jiushan, Matsu and Penghu in breeding seasons. There are some recommendations from the Seabird Working Group: Seabird researchers and birdwatchers in Asia to keep a high vigilance and inform any signs of sickness and disease death observations to local wildlife conservation authorities. Do not touch or remove dead birds bare-handed. Keep pets and farm animals and poultry away from bird roosting and breeding sites. Countries should share information on the avian disease and establish a clear protocol in case of avian(and other wildlife) disease outbreaks. EAAFP Secretariat is keeping close contact with FAO/EMPRES-AH, which is constantly monitoring the avian influenza situation worldwide (link). On 1 July, the Seabird Working Group will launch the Asian Seabird Colony registry. This is the first attempt to document all breeding (and main roosting) sites of seabirds in Asia. This can provide the basis of monitoring in the future. Join the Webinar for the launch of the first Asian Seabird Colony registry (link).
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Celebrating 2022 World Migratory Bird Day in Kuala Simbur Village, Jambi Province, Indonesia
Wildlife Observer Community (WOC) based in Indonesia was founded in 2017. Since then, WOC has been working on data collection, observation, research and conservation. In order to motivate and raise awareness amongst people and local community, WOC has been organizing awareness campaigns in Sumatra. Celebrating World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was one of the campaigns. Promotion of WMBD to local students ©️ WOC Under WOC regular conservation activity programme this year, the organization successfully organized two WMBD events in Kuala Simbur Village, Muara Sabak Timur, Tanjung Jabung Timur Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia between 16 and 18 May 2022: field visit and birdwatching, and public awareness. Bird watching activity ©️ WOC A Field visit and Birdwatching was carried out in the Kuala Simbur Village, Muara Sabak Timur, Tanjung Jabung Timur Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia as a place to observe migratory waterbirds for the first time. During the activity, the team did not find any large flocks of migratory waterbirds but found permanent migratory birds and some resident waterbirds. This can still be used as education for participants who took part in this activity by seeing the real conditions of migratory bird habitat in Kuala Simbur Village, Muara Sabak Timur, Tanjung Jabung Timur Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia. The participants were very enthusiastic in participating in this activity. ©️ WOC WOC also organized an awareness-raising campaign among the local people and students close to the habitat of migratory birds. On 17 – 18 May, the project team conducted an awareness-raising campaign in SD Negeri 22/X Kuala Simbur, Madrasah Aliyah Bustanul Ulum, for local people. The goal of this activity was to provide knowledge on migratory birds and their migration to local people and children near the site. Village kids doing bird watching ©️ WOC The project team also met the Head of Kuala Simbur Village and he was very enthusiastic about this event because they provide knowledge to the surrounding community about migratory birds where the presence of migratory birds must be maintained by maintaining their habitat and dimming the lights.
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2022 World Migratory Bird Day Celebration in North Sumatra, Indonesia
Group photo of participants ©️ WHIS The eastern coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia, is one of the most important wintering and stopover grounds for some of the migratory shorebird populations on the East Asian-Australasian flyway. One site is on the east coast of Batubara regency is an important site for Nordmann's Greenshank, Great Knot, Far Eastern Curlew, Asian Dowitcher, Curlew Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit, and other shorebirds.. However, limited information and knowledge about migratory shorebirds in the area hinder the conservation to tackle the threats to migratory shorebirds, such as hunting. Therefore, the Wild Heritage of Sumatra Foundation (WHIS) which pays attention in-depth study and conservation of migratory shorebirds in the east coast of North Sumatra, especially in Batubara Coastline, conducted education programme to three elementary school students on the east coast of Batubara Regency, i.e UPTD SDN 06 Durian Village and UPTD SDN 18 Lalang Village Medang Deras sub-regency and UPTD SDN 16 Gambus Laut Village, Lima Puluh Pesisir sub-regency, in line with the World Migratory Bird Day. Group photo with students during art-drawing competition ©️ WHIS At least 180 students and 19 teachers from Medang Deras Sub-regency and Lima Puluh Pesisir Sub-regency joined the activities through the event held on 27 – 28 May 2022. The activities included storytelling to “Introduction the migratory shorebirds”, drawing competition for 134 students, photo exhibition and short film screening “Migratory Shorebirds in Batubara coastline”. The event began with an opening speech from WHIS and the head of the elementary school. WHIS conveyed that the purpose of this event was to raise awareness and educate elementary school children and teachers regarding the importance of their location as a stopover for migratory shorebirds in North Sumatra. So, together, we must protect these migratory shorebirds from hunting. Students during the art-drawing competition ©️ WHIS Students participating in the art-drawing competition ©️ WHIS In the future, WHIS will try to carry out similar activities to two other elementary schools, which are also located on the east coast of Batubara Regency. The targeted schools are schools that are included in the landscape plan for the conservation of migratory shorebirds on the east coast of the Batubara regency. These schools are in the villages of Durian, Pematang Nibung, Medang, Lalang, Gambus Laut and Perupuk. The students who took part in this activity were very enthusiastic, they listened and asked questions about migratory shorebirds. This activity was the first time for them, so they were very happy to participate in the whole series of events. They hope that activities like this will be held every year in their schools. It’s hoped that with this initial activity, the young generation on the east coast of Batu Bara Regency can recognize migratory shorebirds and become future conservation cadres. Students look at photos and memorize the names of migratory shorebirds ©️ WHIS Watch the video of the WMBD activities by Wild Heritage of Sumatra Foundation (WHIS): Embed the link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IJyImu7FP8 Article prepared by Wild Heritage of Sumatra Foundation (WHIS).
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2022 World Migratory Bird Day Celebration in West, South and Eastern Mongolia
The celebration of World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2022 in Mongolia by Wildlife Science and Conservation Center (WSCC) in West, South and Eastern Mongolia was a success. WSCC, Mongolia has been celebrated WMBD since 2010s by small grants or organization’s own funds every year with various public awareness activities following each year’s WMBD theme and slogan. Demo talk how to use opticals, Southern Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia The celebration was organized between 12 – 20 May in Western, Eastern and Southern Mongolia, supported by EAAFP WMBD small grant and cooperation with WWF Mongolia, Oyu Tolgoi LLC, and high schools of every soum (area of pastureland) in the vicinity. All three sites were very special places for migratory birds and thus, it is very important to involve local kids and teachers to explain the bird species around the home. Students bird watching, Western Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia Demonstration talk of how, why we ring birds, Western Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia Over 910 participants have been reached out through this event to share about bird research and migratory birds’ conservation, especially how to deal with light pollution to protect migratory birds and other animals. Many of the school students joined this kind of activities for the first time to learn about WMBD, and they would keep this memory of the event in their hearts. Releasing Siberian Rubythroat, Eastern Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia Two competitions, birdwatching competition and bird drawing competition, were very attractive to all kids, and they enjoyed learning about birds and bird migration through these two competitions. Most importantly, the two ringing stations also tremendously aided in the learning - on bird study and conservation - for all attendees and their knowledge have greatly strengthened for their future, proven by the fact that several students have been started volunteering as an assistant ringer position when they have free time afterschool. Children heading out for the bird ringing activity, Eastern Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia Drawing competition in progress at the Khurkh BRS, Eastern Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia Information leaflets were distributed among all participants in E and Western Mongolia. A total 12 winners of two competitions were rewarded with education materials such bird guidebook and wildlife conservation related books and painting materials. Presentations in Western Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia In the Western Mongolian activities were supported by WWF Mongolia, and they helped us with arranging education materials and rewards for the contest winners. Mongolian Bird Watching club members celebrated Global Big Day on 14 May as well, Team Mongolia observed 254 species in 24 hours, and was one of the biggest successes among the team members. They are very proud of their bird’s species diversity and were encouraged by our results which was 4th place in the Asia and 16th place in the world team rank. Many young members of the Team Mongolia were motivated for bird watching and delighted by our team efforts for Global Big Day. Students birdwatching, Southern Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia Team recording what they saw, Southern Mongolia ©️ Wildlife Science and Conservation Center - Mongolia Article prepared by Mongolia by Wildlife Science and Conservation Center (WSCC).
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Ganghwa Big Bird Race for 2022 World Migratory Bird Day
From 30 April to 1 May 2022, the <Ganghwa Big Bird Race> was organized by Moolsaeal, a local NGO, on Ganghwa Island, Republic of Korea. A total of 26 teams, 110 birdwatchers from across the country (14 competitive, 12 non-competitive) spent 24 hours searching for birds in Ganghwa Island. Unlike normal birding competitions, all birds observed must be photographed and uploaded to a monitoring App called 'Getbol keepers'. With the records listed on this monitoring App, the judges score and rank them. The competition, which began with a congratulatory greeting from EAAFP Chief Executive Mr. Doug Watkins, followed by the lectures introducing Ganghwa birding places and instructions of the race. The BBR then kick-started in the heated atmosphere. Group Photo of Participants and Organization Committee ©️ 2022 Ganghwa Big Bird Race Organization Committee Families and EAAFP secretariat staff, who participated in the non-competition section, then attended a lecture by the organizer to learn about common bird species. Then they visited rice paddies and mudflats with professional birding guides for bird watching. At the end of the first day, there was a music performance to celebrate the event, followed by a sharing section in which all the teams were introduced and expressed their feeling for joining the Ganghwa BBR. Families participating in the non-competitive Birdwatching section ©️ 2022 Ganghwa Big Bird Race Organization Committee EAAFP Secretariat Staff at Ganghwa BBR ©️ 2022 Ganghwa Big Bird Race Organization Committee During the BBR, teams observed a total of 581 photo records and 102 bird species for two days. The first-place team scored 75 points (69 records + 6 additional points for protected species), the second-place team scored 56 points (51 records + 5 additional points for protected species), and the third-place team scored 55 points (51 records + 4 additional points for protected species). Participants for the competitive section ©️ 2022 Ganghwa Big Bird Race Organization Committee Families participating in the non-competitive section ©️ 2022 Ganghwa Big Bird Race Organization Committee Some sharing from the participants:Mr. Rahul Teku Vaswani and his family, from India, saw a black-faced spoonbill biting a giant frog and said, “It’s so amazing. The colors and patterns made by nature are really beautiful.” Another participant said, "There were not many birds this year. Continuous monitoring is needed, whether it is due to climate change or other environmental factors. We expect more people to participate next year.” For more on Ganghwa BBR (in Korean) https://ghbbr.modoo.at/?link=cgfdi6ow Article prepared by Moolsaeal.
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Celebrating 2022 World Migratory Bird Day in Villages near the Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar
Group photo of the participants to the WMBD 2022 at GoM ©️ NCS On 10 May 2022, Nature Conservation Society-Myanmar (NCS) organized the World Migratory Bird Day(WMBD) event for 2022 in Basic Education Primary School, Koe Tae Su Village, Belin Township near Gulf of Mottama(GoM) in Myanmar with financial support from EAAFP WMBD Small Grant Fund. The purpose of organizing this event was to raise awareness in local communities on how WMBD was formed and held annually all around the world, and to educate the local communities about the importance of the conservation of migratory birds and wetland ecosystems. A total of 104 participants joined the event and most of participants were school students and local communities from villages around GoM. Members of Local Conservation Groups (LCG) from Koe Te Su village have also joined the event. Presentation on WMBD and the theme, Light Pollution©️ NCS The event started with visual presentations about the history of WMBD, annual celebrations, the theme of this year - light pollution, and migratory shorebirds, wetland conservation and Ramsar sites were presented. The “Migratory Bird” song and video clips of the six EAAFP Flyway Network Sites in Myanmar and light pollution were shown. The team presented the mangrove forest status and its conservation in Myanmar. Quiz and games were included in the event with an online platform, covering the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (SBS), light pollution and migratory birds. the. Questions were shown on the screen and participants were encouraged to the answer quickly. The participants whowere the first to answer correctly won prizes. School students aged between 5 and 10 played the Spoon-billed Sandpiper (SBS) finding game and kids who could find the greatest number of SBS were awarded. Kids playing the Spoon-billed Sandpiper finding game ©️ NCS Awarding participants who could answer the quiz ©️ NCS Local communities and students were more aware of the theme of WMBD for this year especially the value of the natural dark, increasing light pollution, the impacts of the light pollution on migratory birds and nocturnal animals. They also learned about the six Ramsar sites in Myanmar and their importance in their livelihoods. Participants have also observed the conservation status of the threatened species including the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper that migrate to the Gulf of Mottama and the efforts of local and international organizations working for the conservation. The audience were fascinated by such a little bird to migrate over thousands of kilometres. They were aware that the migratory birds are fully protected under Myanmar Conservation of Biodiversity and Protected areas Law. Participants enjoyed the songs, presentations and videos, had fun during the quiz and game session. T-shirts with the 2022 WMBD global poster printed on the front were distributed to the participants as souvenirs. Participants during the Presentation on the Conservation of Migratory Birds and Wetlands ©️ Nature Conservation Society-Myanmar Article prepared by Nature Conservation Society-Myanmar (NCS).
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New Publication “ China Wetland Centers Manual for Planning and Practice” by Mangrove Foundation
By 2021, China has 64 wetlands of International Importance, 20 Flyway Network Sites, 602 Wetland Nature Reserves, 899…
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