International Vulture Awareness Day

The first Saturday in September each year is International Vulture Awareness Day. Vultures are an ecologically vital group of birds that face a range of threats in many areas that they occur. Populations of many species are under pressure and some species are facing extinction. The International Vulture Awareness Day has grown from Vulture Awareness Days run by the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa and the Hawk Conservancy Trust in England, who decided to work together and expand the initiative into an international event. It is now recognised that a co-ordinated international day will publicise the conservation of vultures to a wider audience and highlight the important work being carried out by the world’s vulture conservationists. On the first Saturday in September, the aim is for each participating organisation to carry out their own activities that highlight vulture conservation and awareness. This website provides a central place for all participants to outline these activities and see the extent of vulture conservation across the world. Additionally, it is a valuable resource for vulture workers to learn about the activities of their colleagues and to perhaps develop new collaborations or exchange information.

More information. Learn more here

Spain going to court for not adequately protecting European Turtle Dove?

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall

The European Commission will take Spain to court for not adequately protecting European Turtle Dove. The EC has just announced an infringement procedure that may end up in court within a few months if the administrations do not take action: Brussels accuses Spain of not adequately protecting the European Turtle Dove, a beautiful bird of our countryside. The blame? Bad agricultural policies and, once again, hunting. The European Commission has opened an infringement procedure against Spain for continuing to allow hunting of the European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur and for not adequately protecting its habitat. In Spain, only four autonomous communities have approved moratoriums against hunting this species: Asturias, Cantabria, the Canary Islands and, since July 15, the Valencian Community.

Specifically, the Commission has just announced the initiation of proceedings against Spain and France for breach of Articles 3, 4 and 7 of the Birds Directive. These articles oblige Member States to maintain the population levels of bird species, especially migratory bird species, ensuring that there is sufficient diversity of habitats both inside and outside protected areas. Member States also have an obligation to ensure that hunting of any species of bird does not jeopardize conservation efforts.

Since 2018 there is a European Action Plan for the Conservation of the Turtle Dove and BirdLife International claims its instigation since then. The plan includes measures to preserve and restore favourable habitats for the Turtle Dove and, in addition, emergency actions such as establishing a temporary moratorium on hunting the species.

In addition, in compliance with the EU Birds Directive and, in Spain, with the Law of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, the hunting of this species should not be authorized, at a minimum, until their populations recover. However, in the last season hunting was re-authorized by the Spanish Government with a level of catches similar to the previous one, which could have led to the death of some 800,000 Turtle Doves in Spain, well above what the species can withstand, an unsustainable and unacceptable scenario.

Spain has lost a quarter of it's Turtle Doves!!

Spanish hunters say they are not to blame for the European Turtle Dove population being low. They even claim that a major fault is that they are hunted a lot in Morocco..

But it turns out that it is the Spanish hunters who fundamentally go to Morocco to exterminate the species. It is about exterminating just for fun, there is no other interest other than fun for these hunters!

In Spain, the European Turtle Dove population has fallen 25% in two decades, according to BirdLife International censuses. Across the EU, the European Turtle Dove population has fallen by 50 to 70 percent and, in some countries, the crash reaches 90%, like the United Kingdom, where it has virtually disappeared. Being a migratory species, the actions or omissions of countries such as Spain affect the whole of the species throughout the continent: this species makes an impressive journey of 4,000 kilometers every year from sub-Saharan Africa, where it winters, to its breeding areas in Europe.

The threat of intensive agriculture

In addition to hunting, this species also experiences the suffering of many agricultural birds: the intensification of agriculture, the loss of fallows or the elimination of shrubs and other vegetation on the edge of farms and roads, hinder the subsistence of these and other agrarian birds.

According to the Commission's complaint, no national government has initiated the so-called “emergency agro-environmental measures” to protect these migratory species. However, on this occasion, the European Commission has considered that the breach of these agri-environmental measures deserves to be prosecuted, something quite unusual to date, since the Commission had been reluctant to admonish countries for their bad agricultural policies. The results of this process are expected to be relevant for the design and implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Companies in Europe still advertising hunting Turtle Dove.

Turtle Dove hunting is allowed in eleven of the member estates of the EU, where large numbers of turtle doves are hunted annually.

Also Morocco for Western European migrating Turtle Dove: https://www.marruecosadventure.com/en/producto/caza-en-marruecos/

Romania: http://www.italcaccia.ro/turtle-doves-hunting.html

Bulgaria: https://www.faviaviaggi.com/offers/small-game/turtle-doves-15/?view=1&destinationId=2

Serbia: http://www.vojvodinahobby.com/Eng/eng-Game-Qualis-and-Doves.htm

Macedonia: http://hunting.mk/portfolio-view/turtledoves/

United Kingdom: https://hunting.gg/wildlife/upland-game-birds/columbidae/streptopelia-turtur/


Background Information ( abstract from a presentation at the 33rd International Union of Game Biologist Congress. Citation ref: https://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/175261 )

Turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a trans-Saharan migratory species recently up-listed to Vulnerable status in the Red List of Threatened Species. Breeding populations of Turtle Doves are declining throughout Europe, declines being particularly severe in certain countries (e.g: England, where the population has declined by 93% since 1995). Current estimates attribute 75% of the global breeding population to Europe, the remainder occurring in North Africa and Asia. This fact is especially relevant since Turtle Dove hunting is allowed in eleven of the member estates of the EU, where large numbers of turtle doves are hunted annually. The European country where the greatest amount of Turtle Doves is hunted is Spain (around 701.600 birds in 2014), through which also passes the main migratory route for western European Turtle Dove populations (also Morocco). We analyzed Turtle Dove population trends for the different regions of Spain and for the whole country using available data from SACRE (Spanish contribution to the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Schemes (PECBMS) designed by the European Bird Census Council, and carried out in Spain by SEO/Birdlife International). Data from this program (kindly provided by SEO) included observations of Turtle Doves in 10x10 km quadrats in most of the Spanish regions from 1996 to 2016. Additionally, we compiled the number of birds hunted in each region from the official hunting statistics available since 2006 in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing, Food and Environment (before 2006, official statistics did not separate Turtle Doves hunted from other bird species). We show that Turtle Dove abundance in Spain declined around 40% since 1996. The decline happened in most of Spanish regions and it was especially remarkable in the North, where hunting is relative unimportant. Therefore, it seems that hunting is not the main reason behind the declines. Nonetheless, annual variation in the number of Turtle Doves hunted in each region was unrelated to annual variation in turtle dove abundance. Globally, hunting pressure (numbers shot) has not significantly diminished since 2006, despite observed population declines. Thus, although hunting is not the main driver of the decline, results also indicate that it could be an aggravating factor, and that current tools to determine the number of Turtle Doves that may be hunted are not efficient enough, or not correctly applied.

Delicious Autumn!

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. 
George Eliot

Soon. To be leaving us too soon, evoking thoughts of autumn too soon, to be missing you too soon. Signs clearly now of autumn migration and a time of excitement and regrets. Never sure whether this time of year fills me with wonder or a yearning to follow our birds south. The Woodchat Shrike pair here is one of the many species I miss during their winter's truancy.

I thought I would also take this opportunity to show you some of those birds I will miss until next spring. Soon, with just a blink of an eye, I will be welcoming winter birds. Where does time go?

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

"During [these] periods of relaxation after concentrated intellectual activity, the intuitive mind seems to take over and can produce the sudden clarifying insights which give so much joy and delight". Fritjof Capra

Just every now and again it is good to have a lazy, sunny Sunday. A day of not doing a lot and giving yourself time to reflect, relax and enjoy the simple things in life. Legs outstretched, arms supported and looking out over the back garden, my morning cuppa in hand and watching birds making their staged approach to the garden pond. Beauties like these seem to share the relaxed and easy moment.

Vulture Culture

“The Vulture. Of all the creatures in the jungle, he has it the easiest. The hard work of others becomes his work; their failure to survive becomes his nourishment. Keep an eye on the Vulture - while you are hard at work, he is circling above. Do not fight him, join him.” 
Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power

I am blessed to live in an area of Europe where we have among the highest densities of vulture populations on the continent. Not only the continent of Europe, but also within the Iberian Peninsula which holds the main breeding populations for Griffon, Black and Egyptian Vulture, whilst it also has a healthy and increasing number of Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture) Gypaetus barbatus and the presence of Rüppell’s Vulture Gyps rueppelli all year round. Andalucía is a region of Spain that is also a vulture hotspot and for any fan of these wonderful birds it is the place to visit and be swept away by their grandeur and elegance as they dominate our skyline. Since 2003 I have been studying birds, in particular Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucura, within the areas of the Serranía de Ronda and Sierra de Grazalema. During this period there has been many changes to breeding populations and in particular with the local vultures. Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, once common, has declined, mostly due to incidences of poison baiting here and in their wintering grounds as well as on their migration routes, whereas this is of great concern the trend for Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is the reverse. As an example, a couple of adjoining rock faces that stand above the karst strewn slopes, where I had been study Black Wheatear, I had 4 and 3 nest respectively in 2003, now there are 9 and 13 nests on these same rock faces, a very dramatic increase. The observation is repeated throughout the area and most likely this is a result of various feeding stations providing food and also the increase in livestock grazing in higher areas with its accompanying natural mortality rates among herds.

The increase in Griffon Vulture numbers has not been without some concerns and consequences, most prominently the displacement of Bonelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata as they compete for nesting places. Normally a Bonelli can hold its own and successfully defend a nesting site, but the sheer number of vultures has driven this eagle away from many sites. I am concerned for this medium sized and fiesty eagle, where conflicts arise with Griffon Vulture then normally adjoining cliff faces can provide a haven, albeit temporary if this increase continues, but we also have a welcome increase in breeding pairs of Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, which also compete with Bonelli for nesting sites. So I worry for the future of this wonderfully aggressive and beautiful eagle. Another vulture that is increasing in the area, although somewhat less markedly as Griffon Vulture, is the Black Vulture Aegypius monachus otherwise called Cinereous Vulture, Monk Vulture or Eurasian Black Vulture. In the past it has always been a regular winter visitor and involved juveniles dispersing from their natal grounds. In recent times adult birds have now been observed at all times of the year, sometimes as many as 8 individual being seen together during the summer months. The area is vast and has many suitable forest or dehesa areas where this bird may well choose to breed, it is something we hope to discover in the future.

Whilst it is so heartening to write some positive news, more particularly when it involves vultures, I am also aware of the struggles these birds are faced with in continental Africa and Asia. Even here in Europe, particularly in Spain, these iconic and beneficial birds suffer from a range of dangers such as collisions with power cables and wind farm mills, also Spain has incredulously licensed and approved the use of the lethal veterinary drug diclofenac. Further to the positives are the local peoples here in the Serranía de Ronda and Sierra de Grazalema, they all regard the Griffon Vulture with affection and all know the bird's name 'Buitre Leonado' and will always point them out while in my company. Another positive, although sad in many ways due to its demise, is virtually every farm I have visited during the course of my studies has their own local name for Egyptian Vulture. Love the local people, love my mountains.

I love my vultures and hoping you might too!