sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) (01/28/91)
In article <11153@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu> mike@uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Mike W. Burger) writes: > I have seen only one type of oiled bird from the slicks >in the Persian Gulf. Who knows what species of sea birds are >at risk in that part of the world? Are there any species that >are both endangered and found only in that area, thus subject >to extinction danger from war-related activities? The bird we all saw on the news was a cormorant. There are two cormorants in the region : Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), a winter visitor, and Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmeus), a resident. Neither is threatened in general, though both may be locally endangered in parts of their distribution. Without something to judge size it was a bit difficult, but I *think* the one I saw on the news was a Pygmy Cormorant (a) by the shape of the head and (b) because through the oil I thought I could see a brown color on the head. I'll see if I can dig out something about endangered species in the Gulf. Daan Sandee sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 (904) 644-7045
misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) (01/28/91)
In article <11153@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu> mike@uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Mike W. Burger) writes: > I have seen only one type of oiled bird from the slicks > in the Persian Gulf. Who knows what species of sea birds are > at risk in that part of the world? Are there any species that > are both endangered and found only in that area, thus subject > to extinction danger from war-related activities? The bird (or birds as they have shown several) all seems to be (ordinary) Cormorants. The Socotra Cormorant also lives in the area. I do not know if it is present in the whole gulf, but I know that a colony of several thousands breed outside Dubai (UAE). They should be breeding at the moment so hopefully they are out of danger, if the oil doesn't spread too much south. Bahrain is also good for birds, with lots of wintering shorebirds. There are very good shorebird sites in The UAE as well. These mostly seem to be lagoons or bays, they will be destroyed if the oil reaches them and no atempt is made to close of the mouth of the site. I don't know much about the birds in Kuwait. I think there was an article in Birding World a few years ago, but I haven't been able to check it up yet. I remember the writer felt that many of the sites were already being destroyed. I'll try to find the article and let you know. In general the coasts over there are rather empty (of birds), so the islets on which the birds breed and those lagoons are the ones in danger. Luckily most of the breeding birds have not arrived yet. Hopefully they'll manage to do something about the oil before they do arrive. Breeding birds include gulls and terns. Most of the shorebirds I think are there for the winter only. I'll write more when I've had time to look it up. Annika Forsten, Finland
lark@tivoli.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) (01/29/91)
In article <MISAN.91Jan28172523@ra.abo.fi> misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) writes: >I don't know much about the birds in Kuwait. I think there was an article >in Birding World a few years ago, but I haven't been able to check it up >yet. I remember the writer felt that many of the sites were already being >destroyed. I'll try to find the article and let you know. > >In general the coasts over there are rather empty (of birds), so the >islets on which the birds breed and those lagoons are the ones in danger. >Luckily most of the breeding birds have not arrived yet. Hopefully they'll Another potential problem is one that we (unfortunately) have plenty of experience of in Texas. Birds, particularly waterfowl and the hawks that prey on them, mistake pools of oil for pools of water. The toll is hard to evaluate, because the owners of these oil pits here are in violation of certain laws. However, if pools of oil appear on a migration path where water is generally scarce, you can expect that many birds will be lost. I am not aware of the flyways used by birds migrating between Africa and Europe and Asia, but I'd like to know more about this. -lar -- Lar Kaufman I would feel more optimistic about a bright future (voice) 512-794-9070 for man if he spent less time proving that he can (fax) 512-794-0623 outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness lark@tivoli.com and respecting her seniority. - E.B. White
andrewt@cs.su.oz (Andrew Taylor) (01/29/91)
In article <11153@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu> mike@uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Mike W. Burger) writes: > I have seen only one type of oiled bird from the slicks > in the Persian Gulf. Who knows what species of sea birds are > at risk in that part of the world? Are there any species that > are both endangered and found only in that area, thus subject > to extinction danger from war-related activities? I don't think there are any birds likely to made extinct by the Gulf war. No endangered bird has a significant portion of its range in the likely war zone. (I was told of an endangered petrel in the midst of the iran-iraq war but I can't find any that fit). The only endangered mammals I know of which could be made extinict are a little known species of bat (euphrates seritone?) and a subspecies of the fallow deer which may not have survived the iran-iraq war. I don't know which migrants use the Persian gulf as a stop-over. Unlike the Red Sea I believe the Persian gulf has few endemic fish. Though it certainly has some. Hopefully enough of the gulf will remain intact to repopulate the destroyed coral reefs in the 15-25+ years they take to recover. Andrew Taylor
misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) (01/29/91)
In article <339@tivoli.UUCP> lark@tivoli.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) writes: > Another potential problem is one that we (unfortunately) have plenty > of experience of in Texas. Birds, particularly waterfowl and the hawks > that prey on them, mistake pools of oil for pools of water. The toll is > hard to evaluate, because the owners of these oil pits here are in > violation of certain laws. However, if pools of oil appear on a migration > path where water is generally scarce, you can expect that many birds > will be lost. This oil is in the sea though, not on land, so hopefully there won't be mistakes like that. But there may be, if the war lasts through the spring. The area is on an important migration route and if it is likely that there will be oil pools before long, isn't it? > I am not aware of the flyways used by birds migrating between Africa and > Europe and Asia, but I'd like to know more about this. The most important for Europe is by way of Sinai and Israel. Eilat is a great place to watch the migration. Part of the birds, especially those that breed in Asia, fly via the Arabian peninsula. Where they cross depends on the size of the bird, whether they soar or not and whether it is spring or autumn. Part of the birds flying north cross from the tip of Oman to south Iran, others probably follow the Arabian shore northwards and fly straight into the war zone. To get to the Arabian peninsula they'll have to cross from Djibouti to Yemen first, those that fly to Egypt and cross the Sinai are probably safer, but part of those will be going east after passing Eilat, hopefully their route will take them north of the war zone. I don't think there are any Pygmy Cormorants in the area, they breed in Israel and Turkey. Here's some of the info in Twitching 11/87 and Birding World 1/88. There is one large area of mudflats mentioned, the Sulaibikhat, which is situated immediately west of Kuwait City (in the bay). If the maps they've shown of the spill are correct, this area is not (yet) in danger. Kubbar Island is situated north-east of Ahmadi (south of Kuwait City) and is a breeding bird island. Species include Bridled and Lesser Crested Terns. This island may already be polluted, but it may have escaped so far. It is rather far away from land, about directly south of the Iranian border. All the other sites mentioned in the article seem to be more inland and thus hopefully out of danger. Another island is mentioned as a possible breeding site for Red-billed Tropicbird, Crab Plover, herons, Flamingo, but the island is inaccesible so this information has not been updated. This island, Bubiyan, is situated in the north end of the gulf, between Kuwait and Iraq. Swift and White-cheeked Terns as well as Socotra Cormorants are seen offshore in the summer. At Sulaibikhat there are Crab Plovers (hundreds), Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers, Marsh and Terek Sandpipers, Slender-billed Gulls, Great Black-headed Gull, Caspian, Gull-billed and White-cheeked Terns and sometimes Pacific Golden Plover. I've no info about the Arabian coast. Correction to my Egyptian report. In the itinerary section I mentioned Egyptian Plover, it should of course be Kittlitz Plover, Egyptian Plover is extinct in Egypt. (Kittlitz Plover is Egyptintylli (Egyptian Plover) in Finnish, hence the mistake.) Annika Forsten, Finland
horvath@granite.cr.bull.com (John Horvath) (01/30/91)
One of the pictures in yesterday's paper showed a different bird. The caption called it a cormorant, but it seemed to be some sort of merganser. It had a short neck with a round head, fanning out into something of a crest. In the AP or UPI picture in our paper, there were 2 birds sitting on the beach together, covered in oil.
richman@reepicheep.sws.uiuc.edu (Mike Richman) (01/30/91)
In article <1991Jan29.181726.19259@granite.cr.bull.com> horvath@granite.cr.bull.com (John Horvath) writes: >One of the pictures in yesterday's paper showed a different bird. The >caption called it a cormorant, but it seemed to be some sort of >merganser. It had a short neck with a round head, fanning out into >something of a crest. In the AP or UPI picture in our paper, there >were 2 birds sitting on the beach together, covered in oil. CNN ran a decent story this afternoon outlining several types of birds threatened. The worst problem may be for manatees though. They speculated that the entire Persian Gulf population was likely to perish. Combined with the dismal state of Florida manatees, this is a serious problem. Mike Richman
s30986u@kaira.hut.fi (Martin Helin) (01/30/91)
horvath@granite.cr.bull.com (John Horvath) writes: >One of the pictures in yesterday's paper showed a different bird. The >caption called it a cormorant, but it seemed to be some sort of >merganser. It had a short neck with a round head, fanning out into >something of a crest. In the AP or UPI picture in our paper, there >were 2 birds sitting on the beach together, covered in oil. You're probably talking of the picture which shows two oiled Black-necked Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis). The information about the species was probably spread with the photo because the main newspaper in Finland (Helsingin Sanomat) made the same mistake correcting it in today's number. Martin PS. Some newspapers ('yellow press') in Finland (and probably elsewhere too !) have written of eagles (Haliaetus albicilla) instead of cormorants just because the species' names in Finnish superficially resemble each other. Martin Helin Helsinki University of Technology, Finland Internet : mhe@otax.tky.hut.fi s30986u@kaira.hut.fi UUCP : uunet!kaira.hut.fi!s30986u
lark@tivoli.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) (01/31/91)
In article <1991Jan29.073655.9832@santra.uucp> s30986u@kaira.hut.fi (Martin Helin) writes: > >A friend of mine mentioned yesterday briefly that he >had identified one of the cormorants as a Socotra cormorant. >I don't know how critical he has been in his identification >but keep your eyes open. Boy, I think I just got an idea for a new arena for birding - by TV. Have to keep a separate list, though, from the list for "normally" spotted birds. :-) -lar -- Lar Kaufman I would feel more optimistic about a bright future (voice) 512-794-9070 for man if he spent less time proving that he can (fax) 512-794-0623 outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness lark@tivoli.com and respecting her seniority. - E.B. White
misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) (01/31/91)
In article <MISAN.91Jan29162539@ra.abo.fi> misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) writes: > I don't think there are any Pygmy Cormorants in the area, they breed in > Israel and Turkey. Well, they breed in Irak too, but the main point I forgot to mention is that as far as I know they don't occur in salt water. They breed at lakes or ponds. > a breeding bird island. Species include Bridled and Lesser Crested Terns. Accordin to the Birds of the Middle East and North Africa, Swift Tern breeds somewhere there as well. In todays paper there was a short note that said that Iraq is again pumping oil into the gulf, this time from the Iraqi side of the border. They sure are crazy. Annika Forsten, Finland
jhiggott@axion.bt.co.uk (jeff higgott) (02/01/91)
|> Boy, I think I just got an idea for a new arena for birding - by TV. Have |> to keep a separate list, though, from the list for "normally" spotted birds. |> :-) Not particularly new..... I've got a couple of friends who've been keeping TV lists for ages. Andy's TV list is currently around 900, and Dave's is similar. It's sad, it really is, to see normally rational people replay a videoed wildlife programme ten or more times just `to see if that distant bird among the Dunlins that put it's head as the camera following the flamongoes panned past was really a Terek Sandpiper - cos I need it for my TV list'. * Jeff Higgott - "He's not Ben Johnson - but then who is?" - Athletics commentator.
traffico@peg.UUCP (02/16/91)
mike@uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu writes: > I have seen only one type of oiled bird from the slicks > in the Persian Gulf. Who knows what species of sea birds > are at risk in that part of the world? I would refer you to the Gulf War Environmental Information Service which is being provided by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK / Fax: 44 223 277136). On 31 January 1991, they published a report on the impact of the war on the marine environment and species. If you have access to the APC networks (Econet, GreenNet, Pegasus, etc), a copy of this report may be found in the 'en.wildlife' conference. Annex 1 of the report, relating to birds, is reproduced here:- ANNEX 1 BIRDS The Gulf is very important for birds. An estimated 1-2 million birds overwinter or stop on migration, particularly from Asia, the Soviet Union and Europe. Breeding species are due to arrive for nesting in two months from now. A detailed report on threatened birds in the region is being prepared by the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP). Marine and coastal species At least 70 species of coastal and marine birds have been observed during winter counts in the Gulf region and these can be broken down into the following groups: Waders: Over 30 species, with notably large populations of the following: Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Lesser Sandplover, Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Redshank, Little Stint, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper and Broad-billed Sandpiper. Gulls and terns: Around 13 species, with by far the commonest species being the Herring Gull, the Black-headed Gull and the Slender-billed Gull. There are also eight species of tern: the Caspian Tern, Greater Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Common Tern, White-cheeked Tern, Bridled Tern, Saunders' Tern and the Little Tern. They breed on the islands and marshes of the region. A survey of breeding terns on five Saudi Arabian Gulf coral islands in 1986 revealed a total of 9,110 Bridled Terns, 12,380 White-cheeked Terns and 26,340 Lesser Crested Terns. Grebes: including the Black-necked Grebe. Pelicans: notably the Dalmatian Pelican. Cormorants: notably the Great Cormorant, the Socotra Cormorant and possibly the Pygmy Cormorant. Herons and Egrets: the commonest species are the Grey Heron and the Western Reef Egret. Other species include the White Spoonbill and the Greater Flamingo, which has quite sizeable populations throughout the region. The Socotra Cormorant is a threatened species and is of particular concern as its main breeding area is the Gulf, although it does extend marginally to the Gulf of Aden. Although still widespread in some areas, there are suggestions of declines throughout the region in recent years which have been related to disturbance of breeding colonies and oil pollution. It is likely to be severely threatened by widespread oil pollution, as it tends to feed in large dense flocks on the water surface. Significant areas include Al Uqayr Bay and Zakhnuniyah Island in Saudi Arabia, Zirkuh island in the UAE, and also parts of Bahrain. There are some very important wintering areas for waders in Iraq, including tidal mudflats, marshes and deltas. Much of the Saudi coastline is sandy with no large populations of waders, although Tarut Bay and the adjacent coast may have as many as 30,000 wintering waders. The Gulf coast wader population in Iran is 130,000-200,000 birds. The Shadegan Marshes, on the border with Iraq have important wetland sites ranging from cultivated areas and freshwater marshes to saltwater marshes and tidal mudflats; a large proportion of the declining world population of Marbled Teal pass through this site on their migration and there is also a large non-breeding population (several thousand) of Dalmatian Pelicans. Other very important wetland sites in Iran are located around the Straits of Hormuz. The extensive mud and sandflats around Bahrain have important wader populations, and numbers of migrants. Kuwait's coastal areas have over 2,500 waders overwintering. (Copyright WCMC) Frank Antram
horvath@granite.cr.bull.com (John Horvath) (02/21/91)
In article <297800002@peg> traffico@peg.UUCP writes: >... >species. If you have access to the APC networks (Econet, >GreenNet, Pegasus, etc), a copy of this report may be found in >the 'en.wildlife' conference. Annex 1 of the report, relating >... I've never heard of these networks but they sound very revelant to this newsgroup, so I'm curious if you can tell us more about them. I realize there are other networks outside of internet like bitnet, janet, etc. But with interest specific names like "Econet", are they subnets of some sort built on emailings thru one of the other big networks? Are the connections limited to certain hardware? And of course the big question, can we on internet some how jump over to them and explore similiar to anonymous logins? Thanks
sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) (02/23/91)
In article <297800002@peg> traffico@peg.UUCP writes: [from a report by the World Conversation Monitoring Centre ] >There are some very important wintering areas for waders in >Iraq, including tidal mudflats, marshes and deltas. Much of >the Saudi coastline is sandy with no large populations of >waders, although Tarut Bay and the adjacent coast may have as >many as 30,000 wintering waders. The Gulf coast wader >population in Iran is 130,000-200,000 birds. The Shadegan >Marshes, on the border with Iraq have important wetland sites >ranging from cultivated areas and freshwater marshes to >saltwater marshes and tidal mudflats .... > >(Copyright WCMC) > >Frank Antram Summarized from a Dutch newspaper article, written bij a biologist employed by the Dutch Government, about a study he had conducted for the IUCN and the Saudi EPA : There are 3000 km2 of tidal mudflats around the Persian Gulf. More than half of that area is at the Northern end, especially Iran, but also Iraq and Kuwait. Otherwise, there are significant amounts in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and U.A.E. Counts were done on wintering shorebirds on the Saudi tidal flats (approx 200 km2) in January and February of 1986. This is the same area and the same time of the year as has been hit now by the oil spill. Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 116000 Little Stint (Calidris minuta) 51000 Mongolian Plover (Charadrius mongolus) 28000 Redshank (Tringa totanus) 9000 Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) 8000 Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) 8000 Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) 7000 Broad-billed Sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus) 6000 Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) 6000 Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) 6000 Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) 5000 Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) 4000 Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) 4000 Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) 3000 Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) 1000 TOTAL 260000 This is a bit more than the 30,000 reported by the WCMC above. All the above birds are from the shorebird populations that breed in Western Siberia. All of these species except Dunlin commonly winter further South : East or South Africa or further East to India. Dunlin mostly winters at this latitude, anywhere from the Red Sea to India (and, of course, many other places around the world). Much larger numbers of shorebirds (of the same species) use the Persian Gulf as a stopover on migration. It is the only shallow sea (i.e., with nice mudflats) on the way to and from Western Siberia. These birds hit the Gulf in May and August. [End of summary] Note that this concerns shorebirds only. As the WCMC report sys, there are cormorants, gulls, and terns to be thought of (not to mention the dugongs). Daan Sandee sandee@scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 (904) 644-7045
traffico@peg.UUCP (03/06/91)
horvath@granite.cr.bull.com writes, with reference to APC networks:- >I've never heard of these networks but they sound very >relevant to this newsgroup, so I'm curious if you can tell us >more about them... "The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is a worldwide body dedicated to providing a low-cost global communications service for people and organisations working for peace and the environment." That's a quote from a leaflet distributed here in Australia by Pegasus Networks, the Australian node of APC, or EarthNet as it is also known. Addresses for member networks are as follows:- Pegasus Networks, PO Box 424, Byron Bay, NSW, Australia. Phone +61 66 856 789 Fax +61 66 856 962 e-mail: peg:support South America: Alternex c/o IBASE Rue Vincente de Souza 29 2251 Rio de Janeiro Brazil phone: + 55 21 286 0348 e-mail: ax:support Canada: Web 456 Spadina Avenue (2nd floor) Toronto M5T 2G8 Canada phone: + 1 416 929 0634 fax: + 1 416 925 7536 e-mail: web:spider Central America: Nicarao Proyecto de Telecommunicacio'n / Nicaragua CRIES Apartado 3516 Managua Nicaragua phone: + 505 2 26228 extn 5 / 25137 extn 5 e-mail: ni:support Europe: GreenNet 25 Downham Road London N1 5AA UK phone: + 44 1 923 2624 fax: + 44 1 254 1102 e-mail: gn:support Scandinavia: Fredsnaetet Timmermansgraend 4 S-116 27 Stockholm Sweden Phone: + 46 8 720 0001 Fax: + 46 8 720 0035 e-mail: pns:support USA: PeaceNet & EcoNet: 3228 Sacramento Street San Francisco CA 94115 phone: +1 415 923 0900 fax: +1 415 923 1665 e-mail: cdp:support igc:support pn:support en:support E-mail addresses are for messages within the APC system - I'm not sure what gateway will get you into APC. We normally give our 'universal' e-mail address as traffico@peg.pegasus.oz.au There is a whole heap of environmental and other information on the APC networks. I suggest you contact one of the above addresses for more information. Frank Antram, TRAFFIC Oceania, PO Box R594, Royal Exchange, Sydney 2000, Australia Fax: +61 2 247 4579
support@peg.UUCP (03/06/91)
Re APC networks and conferences: Here is the last page of the index of one of several APC conferences concerned with animal life and habitats. There is not a birds-only conference. And I am sorry to say that browsing by visitors is not possible. However connection rates are very low as the whole service is aimed at environment, peace, sustainable development and human rights organisations primarily. There is a substantial and growing input from internationally recognised organisations in these fields. An application form and leaflet can be emailed to anyone anywhere on request to support@peg.pegasus.oz.au en.wildlife 11/25/90 221*Kangaroo Protection igc:econet 11/30/90 222*Bison Hunt At Yellowstone 1 igc:econet 12/04/90 223*WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTER NEEDS HELP 2 igc:aducat 12/28/90 224*Whaling Confronted igc:econet 12/29/90 225*INt'l Primate Protect League igc:econet 1/07/91 226*GRIZZLIES THREATENED igc:blackleaf 1/09/91 227*SIERRA CLUB ALERT NETWORK! igc:scdc1 1/14/91 228*Arizona Elk Hunt: Pesticide? igc:sjones 2/02/91 229*Yukon Mine Halt Demanded web:wc2wild 2/04/91 230 Gulf Oil Effects on Marine Env. gn:hmiles 2/07/91 231*EIS ON PERSIAN GULF WAR foewase igc:foewase 2/10/91 232*Question: Why major FROG die-offs? igc:ecosystems 2/19/91 233*Target Driftnet & Activists Groups igc:econet 234*request for help igc:safe 2/23/91 235*INTEREST IN ANIMAL RIGHTS 3 igc:safe 2/24/91 236*Innovative NSF Research Experience igc:drr 2/27/91 237*Actic Whales Threatened by Oil Dev igc:econet 2/28/91 238*Rare Turtles Need Privacy support May I also correct the address given in previous message for the WEB in Canada. They have moved to: 401 Richmond St West Suite 104 Toronto Ontario Canada M5V 3A8 voice +1 416 596 0212 fax +1 416 974 9189 Param For support at Pegasus Networks .