General

Some of Australia’s best-known birds, including the magpie, the kookaburra and the willie wagtail, are in decline in parts of the country, a major government-funded survey has found. The State of Australia’s Birds report found common birds, as well as lesser-known species, have suffered surprising drops in their numbers, in what has been described as a “wake-up call” for bird conservation. The data, gathered from sightings by birdwatchers, show that the magpie, a familiar sight to many Australians – and occasional dive bomber of human craniums – has been in a consistent decline on the east coast since 1999. The laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is in decline in south-eastern Australia, as is the willie wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys). Meanwhile, birds of prey in Australia’s arid outback – including falcons, owls and eagles – are in “significant decline”, the report finds, while 22 of the 39 species found in the Mallee woodland region, which covers much of southern Australia, are also losing numbers. The rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus), an agile insect-devouring bird, is on a downward trajectory on the east coast, while hollow-nesting parrots such as lorikeets are disappearing from areas around Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra. Some species are in decline almost across the board, with the Boobook owl suffering declines in every region of Australia bar one. Bird Life Australia, which compiled the data with federal government funding, said the results were concerning.

Pope Francis slams both GMOs and pesticides in a draft of his major environmental document that was leaked Monday. On pesticides Pope Francis states; “We get sick, for example, due to inhalation of large amounts of smoke produced by fuels used for cooking and heating. This is added to by….fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and toxic pesticides in general. Technology that is linked to finance, claims to be only solving problems…this solves a problem by creating others. “It creates a vicious circle in which the intervention of the human being to solve a problem often worsens the situation further. For example, many birds and insects die out as a result of toxic pesticides created by technology, they are useful to agriculture itself, and their disappearance will be compensated with another technological intervention that probably will bring new harmful effects… looking at the world we see that this level of human intervention, often in the service of finance and consumerism, actually causes the earth we live in to become less rich and beautiful, more and more limited and gray, while at the same time the development of technology and consumerism continues to advance without limits.”

Two new reports on Europe’s endangered fish and bird species were released this week by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The first report is itself a milestone: the first full assessment of all of Europe’s 1,220 marine fish species. The study found that 7.5 percent of those species were threatened with extinction. Worst hit, as we’ve seen before, were sharks, rays and chimaeras. A full 40.4 percent of those European species (known collectively as chondrichthians) face the threat of extinction and nearly that many have declining populations. The second report looked at all 533 bird species that spend at least part of their time in Europe and found that 13 percent are threatened. Four species have been declared regionally extinct in Europe. Others, such as the sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius), aren’t far behind. Another 28 species have been assessed as endangered or critically endangered on the continent. Most of these are also at risk through the remainder of their ranges.

Many bird species commonly found in California have suffered steep population declines, as much as 96%, part of a nationwide trend, according to a study that for the first time combines 40 years of data. The study, combining the National Audubon Society's Christmas season bird counts with summertime surveys by the U.S. Geological Survey, documented declines of 75% to 96% in several California species, including the northern pintail, horned lark and loggerhead shrike. Greg Butcher, Audubon bird conservation director and analysis leader, said of the birds surveyed nationally, "about half are in decline and of these half are in significant decline." Overall, Butcher said, his organization is concerned about decreasing numbers of 200 to 300 kinds of birds. Because they have been so numerous, the birds that were surveyed often don't get the attention that small, endangered populations such as California condors have received. However, Gary Langham, Audubon California's director of bird conservation, said that although many bird populations may number in the millions, the large reductions that were documented are statistically significant. Kimball Garrett, collection manager for ornithology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, said that while the surveys must be interpreted cautiously, they are in line with other studies that show steep declines. "Some trends are just undeniable," he said. The evening grosbeak fared the worst in Audubon's California survey, with a 96% decline statewide. Nationally, grosbeak numbers fell from 17 million 40 years ago to 3.8 million today, according to both surveys.

A team of scientists from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) identified the 33 U.S. common bird species in steep decline: Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), American Wigeon (Anas americana), Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus), Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan), Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), Black Tern (Chlidonias niger), Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) , Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus), Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica), Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), Horned Lark, Bank Swallow, Verdin, Varied Thrush, Snow Bunting, Cape May Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Field Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Grasshopper Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Common Grackle and Pine Siskin. These are common birds that do not meet Watch List criteria, yet according to long-term monitoring surveys are rapidly declining throughout their range. They have lost more than half their global population over the past four decades.