Prairie birds

AFRICA is losing its vultures. Of its 11 species of the bird, 6 are at risk of extinction and 4 are critically endangered, according to a recent report by BirdLife International, a nature conservation partnership. Since the 1990s, the population of South Asia’s vulture species has collapsed by more than 99%. In 2003 scientists identified diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat livestock, as the main cause for this decline. Vultures living on the carcasses of animals recently treated with the drug died from severe kidney failure within weeks of ingesting it. This created two main problems. The first is connected to vultures' place in the ecosystem. As their numbers declined, a host of other disease-ridden animals—in particular rabied dogs—came to feed off the carcasses instead. And there was another problem. India's community of Parsees, who not cremate nor bury their dead, but rather lay them out on towers known as dokhmas for vultures to eat, found that this traditional was imperilled. In 2006 the governments of India, Pakistan and Nepal introduced a ban on the manufacture of the drug that has since seen vulture numbers in the region stabilise, though they remain vulnerable.

Here are just a few of the animals that were deemed endangered in 2015. The International Union for Conservation of Nature reclassified the Geometric Tortoise (Psammobates geometricus) as "critically endangered" in 2015. The IUCN cataloged the Splendid Toadfish (Sanopus splendidus) as endangered this year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed both the great green macaw (Ara ambiguus) and the military macaw as endangered in an announcement made in October. The USFWS declared the Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) as an endangered species earlier this year. The USFWS announced it was adding the Honduran hummingbird (Amazilia luciae) to the endangered species list this year. The USFWS placed several species of sawfish to the endangered species list this year. The USFWS announced in September that the Slevin's skink (Emoia slevini) would be added to the endangered species list. The IUCN declared the New Zealand Sea Lion (Phocarctos hookeri) to be endangered primarily due to "fishing-related mortality." The IUCN raised the status of the White Headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) from threatened to critically endangered in 2015. The IUCN listed the bokiboky (Mungotictis decemlineata) as endangered this year. The IUCN flagged the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) as endangered this year. The IUCN deemed the Ishikawa's Frog (Odorrana ishikawae) as an endangered species this year. The IUCN classified the the ayumodoki or Kissing Loach (Parabotia curtus), as critically endangered this year. The IUCN once feared the Mahé Boulder Cricket (Phalangacris alluaudi) to be extinct, but after a recent rediscovery, it reclassified it as critically endangered. The IUCN added the Giri Butri Cave Crab (Karstama emdi) to its critically endangered list.

Their song is one of the most unique and recognizable in the bird world. They are the state bird of North Dakota and similarly honored in five other states. And they are vanishing from the landscape. The western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) no longer makes common appearances atop fence posts where they have perched for decades, almost always emitting their unmistakable flute-like call. It is a sound like none other heard on the prairie. So distinctive is the call of the western meadowlark that it would be hard to find anyone who grew up in North Dakota who couldn't recognize the melodious and lengthy tune of the colorful bird. Now, sadly, the remarkably pure sound is becoming rarer and rarer each year. It is a lasting and disturbing trend that increases the possibility that a growing number of North Dakota residents may be denied hearing what just a few short years ago seemed common for anyone spending time outdoors in the Peace Garden State. "Western meadowlarks have declined significantly in the last 10 to 15 years. Our breeding survey data shows that," said Ron Martin of Minot. "That's the iconic sound of the North Dakota prairie." Martin is a long-time birder who has earned regional and national recognition for his expertise. He has participated in numerous surveys, including regularly covering five of 44 standardized observation routes in North Dakota under the supervision of the U.S. Geological Survey.

A new study of the greater sage-grouse’s population finds that the bird’s numbers decreased 56 percent between 2007 and 2013, leading to the conclusion that the sage-grouse is at even greater risk than biologists thought and suggesting that conservation efforts are largely failing. The research, commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts and conducted by Edward (Oz) Garton, professor emeritus in wildlife ecology and statistics at the University of Idaho, represents the most comprehensive population update since 2011. "This report provides definitive evidence about the fragile state of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), an indicator species for the health of the interior West’s sagebrush region — where hundreds of other wildlife and plant species also live,” said Ken Rait, director of Pew’s U.S. public lands project. “We hope that this latest data will be used by the BLM and Western states to develop strong science-based land management plans that responsibly balance adequate protection of the sage-grouse and this important habitat with energy development and other land uses across the interior West.” The grim news comes as 11 Western states that include Utah gird for a possible listing of the bird this fall, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scheduled to make a decision in September.

A new study of the greater sage-grouse’s population finds that the bird’s numbers decreased 56 percent between 2007 and 2013, leading to the conclusion that the sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is at even greater risk than biologists thought and suggesting that conservation efforts are largely failing. The research, commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts and conducted by Edward (Oz) Garton, professor emeritus in wildlife ecology and statistics at the University of Idaho, represents the most comprehensive population update since 2011. "This report provides definitive evidence about the fragile state of the greater sage-grouse, an indicator species for the health of the interior West’s sagebrush region — where hundreds of other wildlife and plant species also live,” said Ken Rait, director of Pew’s U.S. public lands project. In the Pew report, called "Greater Sage-Grouse Population Dynamics and Probability of Persistence," evidence pointed to a sharp decline in the number of breeding males — from 109,990 in 2007 to 48,641 in 2013 — and noted that populations across the bird's range are declining far beyond what even the best models forecasted.

In a desperate bid to save a nearly extinct species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that it is launching a captive breeding program for Florida's grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus). If they do nothing, experts predict the sparrow will go extinct in three to five years, just like its cousin, the dusky seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens). The dusky disappeared from the Earth in 1987 when the last survivor died at Disney World. If the Florida grasshopper sparrow vanishes, it would be the first bird species to go extinct in the United States since then, according to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology."Captive breeding is labor intensive and challenging. It is generally done as a last resort and there are no guarantees. But we have to try," said Larry Williams, the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Vero Beach. "This is an emergency and the situation for this species is dire. This is literally a race against time." Biologists estimate that fewer than 200 of the tiny birds remain. State and federal biologists plan to spend the next three months hunting for sparrow eggs, hoping to collect up to 20 to take to the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Loxahatchee. The eggs would be placed in incubators until they hatch.

A parasitical disease normally found in domestic poultry is rapidly spreading to our native Red and Black Grouse populations. Cryptosporidia is a respiratory disease of farmed chickens and turkeys caused by a parasitic protozoan called Cryptosporidium baileyi, and was first discovered in 'wild' gamebirds in 2010, in an infected Red Grouse on the North Pennine Moors. Birds with symptoms had already been reported from the same area the previous year. Since then several other moors had reported the disease, prompting scientists from the Game and Wildfowl Conservation Trust (GWCT) to circulate a questionnaire, asking shooting estate whether any of their shot birds had exhibited the symptoms of the disease: swollen eyelids and a mucus discharge from the nostrils and eyes. Their results have just been published in the journal Veterinary Record. About 68 per cent of the 150 landowners questioned responded, reporting that 48 per cent of moors had found birds with these symptoms. Clearly the disease is spreading rapidly, and appears to be currently present in about 3.7 per cent of Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) examined.

Martha the passenger pigeon, who died 100 years ago, is being remembered this month as a prescient symbol of what can happen when man meets nature. A comprehensive new report finds that many more American bird species could meet the same fate. "Right now, about a third of all bird species in the US are in decline," says Steve Holmer of the American Bird Conservancy, one of the 23 organisations that contributed to the State of the Birds report, the most comprehensive review of bird trends and data ever undertaken in the US. "The decline points to a very broad-scale problem where we're seeing habitat loss and a variety of threats," he says. "We're particularly concerned about the birds that live in deserts and grasslands in the West, such as the sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). These lands are being heavily used and there's a great deal of oil and gas development, so it's created a huge conservation challenge." Birds living on the coasts are faring no better. Almost half of all shorebird species, such as ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres), red knots (Calidris canutus) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus), are either endangered or at risk of becoming endangered.

Prairie bird populations are falling in many Midwestern states, from ring-necked pheasants to horned larks to sparrows. Scientists now say insecticides are a primary culprit. Minnesota birds are hardest hit with 12 species in decline, followed by Wisconsin with 11, and Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska and New York with nine affected species each. The recent study looked at a range of possible causes of the population declines, including habitat loss which has long been considered a key driver of the problem. Bird conservationists are “still concerned” about range management, urban development and loss of habitat, but are now focusing additional attention on the harmful impacts of pesticides.

Prairie chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) require vast expanses of grassland to survive. Agricultural practices are thought to be the prime reason for the bird’s demise. Biologists recognized the precipitous decline nearly 80 years ago. As a result, the state purchased a couple of parcels of property around the Iroquois and Green rivers in northern Illinois. However, the birds eventually disappeared in those areas. Once again the state stepped in, buying property in Marion and Jasper counties, forming the Prairie Ridge State Natural Area in the early 1960s. And, the prairie chicken population remained fairly stable until the past few years. In a last ditch effort to save the residual population, a federal grant was obtained to move 300 prairie chickens from Kansas to Prairie Ridge. The program will introduce 100 birds per year over a three-year span. The first 91 birds, 50 males and 41 females, were released earlier this year. The birds are outfitted with radio telemetry equipment before being released. Early reports from the field are encouraging. Prairie Ridge State Natural Area contains about 4,000 acres of habitat. The long-range plan is to release more birds in areas like Pyramid State Park. According to The Associated Press, the program will cost $520,000.