The BirdLife International UNDP/GEF Migratory Soaring Birds project to celebrate the World Migratory Bird Day in 6 countries along the Rift Valley/Red Sea flyway!

Date: 12-13 May 2012
Location: Rift Valley/Red Sea Region

On May 12th and 13th, the BirdLife International UNDP/GEF Migratory Soaring Birds project will rally up and join the long list of events from around the globe that will celebrate the World Migratory Bird Day 2012!

The celebratory events that will take place, under the umbrella of the Migratory Soaring Birds project, in Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan and Syria will gather hundreds of participants from the hunting, energy, waste management, agriculture, and tourism sector as well as local communities ready to learn about and celebrate the wonder of migration. Each event will be organized by the project national partners in their respective countries. This year’s theme is “Migratory Birds and people together through time” and is meant to raise awareness and emphasize on the cultural, economic and environmental connection with migratory birds throughout history.

The Rift Valley/Red Sea flyway that comprises the 6 participating countries is the second most important flyway for migratory soaring birds (raptors, storks, pelicans and some ibis) in the world, with over 1.5 million birds of 37 species, including 5 globally threatened species. Populations of many globally threatened and vulnerable migratory soaring birds are threatened by anthropogenic activities during their seasonal migrations along the flyway.

The Migratory Soaring Birds Project’s objective is to make the Rift Valley / Red Sea flyway a safer route for migratory soaring birds and thereby maintaining globally threatened and significant populations of soaring birds. To achieve this objective the project pilots a new, innovative and cost-effective UNDP-GEF approach, termed "double-mainstreaming", that seeks to integrate flyway issues into existing or planned development projects and processes, "vehicles" of reform or change management in key productive sectors (hunting, energy, waste management, agriculture, and tourism) through the provision of technical tools, content, support and promote sharing of lessons learnt.

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is a global awareness campaign held annually to promote the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats worldwide. It was initiated in 2006 by the Secretariats of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention) and the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), two international treaties on migratory wildlife under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Issued by: BirdLife International, Migratory Soaring Birds Project

For further information kindly visit:
http://www.birdlife.org/migratorysoaringbirds

BirdLife International Middle East Partnership

World Migratory Bird Day to be celebrated during the 10th BirdLife Middle East Partnership Meeting in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan.

Nature Iraq, BirdLife in Iraq, is proud to announce that the 10th BirdLife Middle East Partnership Meeting will be held from Friday the 11th to Monday the 14th of May 2012 in Sulaimaniya Iraq along with the World Migratory Bird Day celebration. The meeting will draw together BirdLife’s partners and affiliate from more than 10 countries in the region (Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen).

The BirdLife Middle East family will gather up on that occasion and discuss the partnership’s future contribution to the BirdLife Strategy 2014-2020, the incoming 2013 World Congress and the current status of regional programmes and initiatives such as the CEPF Mediterranean Hotspot, the Hima fund and the Migratory Soaring Birds project.

The partnership meeting will be concluded by a field excursion organized by Nature Iraq to explore and enjoy Kurdistan’s stunning landscapes and biodiversity while celebrating the World Migratory Bird Day 2012!

This year, the World Migratory Bird Day theme – Migratory birds and people, together through time – couldn’t have been more in phase with BirdLife Partnership’s virtue of dedication and commitment to birds, people and the surrounding environment that brings them together.

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is a global awareness campaign held annually to promote the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats worldwide. It was initiated in 2006 by the Secretariats of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention) and the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), two international treaties on migratory wildlife under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Issued by: BirdLife International ,Middle East Partnership Secretariat

For further information please contact:

Julien Jreissati – Communication Officer – BirdLife International, Middle East Partnership Secretariat.
Phone Number: +962 6 5532212
Email: julien.jreissati@birdlife.org

Editorial (Sandgrouse 34 1 2012): expansion of Sandgrouse’s area of interest

In April 1978 it was announced that the Ornithological Society of Turkey was enlarging the scope of its activities to cover what is loosely called the Middle East and, in consequence, was changing its name to the Ornithological Society of the Middle East, OSME. The first issue of Sandgrouse was published in 1980. The decision to expand the OSME region further to include the Caucasus and Central Asia (the now-independent former states of the Soviet Union east of the Caspian sea) was made in 2001. With increasing ornithological interest in, and accessibility to, countries bordering the OSME region, OSME Council has recently discussed expanding Sandgrouse’s current remit to include certain countries and areas close to the OSME region.

In future, the editor of Sandgrouse will also give careful thought to the publication of manuscripts that concern three further areas. The OSME region includes Egypt, its only part of the Sahara and the largest desert on Earth. The Sahara has many similarities both faunal and topographic to the deserts of the Arabian peninsula. Sandgrouse’s area of interest will now also include the eastern half of Libya and arid and semi-arid Sudan (the country, not the phytogeographical region).

The OSME region contains lands that border the Red sea and gulf of Aden. As well as the Sudanese Red sea region, both land and sea, Sandgrouse will now also accept material on Eritrea, Djibouti, the ‘Republic of Somaliland’ and the ‘Puntland State of Somalia’. The Yemeni archipelago of Socotra (OSME region) completes the ‘encirclement’. I’m sure Sandgrouse’s readers will appreciate fuller consideration of these Afro-Arabian regions.

The third new area is again a straightforward inclusion. The OSME region ends in the east along the eastern borders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan and Afghanistan and yet the mountains, high plateaus, forests and deserts continue eastwards. Sandgrouse’s area of interest will now also include the geographical regions of Kashmir, Tibet and Sinkiang plus the western half of the state of Mongolia. ‘Advice for Authors’ on the inside back cover of Sandgrouse has been amended accordingly. Other OSME functions (www.osme.org) will still solely be concerned with the OSME region. The features ‘News & Information’ and ‘Around the Region’ will also only contain material about the OSME region.

These additional areas and countries can all be considered part of the greater Middle East (Culcasi 2010) or of central Asia proper (Cowan 2007) and indeed in the past Sandgrouse has had a wider coverage. As recently as 2005, ‘Guidelines for Authors’ stated that Sandgrouse’s area of interest included Libya and east to the Palearctic fringes of Pakistan and south to Palearctic limits in Sudan and Ethiopia. A paper on changes in the status and distribution of birds in Libya was published in 2005 (Gaskell 2005). I look forward to receiving manuscripts concerning the ‘new territories’. Avifaunal lists and ornithological observations made in eg the Omdurman, Berbera, Leh, Kashgar and Urumqi areas or the Qaidam basin or the southern Altay Gobi nature reserve could well be of interest to Sandgrouse readers. Observations of interactions between Brown-necked Ravens Corvus ruficollis and Northern Ravens C. corax in the uplands of the Benghazi region, studies or observations of possible ecological or genetic replacement taxa eg the Kordofan Lark Mirafra cordofanica, Somali Golden-winged Grosbeak Rhynchostruthus (socotranus) louisae and Xinjiang Ground Jay Podoces biddulphi are a few of many possibilities as well as descriptions of birding sites and photospots. Review articles are welcome. The addition of a new outlet in the literature should help to ensure that interesting information concerning these three further areas does not disappear but rather is formally published.

Cowan, PJ. 2007. Geographic usage of the terms Middle Asia and Central Asia. Journal of Arid Environments 69: 359–363.

Culcasi, K. 2010. Constructing and naturalizing the Middle East. The Geographical Review 100: 583–597.

Gaskell, J. 2005. Recent changes in the status and distribution of birds in Libya. Sandgrouse 27: 126–138.

Peter Cowan

Obituary: Professor Edward Ivanovich Gavrilov

Edward Gavrilov was born on 8 October 1933 at Veronezsh, Russia. It was here that he graduated from the Department of Zoology in 1956. After graduation his interest in birds began and his first studies were based in the Volga–Ural region. Edward moved to Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1959 where until 1964 he worked at the Institute of Botany. He then moved to the Institute of Zoology where he worked under the eminent ornithologist Dalgushin studying in particular high-altitude species. Whilst participating in this study he found the first ever recorded nest of Red-breasted Rosefinch Carpodacus puniceus, in the Zailiyskiy Alatau in June 1967. Following the death of Dalgushin in 1966, Edward became head of the Laboratory of Ornithology at Almaty a post he held until 1990. With this post came the responsibility of completing the five volume work The Birds of Kazakhstan which was still in progress. This work went on to receive a state prize following its publication in 1974. In addition to this major publication over 400 scientific papers bear his name.

Edward had developed a keen interest in the migration of birds through Kazakhstan and was instrumental in the establishment of the now famous Chokpak ringing station in 1968; to date over 1.6 million migrating birds have been ringed there in the huge Heligoland traps. It was here Edward was to be found every spring and autumn.

Edward was very conscious of Kazakhstan’s ornithological ‘isolation’ under Soviet times; he made serious efforts to improve his English which he learned at school with a view to helping communication with other ornithological communities. He was delighted when OSME expanded its boundaries to include the Caucasus and Central Asia, with Sandgrouse providing a vehicle for his protégés to publish the most important aspects of their studies.

During the 1990s the government funding for the Institute at Almaty almost dried up, Edward and his colleagues saw the only way forward being to plan and participate in accompanying Western ornithologists on expeditions. It would have been in these circumstances that many OSME members will have had the privilege of meeting Edward. All who met him found him both warm and helpful whether trapping accentors in the mountains or marshalling the helpers at Chokpak. Many of us will remember with affection Edward’s expressions such as when describing a resident species it would be ‘he live here’. Edward became a close friend to many OSME members and time spent in his company will long remain a treasured memory for many of us.

Following a debilitating illness, Edward died on 15 September 2011.To the end he was working on his theories of migration in relation to the wing loading of birds. I was exceptionally pleased to be able to visit him in hospital in what turned out to be the last few months of his life. Amazingly even having been seriously ill, Edward and I shared a good hour of conversation (in English remarkably) covering a range of topics—all of course bird related. It is a true measure of the man when his closing remarks to me were “My friend we have shared many times and many ringing experiences but in my opinion ringing is finished—the way forward is satellite tagging, we should work on this together”.

Our hearts go out to his wife Jane and his son Andrei of whom he was so rightly proud. Andrei is thankfully perpetuating his father’s work at the Almaty Institute and Chokpak.

Andrew Lassey, with assistance from Mike Pearson and Anatoly Kovshar

Obituary: Simon Aspinall

Every now and again someone comes along who touches our lives and makes a difference. Simon Aspinall was one such person. When he died in October 2011, after bravely living with motor neurone disease for four years, the Middle East, and its birds, lost a true friend. He was 53.

Simon’s passion for birds started as a schoolboy in England. Graduating in environmental science from the University of East Anglia, he first visited the Middle East in 1991, stopping off in the United Arab Emirates during one of his world birding trips. Later he was to work there for over 15 years, first for the then National Avian Research Centre and later as an environmental consultant, bringing a wealth of experience from his time with the RSPB and NCC, much of it in Scotland. He had a love affair with the famous Fair Isle bird observatory and his last paper, with his brother, was in British Birds on the Fair Isle Wren.

In the UAE Simon helped establish the Emirates Bird Records Committee, chaired the Emirates Natural History Group, became environmental editor at Emirates News and undertook studies for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey. Detailed surveys of breeding seabirds, Sooty Falcons and other wildlife on the offshore islands led to the identification of those of conservation importance and to QarNein island being given full protection.

Simon made a major contribution to the UAE chapter in BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas in the Middle East and later wrote the UAE section for A Directory of Wetlands in the Middle East—seminal works for wildlife conservation. He was as proud of receiving the UAE’s premier environmental award, the Sheikh Mubarak Award, for his contributions to knowledge of the country’s natural history, as he was of his Emirates bird list being an unmatched 411, 23 of which he added, and of accompanying Sir Wilfred Thesiger on a journey through the edge of the Empty Quarter and showing Sir Wilfred his first Golden Eagle nest in Arabia.

Simon lived for travel. In the Middle East and Central Asia he journeyed to most countries, studying birds, working with UNESCO on plans for nature reserves and taking part in BirdLife International’s surveys on Socotra and helping their programme in Syria training young biologists from Nature Iraq.

He was a prolific writer, authoring or co-authoring over 100 papers and books, notably on the Middle East, its birds and ecology. The following only gives a flavour: Birds of the United Arab Emirates (2011, Helm Field Guides), Birds of the Middle East (2010, Helm FGs), Breeding Birds of the United Arab Emirates (2010, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi), Important Bird Areas of the United Arab Emirates (2006, British Birds), Important Marine Areas for Birds in Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates (2004, in Marine Atlas of Abu Dhabi), Saline Wetland Reserve Management: A Case Study from the United Arab Emirates (2002, in Sabkha Environments, Kluwer), Environment Development and Protection in the UAE (2001, in The United Arab Emirates: A New Perspective, Trident), The Shell Birdwatching Guide to the United Arab Emirates (1998, Hobby), Status and Conservation of the Breeding Birds of the United Arab Emirates (1996, Hobby).

For the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia he supplied over 1100 records and wrote several of the species accounts. He was an editorial adviser for Sandgrouse and was on the team that produced the OSME Regional List.

Whilst his main interest was birds, ‘our feathered friends’ he called them, Simon took a keen interest in all of natural history and enjoyed nothing more than ‘scratching around’ to see what he could find. That helped to make him such a great and knowledgeable companion in the field. Charming with dashing good looks, he had a wry, witty repartee and people were easily attracted to his charisma and natural warmth. His eyesight and hearing were remarkable and his fieldcraft second to none. But most of all he was courageous, continuing to travel, latterly with sticks and wheelchair, to the Middle East and far-flung corners of the world, never once complaining. That spirit and his contribution to ornithology and conservation is the legacy he leaves.

Richard Porter

Unpublished migratory soaring birds records needed

2012 Annual Prize Draw

1st Opticron Imagic BGA SE 8x42 binoculars (value £439)

2nd Naturetrek voucher for £250

3rd Birdguides - BWPi: Birds of the Western Palearctic interactive (value £140)

4th Birdguides - Breeding Birds of the Western Palearctic (value £75)

5th Country Innovations New Venture Waistcoat (value £65)

6th Helm/Poyser books to the value of £50

Tickets will be sent out with the Spring edition of Sandgrouse (UK members only) and additional books are available from Chris Lamsdell - advertising@osme.org

OSME Summer Meeting/AGM – Saturday 7 July, BTO Headquarters, Thetford, Norfolk.

This year’s Summer Meeting Programme has ‘Migration through the OSME Region’ as a theme and as usual we have a wide range of countries and topics. Doors open at 10.00 – join us for refreshments and a talk with old friends before the meeting. In addition, following last year’s successful outing on the Sunday, Chris Mills of Norfolk Birding will be leading a similar walk with the possibility of seeing a number of Breckland specialities. Once again we have also arranged a meal after the meeting – this year we will be returning to the Mulberry which we last visited in 2008. We hope you will be able to join us for one or both of these extra events – please let Ian Harrison know on 01545 571022 or at secretary@osme.org.

Finally, please note that all profits from the 2012 OSME Raffle will go to the endangered White-headed Duck conservation project administered by the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK). Give generously to this worthwhile project!

The Programme is as follows.