Northern Bald Ibis
Surfbirds News: RSPB Archives
New finds deepen mystery of rare bird's migration
Efforts to save the Middle East’s rarest bird have been boosted by two chance sightings of the species 1,500 miles apart.
Northern bald ibises were seen last month in the Jordan Valley for the first time in 13 years, and in Djibouti, east Africa, for the first time ever, raising hopes that the species’ numbers are not as low as scientists fear.
Northern Bald Ibis © Stephen Daly, from the Surfbirds galleries
The bird was thought extinct in the Middle East in the 1990s before a colony of just six birds was found in Palmyra, Syria in 2002. Since then, adult and young birds have been fitted with satellite tags by the RSPB and BirdLife Middle East, to try to discover and protect their migration routes and wintering sites. The tagged adult birds are currently in Ethiopia for the winter.
Dr Jeremy Lindsell, a Research Biologist at the RSPB, said: 'These sightings are great news. They were entirely unexpected and in some ways deepen the mystery of where they go on migration. The fact that the birds are in three different sites away from their breeding grounds reflects the little we know of their numbers and where they go. It also shows how essential it is that we keep tracking the birds so that we can protect them throughout their range.'
|
