The Bird Emergency

Trying something a little different, because a huge part of protecting birds, and their habitat, is for people to know and love birds more! That's where photography comes into it... I will be talking to people who love taking pictures of birds, and Ewen Bell will deliver some technical and practical tips. Today it is James who enjoys the birds that visit his birdbath.

Follow James on Twitter @sydneybirdbath (He has now moved north to Coffs Harbour, so there's a whole new birdbath to talk about!

It's also worth following Ewen on Twitter @ewester to discover new bird content. #BirdPhotography #TwitterNatureCommunity

Dimas Gianuca works with Birdlife Marine and the RSPB collaborating with everyone comprising the Albatross Task Force to protect the albatross species (and all of the seabirds) that visit the waters of Brazil to feed on the rich bounty that can be found as a result of the currents directed from the deep Southern Ocean.

Dimas explains that seabirds are abundant in Brazil, and the extensive coastline comprises a surprising variety of habitats and far more birds than the jungle dwellers that often spring to mind when you think about Brazil.

Hanging flags in an effort scare seabirds away from vessels is mandatory in many fisheries, and is used in conjunction with line weighting techniques, devices such as the Hookpod and setting lines at night to reduce seabird casualties.

Ever wondered what an Albatross Task Force Inspector would look like, while carrying out their role at sea, aboard a fishing vessel?

The danger of albatross, being killed as bycatch (and seabirds generally) is obvious when you see how they gather in large numbers around fishing vessels seeking the discarded waste.

All photos courtesy of Dimas Gianuca. Copyright is his.

You can follow Dimas on his socials;

https://twitter.com/DGianuca https://www.facebook.com/dimas.gianuca https://www.instagram.com/dgianuca/ Get lots and lots of information about the partnership between RSPB and Birdlife International - Albatross Task Force here Follow Albatross Task Force on Twitter. Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas and Pacific Rim Conservation are involved in an effort to ensure the survival of the Black-footed Albatross in the northern Pacific Ocean, conducting a tranlocation of the species to restored islands, after extensive pest control and revegetation efforts on suitable islands off the Mexican coast and the US territories, including Hawaii and Midway Atoll.

A truly massive undertaking, and multi-agency cooperative effort!

For World Albatross Day 2021, meet Federico Mendez from GECI Conservacion de Islas and Dr. Lindsay Young, Executive Director of Pacific Rim Conservation.

The graphic above gives an idea of the scale of the project. The use of decoys encourage birds to establish a breeding presence on the newly pest-free islands.

This is a view of the southern end of Guadaloupe Island, where some of the restoration works are underway.

Here is a look at some of the extraordinary combination of vegetation types that were discussed.

If you are interested in this revegetation, restoration and relocation project in the north Pacific and the western coast of Mexico, explore these links;

Webpage: www.islas.org.mx Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IslasGECI/ More information about Pacific Rim Conservation can be found on their website: https://pacificrimconservation.org/ Be sure to follow Federico and his team on Twitter: @IslasGECI All images used with permission, provided by Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas. Copyright is theirs. Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Let's celebrate the amazing explorers of the ocean, the friends of seafarers and the masters of the vast expanse of the seas! Dr. Stephanie Borelle was my guest in the very first Bird Emergency episode! We speak again to talk about albatrosses, as Steph now works for Birdlife Marine looking out for the great seabirds of the world. It's #WorldAlbatrossDay2021

Follow Steph on Twitter @PetrelStation

Follow the Albatross Task Force on Twitter @AlbyTaskForce or on Instagram @albatross_stories

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @TheBirdEmergency

Doing something a little different for a while- an irregular feature to help those bird nerds who have developed a business sharing their knowledge and their favourite birding locations with other bird nerds! A global pandemic doesn't help tour operators, so I thought I could feature some great bird-focused tour operators!

First up is Janine Duffy, co-founder and Director of Echidna Walkabout Tours.

Janine is passionate about birds and Australia's unique wildlife, Koalas in particular. Janine is a tour guide and operator who takes the values of "tread lightly" and preserving (and improving) habitat seriously. Meet Janine, and maybe taking a trip to some of the places she talks about, to see some of the stunning Australian birdlife.

You can find out more about the tours Janine offers here - https://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au/

Instagram - @echidnawalkabout_

If you are interested to check out other tour operators who have similar values, then have a look at https://australianwildlifejourneys.com/

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Everyone who has ever heard about the Kakapo, or seen footage of this remarkable bird, never forgets them

They have clung tenaciously to existence, and a team of dedicated scientists, naturalists and volunteers have helped them stage quite a recovery, despite rats, mice, stoats and crusty-bum.

Hear the story, in detail, and get inspired to help, in any way you can, so that the Kakapo see many more generations.

Visit the Kakapo Recovery Team website.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

The Golden-shouldered Parrot is rapidly disappearing from the landscape in northern Australia, where this species requires a very particular habitat - one that is disappearing due to changed land uses over the period of colonisation, especially as the patterns of burning and clearing have changed.

Some landowners are trying to reverse this process, and the owners of Artemis Station, which occupies some historically prime habitat for the Golden-shouldered Parrot, have been supporting the research required to understand what is needed to secure the local population, and raise funds to continue the research and practical works required to protect these stunning parrots.

With involvement from the local traditional owners, and researchers like Dr. Stephen Murphy from the University of Queensland, future looks a little brighter for these specialist parrots.

Check out the Atemis Nature Fund website here, and please support the work they do, if you can!

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

The Philippine Cockatoo is restricted to intact lowland forests of the Philippines - increasingly hard to find! Indira Lacerna - Widmann and the Katala Foundation are dedicated to the preservation of this big parrot.

The vision of the Katala Foundation is to effect conservation of biological resources through active community involvement – conserving with people! Indira has soon wonderval initiatives the have the community invested in conservation.

Check out the Katala Foundation on their website, and please contribute if you can!

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Wrapping up the Takeover of The Bird Emergency by The Pint of Science Australia, is Ettore Camerlenghi, who is studying the complex and surprising social structure and behaviour of the Superb Fairywren on the outskirts of Melbourne, here in Victoria, as a PhD candidate at Monash University.

Ettore has been monitoring many groups of these delicate passerines, and identifying the familial releationships between the individuals that comprise these groups, and unlocking the relationships within and between groups outside of the breeding season.

How the birds cooperate to achieve optimal success in rearing young, maintain diversity, defend territories and avoid predation is the aim of this study, but as Ettore begins to answer these questions, many more questions are raised.

Peek into the fascinating world of one of the most intriguing of Australia's little bush birds and learn how Ettore has gone from a 10 year old who loved birds in northern Italy, to an ornithologist who has been studying birds in the fjords of Iceland, the Amazon jungle and the woodland outskirts of Melbourne.

Check out the range of activities during #Pint21Au at https://pintofscience.com.au

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

In this episode we meet Alona Charuvi, a researcher who has been studing the reactions to disturbance by the Masked Lapwing, a bird that is very familiar over a large part of eastern and southern Australia.

The Masked Lapwing is often in conflict with residents and land managers, as it can be very aggressive when nesting, and defending a nest location or chicks.

Alona used an ingenious device, a false egg, that recorded the heart rate of the sitting bird, and the brooding temperature, and measured these results against different methods of approaching the nest site, and recording the physical reactions by the birds, as well as the behaviour exhibited.

Alona's work took place on Phillip Island, which is well-known for the Penguin Parade, but has a number of sites where lapwing pairs and humans regularly interact.

Listen to how Alona undertook this work, and what she has discovered so far.

Check out the range of activities during #Pint21Au at https://pintofscience.com.au

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!