NBI video

A video on the work that is been done by the Souss Massa National Park authorities with the support of BirdLife.

Björn Welander and Neil Owen coproduced the film and both together with Danielle Calenti present and narrate the story. There's a website where they tell quite a lot on NBI and on their project and also have more links to some video fragments.

Aylal's update

Since mid April, Aylal stayed in an area in the north of the park and unprotected area beside it. It didn't make big movements. Bassically, it's spent all the night by the same roost on the coast and move by the coast and inland during the day.

Scimitar-horned oryx at Arrouais reserve
(photo Imad Cherkaoui)

Some of those records are on the Arrouais reserve, not far from Tifnit, which is a protected area where gazelles and scimitar-horned oryx are in acclimatation for their further reintroduction in nature. For instance, one reintroduction took place in 2008 in the Mssissi reserve, in Errachidia region.
Vegetation there is formed by Ononis natrix, Retama monosperma, Echinops spinosus, Lycium intricatum, Launaea arborescens, Centaurea sp. and Limonium mucronatum, in addition to some exotic Eucalyptus and Acacia trees that where planted decades ago to avoid wind erosion.
NBI usually don't come into this reserve, maybe because vegetation is too dense, but it seems to be an adequate habitat for feeding in some seasons. In fact, the prefered feeding area is the coastal strip west to the reserve, where the Tiznit village is and where the steppe is well developed among the fixed dunes.

The GPS records show us some other preferred sites outside the National Park. It’s well known that NBI use to feed sometimes outside the limits of the protected area, usually on fallows.

Aylal leaves the colony

Since mid-April, Aylal, who has spent last weeks in the breeding colony, deserted Tamri region to establish in the Northern area of Souss-Massa National Park, the same it has been occupying before breeding season

Nest desertion is not common, but sometimes happens either when one individual in the pair disappears or if clutch is lost. The first quarter has been very dry this year. Between January and March, the total rain amount has been just 5,6 mm and humidity less than 55% on average. On the other side, the same trimester in previous years has been much more humid, with 124 mm in 2010 and 158 mm in 2011 and an average humidity of more than 65%. Those conditions have probably been too bad for overall productivity and for food availability.

Four adult birds in Syria!!

Despite the fact that the country is going through a hard time, the ibis rangers in Syria told us this week that a fourth bird has just arrived back at the breeding site in Palmyra!
As our colleagues from RSPB describe in the website on the monitoring of this population,  he newly arrived bird is an unringed adult, perhaps a bird born in 2007. This could also be one of the two unringed birds seen in February at the wintering site in Ethiopia. It is not yet clear whether it is a male and if it is pairing up with the unpaired female (Salama) or not. If it was the case, we should have two breeding pairs this year. In fact, Odeinat and Zenobia have nested once again this season.
Salama satellite tag has stopped transmitting, but Odeinat's one is still working.

First chicks

Since the last week of March, the first chicks started to hatch at Moroccan colonies. As we already commented, our wardens feel that there's a little delay in the phenology, due, mainly, to the lack of rain during last winter that could have an impact on ecosystem productivity and, thus, on food availability.
Data received from Aylal show us that adults in Tamri stay in a narrow coastal area of about 8 km long but less than two kilometers wide.

Aylal at Tamri

Since last post on Aylal, this ibis equiped with a GPS satellite tag stays around Tamri colonie, making short movements three or four kilometters appart from the colony.
This behaviour is absolutely normal during breeding season and shows the importance of having good feeding habitats close to good nesting sites.

Aylal, at the colony

Last data recived from Aylal show us that it's has joined Tamri colony since March, 4th. Aylal has spent last weeks around the area of Tamraght, but now it seems to be full time in the area of the colony.

Nevertheless, our wardens feel that the breeding season is a bit delayed compared to previous years, probably due to drought during winter and some recent cold weather.

Brendan Wenzel's vision

Brendan Wenzel is a New York-based illustrator, and, as he says with a great interest in all things furred, feathered and scaled.

This illustration belongs to the series on the edge, devoted to some of the most endangered species of animals. 

Inspiring NBI

Here we can see some drawings by Joaquín López-Rojas with a mixed technique: pen drawing and digital colour.

This Sevilla based artist has participated in many publications about nature in Spain, Venezuela and Equatorial Guinea. 

NBI on TV

Very recently, Northern Bald Ibis was the main character on a short documentary on Moroccan TV. It's in arabic, but if you cannot understand, images are worth to see.

Enjoy it!!