Still some hope for Eastern NBI population

From Chris Bowden, RSPB

Our trusted fieldworker in Ethiopian highlands, Yilma Abebe, with some RSPB support, managed to spend three days at the site where the relict Syrian birds mainly overwintered - and reported this week that three adult northern bald ibis! These included the female Zenobia who had previously been paired to Odeinat (who disappeared over a year ago in Saudi Arabia). Interestingly, she was accompanied by an unringed adult, so perhaps there’s a faint hope that they are indeed a pair, and might make it back to breed in Syria? There was also one other lone bird sighted in the area. We await further details of Yilma’s visit, but it’s good to know there is still a faint hope for the population.

As you may know or remember, only a single adult was seen back at the Syrian breeding site last spring, and despite the problems in the country, the field team there somehow managed to continue some field checks. Our thoughts are certainly with them and their families.



For earlier background:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/tracking/northernbaldibis/

www.iagnbi.org

Kelaynack flies south

(from BirdLife Community)

Following a successful breeding season for the semi-wild Northern Bald Ibis population at Birecik, Turkey, six of the birds were released as part of trial re-introductions work in late July. A dedicated team first caught up all the birds for the annual ringing/check of the birds at the Birecik ‘Kelaynak’ breeding station run by the Turkish Ministry of Nature Protection and National Parks, and six were selected for release in the hope that they would survive and migrate. Three were fitted with satellite transmitters, and to reduce the chance of persecution, their bright rings were replaced with much less conspicuous ones. Four of the birds were 2013 juveniles, and in addition, two one-year old birds were also released.

For the first two weeks, the birds remained very close to the breeding station, feeding at a number of local sites in the area, as well as taking supplementary food provided. This week, however, excitement mounts as five of the birds have departed south, and the intriguing news is that they have stopped off very close to Palmyra in Syria, where the remaining wild population there has this year sadly declined to just one individual.

Whether the birds will stay in the area or continue their ‘migration’ further south, we will find out from the satellite signals. The work was recommended as a priority at last year’s inaugural meeting of the AEWA International Working Group for Northern Bald Ibis, held at Jazan in Saudi Arabia and by the International Advisory Group for Northern Bald Ibis. Several partners are involved in the work in addition to the Turkish Ministry, with satellite tags provided by Doğa Derneği (BirdLife in Turkey), with Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) support.

This news is brought to you by the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme

Last Northern Bald Ibis in Syria?

The events in Syria fill us with great sadness and grief. In spite of the crisis, the local team has continued to monitor the ibis, and has reported the sad news that only one of the Northern Bald Ibis has returned to the breeding site at Palmyra this spring. Unfortunately, there are no signs of any more birds so far returning from their migration to Ethiopia. The returning female Zenobia was last year paired to Odeinat, the last male, which was fitted with a small satellite tag that stopped transmitting in southern Saudi Arabia in July 2012. It has not been possible to search for Odeinat, as the last signals did not give an accurate location. Subsequently, a total of four birds was seen briefly in January this year by Yilma Abebe and Tariku Dagne (a visit supported by the Ethiopian Natural History Society and the Culture and Tourism Office of Ethiopia, with funds from RSPB) at the usual Ethiopian highland wintering site, but it now seems clear that only one of these birds has returned to the breeding area.

Last Syrian ibis among bedouin khaimahs 
(Photo M.S. Abdallah)

This looks ominously like it may be the end for the relict eastern population of the species, having been rediscovered in 2002 when there were 3 breeding pairs. Despite huge efforts the colony dwindled to just one pair in the past two years and now it seems to just the one bird. This comes at a time when coordinated efforts are strengthening and indeed after the establishment of the new International Working Group was held in Jazan, Saudi Arabia in November 2012.

Among the hopes for maintaining the eastern population are further releases from the former colony site at Birecik in SE Turkey where a semi-wild population persists.


Historical note:
Zenobia was the last empress of Palmyra, Odeinat's widow, who, after expanding his kingdom to Egypt and Anatolia, was defeated and captured by Aurelian in 272.

Eastern population: Odeinat stops transmitting

Our colleague Chris Bowden reports us that, sadly, Odeinat has stopped transmitting. The team responsible of his monitoring had hoped this might have been a temporary blip, but this now seems unlikely.

Although the solar-powered satellite tag has already transmitted for slightly longer than the manufacturers expected, it is rather worrying that it was an abrupt stop. We will obviously give any updates if things change, and any further interpretation on what may have happened. We hope to get the regular Ethiopian wintering site checked early next year, but its possible there may not be much to add until then. 

Unfortunately the site where Odeinat has overwintered the past years has not been possible to reach and check.

East Population update: Odeinat back in Southern Saudi Arabia

Migration started again for the Syrian ibis, and confirming a report from the wardens in Palmyra that the birds had left the colony, Odeinat has already departed and made a very fast journey down to NE of Jazan, in Saudi Arabia, quite near to a previously favoured area.

All three Syrian adults, back in Palmyra

Our colleagues in Syria just told us that all three adults, Odeinat, Salama and Zenobia, are safely back from migration on the Syrian breeding grounds today. Odeinat has been transmitting since a couple of weeks, but Salama hadn't since late last year, but this now seems to simply be tag failure rather than anything worse. 

Still no sign of the other two untagged birds that were seen on the Ethiopian wintering grounds, so where those birds go is becoming a source of speculation. 

Or perhaps they will appear at Palmyra one of these days.

From RSPB

News from the Eastern population

Wonderful news from the Eastern population. After the new activity recorded last February 8th, Odeinat started moving North. Since 16th, in few days crossed Bab el-Mandeb, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and arrived to Syria!!

No signal yet from Salama, which is worrying as other years she re-started transmitting before these dates.

EWNHS

Other good news came from Ethiopia. Our colleagues from the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS), our BirdLife Partner, have been checking last week the area frequented by wintering NBI. They were able to find three birds. Two of them unringed (maybe same birds as appeared unexpectedly last year by the same area, perhaps Syrian juveniles from 2007 that have yet to return to the breeding grounds) and one ringed bird, either Zenobia or Salama.

Turkish birds donated to Syria colony

In late 2009 the IAGNBI members celebrate a meeting in Palmyra, Syria, in order to explain the activities and results for every population of NBI and also to go forward in the conservation of the species.

One very special result of this meeting was the announcement of the initiative of transfering two ibis from the Bireçik colony to join the Syrian group.

Amina (female) and Ishtar (male) were 2010 youngsters from Bireçik, Turkey which were released in Syria after a brief settling period. This is the first time such a release had been tried and they successfully migrated to Southern Saudi Arabia guided by Salama and accompaigned by Ameer.

Ameer hatched in the wild in 2010 in Syria and is the offspring of Odeinat and untagged Zenobia - who sadly died after being found in a very weak condition two weeks after leaving Syria in southern Saudi Arabia.

After the hardest part of the migration flying through Arabian desert, the three young birds stopped transmitting and it appears they didn't survive. Anyway, the result of this experience was extremely positive because it was the first time to prove that young birds could migrate with a stranger to the South and opens a new area of conservation biology on NBI.