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1. Please help puffins in Iceland - they need your voice

   Posted on 8:00pm Sunday 11th Aug 2019

   Here we go again.  More trophy hunters after the thrill of the kill. This time, it’s gorgeous, adorable puffins.  Companies in Iceland (the country, not the supermarket) are offering guided puffin hunts.  A hunter can pay $3,650 each for a chance to bag up to 100 puffins at a time.  How on earth can you want to do that? The IUCN’s Red List lists puffins as “vulnerable”.  And that means that if things don’t change for the better, they could go extinct. Over the last 10 years, Iceland’s Atlantic puffin population has fallen by 1.5 million.  And Iceland allows hunters to kill thousands of puffins every year.  Many end up on plates in local restaurants, served to curious tourists.  And by the way, companies in Iceland also give people the chance to hunt reindeer, goose, and Ptarmigan. Millions of people want to get a closer look at puffins every year, from the island of Alderney to Norway, the Faroe Islands, the USA and Canada.  Many of these places have puffin viewing tours, which give people the chance to see puffins alive and close up. So why can’t Iceland stop the hunt to kill puffin tours and put more emphasis on having hunt to see, enjoy and love tours instead? Please sign this petition.  Tell Iceland's president Jóhannesson to protect their puffins, not kill them. And by the way, Theresa Villiers, Britain’s new environment secretary, is being urged to ban puffins which have been killed in trophy hunts. And also to push CITES to list seabirds for global protection.  RSPB Spotlight Puffins £9.99 from the RSPB Online Shop

2. There’s good news in Northumberland, thanks to nature lovers.

   Posted on 5:00pm Monday 15th Jul 2019

   There’s good news in Northumberland, thanks to nature lovers. Nature lovers there have got together to help buy and protect a tract of land there.  It’s a 600 acre site called Benshaw Moor in Redesdale, with heather habitat, peatland and limestone waterfall and springs. Birdlife at Benshaw include curlew, snipe, skylark, meadow pipit and short-eared owls. It’s now Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s 63rd nature reserve. ©Duncan Hutt Thanks to a united effort, 600 acres at Benshaw Moor in Northumberland is safe. The Trust was concerned that the land be used for business such as a commercial conifer forestry, or windfarm.  Shooting will not be allowed there any longer. £570,000 was raised from charitable trusts, businesses and a significant bequest.   The public donated £75,000.  The bequest came from the late George Swan, who wrote the Flora of Northumberland which was a record of the county’s plant species.  Mr Swan specified that the bequest be used to buy a site of botanical importance. Nature lovers will still be involved:   the wildlife charity’s team and volunteers will do surveys to better understand the site to help guide its future management.  Possible options include areas of native woodland, and conservation grazing, with Exmoor ponies or cattle. It just shows what can happen if we all get involved and unite for wildlife.   Find out how you can get involved in and help the Northumberland Wildlife Trust – even if you don’t live in this beautiful area! Get involved  - volunteer, visit nature reserves, go to events etc Support the Northumberland Wildlife Trust – donate, become a member, leave a legacy. There are 46 Wildlife Trusts around the UK and in Alderney and the Isle of Man – find your local here

    

3. Save land, save species

   Posted on 5:00pm Thursday 13th Jun 2019

   The World Land Trust has just launched its new appeal, to protect forest in Kenya on the coastline. Dakatcha has been identified as a Key Biodiversity Area and an Important Bird Area.  It has no official protection – but the future of this habitat could be secured under the ownership of Nature Kenya. The World Land Trust partners with Nature Kenya and their current project is to protect 810 acres before the threats of illegal charcoal production, hunting, controlled pineapple farming and the persistent threat of deforestation see this rare area burn. Save land by sponsoring an acre – or even quarter of an acre, and you can help save a species. You can get involved by sponsoring an acre for £100, half an acre for £50, or a quarter of an acre for £25.00 So why save Dakatcha? The You Tube video below shows the reasons why we should all help save the area.    It’s a vital area for people and animals locally, but it also is the case that every single healthy intact forest we can save will help us in the fight against climate change.  New species are still to be found here, as little is known about the forest – but it is known that endangered species such as the Clarke’s Weaver, the Sokoko Scops Owl and the Golden Oriole need this area.  Donate £25 to save a quarter of an acre of Dakatcha. Donate £50 to save half an acre of Dakatcha. Donate £100 to save an acre of Dakatcha. The World Land Trust are looking to save 810 acres and people have started to donate to save these acres already :-)  I’m making a donation in memory of my wonderful father on this Father’s Day.   He loved his feathered friends and his trees – and he enjoyed a family holiday to Kenya many years ago.  So the ties are there, and I can’t think of a better way to remember my father than save an acre of forest in his memory. Save land, save species here.

    

4. Huge new conservation area in Bolivia’s Gran Chaco

   Posted on 9:00pm Thursday 23rd May 2019

   There’s a new protected area in Bolivia! It spans over 12,000 square kilometres – that’s 4,650 square miles.  And it includes well-conserved forests – it’s home to 300 species of birds and 100 species of jaguars, pumas and night monkeys.  It’s home too to the Ayoreo indigenous community which is voluntarily isolated.  “Ñembi Guasu” means “the great hideout” or “the great refuge.”  The creation of the protected area is expected to help to offset deforestation in Bolivia’s Gran Chaco region. The Ñembi Guasu Area of Conservation and Ecological Importance is the second-largest protected area in the Gran Chaco.   The jaguar, puma, the southern night monkey, the southern tamandua live here. The area is one of the few places in Bolivia where long-term plans can be made for jaguars and other large animals there. The territory is home to more than 100 species of mammals, 300 species of birds, and at least 80 species of reptiles and amphibians.   The area is described as “a large area where animals can hide”. Some threats put the territory at risk – the extraction of oil is one.  The Bolivian government approved an order that allows the extraction of oil in natural areas.  Land invasions are another problem.  The forest is virgin forest – with lots of wildlife – and it needs protecting

    

5. Birdfair 2019 in UK to help the Big Five in Cambodia

   Posted on 8:00pm Friday 17th May 2019

   This August 2019, Birdfair takes place in Rutland in the UK. Every year, this huge event raises money for conservation – big money.  In 2018, it raised £322,000 to create a haven for Flamingos at Mar Chiquita in Argentina.  23,000 people went to the fair – you can see its size – and all helped contribute towards creating this haven for 3 species of flamingo and other bird species.  BirdLife International will work with Aves Argentinas, its partner in Argentina, to create the country’s newest national park there. In 2019, Birdfair takes place between 16 to 18 August. Proceeds from the tickets, exhibitor fees, sponsorship and events will all go towards this year’s project. The 2019 Birdfair project is for the Big Five in Cambodia. Western Siem Pang has 40% of the logbal population of White-shouldered Ibis, over 20% of the global population of Giant Ibis and 0% of the Cambodian population of vultures – actually up to 84 of the 121 left. The Indian Spotted Eagle, Green Peafowl, Sarus Crane, Lesser Adjutant, Greater Adjutant and Great Slaty Woodpecker, Eld’s Deer, Clouded Leopard and Sun Bears also live there. The location of the site is all the more important because of its location, connecting the Virachey National Park in Colombia to the Xe Pian National Protected Area in Laos. It creates a unique block of protected forests which means that some of the rarest large mammal and bird species in Asia can move freely. BirdLife International’s involvement in the area isn’t new.  It’s been there for 15 years helping to make sure it was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 2016. How will Birdfair 2019 help wildlife in Cambodia? The money raised from BirdFair 2019 will go to improving relationships with local people to protect the species living there.   Authorities there will be better able to tackle illegal activities and provide site management support to manage and protect the forest effectiveliy.  And the Ministry of Environment needs help, too:  to develop a zoning plan for the huge new site and ensure the rangers have the training and organization they need.   Rules need to be enforced. Introducing the Ibis Rise Initiative One of the things I find particularly exciting about the work being done and to be done is to expand the scope of an initiative called Ibis Rise.  It’s an enterprise working with Cambodian farmers to protect the ecosystem, whilst offering better of life and livelihoods. The aim is to expand wildlife-friendly rice farming to 200-300 families who agree to the “no hunting, no logging, no encroaching” rules in exchange for a premium price for their produce. Finally, BirdLife has been working to improve the reproductive success of the areas’ five Critically Endangered bird species by restoring wetlands and monitoring their populations.  If their breeding efforts can be supported, it is hoped they will be able to expand back into more of a natural range. There are 700,000 hectares, so this is a BIG project for wildlife! More information Find out more about BirdFair (dogs aren’t allowed, apart from Guide Dogs and Assistance Dogs)