MigrationsMigrationsCells, birds, and musings from a biologist Articles
A Blue List of Species Back from the Brink
2010-04-24 15:24:00 As far as ecology is concerned, we now live in the Age of Extinction. Researchers estimate that the rate that plant and animal species are going extinct is about 1,000 times the pre-industrial background rate; the diversity of life on Earth is undergoing a massive upheaval as humanity re-designs the face of the planet. To ... More About: Blue , List , Back
Seuss and the Environment
2010-04-10 18:54:00 Parenthood brings certain joys. One of them is the pleasure of reading to your child, and now that I’m a father, I’m reveling in my rediscovery of Dr. Seuss. In case you haven’t heard of Dr. Seuss, he published over 60 children’s books, which were often characterized by imaginative characters and rhyme. It’s poetry for ... More About: Environment , Books
Spring Migration in Cyprus
2010-04-06 09:51:00 While I’m on hiatus from birding to help my wife look after our now 2-week-old daughter, go check out Spyros’ blog post at Birdwatching in Greece: Spring bird trip to Cyprus : where anything may stop by!. From reports, this has been an amazing Spring for birders here in Cyprus… Saker Falcon, Cream-colored Coursers, Dotterels, Caspian ... More About: Birds , Birding
Recent Birding
2010-03-31 08:46:00 From BirdLife Cyprus’ bird recorder, some recent good birds that’ve been reported: Some interesting sightings in recent days include the following: Mandria, 31-Mar Trumpeter Finch 1, seen briefly before it took flight, then not relocated Subalpine Warbler 1m ‘dombrowskii’ Yellow Wagtail (dark-headed with eye-stripe) 1 Also passing Glossy Ibis, Night Herons, Black-winged Stilt. Aspro Dam Pools, 31-Mar Little Bittern 1 Spotted Crake 1 Little ... More About: Birding , Recent
Recent Birding
2010-03-26 07:46:00 From BirdLife Cyprus’ bird recorder, some recent good birds that’ve been reported: Some interesting sightings of the week include the following: Agios Nikolaos – Mandria, Troodos, 25-Mar Bonelli’s Eagle 1 Masked Shrike 1 Finsch’s Wheatear 1m Akrotiri Gravel Pits, 25-Mar Cream-coloured Courser 3 Isabelline Shrike 1 Galataria Marsh, 24-Mar Demoiselle Crane 1 Common Crane 1 Cape Greco, 24-Mar Bimaculated Lark 4 Caspian Stonechat 2 Karpas Peninsula, 22-24-Mar Peregrine 4 Quail c25 ... More About: Birding , Recent
Recent Birding
2010-03-21 07:46:00 From BirdLife Cyprus’ bird recorder, some recent good birds that’ve been reported: Akrotiri Gravel Pits, 21-Mar (SC, RP) Cream-coloured Courser 2 Dotterel 1 (at least) Zakaki Pond 20-Mar (MB) Ferruginous Duck 8, pairing off Black Winged Stilt 5 Sedge Warbler 1 Shoveler 9 Isabelline Wheatear 22 Spectacled Warbler 1 Ringed Plover 1 Bishops Pool 20-Mar (MB) Mallard plus 12 ducklings Sedge Warbler 3 Akrotiri Gravel Pits 20-Mar (MB) Little Egret 1 Kentish ... More About: Birding , Recent
Books on Bird Migration
2010-03-20 15:44:00 A new book out in April: The phenomenon of bird migration has fascinated people from time immemorial. The arrivals and departures of different species marked the seasons, heralding spring and autumn, and providing a reliable calendar long before anything better became available. Migration is shown by many kinds of animals, including butterflies and other insects, mammals, ... More About: Books , Bird
Butterflies of Cyprus
2010-03-17 21:23:00 I’d heard something about it, but I was recently reminded about this website for the Butterflies of Cyprus . The informational resources are great if you’re the slightest bit interested in butterfly-watching. It offers (1) an accurate, peer-reviewed Cyprus butterfly species list; (2) notes on distinguishing features on species; and (3) great photos of a nice ...
Recent Birding
2010-03-17 07:46:00 From BirdLife Cyprus’ bird recorder, some recent good birds that’ve been reported: Armou & Marathounta 15-17-Mar (CR) Long-legged Buzzard 1 Hoopoe 3 House Martin 20 Tree Pipit 3 Tawny Pipit 5 Meadow Pipit 40+ Isabelline Wheatear 10+ Northern Wheatear 6+ Black-eared Wheatear 8+ Finsch’s Wheatear 2m Common Whitethroat 1 Lesser Whitethroat 8 Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler 1 Rüppell’s Warbler 3m Subalpine Warbler 1f Cretzschmar’s Bunting 30 Corn Bunting 50+ Zakaki Marsh, 16-Mar (KH) Osprey 1 Bishops Pool, ... More About: Birding , Recent
Bird Photos from Cyprus
2010-03-11 13:13:00 Birds are wonderful things, and photos of birds are almost as good. Better, perhaps, because they give one a clearer and sharper sight than you can often get with the naked eye, perfectly preserved. I just finally came across a Flickr group pool for Cyprus Birding where photographers can contribute some of their image collections. ... More About: Photos , Biophilia , Birds , Bird
Recent Birding
2010-03-10 07:46:00 From BirdLife Cyprus’ bird recorder, some recent good birds that’ve been reported: Limassol General Hospital, 9-Mar Common Crane 20 passing over heading NE Akrotiri Base, near hospital, 9-Mar Asian Desert Warbler 1 Mandria – Timi, 9-Mar Great Cormorant 16 Shoveler 1 Pintail 15 Teal 11 Quail 1 calling Golden Plover 2 Little Ringed Plover 2 Curlew 1 Slender-billed Gull 4 Baltic Gull 3 Sandwich Tern 4 Short-eared Owl 1 Hoopoe 5 Short-toed Lark 330 Skylark ... More About: Birding , Recent
Malta?s War on Birds
2010-03-04 09:11:00 “… you will see hunters literally every ten meters.” After watching this video, I think it’s fair to say that Maltese “hunters” don’t go hunting and this isn’t a sport. They’re making a war on birds, complete with a skirmish line, and few if any birds get out alive. Shooting at protected species, completely disregarding the ... More About: Birds , Malta
Recent Birding
2010-03-03 07:46:00 From BirdLife Cyprus’ bird recorder, some recent good birds that’ve been reported: Kensington Cliffs, 1-Mar Wallcreeper 1 Mandria, 1-Mar Merlin 1f Golden Plover 23 Red-throated Pipit 3 Isabelline Wheatear 3 Asprokremmos Dam, Phinikas, 1-Mar Great Crested Grebe 2 Pied Kingfisher 1 Cape Drepanum, 28-Feb Peregrine 1 Blue Rock Thrush 1m Larnaca Sewage Works, Spiros Pools & area, 27-Feb Black-necked Grebe 2 Pochard 1 Ferruginous Duck 2 Greater Flamingo c550 Spoonbill 1 Kentish Plover 45 Ringed Plover ... More About: Birding , Recent
Migratory Bird Management
2010-03-02 09:27:00 Here’s a concept that is probably utterly foreign to bird trappers and hunters: Wildlife management. As illustrated by the Cyprus Hunters Association, they’re utterly clueless as to what to do when bird populations decrease substantially. That linked article is nothing new, but it shows that the hunters recognize that wintering thrush populations have dropped by ... More About: Management , Conservation , Bird
What is a Radiative Forcing
2010-02-28 12:03:00 Every now and then I like to bring back up the topic of global warming, just to remind the denialists out there that, yes, it’s real. And, central to the understanding of climate processes is the concept of radiative forcings. What is radiative forcing? The influence of a factor that can cause climate change, such as ...
Improvements in Malta
2010-02-27 18:57:00 BirdLife Malta had some news last week: A study by the EU LIFE+ Project on Bird Migration and Trapping revealed that the number of finches recorded in the Maltese countryside increased dramatically in the first year of the trapping ban in 2009, compared to 2008 when finch trapping was still permitted. And the big picture that BirdLife ... More About: Conservation
Beyond the List
2010-02-23 10:41:00 Of the books about birding that I’ve read, my favorite by far is Scott Weidensaul’s Of A Feather: A Brief History of American Birding . It doesn’t matter that I now live in Europe and might be considered an Old World birder now, the United States is where I became a birder. Of A Feather tells ... More About: List
Spotlight: Isabelline Wheatear
2010-02-16 15:30:00 Spring migration isn’t in full swing for 2010 just yet, but the first seasonal travelers are starting to pass through Cyprus in small numbers. The first Barn Swallows were seen about a little over a week ago, and this past week the first Great Spotted Cuckoos and Isabelline Wheatears have been reported. In a couple ... More About: Birding , Spotlight
Cyprus Bird Tours
2010-02-08 15:17:00 Together with Jane Stylianou, I’d like to announce that we’re now offering guided birding tours in the Republic of Cyprus . See below for details… Cyprus Bird ing Guides We are a pair of keen birders in Cyprus, who freelance as birdwatching tour guides. We are both experienced birders, and one or both of us goes out almost ... More About: Tours
Illegal Hunting in Malta
2010-02-02 18:17:00 Via BirdLife Malta , here’s a short video on illegal hunting of migratory birds over Malta. Warning: it’s not particularly romantic. Want to help? Sign the petition against illegal hunting… In Europe and Africa, wild birds and their habitats are protected through the efforts of conservation organisations and governments that are spending millions of Euros to ensure their ...
Bats of Cyprus
2010-01-30 12:21:00 There’s an interesting and informative post on some of Cyprus ’ other winged residents on Mahallas: The Bats of Cyprus: Despite the current protected status of bats in Cyprus, as in the whole of the EU, the old misconceptions and attitudes toward them are still held strongly by some Cypriots. Bats are being shot for fun, their ...
Animal Rights vs Wildlife Conservation
2010-01-28 10:01:00 The Conservation Maven asks Can animal rights activists and conservationists find common ground? This article takes the neutral stance, giving a couple of alternative viewpoints and not taking much of a position. That’s all well and good for reaching a broad audience, but let’s be honest – animal rights is in no way compatible ... More About: Animal , Wildlife , Rights , Animal Rights
Tracking Migration
2010-01-25 11:38:00 The four tracked Eleonora?s Falcons started their migratory journey from Greece to Africa in mid October. The following map, which is regularly updated, shows the migratory routes of the 4 birds. They all started their journey from the island of Andros and travel towards their wintering areas, in South Africa and Madagascar. Click on the ... More About: Tracking
Hunting Song Thrushes
2010-01-21 16:23:00 CORRECTION: Due to a mistranslation on my part, it turns out that the Cyprus Hunters association is not trying to regulate themselves, but are instead simply lamenting that they cannot shoot as many as they used to. Apparently even the association’s leadership thinks that it is perfectly okay to continue devastating the birds’ numbers. This ... More About: Conservation , Song , Birds
Quote of the Day: Birders
2010-01-19 13:51:00 This quote is from Mark Cocker’s book Birders: Tales of a Tribe. The book as a whole is a bit of a journal of personal experiences, and largely I found the it unremarkable, but this passage captures the spirit of birdwatching fairly well. No, not that passive watch-the-birdfeeder thing that most people do, but the ... More About: Quote Of The Day
Symphony of Science
2010-01-15 10:59:00 Attenborough and Sagan speaking pure poetry… Tagged: Science , video
Bird Trapping in 2009
2010-01-11 17:18:00 Martin Hellicar from Bird life Cyprus just sent me the final trapping report for Cyprus 2009. It’s absolutely horrible. I know that BirdLife Cyprus toes the line in their criticism of the Cyprus and British governments, because they have to work with those governments, but I’m free to be a little bit more blunt in my ... More About: Conservation
Paleoclimate Reconstructions
2010-01-05 14:28:00 Here on my small corner of the interwebs, I occasionally still have climate change contrarians leave a comments. I’m tired of it. But I do want to put up a single blog post on the topic to point to whenever someone claims that the work of Michael Mann et al. is somehow part of a ...
Cypriot Poaching in the News
2010-01-04 22:24:00 This crime has gotten a reasonable amount of media attention in the English-speaking media, but it is largely ignored among Greek-speaking media outlets. So it’s refreshing to see it covered on the Cypriot TV station Sigma: ???????? ???? 35% ? ????? ??????? ??? ????????? ??????? (reposted below the fold) ???????? ??? ? ????? ????????, ??? ?????? ???????? ??????????, ... More About: News , In the News , The News , Cyprus
What Cypriot Trappers Say
More articles from this author:2010-01-03 08:35:00 This is part of the series of posts Poaching in Cyprus FAQ What do the Cypriot trappers say? When it comes to Cypriot bird trapping, the Cypriots manage to come up with some pretty inept defenses of criminal activity. Absolutely none of the attempts to justify trapping that I’ve come across make any sense to anyone but ... More About: Conservation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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