News: Short & sweet / archive
April to June 2023

Eurasian Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Dunnock add wildlife diversity to the hawthorn hedges
The results of the manual pruning of the sprawling, more than 200 m long hawthorn hedge in icy December 2022 far exceeded our hopes for the rejuvenation process. The pruned hawthorn hedge is, once again, broad and dense. During our June visit, numerous Eurasian Blackcaps, Garden Warblers, Common Whitethroats and Dunnocks flew in and out constantly, feeding their unmistakably begging chicks. The birds’ eager acceptance of the habitat documents the visible and audible success of our hedge biotope maintenance measures. In spring, the lush splendour of the hawthorn blossoms attracts insects as welcome nutrition for breeding birds and their young and, in autumn, provides the songbirds and migratory birds with an abundant crop of fruit.

In June, the call of a Common Cuckoo joined the birdsong chorus. Red-backed Shrike and Golden Oriole have also recently appeared in the Weidatal and, thanks to our extensive biotope development measures, are now successfully breeding here again.

Our land purchases in the Weidatal, originally planned as a bird sanctuary, is now increasingly a biodiversity nature reserve, in which more than 65 species of breeding birds, countless species of insects, especially beetles and grasshoppers, and also amphibians and reptiles feel at home. This has been achieved on just the 21 hectares of foundation-owned land with, in addition, 14 hectares of private property.

It is all the more irritating that the responsible local environmental authority for the Greiz District has been tinkering around with our proposal to have the area officially designated a "protected landscape element" for the past four years, and a satisfactory conclusion is still not in sight. It is high time that someone in this authority put their foot down and finally translated words into action!
 

Our protected reserve on the south-east coast of Sicily, which is still under construction, has been a species-rich nursery since mid-June and is well worth a visit.
To our great and pleasant surprise, we identified three breeding pairs of Red-crested Pochards in the Pantano Cuba & Pantano Longarini lagoons for the first time this year since 2021. Before 2021, the last observation of this colourful but shy duck species in eastern Sicily was in 1940!

The 125 breeding pairs of Greater Flamingos each raise only one chick.

Once again, Little Terns and Eurasian Coots have undisturbed access to plentiful nourishment for their offspring.

With this gratifying situation for young birds, we are not concerned about the future of biodiversity in our Pantani conservation area.

Experiencing the biotope and biodiversity alone and undisturbed for a summer hour in the Ösebach valley was balm for the soul of a committed conservationist.
For an hour, I wanted to observe closely all that crawled and flew in the Ösebach Valley ... and a great deal was going on. It was a real sense of achievement and satisfaction to experience the fruits of our investment of more than 23,000 euros in donations. These have financed biotope development and optimisation measures in the Ösebach valley and on the neighbouring Immelsberg, another of our property acquisitions.

The bird life was overwhelming. I observed birds of prey, Red Kites, Common Buzzards and Eurasian Sparrowhawks on foraging flights. A polyphonic chorus of songbirds serenaded me from the broad hedgerows surrounding our extensively used meadow areas, including Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Yellowhammer, Common Linnet, Dunnock, Common Chiffchaff and Red-Backed Shrike.

The up to 8 m wide flower strip along the Ösebach, created in 2021, not only offered a feast for the eyes with its magnificent flowers but was also an attractive, nutrient-rich meeting place for Common Carder Bees, Red-Tailed Bumblebees, Honey Bees, two species of Solitary Bees and several Hoverfly species. Even the Hornet made an appearance in this diverse society!

This one hour on a Sunday morning was an undiluted natural experience for eyes, ears and nose ... all my sensory organs. What more could a person desire?

Roland Tischbier, 11 June 2023

In 2022, more than 40,000 m³ of sandy soil were moved as part of our ecological rehabilitation of the Pantano Longarini Lagoon, which had been severely damaged by human intervention in the past. We undertook this work to create extensive new multi-faceted lagoon and canal shores and a multitude of new small islands with different bottom structures in the Pantano Longarini Lagoon.

For the Mediterranean breeding bird world on the south-east coast of Sicily, the newly created channel and lagoon bank profiles and islands in our Pantano Longarini and Pantano Cuba lagoons are the hit of the year 2023.

Breeding bird species & number of breeding pairs (BP)
Pantano Longarini (lagoon)
•          Little Tern – at least 62 BP
•          Kentish Plover - 5 BP
•          Little Ringed Plover - 2 BP (1 BP already with 2 chicks)
•          Black-winged Stilt – at least 30 BP
•          Eurasian Stone-curlew - 2 BP
•          Greater Flamingo - 128 BP for the first time


Pantano Longarini (shore, reed beds and shore meadow areas)
•          Little Egret - 20 BP
•          Marbled Duck - 6 BP
•          Great Crested Grebe – at least 10 BP
•          Eurasian Hoopoe – at least 2 BP (in old building)
•          Ferruginous Duck - 3-4 BP
•          Western Swamphen - 3-4 BP

Pantano Cuba (lagoon & shore, reed beds and shore meadow areas)
•          Ferruginous Duck - 6-7 BP
•          Eurasian Stone-curlew - 3-4 BP
•          Great Crested Gerbe – 8 - 9 BP (4 BP with young)
•          Little Bittern - 2-3 BP
•          Western Swamphen - 2-BP
•          Eurasian Hoopoe – at least 2 BP (in old buildings)

On the maps below, Paolo, our biologist and bird guard, has documented the island breeding sites of the current breeding bird species and the number of breeding pairs (BP).

Sicily: Provisional final report from the Bonelli's Eagle protection camp spring 2023
Bonelli's Eagle breeding pairs on Sicily find it challenging to find sites where they can breed undisturbed and successfully raise their young. Since the turn of the millennium alone, the number of their breeding pairs in Sicily has fallen by 50 per cent. By 2013, only 25 Bonelli's Eagle pairs were still breeding in the mountainous regions of southwestern Sicily.
 
The reason for this was once again unscrupulous bird poachers operating throughout Europe, who supply the rare birds of prey market with stolen eagle eggs and chicks. Eagle chicks are sold illegally to exhibitors in southern Europe and well-heeled raptor enthusiasts and buyers in the Middle East at exorbitant prices. There is no record of how many eagle chicks and young eagles miserably died in the process.
 
Ten years of hard and exhausting eagle protection camp work have improved the situation on Sicily, which threatens the existence of the Bonelli's Eagle.
 
This spring, our local eagle conservationists recorded 64 pairs of Bonelli's Eagles in the mountain regions of southwest Sicily populated by the species. Fifty pairs of eagles were observed building their eyries (nests). Forty-seven pairs bred successfully. By 20 May 2023, the teams observed at least 40 active young eagles in the nests!
 
Thanks to the sustained and high frequency of eagle eyrie monitoring, we are confident that we have recorded all eagle breeding pairs in Sicily. Last and certainly not least, we could also prevent any eyrie plundering and theft of eagle chicks using the most modern monitoring technology. We, along with all the eagle conservationists, are proud of this success and, at the same time, thank our donors who made this time-consuming eagle conservation work financially possible.
 
For the first time this year, the teams also recorded the nests of Lanner Falcons during the camp. The Lanner Falcon is declining in Europe due to persecution and other factors. All 50 Lanner Falcon breeding sites in southwest Sicily known up to the 1990s were systematically monitored. Unfortunately, only 15 occupied Lanner Falcon breeding territories were identified. Not all breeding pairs were successful. So far, 16 young Lanner Falcons have been observed on and near the nests.
 
This low reproductive rate does not bode well for the future of this extremely shy and disturbance-sensitive falcon species unless we expand our eagle conservation activities to include the Lanner Falcon in the future. The coming months up to the end of 2023 will show whether we can find the additional bird of prey conservationists necessary and whether we will be able to raise the additional funds required.

Cyprus spring bird protection camp 2023
During the first two weeks of our Cyprus spring bird protection camp 2023 and over the Easter holidays, Cypriot bird trappers were very cautious with their illegal activities. Nevertheless, our teams caught two poachers red-handed in cooperation with game wardens and the police. The fines these incurable bird poachers received, each of 9,200 euros,  were tough and hit the offenders hard!
 
Thanks to the selfless commitment of the volunteer bird protection activists on this year's spring bird protection camp, the two bird poachers who were caught did not get off lightly this time. They will undoubtedly think twice about continuing to trap bird species that are strictly protected in Europe and Cyprus.
 
One of the offenders had set out a dozen limesticks in his garden, but he was caught before a single bird was trapped. The other poacher was discovered by a bird protection team at his trapping site with 12 limesticks set out in mulberry trees. He was reported to the police. Three Eurasian Blackcaps and one Wood Warbler were freed from the illegal limesticks and released into the wild after the feathers had been cleaned of glue residue.
 




Results of the Cyprus spring bird protection camp from 07 to 22 April 2023:

• 145 trapping sites identified and monitored
• 3 active trapping sites were dismantled
• 24 illegal limesticks were removed and destroyed
• 2 criminal complaints against illegal poachers were filed with the authorities
• 4 birds were released from traps 

Thanks to the many years of courageous work by bird conservationists from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and our Foundation, spring poaching in Cyprus continues to decline. This is a remarkable and hard-earned achievement in the fight against illegal bird killing!
 
However, it is still too early to celebrate, and we need to analyse whether climate change also affects migratory bird behaviour and timing. In this respect, we must establish if Cyprus is losing its function as an important stopover and feeding place for migratory birds. Or, for instance, will our long-term bird protection camp operations to protect the migratory bird world on Cyprus have a lasting effect, at least for spring migration?
 
During our spring operations on Cyprus, we received a call for help from bird conservationists on one of the Greek islands, who reported the massacre of European Turtle Doves, which are strictly protected throughout Europe and threatened with extinction. For thousands of years, they have used this island as a stopover and feeding place during spring migration.
 
Given the weak spring bird trapping activities in Cyprus, we took advantage of the situation to support our Greek conservationist colleagues on the ground for a few days in their operations against the illegal hunting of European Turtle Dove.
 
Then it was back to Cyprus for Part 2 of our bird protection camp.
 

With the financial support of an EU-LIFE18 species protection project, we are creating an ideal survival niche for the Marbled Duck in our Pantano Longarini migratory bird protection reserve
The Marbled Duck or Marbled Teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris) occupies a special position between the dabbling and diving ducks and is the only representative of the genus Marmaronetta. Its original distribution range in Europe is wetlands with shallow water lakes in the Mediterranean. Today it only occurs in Andalusia, the Camargue, on Mallorca and in our migratory bird sanctuary Pantani Cuba & Longarini on the southeast coast of Sicily. It is in danger of extinction...

The common goal of the EU and our Foundation is to strengthen the small population of Marbled Ducks still occurring here in our Pantano Longarini section of the protected area (owned by the Foundation), thus preventing the extinction of this small, shy duck species in Southern Europe. To this end, we are investing more than 3.2 million euros (EU - 75%, Foundation - 25%) as part of an EU-LIFE18 funding project. Since 2021 we have been reconstructing the Pantano Longarini Lagoon and the artificially created canal system, previously used commercially, to create a new wetland habitat that is also ideally suited for the Marbled Duck population.

More than 40,000 m³ of sandy soil was moved for the new lagoon habitat in 2022 alone. In addition, we created extensive, diverse lagoon and canal banks, and many new small islands, in the Pantano Longarini Lagoon.

Marbled Ducks need a warm climate. Although they moult twice a year, there is no difference in plumage colouration between the sexes during the breeding season. They breed in fresh and brackish water in ponds, pools and lakes rich in vegetation. Unlike many other duck species, the Marbled Duck does not commute between resting or breeding and feeding grounds. Instead, it is restricted to a single body of water that must meet all its habitat requirements. The body of water must be shallow and have a dense reed belt. The bird's rarity, and the high risk of threat to its extinction in Europe, are due to these exceptionally extreme habitat demands.

This duck species, which has always been rare, is acutely threatened with extinction in Southern Europe. In the 20th Century alone, up to fifty per cent of its breeding habitats were destroyed by wetland drainage, hydraulic engineering measures, reed cutting, grazing and intensified agricultural use. The Southern European breeding population now consists of only 390 to 1,000 breeding pairs, with a sharp downward trend.

The Marbled Duck breeding station "La Granja Del Sales" in Valencia, Spain, is helping us substantially increase the Marbled Duck population in our Pantani Lagoon wetland over a four-year period. This will strengthen the natural Marbled Duck reproduction rate in the medium and long term. It will also increase the species' chance of repopulating suitable wetlands in Sicily and Italy.

 

The beginning of April is the height of spring on Sicily, and our meadow countryside around our Pantani Cuba & Longarini lagoons, extensively grazed only, is a sea of thousands of wildflower blossoms.
Since mid-January, almost 140 migratory bird species have used the peace, quiet and abundance of food in our 405 ha (4,050,000 m²) migratory bird sanctuary to refresh their energy reserves before continuing their spring migration northwards.

Now, at the beginning of April, around 12 hectares used extensively and exclusively as hay meadows are in full bloom. They offer hundreds of insect, butterfly, solitary bees and beetle species a feeding table well-stocked with pollen and nectar. Where insects thrive, insect-eating birds will not be far behind!

The meadows, grazed by donkeys, are full of delicate blue flowers of the Wild Anemone and hundreds of magenta-coloured Gladioli. After years of systematically removing illegally dumped rubbish and all invasive (non-native) plant species, the shoreline orchard meadow is now home to six different wild orchid species. The Milky Orchid Neotinea lactea shown in the photo was first found in our migratory bird sanctuary at the end of March 2023 by our Bird Guard Paolo. This orchid is found on all Mediterranean islands except Cyprus. The lime-loving species favours semi-natural and extensively used meadows and maquis.

Our migratory bird sanctuary now offers a total of 17 species of orchids and a completely refuse-free habitat that we strictly protect. Insect life also develops in a correspondingly diverse manner.

This floral display, with its enormous explosion of colour, is just one of the many heartwarming and deeply satisfying results of our years of dedicated biotope restoration and protection work in one of the most important lagoon wetland complexes along the central bird migration route from Northern/Central Europe, through the Alps, Italy and Sicily, to the North African coast.