News: Short & sweet / archive
July to September 2024

Republic of Cyprus: Report # 1 from the Autumn Bird Protection Camp
As expected, our bird protection activists are unfortunately experiencing much more active bird poaching and hunting this autumn. After the marked absence of bird poachers and hunters during the spring bird migration on Cyprus, the "big players" in the bird slaughter business, in particular, are counting on an autumn full of birds to bring them the long-planned-for tax-free profits from this bloody business.
 
Our bird protection activists found what they were looking for in the first few days of operations and, in addition to several small bird trapping sites, discovered a large professionally operated bird trapping site with seven illegal nets and two illegal electronic bird call decoys. Unfortunately, despite a lot of time and effort, we were unable to catch the bird trappers(s) red-handed.

Nevertheless, 67 songbirds, some rare migratory species, were released from the nets alive and reasonably unharmed. These included Ortolan Bunting, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, Northern Wheatear, Spotted Flycatcher and even a Masked Shrike.  
 





Results of the Cyprus Autumn Bird Protection Camp (09.09.2024 – 14.09.2024):
 
Bird trappers

• 5 illegal trapping sites identified and monitored
• 54 illegal limesticks dismantled
• 2 trappers caught and charges preferred
• 2 electronic bird callers dismantled
• 70 migratory birds freed alive from nets and limesticks 

Bird hunters

• 7 hunting sites with illegal bird hunting identified
• 1 hunter caught using an illegal bird caller and charges preferred
• 5 illegal electronic bird callers dismantled

After the German TV programme of SWR has broadcasted the TV film "Sicily - Italy's Sunshine Island in the Mediterranean" incl. our 2 Sicily nature and biodiversity projects on Sunday, 15th, September 2024 at 8.15 hours CET, for all of you who have missed the film or could not receive it, below the link to the mediathek:

    ► Link: https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/traumziele/sizilien-italiens-sonneninsel-im-mittelmeer/swr/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzIxMDY0NTE

Following the showing of a short-form film version (45 minutes) on the French/German TV programme ARTE in May 2024, the full Sicily documentary film version (90 minutes) will now be shown on the German TV programme of SWR in the framework of their series "Dream Destinations" in the TV film "Sicily - Italy's Sunshine Island in the Mediterranean". The Foundation Pro Biodiversity’s migratory bird protection project and the wildlife rescue project are well represented in this film.

The SWR will broadcast the film "Sicily - Italy's Sunshine Island in the Mediterranean" in its TV film series "Dream Destinations" (90 min) on Sunday, 15 September 2024, from 8:15 pm, which will also include comprehensive reports on our two migratory bird and wildlife conservation projects in Sicily, the Pantani Cuba & Longarini Migratory Bird Sanctuary on the southeast coast and the Messina Wildlife Rescue Station on the Strait of Messina.

If you missed the Arte documentary in May, be sure to tune in this time. It will be well worth your while!
 

Effective biotope maintenance work by male and female volunteers for ground-nesting bird species in hot Mediterranean temperatures
We would like to thank the regional groups of the Italian non-profit organisations "Legambiente Sikelion - Ispica" and "Libera - Coordinamento Ragusa" for their recommendation and coordination of an immensely important and valuable biotope maintenance project for the conservation of ground-nesting bird species on the new islands we created in 2023 in our Pantano Longarini lagoon, which is currently dried up.

While weather stations and the media in Germany categorised the three-day midsummer heat of up to +35° C in the shade over the last few days as dangerous and quite unbearable, 26 men and women from all over Italy worked voluntarily at +40° C in the blazing sun with dedication and a great deal of motivation in sweat-inducing biotope maintenance for the benefit of ground-nesting bird species such as the Little Tern, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover and the Eurasian Stone-curlew.

The aim of the biotope maintenance work was to systematically remove the densely grown ground vegetation on the new bird islands we created in 2023. In particular, the bird species that breed in colonies on the ground prefer largely vegetation-free sand and rubble areas, which offer them a clear view of the ground nest environment and thus early detection of potential predators.

Under the expert guidance of our Sicilian Bird Guards, the volunteers, despite the sweltering heat, only needed just under three hours to remove as much vegetation as possible from the five most important bird islands. As a result, almost 15 m³ of plant material was removed, which we dried within twelve hours and are now using as mulch material for our newly planted olive and carob trees on the banks of the Pantano Cuba lagoon.

In addition to the months of drought in Sicily, thousands of fires and conflagrations have now occurred, some of which are the result of negligence, others have been set with criminal energy
Three so far unidentified persons have deliberately set fires on 30 July and 1 August 2024 on the north, west and south sides of our Pantano Longarini lagoon in our migratory bird sanctuary. This is the first criminal attack against our protected area in almost five years! The media and carabinieri have been informed.
 
The fires burnt down almost 21 hectares (210,000 m²) of dry reeds, grassland and scrubland. Fortunately, our painstakingly maintained firebreaks and the extensive mowing of vegetation before the start of each dry season prevented anything worse. An initial thorough inspection of the burnt areas by our Bird Guards, the fires showed that, fortunately, only minor damage to wildlife had been caused.
 
The burnt vegetation will recover six weeks after the first winter rains, and wildlife will recolonise the revitalised habitat.
 

The sporadic summer drying out of the Pantani Cuba & Pantano lagoons is not a new phenomenon. Nevertheless, the fact that the drought began up to six weeks earlier than usual is a new phenomenon …
For the Greater Flamingo breeding colony with almost 500 chicks, the water level in the Pantano Longarini lagoon was just enough for the adults to rear their young safely. Now, in the renaturised canals, which are gradually drying up, very little food is left for the young flamingos. The Pantano Longarini lagoon is now completely dry, and the Pantano Cuba lagoon has hardly any water left.

When we began purchasing land to establish our migratory bird sanctuary in the Pantani Cuba & Pantano Longarini wetland complex in 2013, we were very irritated to experience the sporadic drying up of the two lagoons. Today, we know that this drying out is an integral part of the natural cycle for the lagoons and wetlands and future water quality.

Otherwise, this wetland complex would often be liable to outbreaks of bird influenza due to the extremely high concentration of thousands of waterfowl and their droppings over months. However, bacteria and germs die in the sweltering heat of the blazing sun and the correspondingly hot, dried-out mud of the lagoon bed.

The drying up of the lagoons, which refill with rainwater in the winter months, is part of the dynamism of this wetland complex, but this year the natural cycle has been severely disrupted. Sicilians reported a similarly severe dry period some 25 years ago!

So, we and the migratory bird world can only hope for more abundant winter rainfall so that our Pantani nature reserve can once again become an undisturbed, food-rich resting place for the autumn migration of tens of thousands of migratory birds seeking food and wintering here. We have transformed the wetland complex into an important natural habitat, and we will continue to develop it further in the future.