23 July 2010. Dead Penguins Wash Ashore in Brazil.

A large number of dead penguins and other animals have washed ashore in Brazil. The latest reports say over 500 penguins—as well as other seabirds, five dolphins and three sea turtles—have been found along the coast near Sao Paulo. Initial studies suggest that starvation is the cause. There have been cooler than normal temperatures in the region, which may have negatively affected the animals’ food supply. Smaller numbers do wash up each year, but not the high numbers experienced this year. See news reports at the BBC and Earthweek. The event brings to mind a similar die-off last year off the coast of Chile [ref NeoNews Report from last year].

19 July 2010. Two More Brazilian IBAs Receive Protection.

The President of Brazil has been busy signing into law significant expansions of protected natural areas. Newly created are Boa Nova National Park and the Boa Nova Wildlife Refuge (in the Boa Nova Important Bird Area), Serra das Lontras National Park (also an IBA) and Alto Cariri National Park. In addition, Pau Brasil National Park is to be greatly expanded. Boa Nova IBA has a list of 396 bird species, 14 of which are globally threatened and 17 Near Threatened. Another 17 Near Threatened species have been identified at Serra das Lontras IBA. Altogether these areas will protect about 60,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest, one of the most threatened biomes in the world. The creation of these new protected areas is the result of years of hard work by SAVE Brasil, in partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations and local communities. Next up will be an effort to develop and apply management plans for these areas. For further information see the Birdlife International press release or the National Geographic article. You can get more information (in English and Portuguese) about SAVE Brasil and its important work at the organisation’s website.

19 July 2010. Rainforest Alliance Launches Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative Forum.

The Rainforest Alliance has started a web forum, intended to enable collaboration and cooperation between governmental agencies, conservation agencies and researchers concerned with migratory species in the Western Hemisphere. Initial discussion categories include capacity building, conservation planning, information, awareness, engagement, threat mitigation and news and events. There is a Spanish language link at the top of the homepage. By the way, NeoNews learned of this item from the newly re-launched Tangara Newsletter (published by Partners in Flight), now back in operation following a one year hiatus and a successful search for continuing funding. Back issues and subscription information for this valuable newsletter are available at La Tangara’s website.

19 July 2010. The Nature Conservancy Publications and Documents Available Online.

A large number of publications and documents from the Nature Conservancy can now be accessed online at ConserveOnline. The site also includes publications from other organizations. The homepage defines the goals of the website: “Created and maintained by The Nature Conservancy in partnership with other conservation organizations, ConserveOnline is a no cost public repository of tools, techniques and experiences available to conservation practitioners.” A searchable index allows researchers to locate specific areas of interest, for documents anywhere on the website or limited to the library. “Workspaces” allow the easy posting of materials of interest for special subject areas.

5 April 2010. Two New Protected Areas for Red-fronted Macaw in Bolivia.

The American Bird Conservancy reports that nearly 500,000 acres in Bolivia have been designated for the protection of the endangered Red-fronted Macaw, Ara rubrogenys. The population of this rare species is highly local and declining. The designation was made by two communities in the Bolivian Department of Cochabamba, in consultation with the American Bird Conservancy and the Bolivia-based Center for Biodiversity and Genetics at the University of San Simon. The designation is particularly significant because the local communities have now imposed development restrictions in favor of land conservation on a large percentage of their municipalities. This is another example of a fruitful collaboration between North and South American conservation, scientific and community organizations.

More information (in English and Spanish) can be found at the American Bird Conservancy website. To learn more about the Red-fronted Macaw, see the Birdlife International factsheet. Also available is information about the Center for Biodiversity and Genetics (brief, in Spanish).

9 February 2010. New Reserve in Dominican Republic.

The Sierra de Bahoruco Important Bird Area (IBA) holds a large percentage of Hispaniola’s endemic bird species — 32 of 34 species. Thus the news is most welcome that Grupo Jaragua (Birdlife International’s Partner in the Dominican Republic) has established a new reserve in that IBA, The Reserva Biológica Loma Charco Azul. It took considerable effort from Grupo Jaragua and its partners to achieve this result.

Among the many species present in the new Reserve are Bay-breasted Cuckoo (Cocccyzus rufigularis), La Selle Thrush (Turdus swalesi), Hispaniolan Crossbill (Loxia megaplaga) and Hispaniolan Amazon (Amazona ventralis). See the Birdlife International news release about the Preserve, or Grupo Jaragua’s website for more details. A Spanish language version of the Grupo Jaragua website is also available.

8 February 2010. Bad News From Brazil.

BBC News reports that the Brazilian government has granted an environmental license for the construction of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon. The proposed dam project will likely result in the flooding of 500 square kilometers of land and displace as many as 40,000 people, many of them members of the indigenous Paquicamba tribe. This longstanding proposed project was rejected by previous administrations after strident opposition from both within Brazil and from around the world. Proponents argue that the new plan includes modifications requiring payment of millions of dollars to protect the environment and meet 40 other conditions, though critics remain skeptical. To read the original BBC article, click here. Amazon Watch’s information pages on this project can be viewed by .

News reports on continuing protests and objections to this latest action can be found at a variety of web-based news sources, e.g. this AFP report at Yahoo News.

8 February 2010. New Population of Long-Whiskered Owlet in Peru.

The Long-whiskered Owlet, Xenoglaux loweryi was seen, videoed and photographed during a late January, 2010 regional survey by the NGO Neotropical Primate Conservation. The site is La Esperanza, close to the now well-known locality of Abra Patricia. Discovered only in 1976, this species has been detected on only a very few occasions. Most remarkable was the high density of five calling birds during this most recent detection. It is endemic to a very small habitat range, all of which is under severe threat of destruction. Efforts are underway to save the remaining forest in this region.

See the Bird Forum report by Shachar Alterman, one of the observers, by clicking here; this site has links to a narrative report. For more information on the owlet, see also the Birdlife International datasheet, and this charming photo.

17 October 2009. Araripe Manakin Enters the Fashion World. Noted fashion designer Maria Elvira Crosara will feature, in her Spring 2010 Collection, designs that depict the Critically Endangered Araripe Manakin, Antilphia bokermanni. The designs, featuring artwork supplied by Barcelona-based Colombian artist Catalina Estrada, will be shown and sold at Anunciação on Oscar Freire Street in São Paulo. A percentage of the proceeds from selected T-shirts featuring the special designs will go to support SAVE Brasil, a BirdLife Partner in Brazil. It so happens that the latest volume of the Neotropical Bird Club’s Neotropical Birding magazine (Number 5, Autumn 2009) contains a feature article on the Araripe Manakin. The question remains: coincidence, or are the Neotropical Birding editors actually secret insiders in the world of high fashion?

For more details, see the BirdLife news release. Information about the Araripe Manakin is available here; for SAVE Brasil’s website, click here. And fashion mavens can find more on the full line at Anunciação’s website.

17 October 2009. Alarming Rates of Deforestation in Paraguayan Chaco. Recent reports paint a worrying picture of deforestation in the Paraguayan Chaco. The latest satellite monitoring conducted by Guyra Paraguay (BirdLife’s partner in Paraguay) shows a deforestation rate of 500 to 728 hectares per day. Despite the creation of the 700,000 hectare Chaco National Park, experts predict that, at the current rate of deforestation, the entire Paragruayan Chaco will be lost in 22 years. According to Guyra Paraguay’s Oscar Godas, the best strategy for preservation lies not in the simple zero deforestation law currently in force in Paraguay, but rather in a “a complex package of laws, including both zero deforestation and environmental incentives to landowners.” Also important is the inclusion of the indigenous Ayoreo people in any management plan, Godas says.

For further details, see the BirdLife news item or Guyra Paraguay’s website. Other web-accessible information sources include the report, Assessing Deforestation in the Argentine Chaco, by Pedro Boleta, et al., available for a fee from Science Direct’s website. Related news reports can be found on the IPS and Christian Science Monitor's websites.

13 October 2009. Santiago Island (Galapagos) Goat Free. The American Bird Conservancy has announced that the island of Santiago in the Galapagos Archipelago has been successfully cleared of goats. The goats had caused widespread destruction of critical habitat, with a severe negative impact on threatened species, including Woodpecker Finch (Camarhynchus pallidus) and eight other species of DarwinÕs finches, Galapagos Rail (Laterallus spilanotus) and Galapagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia. The eradication program was a project of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Foundation, and lasted from 2001 to 2005 with three subsequent years of monitoring. This is the largest eradication of invasive mammals from an island ever achieved.

For background information on Santiago Island, click here.

For more information on the Charles Darwin Foundation, click here.

For the ABC News Release, click here.

13 October 2009. New Study Identifies Critical Bird Areas in Peru. The American Bird Conservancy and the Asociación Ecosystemas Andinos (ECOAN), with the cooperation of independent biologists and conservationists, has released a new report on the Marañon-Alto Mayo Bird Conservation Corridor. This critical region covers over six million acres in Northern Peru, and encompasses high conservation priority areas such as the Sechura Desert, Tumbes-Piura dry forests, Marañon dry forests and Peruvian Yungas. Despite its high conservation priority status, only 0.1% is actually protected currently.

The new study identified 64 bird species of conservation importance, of which 28 species are of the highest conservation priority. Of those, 26 are Peruvian endemics and four are limited to single small areas. The birds profiled include Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi) and Marvelous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirabilis). For more information on the corridor, including links to the full report (large file!) and detailed maps, click here.

Pink-headed Warbler
(Kester Wilson)