Critically Endangered Northern bald ibis rear two healthy young

Syrian unrest doesn't hamper recovery of Middle East's rarest bird

July 2011. Conservationists have feared that Syria's current political unrest may have affected the fortunes of the northern bald ibis - currently the most threatened bird in the Middle East with just one breeding pair left.

There are just 3 remaining wild Northern Bald ibis in Syria. Credit RSPBimages.com

But counter to the trepidation, for the first time in the last three years the remaining pair has successfully reared two healthy young, which have left the nest and have begun their migration to the highlands of Ethiopia.

Teetering on the verge of extinction
Chris Bowden is the RSPB's international species recovery officer, coordinating the northern bald ibis programme for BirdLife International. He said: "This species has teetered on the brink of extinction in the Middle East for several years, but we're delighted to report that the fledging of two chicks has reignited our hopes for the recovery of this bird." The Syrian Desert Commission has successfully protected the birds. The northern bald ibis - named for its distinctive bald-headed appearance - is distantly related to storks, herons and spoonbills.

Symbol of the Pharaohs
Chris Bowden added: "This species has been an important cultural and religious icon in the Middle East and it had special significance to the Egyptian Pharaohs, but now it has become a symbol of optimism too.

Tracing their migration
"As we trace their migration route across the Middle East, we have colleagues across the region poised to monitor them on their journey. However, difficulties, such as petrol shortages are confounding our efforts. One of our Yemeni colleagues was forced to wait nine-hours for fuel before starting to search for the birds!"

Feared extinct until 2002

The wild population of northern bald ibis was feared extinct in the Middle East, when in 2002 birds were found nesting in the mountains of Syria, near Palmyra - after not being seen in Syria for 70 years. Since then conservationists have sought to give the birds protection by working with local people and by using state-of-the-art technology to track the birds' movements. This research has identified that the Syrian adult birds head to the highlands of Ethiopia to spend the winter, but where the juveniles go still remains a mystery.

Critically Endangered
The Critically Endangered northern bald ibis was once widespread across North Africa and the Middle East. Aside from Syria, the only other nesting population occurs in Morocco, where just over 100 breeding pairs still occur in two coastal locations near Agadir, on the Atlantic coast. The outlying birds in Syria will be an important addition but only if the population can be sustained.

Two of the three adult birds carry tracking devices and their daily progress can be followed by visiting the following website: www.rspb.org.uk/ibistracking and for more background visit www.iagnbi.org

Captive birds released in 2010

Despite apparently breeding well, and rearing plnety of chicks, the colony has dwindled from 7 birds in 2002 to just 3 in 2011. So in 2010 2 birds from the small captive population in Turkey were relased alongside the Syrian birds, but sadly it appears that they didn't survive their first winter migration, though it is possible that they have just got lost - Their transmitters stopped working last autumn. The lone chick reared by the wild birds in 2010 was found dead during the migration - He was very undernourished.

Two birds have fledged from the nest in 2011 and they both seemed healthy when they left on their migration, so it is hoped that they will survive their winter migration.

Their were unconfirmed reports of 3 unringed birds spotted in Ethiopa last winter - It is just possible that they are juveniles that fledged in 2007 in Syria but have not (yet) returned there.

Follow that microlight: Birds learn to migrate

"Yes, people think we're crazy," says Johannes Fritz, with a wry smile.


And surveying the scene, it is easy to see why.

We are in a playing field, in a small village in Austria, close to the Slovenian border.

In it stands a makeshift camp, with all the usual outdoors paraphernalia.

But it is the large aviary, containing 14 northern bald ibis and two human "foster parents" who are gently tending to their avian flock that really draws your attention.

That, and the microlights parked nearby.

For the past couple of days, this unassuming spot has been home to the Waldrapp team, "Waldrapp" being another name for the northern bald ibis.

But the group will not be staying here for long: they are part-way through a month-long effort to take these birds on a 1,300km flight from Germany to Italy.

However, this is no ordinary migration. The scientists are teaching the birds their route by getting them to follow a microlight.

Building trust
The project forms part of a wider conservation plan to save this critically endangered bird, explains Dr Fritz, leader of the Waldrapp team.

The northern bald ibis was once common throughout Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East.


But today, because of habitat loss and hunting, it has vanished from Europe, leaving diminished populations in Morocco, and just a handful of these distinctive birds in Syria.

Along with other groups around the world, the Waldrapp team is looking into the feasibility of reintroducing birds born in captivity into the wild.

But it is not as simple as opening a cage and setting them free.

Without any knowledge of their migration route, which is usually passed on by their parents, the zoo-born birds cannot survive.

So, inspired by a similar project in America called Operation Migration, the scientists teach them their flight plan instead.


But it is a time-consuming process. It begins in spring. As soon as the birds hatch, they are introduced to their new human foster parents.

Then for the next few months, the human stand-ins spend almost every waking hour with the birds, feeding them, grooming them and playing with them.

Sinja Werner, one of the two foster parents in this year's team, says: "We try to be their parents, as best as we can. It's important that they trust you."

Finally, this bond becomes so strong that the birds are willing to follow their parents anywhere. Even if they are sitting in a microlight.

Conservation crisis
While no doubt expensive, people-power heavy and time intensive, the Waldrapp project forms part of a growing movement that is taking conservation further than it has ever gone before.

Gone are the days when saving the flora and fauna was just about safeguarding habitats and putting species protection plans into place.

Thanks to the fact that we are in midst of the biggest extinction crisis since the dinosaurs were wiped out, some researchers are saying we have to go further.


As well as concentrating on the traditional methods, they claim that we need to invest in and embrace more extreme, more experimental approaches, from hands-on reintroduction programmes like these, to shifting species around the globe and even cloning.

Professor John Fa, director of conservation science at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, says: "We are talking about over 6,000 species under threat, we are talking about pollution increasing, we are talking about habitat fragmentation, we are talking about invasive species. There are many, many threats and these threats are still there.


"In some situations, species are so low in numbers that the only way to deal with their survival is through more intervention, and I think it is pushing us with coming up with more innovative ideas, it is pushing us into coming up with extreme ideas."

And this project certainly fits the bill. The next morning, we get to witness the team in action.

As dawn breaks, the camp emerges from the darkness into a hive of activity, getting ready for a planned 200km flight that should take the team across the border into Slovenia.


The final preparations are made, and foster parent Sinja takes one last look at her birds before climbing into the microlight.

With a quick burst of speed, it powers across the dewy meadow before gliding up into the air, the fog-drenched countryside becoming ever more distant below.

The aviary opens, and the birds also take to the skies, encouraged by their adoptive mother who repeatedly yells into her loudspeaker: "Here Wileys, come come".


But, it soon becomes clear that the "Wileys", an affectionate nickname for the birds, need a bit more convincing.

Every now and again the foster parent's efforts seem to be working, and the birds gather in a tight V-shaped formation behind the aircraft.

But moments later they scatter, accompanied by increasingly desperate yells from above, pleading with them to come back.

This bizarre mid-air procession continues back and forth for the next 90 minutes, but today, just like naughty children, the birds simply will not do what they are told.

Finally, the team calls it a day, landing a measly 10km from where they set off.

Back on track
A few weeks later, Dr Fritz gets back in touch

After this early setback, he said, the birds started to behave, eventually completing their 1,300km migration and arriving in Italy in record time.


He said: "The migration 2010 was fantastic and extraordinary.

"For the first time, the flight speed and the flight distances are fully comparable with that of the wild migrating birds."

With the migration now complete, this flock now have their "flight plan" in place, hopefully allowing them to make their own unassisted migration back to Germany when the time comes for them to breed.

But whatever the future holds for these birds, one thing is certain: these kinds of hands-on conservation efforts are far from easy - or predictable

By Rebecca Morelle

Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11574073