An impressive 2,000 Saker chicks have hatched in 2013 as a result of an artificial nesting programme in Mongolia. The project, which is run in partnership by the Environment Agency — Abu Dhabi (EAD) and Mongolia's Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism, was launched in 2010 with the aim of increasing the wild Saker population.

In 2010, EAD — on behalf of the United Arab Emirates government — signed an agreement with the government of Mongolia to build 5,000 artificial nests in the Mongolian steppes to encourage breeding among the species and increase the world's population of Sakers. EAD reported that 3,700 chicks have been born since the project was first launched.

Several of the artificial nests have been fitted with cameras that record continuously, allowing officials to record the falcons' eating habits and predator threats. This year, the project has also been extended to address the problem of Sakers being electrocuted by power lines — a major cause of falcon mortality in Mongolia and China, which kills one falcon each week. Officials took a number of steps to address this issue, including adding insulation covers to the power lines.

This project has been instigated partly in response to the last 20 years when the United Arab Emirates has been the main destination for thousands of falcons caught and sold illegally for hefty sums on the black market. Kazakhstan is estimated to lose up to 1,000 Sakers per year to Middle Eastern falconers.

H.E Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of EAD, commented on the project's progress: "This initiative was introduced to promote sustainable breeding practices and to provide birds with safe and secure breeding environments in a bid to boost global population numbers. I am happy to report that, in addition to the success we have seen with the breeding, we have also built up the capabilities of local biologists and have incorporated an educational programme in schools in Mongolia as well as two schools in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council."

More information can be found on the Middle East Falcon Research Group website.

The Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (SOPI, BirdLife in Puerto Rico) has signed an agreement with Cafiesencia, a local NGO, to collaborate in promoting economic sustainability and biodiversity conservation through the production of "Ecological Shade-grown Coffee" in the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) of Maricao and Susua in Puerto Rico.

Maricao and Susua IBA is home to the globally threatened Puerto Rican Nightjar (Caprimulgus noctitherus) and Elfin-woods Warbler (Setophaga angelae). It also supports populations of many Neotropical migratory birds, and 18 restricted-range species including the Puerto Rican Tody (Todus mexicanus), which is the charismatic species featured on the branding of coffee being produced by participating farmers. The IBA is also recognized as a Key Biodiversity Area in recognition of its importance for plants, bats, reptiles and amphibians.

The Shade-grown Coffee Round Table is made up of representatives from national and federal government, NGOs and farmers, and is developing the criteria for certification of the ecological shade-grown coffee. They have identified a niche for an organization with expertise in bird conservation and agri-tourism to develop workshops for farmers, establish bird monitoring plots and train farmers in birdwatching. With this niche in mind, Cafiesencia, the leading NGO of the Round Table, has invited SOPI to participate in this initiative and start by establishing of bird monitoring plots. By signing this agreement, both organizations will work with coffee-farming communities to implement best practices that benefit birds, the forests and people. "It is important to maintain agriculture and conservation in harmony as they will both benefit each other in the long term," said Lisette Fas, Executive Director of Cafiescencia.

SOPI is supporting the production and marketing of this shade-grown coffee as it represents an important means of conserving birds (through the maintenance of the shade-providing canopy trees) and securing a premium price, thereby improving the livelihoods of the farmers. Ela M. Cruz, SOPI's Executive Director, said: "If the recommended best practices are adopted by the farmers, these farms will provide excellent buffer zones and wildlife corridors to the adjacent protected areas, and protect an important watershed. In return, the biodiversity — including the birds — will provide pest control and pollination services, and the coffee that is produced will command a premium price." In parallel to working on best practices, SOPI will also promote birding in these farms as an additional income-generating activity which will reinforce this production system as a win-win for both the farmers and biodiversity.

For more information about SOPI's conservation work, please visit their website atwww.avesdepuertorico.org.

A rare sighting of a marked Spoon-billed Sandpiper on migration was reported last weekend from Rudong mudflats north of Shanghai. The critically endangered bird was identified by a lime green plastic flag on its leg marked '01' that was
attached by scientists from Birds Russia on its breeding grounds this
summer.

Conservationists know that this bird 'Lime 01' fathered six fledglings this
summer — three that were hand-reared by conservationists and three that he
raised himself — which is 10 times the average for the species.

 In all, this summer sixteen hand-reared Spoon-billed Sandpiper fledglings and
eight adults were marked with uniquely inscribed plastic leg flags. Birdwatchers
are being asked to report all sightings of Spoon-billed Sandpipers.

Coordinator of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force, Christoph Zöckler,
said: "The Rudong mudflats are an extremely important stop-over site for the
Spoon-billed Sandpiper to rest and feed and it is very exciting news that our
Russian breeding birds have been sighted there. Unfortunately these mudflats,
like much coastal wetland along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, are
threatened by the development. Alongside illegal trapping and hunting, it has
pushed these birds to the edge."

 WWT Head of Species Conservation Department, Baz Hughes, said: "This is why
we're taking extreme measures to prevent its extinction: hand-rearing chicks to
boost numbers, but Spoon-billed Sandpipers rely on the help of so many people.
Reports like this are only possible thanks to the support of birdwatchers
throughout Asia and are an invaluable part of its conservation."

Rudong mudflats are the most significant known staging post in China for
Spoon-billed Sandpipers, where 106 individuals were counted last year in
October. Demand for land is high in the region, which is only 150km from
Shanghai, and land has already been reclaimed from the marshes at Dongling to
the southern end.

Pavel Tomkovich of Birds Russia, who caught and marked the bird with Nikolai
Yakushev, said: "When I marked 'Lime 01' I wondered if anybody would ever see it
on its travels, almost a quarter of the way round the world, as looking for
Spoon-billed Sandpipers can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Looking
for marked birds is even more difficult as we were only able to mark eight adult
birds with these unique flags. Thanks to the reports of local birdwatchers,
we're learning their stopover points."

 'Lime 01' was seen leaving the breeding grounds on 4th August and was seen
5,000km away at Rudong on 31st August. Spoon-billed Sandpipers can cover as much
as 1,000km per day, leaving around three weeks during which it may have been
staging elsewhere

BTO Head of Projects, Nigel Clark, said: "We've known for a few years that
they stop at Rudong mudflats and we hope to be able to protect it. But our
calculations indicate that 'Lime 01' probably stopped somewhere else for up to
three weeks before reaching Rudong. We want to find out where that is in case it
is under threat."

 Zhang Lin of the "Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China" Team said: "The first
Spoon-billed Sandpiper arrived at Rudong about two weeks ago since when I have
been regularly scanning the increasing numbers of waders at the high-tide roost
at Rudong. When I glimpsed a bird on 31st August that looked like it had a lime
green leg flag I knew something exciting was in front of me. On closer
inspection it turned out to be 'Lime 01'. I was over the moon as this is the
first time that one of the birds marked in 2013 has been seen in China. It is
amazing to see how these little but critically endangered birds are connecting
our key sites along the flyway between Russia and China. They are very important
as they allow us to track whether efforts to save the species are working."

 Guidance on reporting Spoon-billed Sandpiper sightings is available from the
East-Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force www.eaaflyway.net/spoon-billed-sandpiper.php. To
follow the progress of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation breeding
programme visit www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com.

For first time since Middle Ages, Common Cranes have raised young in Scotland, on a farm whose precise location has been withheld.

The striking wading birds have successfully raised two chicks within the last two years in North-East Scotland, said the RSPB, indicating conditions could be right for the species to recolonise Scotland.

Small but increasing numbers of the migratory birds, which spend summer in northern Europe and winter in southern France and Spain, have passed through Britain in recent years and a small breeding population became established in Norfolk in 1979, with further breeding in Suffolk. However, these are the first confirmed successful nests north of the border for hundreds of years.

Common Crane once bred regularly in Scotland but died out about 400 years ago, primarily due to being hunted for mediaeval  tables. Habitat loss and a slow reproductive cycle may have also contributed to the species' disappearance.

The species, which favours large wetland areas such as lowland peat bogs with an abundance of pools, appears to be benefitting from farming methods in the area which provide plentiful invertebrates, grain and other foods, as well as the right conditions to breed and successfully raise chicks.

Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland said: “We are stunned and delighted to see that Common Cranes have bred successfully in Scotland. These charming, elegant birds have a strong place in our myths and history and are a delight to see, particularly during the breeding season with their 'dancing' displays. They undertake regular migrations and small numbers have turned up on the east coast of Scotland in recent years, raising hopes of a recolonisation. Last year a pair reared one chick, followed by a second chick in 2013.

“Thanks to the co-operation of farmers in the area, the conditions appear to be right for cranes to take up residence and it is possible that more will choose to re-establish themselves in the country in future.

“We have been working with local farmers, landowners and the community to monitor these fantastic birds. Despite their size and flamboyant breeding displays, cranes are secretive birds and are very sensitive to disturbance and  we ask that they be given space and peace so they may establish a breeding population in Scotland.”

To minimise risk of disturbance, the exact location of the nest site has not be revealed. The British breeding population stood at 17 pairs in 2011. In addition to natural re-colonisation, a re-introduction project began in 2010 on the Somerset Levels, the result of a partnership between RSPB, WWT, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust and Viridor Credits.

RSPB’s Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve, a major coastal wetland near Fraserburgh, is visited by cranes on spring migration and offers the best opportunity to see them doing their ‘dancing’ displays. 

The safety tens of thousands of swans and geese in the UK could be improved by new research into collisions with power lines, which started this week with the installation of more than 150 special bird diverters in Lancashire.

Flying collisions are the most commonly recorded cause of death for swans, whose size means they have poor manoeuvrability in flight. Bird diverters are special attachments to the lines that help make them stand out to birds in flight. For the first time, a partnership between Electricity North West, Lancaster University and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is studying the efficiency of different types of diverter, alongside agricultural, weather and landscape factors that affect birds' flights. The study area around WWT Martin Mere in Lancashire is the winter home of 30,000 Pink-footed Geese and 2,500 Whooper Swans and has been identified as a sensitive area for collisions.
Dr Eileen Rees, Head of UK Waterbird Conservation for WWT, said: "Tens of thousands of migratory geese and swans make the UK's wetlands their winter homes. Collisions with power lines are a major cause of death for them, so WWT is delighted to be working with Electricity North West to make Lancashire, and the UK as a whole, a safer place for them. Through this innovative partnership we aim to gather evidence for solutions that work in our modern landscape. As well as reducing the risk to swans and geese, the results of the study should help electricity suppliers throughout the UK provide their service with fewer unnecessary interruptions."

Steve Cox, future network manager for Electricity North West, added: "We hope that the diverters and our subsequent research will go on to help birds and electricity customers across the UK. By working closely with WWT Martin Mere we discovered this was a sensitive section of the network as it was located in a known flight path and we are delighted to be able to help protect these wonderful birds. By limiting the chances of any collisions, the special diverters will also reduce any possible impact on customer power supplies."

Dr Ian Hartley, a Senior Lecturer at the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University and a behavioural ecology expert, commented: "This is a great opportunity and we are very pleased to be working with new partners on a project of such high calibre which is going to have a large impact on the area around where the geese and swans winter. One of our Master's students will work on the project for a year and our input will be to add knowledge on the analysis and geographic information systems aspects."

Throughout this winter, the study will closely observe the flight behaviour of geese and swans in and around WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre. It will determine the importance of features such as tree lines, the choice of crops and the wind direction on the birds' choice of flight line and height.

For more information about Electricity North West please visit www.enwl.co.uk, and for further information about WWT see www.wwt.org.uk.

Critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper fledglings have increased
in number by a quarter in 2013, after conservationists intervened to hand-rear
chicks. As few as 100 breeding pairs remain in the wild, rearing just 60 young
between them each year on average. The 16 additional hand-reared young from this
year are a significant boost for the species, which is on the verge of
extinction.

WWT Conservation Breeding Officer Roland Digby commented: "The breeding
season in Russia is short and brutal for Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Each pair is
lucky to get even a single chick as far as fledging. Normally, that's life, but
right now the Spoon-billed Sandpiper needs a lifeline to keep them from going
under."

 Experts from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust worked with Russian scientists
to source eggs from breeding pairs soon after being laid. Taking the eggs
prompted each breeding pair to lay a further clutch, which they were left to
rear themselves. One pair produced a total of six fledglings this year — no less
than ten times the average.

The tiny fledglings now face their first 8,000-kilometre migration to Myanmar
and Bangladesh. Along the way they will struggle to find undeveloped coastal
mudflats to rest and feed, and on arrival they risk being trapped in nets.
Birdwatchers in Asia are being asked to report any sightings of Spoon-billed
Sandpipers. All hand-reared birds have a tiny coloured flag attached to one
leg.

 Intervening to increase breeding productivity in wildlife like this is known
as headstarting. It is a short-term strategy and Tim Stowe, RSPB Director of
International Operations, said: "Having been part of an expedition to look for
additional Spoon-billed Sandpiper breeding sites, I can appreciate that giving
these amazing birds a helping hand through headstarting will help deliver
short-term conservation benefits."

Conservationists are tackling the problems of illegal trapping and habitat
loss along the species' flyway. It is calculated that headstarting Spoon-billed
Sandpipers will increase the number returning to breed as problems are
addressed, allowing the population to stabilise and recover more quickly.

For a fuller account of the expedition to Chukotka and for details of how to
support Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation, visit www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com.

Friends of Red Kites (FoRK) have released the latest figures regarding the species' success during the 2013 breeding season in the North-East. For some
reason — probably the loss of kites to illegal persecution in winter when they wander around — the population is failing to expand on the pattern of other reintroductions.

 Kites were widespread early in the season and monitoring work identified 27 potential breeding territories being held by pairs or displaying males. However, the nesting season that followed proved disappointing, with a high failure rate and only limited evidence of breeding (two pairs) outside the core area in the Derwent Valley. The very cold conditions of March and April may have had some impact on the fitness of birds at the start of the season.

 FoRK are concerned that the population is not expanding as it should. This is
the third consecutive season where there has been no apparent increase in
breeding pairs. Comparisons with other regional release programmes, made after
the same interval following the release of kites, show that the North-East has a
significantly lower breeding population. If the national trend had been followed
we could have expect a population by now of upwards of 50 breeding pairs. This
problem is to be discussed with the RSPB and others.

 Twenty nests were found and 17 pairs went on to produce eggs. Two of the
other nests were built by unmated males and the third by a young pair that did
not go on to lay eggs. The final results showed that, worryingly, nearly half
the nests failed despite, in sharp contrast to 2012, the weather then being
favourable from hatching until the fledging period. The nine remaining closely
monitored pairs went on to fledge at least 18 young, compared with 13 pairs
fledging 22 young in 2012. The fledging total was the absolute minimum as the
outcome at two further localities was not known. In one area of mature woodland
where an early nest appeared to have been abandoned during incubation,
alarm-calling adults late in the season may have indicated the presence of
young. Two of the successful pairs fledged broods of three young; five pairs had
two young and the remaining two fledged single chicks.

 Once again all but two of the nests found were in the Derwent Valley. The
exceptions were one in the Causey Gill, and one at a site near Wylam, close to
the Northumberland boundary, which was used for the first time in four years and
which produced at least one chick. Birds were also prominent during the season
around the Derwent Reservoir, Blanchland, Edmundbyers, Muggleswick and the
Derwent Gorges but once again, despite extensive searching, no nests were
found.
 2013 was the fourth year in which responsibility for monitoring was
undertaken by FoRK, the organisation made up of former volunteers with the
Northern Kite project that released 94 birds from the booming Chilterns
population over a three-year period. Ringing, wing-tagging, the completion of
BTO Nest Record Cards and liaison with the Rare Birds Breeding Panel was also
undertaken.

In the Derwent Valley, several sites used regularly in recent years were
unoccupied indicating that previous 'tenants' may have perished, but several new
sites were found, one of them in a garden just 25 yards from the back of a
bungalow. During June and July, 12 chicks at six nests were ringed by Keith
Bowey, Ken Sanderson and Ian Kerr, aided by our regular climbers. Ten of them
were wing-tagged with the normal Northern project tags of pink on the left wing
and the 2013 year tag of yellow with black lettering on the right wing. Two of
the ringed young were too small to tag. Other nests had young that were too
large to handle safely and one was not found until the young had fledged.

An analysis of the seven failed nests showed that one was predated when it
contained two young. Nest lining had been ripped out and was hanging over the
edge. Another nest, predated at either the egg or small chick stage, showed
similar damage and was just 30 yards from a successful Carrion Crow nest, perhaps a clue to the culprits. The cause of failure at the other seven was not established.

 Next year will mark the tenth anniversary of the start of the Northern Kites
reintroduction project. FoRK is planning to increase the size of its monitoring
teams in an effort to ensure that all potential areas are fully covered. The aim
will be to recruit volunteers from the Durham and the Northumberland and
Tyneside bird clubs, RSPB and other groups to 'adopt' potential areas and survey
them for displaying birds in February and March and for evidence of breeding in
April and May. This will aim to build on a one-day survey carried out during
March 2013 when, despite appalling conditions with freezing winds, icy roads and
heavy snow in upland areas, more than 30 volunteers turned out to search for
kites.

 For more information on FoRK, visit the Friends of Red Kites
website.

Recent surveys on its coastal Patagonian wintering grounds indicate that the
Endangered Hooded Grebe Podiceps gallardoi has declined by 40% in
the last seven years and this, along with alarming new threats detected on its
breeding grounds during 2011, indicate action is now urgently required to
prevent the rapidly increasing threat of its extinction.

 In response to these worrying findings, Aves Argentinas (BirdLife in
Argentina) has mounted a wide-ranging offensive to protect this
highly-threatened migratory species from further decline. In support, we are
launching an international online appeal through the BirdLife Preventing
Extinctions Programme to help fund the urgently required conservation
action that they have already begun.

 Please click here to visit BirdLife International's 
appeal page and see a video of breeding Hooded Grebes filmed by our
conservation team last week.

  Discovered only as recently as 1974, Hooded Grebe has declined by as much as
80% in the last 30 years and as a result of surveys conducted in 2006 and 2009,
the species was uplisted by BirdLife to Endangered on the IUCN Red List in
May 2009. Recent counts on the wintering grounds last year, suggest the decline
is steepening further.

 “Our teams started to become really worried when we realised that
there was more than one cause to tackle if we were to conserve the Hooded
Grebe”, said Gustavo Costa, President of Aves Argentinas.

In many of the lakes in the grebe’s core distribution, exotic trout have been
introduced for industrial fish production. “Trout rearing has reached the most
isolated places, and this industry is threatening not only the future of the
grebe but also the rest of the wildlife present in those environments”,
Gustavo Costa added. Also evident are the increasing numbers of Kelp Gull
Larus dominicanus, a known predator of the grebe that has benefited
from both the fish industry and poor waste management at human settlements.

As if these problems were not already enough to push this struggling species
over the edge, a breeding colony which Aves Argentinas was studying at Laguna El
Cervecero, Santa Cruz Province in March 2011, was devastated by a sinister
and ferocious invasive pest that is now advancing in western Patagonia: the
American mink, Neovison vison. More than 30 breeding adult Hooded
Grebes were found killed by mink at this one site, and a further 40-plus eggs
were abandoned.

 “This was one of the saddest days in my life as a naturalist, but at least it
meant that we had discovered another reason for the Hooded Grebe’s decline – and a very frightening one at that – that could allow us to implement suitable
management actions in the field”, said Kini Roesler, a field biologist who is
doing his PhD on the species.

 As part of the immediate conservation action Aves Argentinas is coordinating,
a team of scientists and conservationists including staff from Aves Argentinas,
Ambiente Sur and CONICET are currently in the field attempting to prevent
predation at several known colonies this breeding season. Measures to
control mink and reduce predation by gulls are being prioritised and wherever
breeding populations are located, they plan to set up ’round the clock’ watches
to protect the nesting birds.

Climate change is also a major threat to this species and its habitat: anecdotal reports suggest that recent winter snowfall has been much reduced, without a corresponding increase in precipitation at other times. Many of the lakes surveyed last year were found to be dry or becoming clogged with silt as a result of the general desertification of the region, leading to changes in the composition of the water.  Water levels at known breeding sites were 2-3 m lower than in previous years.

 Recent investigations indicate that wind gusts have also significantly
increased in recent decades. Unseasonably strong winds have caused around
50% of all breeding attempts to fail in the last three years. At other
times this threat would be marginal; with adult mortality naturally very low,
the species may be adapted to survive a succession of poor breeding seasons.
But, with numbers now so reduced and still falling so rapidly, the loss of
entire breeding colonies to wind damage could have a much greater impact.

 A stark shadow was cast over Aves Argentinas’s findings when, in May 2010,
the Alaotra Grebe Tachybaptus rufolavatus of Madagascar was declared extinct. This was the third known grebe extinction since the last quarter of the 20th Century, after the Colombian Grebe Podiceps andinus and Atitlan Grebe
Podilymbus gigas, and followed news that the Critically Endangered Junín Grebe Podiceps taczanowskii, which already had a population of fewer than 250 individuals, had suffered a further population decline.

 “This is why we are developing an action plan for the Hooded Grebe, that
involves research, pest control and advocacy at every level”, said Dr. Andrés
Bosso, Director of Aves Argentinas’ International Co-operation Programme.
 An initial meeting to develop a species action plan took place at Aves
Argentinas’s headquarters, in July 2009, and brought together specialists from
Ambiente Sur, Aves Argentinas, and Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina who are
now working closely together.

 “We need to strengthen the protected areas system in the region”, Andrés
Bosso added. “Eight Important Bird Areas (IBAs) contain the species, but only
one is fully protected.” Laguna Los Escarchados, the site where Hooded Grebe was
discovered in 1974, was declared a reserve in 1979, but is now known to
only hold a marginal population. Key breeding lakes in the core of the
grebe’s range lack any kind of legal protection, though the population
stronghold on Meseta de Strobel is still afforded some protection by its
remoteness and inaccessibility.

Aves Argentinas has been appointed official BirdLife Species Guardian for Hooded Grebe and is seeking funding for a range of urgent actions that are already in progress to  ensure the survival of the species. These include implementation of summer and  winter surveys and predator control in 2012, 2013 and 2014, embracing the  entirety of the Buenos Aires, Asador, Las Vizcachas, Viedma, Cardiel and Strobel  plateaus, the Coyle and Gallegos estuaries, and any of the plateaus reachable in  winter. Surveys are also now being carried out on previously unsearched plateaus.

 A number of local conservation agents are also being assigned to the
species’ breeding and wintering grounds to execute a monitoring plan and
implement the needed conservation measures.

 The programme to eradicate mink, control Kelp Gull numbers on the breeding
grounds, and help protect breeding sites from strong winds has already begun in
earnest. Farm-workers will be encouraged to become local “Hooded
Grebe Guardians”, monitoring the presence or absence of the birds, and give
Aves Argentinas early warnings of potential new threats to the species.
Conservationists are also seeking agreements with landowners on the plateaus to
purchase and/or protect their properties as private reserves.

 Ringing/banding and satellite tracking will be used to improve knowledge of
the birds’ movements, and determine where juvenile Hooded Grebes spend the
winter.

 A national campaign to raise awareness of the Hooded Grebe and its
predicament among the Argentinian public is also planned, with an additional
goal of having the bird declared an official National Monument. A team from
Aves Argentinas is currently in the field overseeing the filming of a Hooded
Grebe documentary which will be used in this campaign. This production is
being supported by the Argentine Ministry of Tourism.

 There is clearly much to be done if the fortunes of the remarkable Hooded
Grebe are to be turned around. A robust plan is in place and work has already
begun but significant funding is now urgently required to deliver this ambitious
project and achieve long-term success.

 Every little helps and every one can join in. If you would like to help save
the magnificent Hooded Grebe from slipping away, within just four decades of its
original discovery, please click here to make a donation online
today.

Twenty critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper chicks have hatched under expert care in the Russian Far East. Conservationists took the eggs from the wild, in order to protect them from extreme weather and predators. The first hatched early last Wednesday morning and they continued until the last hatched on Sunday evening.

Numbers of Spoon-billed Sandpipers have plummeted in recent years because of the destruction of wetland habitats and the effects of illegal trapping along their migration route. While tackling these problems, conservationists are boosting the productivity of the remaining breeding pairs by taking eggs from the wild, hatching and rearing them in captivity and releasing them once they have fledged. WWT Head of Species Conservation Dr Baz Hughes said: "This is conservation at the edge; it's risky work, in difficult conditions, but my colleagues have proved yet again how incredibly experienced they are at rearing endangered birds. Breeding season is brief and brutal for Spoon-billed Sandpipers in the wild, but by intervening like this we can help rear five times as many young and help the population stabilise. But it's expensive to work in the remote Russian Far East and it's only possible due to the financial support we've raised for this charismatic bird."

RSPB's Head of International Species Recovery Team Dr Rob Sheldon added: "This delightful and engaging bird has been brought to the edge of extinction by rampant habitat loss and severe hunting pressure, which are now being recognised and tackled. The conservation breeding programme is but one part of an international effort to save Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Head-starting is an innovative additional technique that gives the population a helping hand at this critical stage in our attempts to prevent their extinction."

Chief Executive of Birds Russia Dr Evgeny Syroechkovskiy commented: "We have come so close to losing the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Each of these twenty chicks represents a bit more hope for the future of the species. I am very proud of the hard work by our team of fieldworkers, aviculturists and researchers."

Jean-Christophe Vié, Director SOS — Save Our Species, said: "At SOS we are delighted to support this project and its innovative conservation methods. The head-starting programme had already delivered meaningful results in 2012 and the news of this additional batch of hatchlings in Chukotka fortifies hope for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper's future. It is rewarding news not just for the experienced team out there but for all the unsung heroes who strive — often in remote corners of the world — to save our threatened species."

Foxes, skuas and feral dogs take eggs and chicks from the ground-nesting birds, and sudden changes in the weather can be fatal. Studies show that on average each pair lays four eggs per year but raises less than one chick. Artificial incubation and captive rearing increases that to more than three and, by taking eggs within days of them being laid, the birds naturally start again with a second clutch that they incubate and raise themselves. The approach, known as head-starting, is a short-term tactic. It increases the number of birds approaching breeding age as conservationists tackle the problems of illegal trapping and habitat loss, hopefully enabling the species to stabilise and recover more quickly.

The team is blogging about their progress at www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com.

A pioneering project on Scottish lochs to create nesting rafts for one of Scotland’s rarest birds has met with remarkable success.

The Black-throated Diver, a species that only breeds in freshwater lochs in the north-west of the country, is benefiting from the scheme to create floating rafts that provide the necessary conditions for it to nest and raise chicks.

Although graceful in the water, it’s a different story for the bird on land. Black-throated Divers have to nest close to the water’s edge as their legs are set so far back on their bodies that they are very poor at walking, and shuffle around on their bellies instead. This makes the birds highly susceptible to changes in water level, often on lochs used to generate hydro-electric power. If water levels are too high, the nests are prone to flooding, and if too low, adult birds are unable to reach their nests when returning from feeding. 

Conservationists devised the unique system of tethered floating rafts covered in vegetation to provide stable breeding habitat and have partnered with landowners to implement them throughout the region. 
The efforts appear to be working. Since the introduction of the raft programme in the late 1980s, the Black-throated Diver breeding population has gradually risen from a low of 180 pairs to 240 pairs in 2012.

Stuart Benn, RSPB Scotland Conservation Manager, said: “Black-throated Divers are arguably the most stunning of British birds: a gorgeous, sleek combination of black, grey and white, with never a feather out of place. It's fantastic to see these charming birds successfully breeding on our lochs. This is a great example of how, through simple measures we can have a huge impact on the success of a struggling species. Thanks to our partnership with landowners, we are able to provide a safe haven for these birds and the conditions they need to thrive."