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Red Knot Travelling Exhibition at the Second Tianjin International Bird-watching Competition
©CBCGDF Shuya Huang, Linda Wong, Jinfeng Zhou, CBCGDF On March 16th-18th, 2018, the Second Tianjin International Bird-watching Competition was officially launched at Tianjin Binhai New Area (Bohai Bay) in the Northern China. The Competition was hosted by the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) along with Tianjin authorities. This Competition also attracted numerous local and national media. Twenty domestic and international birding teams gathered for this event (including 5 international teams, composed of British, German, Singaporean, Indian, Pakistani, and Kenyan bird lovers). In total, 96 species of migratory birds, including the endangered relict gull and great bustard, were identified and verified by the judges during the competition day. The Bohai Bay is located along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) of migratory waterbirds. The vital mudflat supports more than 30 species of shorebirds year-round, including the attractive Red Knot. Collaborating with EAAFP and the “Year of the Knots 2017-2018” initiative, CBCGDF brought the “Red Knot Travelling Exhibition” to Tianjin, China, and aimed to raise public awareness on this particular bird through the comprehensive artwork presentation. The representative from CBCGDF presented the characteristics of the Red Knot and shared interesting information about its migratory habits and the routes from January to December to the participants and volunteers. The artwork provided by Janet Essley and the biologist Lee Tibbitts especially captivated the audience and assisted them to clearly visualize the descriptions. After the presentation, the audience continued to ask questions about the reasoning behind the Red Knot’s preferred migratory route and its favourite food at the staging locations along the EAAF. The public greatly enjoyed the introductory panels as well. With the hard work of the organizers, media, participants, and volunteers, the Red Knot Travelling Exhibition and the Second Tianjin International Bird-watching Competition turned out to be huge successes. ©Tian Jiguang The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. As a partner with the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the NGO was originated from the Milu reintroduction in 1985. China's leading conservation is with about 50 staff and thousands of registered volunteers. With a public fundraising license, CBCGDF funded hundreds of grassroots NGOs and individuals in past 3 years, and hosted many biodiversity projects and environmental events around the country to aware the people, encourage the people, and empower the people. Protecting migratory birds and the habitats on which they depend are important tasks of CBCGDF. In recent years, CBCGDF has been consistently promoting the conservation of the migratory birds, as well as their critical habitat (e.g. intertidal zone, mudflats, and wetlands) through various channels. All authors are from China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF). Shuya Huang is the corresponding author, and her email is [email protected].
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Bako Buntal Bay–East Asian-Australasian Flyway Network Site Dossier
Sarawak Forestry Bako Buntal Bay [EAAF112] as covered by this document is located on the coasts of Sarawak, East Malaysia. The Bay represents tidal influenced coastal habitats which stretches from the tip of Santubong peninsula to the mouth of Sadong River. Bako Buntal Bay remained quite significant a part of Sarawak’s coastline due to large numbers of migratory birds as well as species which are globally threatened being recorded here. The dossier is written with the aim of conserving migratory waterbirds and their habitat and the main thrust is conservation and tourism along the Bay. It is a desk-based conceptualization of opportunities for developing and managing the Bako Buntal Bay Flyway Network site to support: Conservation and wise use of globally important waterbird populations; Recreational needs of tourism along the coast north of Kuching City for visitors and residents; Needs of and opportunities for the local residents of the larger area (Kg Buntal, Kg Bako, Kg Moyan, Asajaya); Future expansion of existing tourism product which is the Damai/Santubong peninsula; and Long term maintenance of biodiversity values and ecosystem services of the two national parks (Santubong National Park and Bako National Park). Preparation of the dossier was fully funded by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Malaysia. Download Dossier Content Download Dossier Cover
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The Flyway’s CEPA Strategy and Action Plan
CEPA Working Group Students giving a presentation © Eugene Cheah/EAAFP Some of you who have worked closely over many years with the flyway will know that a first CEPA Strategy was adopted in 2012. During 2017 this was replaced with a CEPA Strategy and Action Plan. What’s new about this document? A first obvious difference – it’s much longer since we have identified specific actions for the various implementers. Is it a more user-friendly document? We think so especially since we have also included a simple colour coding system so that implementers can easily ‘find themselves’ in the plan. With this system, all implementers – whether Government people at national or local levels, INGOs/NGOs, Site Managers and Visitor Centre Managers, Scientists, or people working for inter-governmental organisations etc. – can easily find their CEPA tasks to help in delivering CEPA actions. In turn this will contribute to the delivery of Objective 2 of the EAAFP’s Implementation Strategy. We hope all implementers will take some time to review this CEPA Strategy and Action Plan. Download Communication, Education, Participation and Awareness (CEPA) Strategy and Action Plan 2017-2021
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Asian Waterbird Census with the Pulau Ketam Community
By Mr Woo Chee Yoong, Wildlife RA of the Malaysian Nature Society On the 15th until 19th of January, 2018, I was given the opportunity to engage the Pulau Ketam community in the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) activity. The first task was to survey about the island community’s knowledge and interests in waterbirds. The second task was getting the community to be involved in the Asian Waterbird Census, AWC. Together with my MNS colleague, Ms. Agnes Loh, a local resident who is in-charge of the waste management project and Kelab Pencinta Alam (MNS School Nature Club) in Pulau Ketam, we went around the houses, shops, restaurants, secondary school and interviewed 100 villagers. I was lucky to meet some friendly and helpful members from the Chinese Chess Society (CCS) and they helped introduce me to the villagers, especially the fishermen who even took me on a boat ride for the roost site survey. On the second night, they spotted a few waterbirds at the jetty and informed me on the spot. The following weekend on the 28th of January was an introduction on AWC to the villagers. 16 villagers, with a majority of secondary school students, joined myself, Agnes and two MNS Selangor Branch bird group members, Mr. Low Kok Hen and Mr. Tang Tuck Hong. The two birders provided experiential knowledge of waterbirds to the villagers. We went out to the surrounding Klang Islands during low tide. The boatman brought us to a few good high roost sites. Overall from the survey, we found that the most waterbirds were Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) and Common Tern (Sterna hirundo). We also counted 28 Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus). This is a listed Vulnerable species and the finding of this habitat is a crucial discovery. Other waterbirds recorded were the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), Common Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Great Egret (Ardea alba). Besides waterbirds, there were lots of Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) circling around evening sky may be due to the tourism activity of raptor feeding. In my opinion, this is not an ethical way to promote tourism. It could disrupt the behaviour of the Brahminy Kite by feeding. Other than that, House Crow (Corvus splendens) can be heard everywhere in the village because of the accumulated rubbish without a proper solid waste disposal system and the villagers always complain of the noises these crows made. The other birds documented were Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris), Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus), Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) and Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos). “It is not the bird watching skills that matters, but it is the interest and passion that we must instill inside each villager that counts. I hoped what we have done so far can help to inspire more villagers to volunteer their time in conservation, especially the youths that turned during the AWC. They are the ones who hold the future of this wildlife, if not them, who else? Thus, I would like to express my highest appreciation to MNS and all the warm-hearted Pulau Ketam community for the successful event held” mentioned Woo. Mangrove forest surrounding Pulau Ketam during the high tide. Fishermen boats at their own houses in Pulau Ketam. Abundant of crabs found at the jetty mudflat in Pulau Ketam that create the name for this village. Rubbish under the houses in Pulau Ketam. Members of the Pulau Ketam Chinese Chess Society.
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Wader Quest the newsletter (January 2018)
Wader Quest the newsletter is the main publication of Wader Quest, which is a charity that aims to involve local groups and communities in Wader conservation.
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New initiative in the ASEAN, the heart of the EAAF
How Choon Beng, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Shorebirds in Bako Buntal Bay [EAAF 112] © Eugene Cheah The ASEAN region lies at the heart of the East - Asian Australasian Flyway and the cooperation of the member states is critical for the conservation of wetlands and migratory waterbirds. The ASEAN Working Group on Nature Conservation and Biodiversity has endorsed the establishment of an ASEAN Network on Wetlands and Migratory Waterbirds Conservation. The objectives of this network are to help improve knowledge, increase capacity and enhance communication on wetlands and migratory birds in the ASEAN member states. This is in line with the EAAFP Southeast Asia network that was approved at the Ninth Meeting of Partners of the East Asian - Australasian Flyway Partnership in early 2017. The network will partner closely with the Secretariat of the EAAFP to achieve these objectives, with Singapore as the country lead for this network, and supported by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. The Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) has stepped forward to support the network in a 2 year project to survey and improve management of sites of importance for migratory waterbirds within the region.
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WORLD CURLEW DAY – APRIL 21
World Curlew Day Logo There are eight species of curlew worldwide and two are assumed extinct. The Eskimo and the Slender-Billed have not been seen for decades. Out of the remaining six species, three - the Eurasian, the Bristle-thighed and the Far Eastern - are at risk of extinction according to the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species. It is no exaggeration to say that many parts of the earth will lose curlews over the next few decades. Curlews are iconic birds of wild, wet, evocative places – estuaries, mountain slopes, moorland, meadowland and coast. They have inspired poets, artists, musicians and writers for generations. They have given us so much, yet we are allowing them to slip away as we change their habitats and fail to protect them from predation, disturbance and in some places, hunting. April 21 is designated as World Curlew Day. It is a grass-roots initiative, supported by major environmental organisations, to raise awareness of the plight of curlews and to encourage activities to help them. Please organise an event on April 21 and post it on the Twitter: @WCDApril21 or World Curlew Day Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WCDApril21/ Ideas: Hold a talk, organise a curlew walk, have a curlew coffee morning, hold a curlew-themed art show, create a curlew song or dance, hold a curlew-themed poetry evening, draw a curlew picture, have a Curlew Day at a local school, hold a ‘curlew conversation’ and record people’s memories of when curlew were common… Any monies raised can go towards local or national curlew projects. Thank you for supporting World Curlew Day. Collaborators Protection in Place for Curlew: For a summary of issues affecting all curlew species please see For information on the Hudsonian Whimbrel For the Long Billed Curlew For the Eurasian curlew For the Far Eastern Curlew
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