Ian,
Should satellite tracking be banned as well?. Surely the capturing and
application of a tracking device is equally traumatic to the birds, as
is the capture and banding of them.
Carl Clifford
On 30/03/2011, at 10:33 AM, Ian May wrote:
Hello again
Adverse impacts on affected waders from the scourge of leg flagging
should not be underestimated. Very few leg flagged birds ever make it
past their next migration. The surviving re-trapped birds are few and
usually referred to by banders as examples to demonstrate success,
rarely questioning the disappearance of the vast majority that have
probably perished as a direct impact of their leg flags.
When Banders are asked why we rarely see flagged waders returning
after migration, excuses such as “the birds are non site faithful”
or, “the birds return to remote areas where monitoring is difficult”
is a common but pathetic response. It needs to be recognised that
wader leg flagging has been a major threatening process, contributing
significantly to declines of Curlew Sandpiper, Red Knot and Sanderling
populations in Australia. It is a devastating process to inflict on
any small wader.
The 2020 Wader Conservation Project
Wader conservation projects based on field observation, counts,
behaviour study, photography and habitat protection etc. should be
strongly supported. These projects provide the information that is
now required for effective wader and habitat conservation. But
projects based on destructive processes such as leg flagging, canon
netting etc should be scrapped; otherwise the 2020 shorebird program
is just another public funded rort for banders and will do more harm
than good for the conservation of these vulnerable birds.
Notification of Banding Operations
The benefits of announcing planned banding operations in a local
region would alert other interested observers to consult and comment
about projects, watch out for flagged birds and independently to
assess impacts. The announcements could be via birding-aus or Eremea
National
Leg Flaggers are actively targeting rare and threatened species.
However leg flagging waders is now little more than an intrinsic hobby
beyond its “use by” date.
Regards
Ian May
St Helens, Tasmania
Ian May wrote:
g'Day all
An uncomfortable subject
It saddens me to report that in Tasmania this morning, I observed a
number of “small waders” recently leg flagged. The birds were
struggling about in
moderate winds, hobbled by what appeared to be fresh looking
manacles. These birds were in areas where in previous years, apart
from an occasional
flagged stint it has been unusual to see flagged waders. The birds
seen today appeared to be struggling in only moderate conditions and
if this is an
example of 2020 Shorebird conservation, current programs needs to
questioned, reviewed and modified urgently.
Can anyone inform us of the details, if they know of any recent
wader leg flagging in Tasmania? Although I would like to see it
banned, in the mean
time it should be a requirement of leg flaggers to notify the
community in advance of planned banding operations. Specifically the
public should be
notified when and where, the targeted species and by whom a leg
flagging operation is planned. Something similar to the requirement
to notify the
public when a forest burning operation is planned.
Also, can any one inform us how the decision is made by banders to
apply multiple flags on a particular bird.
Regards
Ian May
St Helens, Tasmania
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