At 6:06 pm, President Barbara Saunders called the meeting of the Society to order. She determined that the majority of those attending the lecture were members. Vice-President Ken Chaya then introduced the first speaker, Jason Gregg, ornithologist and anti-poaching activist, whose talk, “Deadly Skies: The Fight to End Illegal Bird Killing in the Mediterranean,” described the extent of the problem, its causes, and possible remedies. Birds cross the Mediterranean on several flyways during both spring and autumn migration and the numbers are immense. As an example, the flyway passing through and over the Black Sea involves some two billion birds, many of which travel through Lebanon or make a stopover on the island of Cyprus. Estimates of the numbers of birds killed are difficult to establish but tens of millions are taken annually, half of them in countries belonging to the European Union, despite detailed legislation prohibiting such activities. Gregg first described the work of the NGO Committee against Bird Slaughter, or CABS, whose remit is to document its occurrence, to prevent such killing if possible, and to alert local law enforcement when efforts to stop the killing fail. In Lebanon the main culprit is sport shooting of large raptors, whose migration path is highly concentrated between the sea and the mountains, making them vulnerable to young men with shotguns. This is a behavior of fairly recent origin and is not deeply embedded in the culture. Local law enforcement is cooperative and, when alerted by CABS, will demand to see hunting licenses, which are expensive, and, if they are not produced, will confiscate the guns. Word of mouth of the confiscations, and the mere presence of CABS volunteers, have both acted as deterrents to this illegal hunting. Lebanese wild-life organizations are also helping to educate the public about the deadly effects of killing such long-lived species. In Cyprus, where CABS has been active since 2007, the main problem is mist-netting and liming of passerine species for food. This is an ancient cultural tradition, and despite robust legislation to prevent it, the rewards are high and enforcement difficult. One of the main species sought by the trappers is the Eurasian blackcap, which passes through Cyprus in very large numbers, but the traps are indiscriminate, catching many other small birds. CABS has also been active in Lombardy, Italy, for over 30 years. As in Cyprus, trapping small birds for food has a long history and the rewards of the illegal activity are high. Initially, CABS aimed to remove the Archetti traps used, but they are cheap and easily replaced. Now efforts are directed to alerting the Federal Forestry Police, the Carabinieri Forestali, to illegal activity. The Carabinieri apprehend and prosecute the trappers. This has had a much greater effect in reducing illegal trapping. As a final note, Gregg pointed out that Birdlife International considers illegal trapping to be one of the five most important factors in declining bird numbers. CABS is therefore in the front line in helping to prevent such declines.
At 7:30 pm President Barbara Saunders reconvened the meeting. Recording Secretary Hamish Young read the minutes of the October meeting. They were approved as read. Secretary Lydia Thomas presented two candidates for membership, Victor Castanho, sponsored by Miriam Rakowski, and Kristin Ellington, sponsored by Alice Deutsch, for Associate and Active membership respectively. Both nominees were approved unanimously. President Saunders thanked Frances Lee Rogers for putting up the feeders in the Evodia Field in Central Park. She also informed members that the Society now has an Instagram account @LinnaeanNY to which members can post. President Saunders also urged those members who had not already done so to pay their dues, using PayPal on the Society’s website if convenient. She thanked those who had contributed to the sponsorship fund for the Annual Dinner and mentioned that there are vacancies on the Editorial and Website Committees. Conservation chair Rochelle Thomas informed members about upcoming bird safety legislation coming before the City Council (bill # 1482) and similar legislation at the State level. In Field Observations, it was reported that a Purple Gallinule was present November 2nd at Turtle Pond, the first sighting in Central Park since 1928. An Ash-throated Flycatcher was found on Staten Island, but it was taken by a Peregrine.
President Saunders then introduced Alan Poole, Associate of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Alan began by recounting that his start in Ornithology began with volunteering for the Great Gull Island Project. His talk, “Ospreys 2019: The Revival of a Global Raptor,” outlined the remarkable come-back of a once abundant species. Ospreys, the only exclusively fish-eating raptor, are found on all continents except Antarctica, and show a marked adaptability in taking both salt and fresh-water fish. They occur in four sub-species, two of which are long-distance migrants. Their numbers in North America suffered a dramatic decline after World War II because of the wide-spread use of organochlorine pesticides, while in Europe their populations had already been decimated or even exterminated by shooting and nest destruction. However, there were still world-wide refugia, where nesting was successful. Once organochlorine pesticides were prohibited, the populations in North America started to rebound, with active help from conservationists installing artificial nesting platforms. In the UK, where the species was extinct, migrants from Scandinavia established new nesting sites in the Scottish Highlands at Loch Garten. These sites have been actively protected and have become a major tourist attraction, with over a million visitors so far. Finland has a very active Osprey conservation program, with one hundred human monitors and several Osprey centers. Artificial nests are built high up in coniferous trees. There are even hopeful increases in nesting success in France and Spain. In closing, Alan described some of the features of the long-distance migrations of the Eurasian and North American sub-species. The former must make a four-day journey over the Sahara, with males and females taking separate routes, while the latter travel large distances over open water non-stop, as they have poor water-proofing characteristics. In concluding, Alan reiterated that this a remarkable success story, which has depended not only on the adaptability of the species, but crucially on the people who have encouraged it by banning harmful pesticides, protecting nest sites, and building artificial ones.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Hamish Young, Recording Secretary