Welcome to our new blog! Here we will keep you informed about the latest developments and news from the projects in Africa as we investigate the possible causes of decline of summer migrants.
The decline in numbers of many birds migrating between Europe and Africa has been extremely rapid. Species like the Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher have undergone declines of 60% in the past 15 years.
Our knowledge of ecology of migrants in their wintering grounds is extremely poor and severely hampers our ability to explain these declines and conserve this group of species. We lack even basic information about when birds arrive, the habitats they use and how they move around Africa.
The fieldwork in Africa is a joint partnership between BTO and RSPB in the UK, the Ghana Wildlife Society and Naturama in Burkina Faso. During the winter of 2009/2010, migrants will be monitored at five different stations in a line from the north of Burkina Faso southwards to the coast in Ghana. The aim of this wide-ranging project is to understand how Palearctic-African migrants use and move around the different vegetation zones found in West Africa from the semi-desert Sahelian region to the lush tropical rainforest in southern Ghana. At each station 7-10 transects will be placed in habitat along a degradation gradient so we will be able to look at how habitat change can impact densities of birds.
The project
Our knowledge of ecology of migrants in their wintering grounds is extremely poor and severely hampers our ability to explain these declines and conserve this group of species. We lack even basic information about when birds arrive, the habitats they use and how they move around Africa.
The aim is to understand how Palearctic-African migrants use and move around the different vegetation zones found in West Africa, ranging from the semi-desert Sahelian region in Burkina Faso to the lush tropical rainforest in southern Ghana, and whether habitat change may impact them on their wintering grounds.
During the temperate winter of 2009/2010, using point count methodology and mist-netting, we recorded migrants along a degradation gradient at five different stations on a north-south transect. In 2010/2011 we plan to re-visit these sites as well as roving further afield to get a broader picture of migrant habitat use.
The aim is to understand how Palearctic-African migrants use and move around the different vegetation zones found in West Africa, ranging from the semi-desert Sahelian region in Burkina Faso to the lush tropical rainforest in southern Ghana, and whether habitat change may impact them on their wintering grounds.
During the temperate winter of 2009/2010, using point count methodology and mist-netting, we recorded migrants along a degradation gradient at five different stations on a north-south transect. In 2010/2011 we plan to re-visit these sites as well as roving further afield to get a broader picture of migrant habitat use.
Posts
