Every bird counts.
THE RED LIST
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Since 2010 there has been a reduction in volcanic activity, and improved efforts in surveying
since 2011 have shown that the oriole’s population is currently stable or mildly increasing.
Now with a population of over 500 adults, the
Montserrat Oriole no longer meets the criteria
for Critically Endangered.
Over half of the 100km2 island is still an exclusion zone, which should mean little disturbance
for the bird. Montserrat has not been as developed as many of the islands of the Caribbean
have been, so still has significant forested areas.
“The future population size of the Montserrat Oriole will always fluctuate, owing to the
strong influence of rainfall on productivity and
the vagaries of an active volcano,” says Steffen Oppel, Senior Conservation Scientist at the
RSPB. “But, as long as the existing forest can be
fully protected, the probability of extinction is
fairly low over the next decade.”
Living in such difficult places with the threat of
non-native species means both the Wirebird and
Montserrat Oriole will probably always be vulnerable to extinction. But for now the RSPB and
partners breathe a small breath of relief that these
species are no longer Critically Endangered.
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TWO DOWN, TWO TO GO
Follow the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south from St
Helena and you will eventually reach Tristan
da Cunha, a remote island group battered by
the strongest of waves. On Gough Island, you
will find Britain’s last two remaining Critically
Endangered bird species: Tristan Albatross
THEY ARE
POWERLESS TO
RETALIATE WHILST
MICE NIP AT THEIR
SKIN UNTIL THEY
EVENTUALLY
COLLAPSE
DECEMBER 2016 • BIRDLIFE
Soufrière Hills volcano,
Montserrat.
Photo James Millett
Tristan Albatross
Diomedea dabbenena.
Photo Peter Ryan
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WITH TWO THIRDS
OF ITS SUITABLE
FOREST HABITAT
COMPLETELY
DESTROYED,
THE POPULATION
OF MONTSERRAT
ORIOLE
DRAMATICALLY
DECLINED
Diomedea dabbenena, which stand proud on
their muddy nests which they “pat” down with
their large, webbed feet; and Gough Bunting
Rowettia goughensis, an insect eater which
constructs an open cup nest on or close to the
ground, sheltered by overhanging vegetation
or a rock.
Gough Island is considered one of the most
important seabird islands on the planet. A World
Heritage Site, this small speck in the ocean
supports millions of breeding seabirds. Sadly,
non-native invasive mice were introduced in the
late 1800s and nowadays they kill hundreds of
thousands of seabird and bunting chicks every
year. Despite the albatross chicks’ size, they are
powerless to retaliate, and they sit on their nests
waiting patiently for their parents whilst mice nip
at their skin until they eventually collapse. It’s a
nightmarish scenario that could result in us losing these iconic seafarers forever.
There is hope however, as efforts are underway
to restore Gough Island to its former glory. Lead
by the RSPB and the Government of Tristan
da Cunha, the Gough Island Restoration Programme’s operational planning is now underway, aiming to eradicate the mice to give these
birds a fighting chance of survival. Although the
solution is simple, the project still requires further funding and is logistically complex, involving helicopters and equipment that has to be
shipped from South Africa, more than 2,500 km
away. So for the programme to be successful,
there is still a long way to go – in every sense of
the meaning.
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