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EURING
Newsletter - Volume 3 - July 2001
ANNOUNCEMENTS
COLOUR-RINGING
AND OTHER UNCONVENTIONAL MARKING
OF BIRDS IN ICELAND
by
Aevar Petersen
ICELANDIC INSTITUTE
OF NATURAL HISTORY
HLEMMUR 3, P.O.BOX 5320
125 REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
TEL.: +354-5629822; FAX: +354-520815
E-mail: aevar@ni.is
Dear colleagues,
This letter
is written for general orientation as regards colour-marking projects
or other projects, which use unconventional marking of wild birds
in Iceland. This is written in order to make as clear as possible
the Icelandic standpoint on this issue. Moreover, cooperation is
sought with you as a coordinator of an international colour-ringing
registry.
Any marking
of wild birds in Iceland, be that with traditional bird rings or
unconventional marks such as colour-rings/bands, wing tags, radio-tracking
devices, etc., is illegal by law except for scientific purposes.
The Icelandic Institute of Natural History is in charge of the Icelandic
Bird Ringing Scheme (IBRS) through which the scientific bird ringing
activity in this country is co-ordinated.
Recently, a
reorganisation of the handling of projects, which use other than
the traditional metal rings/wing tags, has been undertaken within
the IBRS. This includes a more rigorous licensing system, whereby
persons applying for a licence (and hence responsible for the proposed
project) has to state a clear scientific purpose for the marking,
indicate the species involved, agree to cooperate with the relevant
official registers which co-ordinate colour-marking activities,
and various other details.
In previous
years the agreement to start marking projects has been very much
through verbal consent. Programs were in some instances even begun
and liaison made with colour-marking registries, without the prior
knowledge of the IBRS staff. Some of these programs were moreover
started without any clear motive. Serious activity of this kind
has till now been not too difficult to handle, since but few programs
have been in operation during any given time period. Nonetheless
too much time and money of the IBRS has being wasted on various,
unnecessary enquires, resulting from this rather relaxed organisation.
The number of
projects, esp. colour-marking programs, is increasing, through a
greater appreciation of these techniques as well as increased ornithological
activity in Iceland. The advent of broadcasting colour-marking schemes
on the Internet (for instance the European Colour-ring Birding,
http://www.ping.be/cr-birding/cr-birding.htm, endorsed by EURING)
has also prompted us to give clearer directions and make sure there
is better understanding of our rules and working procedures.
At present there
are some 15 unconventional bird marking projects being carried out
in Iceland. Some 10 others have recently ceased to operate, but
marked birds may be still alive. Unconventional marking projects
are not permitted unless the birds are also fitted with the traditional
metal ring (very exceptional cases involve limited use of depth
gauges, etc.). Using colour-rings only for marking birds creates
various difficulties for the bird-ringing schemes, which I will
not go into in more details here.
As a general
rule, licences will not be issued in Iceland to start new colour-marking
projects unless co-ordination with the relevant official international
marking registry for the bird species in question, has been fulfilled.
Moreover, the same person (persons, ringing group) is usually registered
responsible for the marking project as for the metal rings used.
This focuses the responsibility, although sometimes birds may be
colour-marked by ringers using their own rings but on behalf of
another ringer who is responsible for the colour-marking project.
Such projects can also be carried out in collaboration with other
on-going colour-marking projects, which involve the same species
but organised by other ringers/researchers, in Iceland or elsewhere.
Co-operation
is needed in order that a registry does not sign up Icelandic marking
schemes unless these have been endorsed by the IBRS. Neither will
any unendorsed Icelandic marking schemes be entered on the European
colour-ringing Web Page, according to an agreement between the IBRS
and Dirk Raes who runs the Web Page.
I am of course
willing to correspond on any aspect of unconventional marking, which
may or may not be covered here. Also, if you see any difficulties
arising from the contents of this letter, please send me your comments.
A
LETTER FROM THE BULGARIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL CENTRE
by
Dimitar Nankinov, Svetla Dalakchieva and Boris Nikolov
BULGARIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL
CENTRE
INSTITUTE OF ZOOLOGY
BOUL. TZAR OSVOBODITEL,
1 - 1000 SOFIA, BULGARIA
The Bulgarian
Ornithological Centre is the national co-coordinator of the studies
of bird migrations in Bulgaria. The Centre offers also an important
contribution to the study of globally threatened, rare and endangered
species, of the distribution, breeding, wintering and conservation
of birds and their habitats. It was founded in the spring of 1928
as a special department of the Royal Research Institutes. During
the first decades after its establishment from several hundreds
to 3,000 birds were ringed annually. After its the reorganisation
in 1975, the Bulgarian Ornithological Centre increased its capacity
and the number of birds ringed per year. Three field ringing stations
(Rupite, Atanasovsko Lake and Dolni Bogrov), located on key places
on the migratory route of birds through Bulgaria, were established.
The decrease
in the number of ringed birds during the past few years is due to
the hard financial state of the Centre. We found ourselves badly
short of budget resources to carry on ringing activities, for the
maintenance of our field stations, for buying mist nests and equipment,
for attending EURING meetings. The Centre was even unable to cover
basic costa for mailing and telephone. Therefore we entirely support
the initiative, undertaken in EURING Newsletters 1 and 2, for helping
the Ringing Centres in poor economical state. Although it may be
hard to believe, the Bulgarian Ornithological Centre continues working
with few mist nets, without any field scope, with 1 pesola balance
and with a rather old computer. However, we wish to express our
gratitude to Mr. Flemming Byskov and the colleagues from the Dutch
Ringing Centre, who gave us 10 mist nests this summer.
As a recommendation
for future issues of the EURING Newsletter we want to suggest the
publication of more information on ongoing and future ringing projects.
The involvement of Ringing Centres in poor financial conditions
in such projects will help avoiding their isolation, as well as
contribute to more detailed and complete bird studies.
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