Wars and WildLife
Guest blog by Richard Porter Amidst the strife and turmoil that we hear about daily in the Middle East, there are always glimmers of hope. The fate of wildlife is often forgotten amongst the horrors of war...
Author: admin
OSME supporting membership scheme
The conservation work that OSME can support across the Middle East, The Caucasus and Central Asia is heavily reliant on the number of members that support us. The majority of funds raised from membership subscriptions is spent...
Record numbers of Endangered White-headed ducks counted in Kazakhstan
More than 20 000 individuals of the Endangered White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) were recently recorded whilst on migration at the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn lake system in the Akmola region of Kazakhstan. This number of birds exceeds all the previous...
Batumi – “this one is very rare, it’s on the red-list”
I recently blogged about how amazing Batumi can be for migrating raptors – The Serengeti of the Skies. Unfortunately, there is a less amazing side to Batumi, and it involves the illegal killing of birds. In 2015, OSME...
Migration study shows importance of IBAs
Guest blog by Majd Abu Zaghlan A new study has shown that Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the Arabian Peninsula are vital for the successful migration of warblers that depend on wetlands. The study examined Great Reed...
Batumi – Serengeti of the skies
Batumi in Georgia is rapidly becoming one of the best known places in the world to watch one of nature’s most spectacular phenomenon – migration. Specifically, raptor migration. Every autumn for the last 9 years a group...
Guest blog by Chris Bowden
Northern Bald Ibis: updates on the Eastern population The conservation of Northern Bald Ibis has (for the first time in its history) been on a relatively positive trajectory in Morocco over the past twenty years, with almost...
Guest blog from Assad Adel Serhal
OSME is pleased to invite Assad to write this guest blog and tell us about SPNL and their Hima conservation and education programmes. Assad Serhal has more than 25 years of experience in the development and management...
OSME at the British Birdwatching Fair
Over the weekend of the 19th – 21st August NGOs, charities, tour groups and about 20,000 people interested in birds descend on Rutland Water for the annual British Birdwatching Fair, aka The Birdfair. It is always an...
Oiseaux de Libye/Birds of Libya
Paul Isenmann, Jens Hering, Stefan Brehme, Mohamed Essghaier, Khaled Etayeb, Essam Bourass and Hicham Azafzaf. 2016. Oiseaux de Libye/Birds of Libya. SEO France. National Museum of Natural History, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France. Available in UK from...
Illegal Killing of Birds in Arabia – a serious regional threat
Guest blog by Majd Abu Zaghlan In a joint effort to collect information on the scale of illegal bird killing and trapping, BirdLife International and OSME are doubling their efforts across the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq...
European Breeding Bird Atlas 2: an appeal for help
Guest blog from Mark Eaton Good, appropriate conservation action relies upon knowledge. Knowledge of what species and habitats most need our help, knowledge of where these are, and knowledge of what needs to be done to help...
OSME Region List (ORL) version 3.3α
Striped Crake, Aenigmatolimnas marginalis. Photo: Ammar Al-Jeraiwi. The ORL version 3.3 was published in early July 2016 in a β-version to meet the planned schedule of two updates per year. Several important papers were at that time unobtainable, as...
Conservation on Socotra
Guest blog by Abdalgamil Mohammed Socotra Archipelago is one of the biodiversity-rich islands in the world thus gaining wide international recognitions. It is UNESCO-Man and Biosphere Reserve in 2003, UNESCO-Natural World Heritage Site in 2008, and one...