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Tracking loggerhead turtles to their death in the Eastern Mediterranean

Adult female loggerhead turtle caught in a trammel net, Iskele, North Cyprus. Photographer Olkan Ergüler The Marine Turtle Conservation Project in North Cyprus is a collaboration between the Society for Protection of Turtles, The North Cyprus Environmental Protection Department...

An Azerbaijan interlude with young naturalists

During 25-30 October 2015  the youth committee of BirdLife Sweden visited Azerbaijan to study bird migration at Besh Barmag but also to meet with local young naturalists and initiate further co-operation. The trip was a great success  ...

Undiscovered owls

Undiscovered owls Magnus Robb & The Sound Approach Published by The Sound Approach, 12 Market Street, Poole, Dorset BH15 1NF, UK. Pp 308. 4 Audio CDs. 2015. Available from publisher £39.95 (including P&P: http://soundapproach.co.uk/product/undiscovered-owls/) ISBN: 978-90-810933-7-8 Whether as...

The New Birds of Kazakhstan

The New Birds of Kazakhstan by Arend Wassink. Published by Arend Wassink, Postweg 64, 1795 De Cocksdorp, Texel, The Netherlands. Pp382. 2015. Sample priceseg WildSounds £42.99 (Post free UK mainland: www.wildsounds.com), direct from publisher €49.50 (Including P&P: www.birdsofkazakhstan.com). A personal review...

Birding in Oman

A guest blog by Bart de Schutter In November/December 2012 a friend of mine visited Oman on a birding and photographing trip. Looked like a nice country for birding to me, but I was not really inspired. Not yet....

Monitoring Yelkouan Shearwaters in the Bosphorus

Guest blog post by Dilek Sahin The Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) is a globally threatened seabird species endemic to the Mediterranean. Its threat status is precautionarily assessed as Vulnerable. It is thought to be undergoing a rapid...

Turkish Breeding Bird Atlas: Call for Volunteers

Turkey is one of the most fascinating countries in the Western Palearctic for birdwatchers. The location of the country at the crossroads of continents resulted in diverse habitat and bird species. Specialties and rarities include Yelkouan Shearwater,...

OSME Region List version 3.2 – a precis of changes

There have been numerous taxonomic and related developments since v3.1. Several former Puffinus taxa have been transferred to a restored genus, Ardenna, making most groups monophyletic (Christides & Boles 2008). Purple Swamphen has been split (IOC5.3) pretty well as ORL3.1...

Batumi Birding Festival 2016

The Batumi Birding Festival (Sept. 25th to Oct. 1st): Mass raptor migration, accommodation in a five star hotel, top speakers like Dick Forsman and the Urban Birder – what could be a better birding holiday? The Birding Weeks: the End of...

Darwin project puts Iraq’s wildlife on the map

A three-year project in Iraq has significantly contributed to knowledge of the country’s flora and fauna – including five previously unknown plant species – as well as improving the prospects for future conservation efforts in the country....

A Bridled Tern ringed in the Gulf found dead in Japan

A Bridled Tern that turned up dead in Okinawa Prefecture had apparently flown 7,500 kilometers to Japan from a small island in the Persian Gulf, the first confirmed case of avian migration between the regions. According to...

Pakistan Lifts Ban on the Hunting of Houbara Bustard

Pakistan Lifts Ban on the Hunting of Houbara Bustard

OSME has received news that Pakistan Supreme Court has lifted the ban on the hunting of Houbara Bustard in the country. This controversial decision will please some people but horrify others. Each permit apparently allows the dignitary,...

An overview of OSME’s key achievements in 2015

Conservation is a huge challenge around the globe. Habitats continue to disappear and the number of species at risk of extinction continues to increase. In 2015, 40 more bird species were classified as having a higher risk...