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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...

British Birds – a new monthly newsletter

Many OSME members will be subscribers to British Birds or may have taken up recent trial offers. British Birds also produce a free e-newsletter every month which is available to non-subscribers. This newsletter offers a nice flavour of what has been published recently...

Is the Slender-billed Curlew extinct?

In the latest (November) issue of British Birds, Guy Kirwan, Richard Porter & Derek Scott examine all the historical claims and records of Slender-billed Curlew in the Middle East. It is suggested that many of the published records, especially...

The latest (October 2015) issue of Wings & Waves, the newsletter of SPNL

The latest (October 2015) issue of Wings & Waves, the newsletter of SPNL

The latest (October 2015) issue of Wings & Waves, the newsletter of SPNL/Birdlife Lebanon, is available at the following link: http://www.spnl.org/wings-waves-newsletter-october-2015/ Articles include: 1. SPNL participates in MAVA’s Strategic Planning Workshop for the Mediterranean Basin Programme From 17...