Saving Tahiti seabirds

From BirdLife:

SOP saving stranded seabirds

Fri, Jul 27, 2012

The Société d’Ornithologie de Polynésie (SOP MANU – BirdLife in French Polynesia) has started a rescue program for grounded petrels and shearwaters attracted by lights on Tahiti.

Following awareness raising activities by SOP MANU, the number of grounded Near Threatened Tahiti Petrel has risen from 10 to over 100 birds per annum. “This is thought to be the tip off the ice-berg, with the number of seabirds being attracted to bright lights at night is likely to be much higher”, said Lucie Faulquier from SOP MANU.

As a result, a new rescue program has been launched on Tahiti this year …

“Posters, flyers and stickers have been designed and distributed, articles were published in the local newspapers, short documentaries were performed on the local television channels and radios, and presentations were given in schools”, added Lucie.

Some more similar actions are planned in the coming months. Furthermore, a network of ‘petrel rescuers’ (volunteers) is being established. Conferences and information meetings are organized to anyone who wants to learn more about the species and be trained to release them safely. Finally, before being released, the grounded birds are measured and banded, and some blood or feathers are taken for genetic analyses.

All the data collected from this program will be used to improve knowledge on this species and on the impact of lights.

“We’ve already released successfully 60 petrels and shearwaters this year, and the team is hopeful as it is only the very beginning of the fledgling season of Tahiti Petrel which lasts from July to October”, concluded Lucie.

In total, 51% of all threatened birds are being driven towards extinction by invasive alien species. The problem is especially acute on oceanic islands where 75% of threatened birds are affected. In an effort to address this serious threat, the Pacific Partnership of BirdLife International has received renewed support from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation to protect globally important seabird colonies by eradicating invasive alien species: here.