^^^
Prediction, based on current population trends...
Openbill's will be the new "bin chickens" - as pesky as pigeons on the Phnom Penh riverside.

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:33 am ^^^
Prediction, based on current population trends...
Openbill's will be the new "bin chickens" - as pesky as pigeons on the Phnom Penh riverside.

Agreed. I remember my excitement when I first saw one many years ago. Now, they are even thriving in parts of Vietnam.

hanno wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:32 am

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:33 am ^^^
Prediction, based on current population trends...
Openbill's will be the new "bin chickens" - as pesky as pigeons on the Phnom Penh riverside.

Agreed. I remember my excitement when I first saw one many years ago. Now, they are even thriving in parts of Vietnam.

My first encounter with them was boating up river and seeing a flock of at least 500 Openbills lifting off from the backside trees, I’d no idea what they were at the time but the characteristic they’re named after was plain as day, enabling easy identification later on.

hanno wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:32 am

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:33 am ^^^
Prediction, based on current population trends...
Openbill's will be the new "bin chickens" - as pesky as pigeons on the Phnom Penh riverside.

Agreed. I remember my excitement when I first saw one many years ago. Now, they are even thriving in parts of Vietnam.

I once counted a hovering circling cloud of nearly a thousand - up on the lake one may-June. they have a late breeding season and they hang around for a while longer than the other waterfowl before they disperse.

After that Koh Prins trip, on my way home I saw this juvenile near Sre Ambel (Koh Kong) proof they are re-inhabiting and breeding down there again.
First time for decades.

Spotted from the road - bottom corner

121 Vultures Counted during June 20, 2021 Census
AKP Phnom Penh, July 12, 2021 --

WCS
BirdLife International Cambodia Programme said today that 121 vultures were recorded on 20 June 2021, Cambodian Vulture Census.

"A total count of 121 birds was recorded, including 20 Red-headed vultures, 66 White-rumped vultures, and 35 Slender-billed vultures. The same vulture census was conducted on 10th June 2021 and the counted result was 82 birds, including 13 Red-headed vultures, 42 White-rumped vultures, and 27 Slender-billed vultures," the source pointed out.

On June 20, 2021, Cambodia Vulture Working Group (CVWG) conducted a national vulture census at four vulture restaurants including Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary of Stung Treng, Chheb Wildlife Sanctuary of Preah Vihear, Sambo Wildlife Sanctuary of Kratie, and Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary of Mondulkiri.

Cambodia vulture censuses are undertaken on March 10, June 10, June 20, September 20, and December 20 each year.

CVWG conducts the national vulture censuses to monitor the population trend and improve conservation actions.
- AKP

First Sarus Crane Nest Found in Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary in 2021 Breeding Season
AKP Phnom Penh, July 16, 2021 --

The first crane nest with two eggs was found by BirdLife’s biodiversity monitoring team in Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary [Ratanakiri] on June 25, 2021, during the 2021 breeding season.

This was a second nest found in this wildlife sanctuary in the last three years, the first nest was found in 2019, but failed due to the egg robbery, pointed out BirdLife International Cambodia Programme.

"After the nest was found, our field staff conducted regular monitoring and decided to introduce the nest guardian, however on the day the guardian started his work, we found the nest was destroyed with evidence of the remaining eggshell and traces of wild pigs around. Our field team has included that this nest was failed due to the wild pigs destroying it," it said.

Grassland in Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary is an important nesting habitat of Sarus crane, however, the risk is high due to the increase in the level of disturbance.- AKP

"Crane Rice Field" Initiative Preserves Cranes and Promote Local Livelihood
AKP Phnom Penh, July 24, 2021 --

The Ministry of Environment and wild life conservation partners are initiating a so-called Crane Rice Field to preserve the crane, one of world's most threatened birds, in Cambodia.

During his site visit to the crane rice fields at Anlung Pring protected area in Kampong Trach district, Kampot province yesterday, H.E. Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State and Spokesperson at the Ministry of Environment appreciated the initiative and was optimistic that it will not only help preserve the bird, but also promote local livelihood.

A specific rice species eaten by the crane is grown at the fields rented from the local farmers who themselves do the farming and will also benefit from sale of half of their crops, while the remaining half will be kept to feed the crane and the next harvest season.

According to Mr. Bou Vorsak, acting Executive Director of NatureLife Cambodia, so far about 17 hectares of rice field have been rented for ten years and 16 local farmer households have been engaged in the initiative.

If succeeded, the project executed by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with NatureLife Cambodia and BirdLife International through the support from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Netherlands will be scaled up.


Calling on active participation among the local - a key to the success of the initiative - H.E. Neth Pheaktra stressed that his ministry will work with concerned stakeholders to identify broader markets for the rice produced.

The rice specie grown is unique in the sense that it is completely organic and it was grown to save cranes that have been included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, he continued.

IUCN Land Programme Coordinator Mr. Marc Hoogeslag said that to address the overuse of natural resource, it requires a balance between the needs of humans and animals. So, the Crane Rice Field project is a good example of the effort.
(Photo: Ministry of Environment)
By Lim Nary
AKP

New sightings bring hope:

Slender-billed and White-rumped Vultures Found at Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary after Over Five Years of Absence

AKP Phnom Penh, July 25, 2021 -- Slender-billed and White-rumped Vultures have returned to Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary after more than five years of absence, according to a joint news release of the Ministry of Environment and World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) issued yesterday.

Filled with joy, the Wildlife Research Team of the Ministry of Environment and WWF reported on July 22 the record of two Slender-billed and one White-rumped vultures at their roosting sites in the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary of Mondulkiri province.

The team suggested that the recent results of the conservation efforts in protected management in the Eastern Plains landscape are believed to have contributed to the return of these critically endangered vultures. In fact, the bird records in the area showed that the Slender-billed vulture was last seen in late 2015 with an estimated number of four individuals, while the research team lost their sight on the White-rumped vulture from 2017 until now.

According to Ms. Milou Groenenberg, WWF's Biodiversity Research & Monitoring Manager for the Eastern Plains Landscape Programme, the reason of these vultures' disappearance during those years was most probably due to several poisoning incidents from the area that the conservation team was also able to observe. It is worth nothing that the forest area is also home to the Red-headed vulture.

In the Mekong landscape, the recent vulture counts by the Wildlife Research Team of the Ministry of Environment and WWF showed 4 Slender-billed, 11 White-rumped, and 5 Red headed vultures at roosting sites near Sambo Wildlife Sanctuary, a protected area situated along the Mekong River in Kratie province.
- AKP

Good news.


First Giant Ibis Chick of 2021 Hatched
AKP Phnom Penh, August 06, 2021 --
The first giant ibis chick of the 2021 nesting season has been hatched just 2 weeks ago in northern Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) of Mondulkiri province after its nest had been protected by the community nest protector.

The good news was shared by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Cambodia in a Facebook post on Aug. 3.

The nest, which was spotted by WCS Wildlife Monitoring Team last mid-June, is the first found during the nesting season of 2021, which runs from June through October.

Last week, the team found the second nest of the giant ibis in the same area and the nest is now being protected by the local community.

According to WCS Cambodia, from 2004 until 2020, 413 Giant Ibis nests and 649 fledglings have been protected in the Northern Plains of Cambodia which covers Chheb Wildlife Sanctuary, Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary, Prey Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary and Phnom Tbeng Natural Heritage Park.

Listed on the ICUN Red List as critically endangered, Giant Ibis is the national bird of Cambodia.

By C. Nika
AKP

10 Nest of Giant Ibis Found in Lomphat Wildlife Sanctury during Breeding Season

AKP Phnom Penh, August 15, 2021 -- Since the beginning of this year's breeding season, 10 nests of Giant Ibis have been discovered in Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary, pointed out BirdLife International Cambodia Programme on its official Facebook page today.

Some nests were hatched while others are incubating period, the same source added, hoping that more nests will be found during this breeding season to finish in November.

Giant Ibis is a critically endangered bird species and a national symbol bird of Cambodia, and conservation efforts are crucial to its protection.
- AKP