Birecik Governor Tuncay Sonel stated that the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the District Governorate and the Nature Association all played important roles in the birds’ successful migration. Numbers of the Northern Bald Ibis, found only in colonies in Morocco and Birecik, have now fallen to a critical population of 110, Sonel informed a gathering to celebrate the endangered ibis’ mating season. He also pointed out that 1991 was the last time the birds had been allowed to migrate from Birecik and that none of those birds had returned. The colony in Birecik has since been heavily managed, with birds taken into captivity after the breeding season to prevent them from migrating -- until now. “Our goal is to profit from the birds that have migrated and so assure the migration of the other birds,” the governor said. “Besides this, we want to ascertain the route they take and assess the difficulties that the birds face on their journey. We are optimistic and hope to conclude this project successfully,” Sonel continued.
“With the support of the local governor’s office, a satellite tracking system and associated computer hardware has been bought from the US to help follow the birds’ migration. We have fitted the five ibis with transmitters, realizing a long-held ambition. This new system will enable us to track every wing-beat of the migration and determine if the final destination is, indeed, the Nile valley.”
The Nature Association’s Northern Bald Ibis project director, Turan Çetin, indicated that they had been observing the birds in the wild with binoculars, and then selected five birds for the project. Çetin also said: “We first chose a bird we estimated to be more than 18 years old, which we named Anadolu, and then decided to assist him in the migration with his mate Dicle, and their offspring Fırat, Seyhan and Ceylan. By using the satellite system we have secured to them we can monitor the signals and track them on computer. The ultimate aim is to map the migration route.”
Çetin reported that the birds have not yet left the Nile Valley and are currently being followed by volunteers from the association, “The coming period is difficult because the last migration was in 1991, and we hope that now the ibis can complete their migration without complications.”
Benzer Haberler 
National
