SmartBirds
In July BSPB, FPWC/BirdLife Armenia and SABUKO/BirdLife Georgia held a joint expedition to study raptors in the Vayots Dzor region of Armenia. During five days the teams shared best practices in the field and exchanged experience on raptor conservation, habitat management, implementation of monitoring schemes, data collection and studying threats to raptors. The collected data will be used by FPWC as a baseline to measure the success of future conservation activities that will be applied in the area.
The beautiful landscapes of Armenia amazed with its variety of species and habitats. Despite the high summer temperatures, the dedicated teams completed a detailed survey of the target area and mapped active nests of Egyptian Vultures, Bearded Vultures, Golden Eagles, Steppe Buzzards, Peregrine Falcons, Long-legged Buzzards and Ravens. All occupied territories were mapped and will be monitored in the future to detect any changes in the status of the priority species but also to collect data on the threats. This information will be used to inform the conservation strategy of FPWC.
The team further discussed good practices and exchanged experience in dealing with major threats to raptors such as electrocution, poaching and illegal trade.
Photos: Berta Martyrosian
This study visit was implemented in the frame of the Renate II Programme lead by BirdLife and the LIFE for Falcons (LIFE20 NAT/BG/1162) project lead by BSPB.
