Interview - millions of migrating birds in Iraq

[Guest guest]

INTERVIEW - Migrating birds could be Iraq war casualties

------

 

SOUTH AFRICA: March 14, 2003

 

 

JOHANNESBURG - The threat of war in Iraq has ornithologists in a flap as

millions of birds make their way across the country on their annual spring

migration to northern breeding grounds.

 

 

 

" At this time of year, March-April, you have the greatest number of birds in

Iraq, " said Phil Hockey, a migration specialist with the Percy FitzPatrick

Institute of African Ornithology in Cape Town.

 

" From a biodiversity point of view this is the worst possible time of the

year to have a war there, " Hockey told Reuters in an interview yesterday.

 

U.S. President George W. Bush has vowed to go to war to disarm Iraq with or

without U.N. backing and many analysts expect an invasion within a few

weeks.

 

Iraq lies on a key migration route for many feathered species that winter in

Africa and breed in Europe and western Russia in the summer.

 

" Iraq's two major rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) are an important part of the

route for many long distance migrants, including pelicans and storks, and

for shore birds that breed along the Caspian Sea and in central Asia, "

Hockey said.

 

" A lot of the birds will be moving now, with the main movement time from the

middle of March to the end of April. "

 

White storks that have wintered in South Africa and are en route to nesting

grounds in places like Estonia could give up their migration if it took them

over battle zones.

 

" Long-distance migrants can't make it from their non-breeding grounds to

their breeding grounds in a single flight, " said Hockey.

 

" They have to stop along the way and refuel and for a lot of species these

refuelling sites are traditional. If they are prevented from doing so

because of a disturbance they could abort their migration or even starve to

death, " he said.

 

 

IRAQ: A BIRD-WATCHER'S PARADISE

 

Even if the birds push ahead with their migration, war-related disruptions

could see them arriving too late in their northern nesting sites to complete

their breeding cycle.

 

This is especially critical for birds that nest far in the north where the

breeding season is quite brief.

 

" It wouldn't be the first time in history that war has had a significant

impact on biodiversity, " Hockey said.

 

In African countries like Angola and Mozambique, civil wars have decimated

wildlife, with elephants poached for their ivory and other species hunted to

feed roving armies.

 

Iraq's habitat and location make it a bird-watcher's paradise.

 

" Southern Iraq has been identified as a globally important hot spot for bird

biodiversity, one of only three in the Middle East. The marshes there are

among the most important wintering grounds for water birds in western

Eurasia, " Hockey said.

 

Iraq is a vital breeding area for the marbled teal, with about 40 to 60

percent of the global population of this bird breeding there.

 

Iraq may also be crucial for the slender-billed curlew, an extremely rare

species that may only number 200 worldwide, Hockey said.

 

 

Story by Ed Stoddard

 

 

 

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE