New Odyssey - Part Two
Ever since 1994, Czech Radio has been taking part in a project which involves tracking black storks to their wintering grounds in Africa and India. The aim of the project is not just to help establish the various migration routes that these birds take every spring and autumn but to help protect them along the way. The sad outcome of last year's endeavour - two of the three storks to which zoologists had attached satellite transmitters were shot by local hunters in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the third is missing -underline the importance of this work. Lubomir Peske is a zoologist who has been involved in the project since 1994 and has been to the studio on previous occasions to tell us what is new. He visited us again last week prior to his departure for Siberia and I asked him to tell me what the New Odyssey team hopes to achieve.
"Maybe you know that we started with African Odyssey, with the migration of black storks from the Czech Republic to Africa. Now, all black storks breeding in Europe are protected. In European countries the protection of black storks is not simple but it is running well. But no one really knew what was happening in their wintering grounds in Africa. And when you want to protect this species it is important to protect them not only in their breeding site but also in their wintering grounds and during migration. There are some places where they are particularly at risk. They gather in great numbers to cross the Gibraltar straights and then fly in a narrow strip. Their flight south involves many hazardous situations depending on the route they take and how the locals behave. In some places hunting birds is a popular sport and many people hunt them for food. Birds tend to fly along rivers to stay within reach of water and there they are often hunted large scale. Some of the locals wait for migration anticipating a good hunt. So the migration process is a harsh time for these birds."
You've done this over several years now, how much progress have you made in negotiating some form of protection for these birds?
"Well, we now know what the situation is in Africa, or we have a fair idea. Thanks not only to our own activity but to the activity of our colleagues from Belgium. They found the wintering grounds of black storks from western Europe in Mali and there they negotiated with the local people, with the local authorities, ways how to protect them. A big result of our study of the migration of black storks to Asia last year is that we found in Pakistan some very active World Wide Fund people who in some ways substitute the work of the state in environmental protection. And based on the story of Katarina, who was shot by one of the locals, they have a tool to try and explain to the locals what is happening. When you have only the argument that some birds fly across this territory and some get shot by hunters it does not make so much of an impact as when you have a particular bird, with a name and a ring and satellite transmitter who was shot by a particular man in a particular village - that is much more powerful and educational in many respects."
And did you find the locals cooperative, understanding? "These local people live very much in tune with Nature -they use Nature's gifts - and that includes hunting - Katarina was eaten, by the way - but when you explain to them how rare a species these black storks are and how important it is to protect them, they accept that and are ready to act accordingly. The people we spoke with promised us that they would never shoot black storks again, especially since there are a lot of other common species like ducks that can be hunted instead."
You mentioned cooperating with a Belgian team -do you cooperate with any other countries?
"This endeavour is international. We cooperate a lot with Russia. The locals show us black storks' nests in the taiga which we could never find by ourselves -or it would be very difficult and time consuming to do so. We depend a lot on biologists and foresters in Russia. We need to cooperate with the locals in these species' wintering grounds as well -in Africa and India -and along the route they take - for instance in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The WWF has also been very helpful in this respect. They provided us with cars and they acted as guides in the Himalayas when we were searching for Katarina's transmitter. And I think that they really found that our study of black storks can significantly contribute to the protection of these birds. For instance, in Asia there is very little information about bird migration. Our three black storks from last year were the first three birds studied in this manner."
So even though this project has been underway since 1994 you are still doing a lot of pioneering?
"Well, yes. We were the first group to study the migration of black storks step by step in this way. We followed Cristina from her Czech breeding site to eastern Senegal and that was a pioneering project. And even now when we have shifted our attention to Asia we find that we are the first group to study black storks in the eastern breeding range of this species."
Now, you are leaving for Siberia this week. Can you tell me about that particular phase of the project?
"We hope to attach transmitters to three adult black storks and we will wait for coordinates from the satellite system ARGOS which should enable us to follow the migration process step by step. The transmitters are the smallest we can buy today and we hope that the birds will barely feel them."
How do you select the storks by the way?
"That is quite difficult because they are very shy but we use breeding birds so we catch them around the nest."
Do you just go for birds that look strong or are there any special criteria?
"Well, that would be ideal, but there are not that many nests to choose from so we don't have that great a choice. We just focus on adult breeding birds. It would be easy to catch young birds but their survival rate is very low so that would be a big risk. Even with adult birds you don't know whether they will survive the journey. "
And where do you expect them to end up?
"We believe -and indeed hope -that it is in India, which appears to be the only safe wintering ground for black storks because of the Indian people's religion and their positive attitude towards Nature. For instance in Pakistan people hunt animals a lot-especially around water, around lakes and rivers where birds and animals must stop to drink."
But they will still take that route to India - will they not - across dangerous territory?
"Yes, that is quite a problem. They must either cross the Himalaya Mountains or take the much easier way along the Pamir mountain range and Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and then turn east towards the Indian peninsula."
How long does it take them to reach India?
"Judging by our European birds - they should cover the distance in one to two months depending on what route they take. They must also stop for food and water along the way. Their return to the breeding grounds tends to be much quicker because they are in a hurry to get back to the breeding site. Those who get there first have the advantage of choosing the best nest, the best location - and - the best partner."
So when do you expect them back in Siberia?
"Because of the harsh winters in Siberia breeding takes place a bit later than in Europe -which would be in March. In Siberia we expect them at the end of April, because the Siberian winter is very long."
Well, good luck to them and good luck to you - I hope you'll visit us again when you get back to tell us how you fared.
For more information about the project, with snapshots and regular updates in both English and Czech, please go to www.rozhlas.cz/odyssea .
