The population of wintering birds in Bushehr province has increased by five percent compared to last year, IRIB reported.

Gulls, pelicans, geese, crab-eaters, ducks, storks, herons, cranes, and flamingoes are among the migratory birds.

Dayyer Nakhilou, one of the important wetlands in the south of the country, will be registered internationally as the first wetland of Bushehr province.

The wetland is one of the valuable wetlands of the province and the habitat of many kinds of birds as well as mangrove forests, and the breeding ground of endangered sea turtles and humpback dolphins.

Dayyer Nakhilou plays a special role in the lives of residents and the local community, ISNA quoted Farhad Qolinejad, the head of the provincial department of environment, as saying.

Due to the importance of this wetland, necessary steps are being taken to register it in the Ramsar Convention, as the first international wetland of Bushehr province, he added.

The Ramsar Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. This includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas, tidal flats, mangroves, and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans.

The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. Since then, almost 90% of UN member states, from all the world’s geographic regions, have acceded to becoming “Contracting Parties”.

In Iran, 141 wetlands with ecological value with an area of over 3 million hectares have been identified, of which 25 wetlands are designated as wetlands of international importance (registered in the Ramsar Convention) covering more than 1.4 million hectares and four sites are biosphere reserves.

An official with the Department of Environment has said comprehensive management plans have been prepared for 44 wetlands in the country.

The unique characteristics of wetlands, including groundwater control, climate change adaptation, the livelihood of local communities through fishing, livestock grazing and agriculture, natural water purification, purification and absorption of pollutants, and nature tourism have made sustainable management and protection of wetlands essential for humans, ISNA quoted Jaleh Amini as saying.

Environmental management based on a comprehensive approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water, and livelihood resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in a balanced manner.

This approach is the primary framework for action under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The indigenous approach puts people and their type of exploitation of natural resources exactly at the center of decision-making.

The post Bushehr wetlands hosting over 70,000 migratory birds appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Due to the high rainfall this year, bird migration has increased in the wetlands of Lorestan, he said, adding that now dozens of herons, storks, ducks, redshanks and other kinds of aquatic birds have been spotted in the province.

The masked lapwing, also known as the masked plover and often called the spur-winged plover or just plover in its native range, is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent, New Zealand and New Guinea.

The masked lapwing is the largest representative of the family Charadriidae. It measures from 30 to 37 cm (12 to 15 in) in length and has a wingspan of 75–85 cm (30–33 in). Masked lapwings are most common around the edges of wetlands and in other moist, open environments, but are adaptable and can often be found in surprisingly arid areas. They can also be found on beaches and coastlines.

The post Spur winged plover spotted in Lorestan Prov. appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Years ago, storks have managed to find a way of living with humans, preferring human settlements and rooftops for nesting to more natural habitats like treetops, and surprisingly, humans also have rarely attacked or persecuted them.

Myths about the storks’ immunity goes back to ancient beliefs; in Egypt it was believed that their souls were human, while in the ancient Greece beliefs storks have been protectors of elderly people and take care of the aged parents while living on their roofs. The Greeks also held that killing a stork could be punished by death.

The storks were also revered in Islamic beliefs which held that storks were thought to go on pilgrimage to Mecca, where they headed for after staying in Iran.

Some of the long-established folklore linked the arrival of newborns with the long-legged bird.

In Iran, residents in western and southwestern regions encourage storks to nest on their rooftops even by constructing purpose-built high platforms, which not only benefits the birds, but attracts many tourists coming to the villages in spring and summer expressly to see the storks.

Mousa Madhajji, an environmental expert told ISNA that the greatest population of storks and storks’ nests in the country is in southwestern Khuzestan province, as this year 57 active nests have been identified in the province, which belong to white storks.

Temperate species like the white stork, black stork and yellow-billed stork live in Iran who undertake long annual migrations in winter, he said, adding, stork population started to decline in the country and some areas which were once home to flocks of storks are not witnessing even a pair of them such as Ahvaz city.

Although, there have been times when the population had fallen to fewer than some pairs in the entire country, even in places identified with the white stork for centuries, conservation measures successfully increased the population of birds thanks to the locals’ efforts, he stated.

The nests are typically used for years, so nest change is often related to a change in the pairing and failure to raise young the previous year, and younger birds are more likely to change nesting sites, he noted.

Dezfool city currently holds the highest number of active nests in the province, which are mainly set up on the power towers, he stated.

He went on to say that due to the birds’ tendency to nest on high settlements specially electricity towers or lamp posts, electricity distribution companies can turn to bird-friendly associations and build them safer man-made nests on the power towers.

This can flourish the stork’s population in the province of Khuzestan and to expand in other areas favorable to these species, he highlighted.

With the start of summer, locals started to build tens of nests for storks in the western city of Marivan, Kordestan province, which attracted many of the storks to stay during the warm season.

Bird population increase over time mostly demonstrate a direct relationship between the flourishing of bird species with human flourishing; storks are also likely to expand whenever the buildings and human-inhabitation expands, however, there have been cases that human population raise have resulted in bird species population decline, yet historical ecology may be a reminder to realize that how much blessing “birds” can bring us and how human must reconcile with nature.

The post Human-animal interactions: Hospitable locals play host to storks for ages in Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

 Park Rangers have spotted a black stork, from a rare bird species, in Konarak, southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The post Rare bird spotted in southeastern Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The area is hosting various bird species including large white-headed gulls, herons, and cormorants every year with the onset of cold seasons. The birds normally will stay until late April.

Over the past few years low precipitation amounts and long-term drought spells have resulted in decreased population of migratory birds.

The post Migratory birds winter in Karun River appeared first on Iran News Daily.