We welcome you to participate on this event!

1.

2. Who observes and recognizes the MOST BIRD SPECIES SIMOULTANEOUSLY on the bird feeder (deadline 26 February 2012, 12:00 PM)

3. Who observes the MOST BIRD SPECIES on the bird feeder during the contest (deadline 15 March 2012, 12:00 PM)

Between 20 January and 15 March competitors have to observe the bird feeder’s guests by watching the online webcam exclusively on the Milvus Group homepage (http://milvus.ro/category/live-webcam, but e.g. from the webpage of Justin TV it isn`t valid). When they think that they caught a moment which could belong to one of the events of the competition, they have to save it (with the help of Print Screen, Screen Capture, etc.) as an image file. The pictures should be sent in JPG format with the following information:
• The competitor’s name, the country from where she/he writes
• The event of the competition to which the image belongs and the data about the image:
Image for event 1 – it is required to send the number and the name of bird species visible in the image
Image for event 2 – it is required to send the number and the name of bird species visible in the image
Image(s) for event 3 – several images can be sent, but every image has to contain different species, it is required to send the name of the species belonging to the respective image

The results should be sent to the competition@milvus.ro address. If you have any questions or suggestions, please write to the same address.

IMPORTANT: Each person can send only one solution to each event of the competition. Incomplete results will not be considered. Results sent after deadlines will not be considered. Birds that are not on the feeder (on the ground or on the tree) don`t count in the contest.

The three winners will be the following:
The one who observes the most bird individuals simultaneously on the bird feeder
The one who observes the most bird species simultaneously on the bird feeder
The one who observes the most bird species during the contest

* By pressing the Print Screen (Prt Scn) button, the picture from your screen is copied, then you can paste it (CTRL+V) into Paint or into similar programs, from where you can save it in JPG format.

Thanks for the Netsoft team for their support!

At the beginning Milvus Group started as a group of friends, and despite the current dimensions of the Group still managed to remain that, with its benefits and disadvantages. Some say this is the reason why we will never be professionals, a cold-blooded machine which hires the best and decides only on professional considerations. Fortunately many of us think that the results of the past 20 years prove the justification of this fellowship, hereby we are not just a professional group, but also a coherent one.

Which are the achievements of the past 20 years that we are proud of?
Perhaps we dispose of the most extended knowledge about breeding, migrating and winter birds of Romania, therefore:
- we organized ringing camps during 10 years in Gurghiu mountains (http://milvus.ro/gurghiu-mountains-ringing-camp), during 2 years on the Chituc island, where we caught 4 new species for the country
- we organized raptor migration watch site camps in Măcin mountains during 6 years (http://milvus.ro/RO/macin-mountains-raptor-migration-watchsite-2002-2007), and we also endeavoured to explore the exact migrating routes of raptors in Dobrogea (http://milvus.ro/autumn-raptor-migration-study-in-dobrogea-%E2%80%93-2010-2011-2/2286) and we organized raptor migration watch site in Bosphorus (http://milvus.ro/raptor-migration-watchsite-at-bosphorus/307)
- we organize the Wintering Birds of Prey Monitoring Programme (http://milvus.ro/RO/wintering-birds-of-prey-monitoring-programme)
- we organize (together with the Romanian Ornithological Society) the Common Bird Monitoring (http://monitoring.sor.ro/) and the Mid-winter Waterfowl Count (http://milvus.ro/mid-winter-count-of-waterfowl-in-2011/1454), we run the nationwide white stork count (http://www.ciconia.ro/Rezultate.html) (also together with the Romanian Ornithological Society)
- we evaluated the population size of several raptor species: Lesser Spotted Eagle (http://milvus.ro/lesser-spotted-eagle-census-in-the-carpathian-region-of-romania), Golden Eagle and Peregrine Falcon (http://milvus.ro/conservation-of-the-golden-eagle-and-peregrine-falcon), Red-footed Falcon (http://milvus.ro/RO/the-conservation-of-falco-vespertinus-in-the-pannonian-region-life05-nath000122)
10 years after Milvus Group was founded, we decided not to concentrate our work only on birds. It was a wise decision, here are some of the results:
- we have nationwide data about the population range of otter and European souslik (http://milvus.ro/Mammal_Conservation/steppic-mammal-research-program/souslik-survey#more-305), as well as about the range of some amphibian and reptile species
- we run large carnivore surveys and focus on conservation, targeting especially the brown bear (http://milvus.ro/RO/brown-bear-conservation-and-research-programme-in-a-model-area-in-romania)
We can be rightly proud of these results, but they alone would not take nature conservation forward. Fortunately we had the opportunity to use our data in the benefit of nature conservation – we have a huge part in the proposals of the Natura 2000 network (http://www.natura2000proposals.ro/); we can say that without our persistent work, Romania would have remained without hundreds of thousands (or perhaps millions) of hectares of protected areas, and our work is not yet finished
- we initiated the mounting of special platforms on pylons for White Stork nests in the biggest part of the country and we installed the first web-camera in Romania on a White Stork nest in Dumbrăvioara (http://milvus.ro/RO/the-2011-events-in-the-stork-nest-with-web-camera/2033)
- we run a successful Environmental Education programme, with many classes and camps (http://milvus.ro/RO/working-groups/environmental-education)
- we try to be watchdogs and to act if any nature harming occurs, ex: building roads trough protected areas (http://milvus.ro/RO/ngo-revolution) or building wind farms where they could negatively affect bird populations
- we would like to achieve the long-term conservation of three raptor species with projects financed by the EU (www.pomarina.ro, www.sakerlife2.mme.hu, http://milvus.ro/RO/the-conservation-of-falco-vespertinus-in-the-pannonian-region-life05-nath000122)
- we have had a rehabilitation centre for birds for more than 10 years, which works on our own costs and with the help of volunteer veterinarians (http://milvus.ro/RO/romana-the-rehabilitation-center)
- we founded the Milvus Scholarship, a tool for supporting young nature conservationists (http://milvus.ro/RO/milvus-scholarship-2010/971)
- we take part in the management of 4 protected areas (http://milvus.ro/ariiprotejate/)
- we organized a nature photography contest – this year for the third time (http://milvus.ro/RO/the-3rd-international-milvus-nature-photography-contest/1430),
and we could go on, and we promise: we will.
All these could be achieved only with teamwork, hereby we would like to thank the help of every member, volunteer, employee, sympathizer and supporter. We thank our criticizers too, trough them we only get stronger. By looking back and analysing, we realize that all these things, which we call results, are nice and true, but they haven`t changed the world (enough) thereto we could say, Milvus Group can split up, because there aren`t any goals to stay together for. So we continue and we hope that there are many 20 years to come for the Group, and one day we could say: we have no more things to do for nature conservation.
The 20^th anniversary was celebrated in November by the whole Milvus Group

Photo: Saverio Gatto

In one of our previous articles we were expressing our worries about Béni, the surviving 2010 nestling which got stuck in the south of the Sinai Peninsula on its way back to Africa after having spent the summer In Turkey and did not manage to finds his way to Africa above the Suez Channel. Our reasons for concern were well grounded, as in 2010 another juvenile, Adél, had lost her life in the same area of the Sinai Peninsula. Béni 1 is the juvenile which amazed everybody last year when, after having succeeded in crossing the Sahara, he broke all records: the fastest speed (92 km/h), the longest distance covered in one single day (511,7 km) and the most kilometres covered in total during migration (13869,17 km until 06.01.2011).

Now we have got some good news from Italian ornithologist Saverio Gatto who informed us that on 20 October Béni was spotted close to the water treatment facility near the town of Sharm el Sheikh, south of the Sinai Peninsula, exactly in the same place where Adél had lost her life last year (http://www.pomarina.ro/pomarina/index.php).

Fortunately, ornithologist Saverio Gatto spotted Béni alive; he told us that he had noticed it “flying alone (although there were other raptor birds in the area, most of them lesser spotted eagles) at approximately 30 meters above ground level. He was coming from the direction of a vast field of eucalyptus (as one can also see on google maps) and after hovering above us three or four times he flew towards the desert.”

We may say in all certainty that the bird Mr. Gatto told us about is Béni based on the plastic ring marked C3 mounted on the bird’s left foot. Mr. Gatto also managed to take a couple of photos in which this ring is very visible. Yet unfortunately the photographs also show us that the satellite transmitter mounted by Milvus Group members on the bird’s back and the metal ring from its right foot, market H001997 are both missing. Mr. Gatto also told us that “as you may very well see from the enclosed photographs, both the gps transmitter and the metal ring on its right foot were missing.”

The most plausible explanation for the missing satellite transmitter and right foot ring is that the bird was captured by someone who untied both the device and the ring. Fortunately the person who did this left the bird alive, unlike Lisa who was killed for the “adornments” which it wore (http://pomarina.ro/EN/migration-blog/120-acvil-ucis-de-superstiii”).

After these positive data we may only hope that Béni is still alive somewhere in the South of Africa and that in spring he will be back to the places where he was born to start the cycle of an adult Lesser Spotted Eagle: finding a partner, laying eggs and raising its offspring.

Each individual Aquila pomarina still alive is an extra chance for the survival of this species which is declining in all its territories from the north of the European continent to Turkey.

Later on we got more data about Köves from Achilles Byaruhanga of Uganda Wildlife Authority through Moldován István and Keith Betton, manager of the “African Bird Club” Association. Here’s what Mr. Byaruhanga told us about Köves: “When the security personnel acknowledged the presence of the transmitter-equipped bird, they took it to the police station (arrested it) until they would get more data about it. We only collaborated with our colleagues from the Uganda Wildlife Authority to recover the bird’s body (for which we had to pay bail!) We were told that the bird had fed itself on a poisoned goat and had died somewhere near Mubende wherefrom it had been taken to the police station. Briefly, we took the bird, registered the information from its rings (mounted on its feet) and kept it in our University Museum together with the transmitter. If the transmitter is still operational, you will see this from the change in its position and if not, than it is possible that it was deteriorated while in police custody. “ On a later date we received further proof of the fact that Köves was no longer alive, i.e. photos of the dead bird with the satellite transmitter on its back and the identification rings on its feet, sent by Mr. Roger Skeen from Birdlife Uganda. Now we are wondering how many bird victims has Africa taken. If we think of all the transmitter-equipped eagles monitored by the LIFE project during their migration to Africa, during the winter period spent on this continent and then on their way back home, the numbers are the following:

• In the two project years we mounted satellite transmitters on 19 Lesser Spotted Eagles: 6 in 2010 and 13 in 2011;
• Of the 6 eagles equipped with transmitters in 2010, two died (Adél in the Sinai Peninsula and Jakab in Ethiopia), two got rid of their transmitters (Cingár and Arthur), one had its transmitter and one identification ring removed (Béni 1) and the only one still sending information is Benjamin, the adult male eagle. Two of the transmitters, those of Cingár and Arthur were recovered and mounted back on two other birds in 2011.
• Of the 13 eagles equipped with transmitters in 2011, we have verified information that two of them are no longer alive (Lisa was killed in Zambia and Köves died in Uganda) and the transmitters of two other birds have stopped sending information since they got to Africa and we know nothing about their whereabouts (Béni 2 and Katona); the other 9 birds are alive and sending daily information from their wintering territories in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia etc.

We believe that the surprises related to the Lesser Spotted Eagles equipped with satellite transmitters will not end here. If we were to extrapolate the situation of the 19 eagles which we monitor in our project to the approximately 40,000 individuals of this species estimated to be left in the world, we could draw the conclusion that the species is extremely threatened.

The purpose of this comic is to present the life of eagles in a less academic way, more understandable for the general public, especially for the young and children. Also we would like to draw the attention of the general public on the problems the eagles are experiencing. In the breeding period in our country they are threatened by human activities (logging, poaching, intensive agriculture, electric shock), in the migration and wintering period they are threatened both by natural factors (they can’t find their way to Africa) and human related factors (local tribes kill the birds for superstitious rituals).

Europeanraptors.org is a website that posts information about the biology and conservation of all diurnal raptor species regularly occurring in Europe.