Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 150511869

Localizing important stop-over sites of the endangered Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola)

The Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola is globally endangered and declined drastically during the past decade. The wetlands at Muraviovka Park support one of the last big remaining populations with several hundred breeding pairs. The aim of this project is to find the yet unknown stop-over and wintering areas of the Yellow-breasted Buntings breeding at the middle Amur river with the use of light-level geolocation. The geolocators were fitted to the birds in May 2016, and were retrieved in spring 2017. We were able to track three individuals and localized previously unknown stop-over and wintering sites. The gathered data will soon be published.

This population is one of the last bigger concentrations of this species and highly important for future conservation activities. Furthermore we want to raise awareness among the local people, showing them the importance and value of the wetlands which surround their villages. Fires caused by humans destroy every year important breeding habitat, and the reuse of abandoned crop lands might be another negative impact factor.

The Amur Bird Project is a volunteer-based organisation of students and biologists, working at Muraviovka Park, a non-governmental nature reserve in the Amur region of Far East Russia. Since 2011 we monitor migrating songbird populations and collect data about threatened bird species in this poorly studied region. Target species are migrant passerines and all endangered breeding bird species. Another important point of the project is environmental education and inclusion of local students in the scientific conservation work. Since 2014 we organize annually summer schools for children from the villages around the nature reserve.

You can find regular updates during the field season on our blog: www.amurbirding.blogspot.com

Project document

• Amur Bird Project annual report




Project 150511869 location - Russia, Asia