Alert: Colour marking of swans and geese in northern Mongolia

Greetings All,

I am pleased to announce the successful capture and marking of several waterfowl species while sampling for avian influenza in wild waterbirds in Mongolia during July 2007. During the course of fieldwork this summer, a subsample of 30 Whooper Swans, 50 Bar-headed Geese and 21 Bean Geese have been fitted with coloured neck collars in Hovsgol (Khuvsgul) aimag (province) in northern Mongolia. Details of collars fitted are given below, and are illustrated in the photographs.

* 30 Whooper Swans fitted with red collars with white lettering (A01 to A30)

* 50 Bar-headed Geese fitted with yellow collars with black lettering (A0 to A9, B0 to B9, C0 to C9, D0 to D9 and E0 to E9)

* 21 Bean Geese fitted with yellow collars with black lettering (P51 to P71), also fitted with numbered metal leg rings, with bands on right leg indicating females and left leg indicating males (based on cloacal sexing). All Bean Goose collars were supplied by our collaborator Thomas Heinicke.

Whooper Swan. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

I would be very grateful if observers in Asia could be alert to the presence of neck collars when observing these species through range states (including those in Central Asia, Korean peninsula, China, South Asia).

Bean Goose. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

Please report any resightings to myself, Martin Gilbert at mgilbert at wcs.org. News of resightings and the details of the rest of our work will be posted on the GAINS website, http://www.gains.org/. Please also forward this message to others working in the region who may be able to contribute resightings.

Bar-headed Goose. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

This work has been carried out as part of the USAID-supported Global Avian Influenza Network for Surveillance (GAINS). The primary objectives of GAINS are to expand operational field capabilities, improve the understanding of viral strains and transmission of all strains of influenza viruses in wild birds, and to disseminate information to all levels of governments, international organizations, the private sector and the general public. Through this work the Wildlife Conservation Society seeks to contribute to our understanding of migratory movements, distribution and population status of wild birds.

Further alert to wader marking in northern and central Mongolia

Fieldwork is on-going, and in addition to the above announcement, the GAINS team in Mongolia will be fitting coloured leg flags during the southward migration period over the next few weeks. Capture and marking of several species is anticipated including Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, with other species marked depending on availability of supplies. These birds will be fitted with leg flags coloured Blue over Green on the right leg. As with the swans and geese, please report any resightings to myself at the e-mail address above.

The material for these leg flags has been obtained through the kind assistance of Clive Minton and others with the Austalasian Wader Studies Group.

Best wishes to all,
Martin

Martin Gilbert
Field Veterinarian - Asia
Wildlife Conservation Society