2011 update:

waterbird color marking activity in Mongolia

Dear all,

This is an update of the waterbird marking activity carried out in Mongolia jointly by the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia(WSCC) and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS) in 2011. The project is an important part of the major effort to learn about the migration of waterbirds in Mongolia and to understand highly pathogenic avian influenza virus prevalence in wild birds and disease transmission among waterfowl populations in Mongolia. Since 2006, when the WSCC–MAS team started the color marking project, a total of 48 Swan Geese, 398 Bar-headed Geese and 181 Whooper Swans have been captured and color-marked in Mongolia. We hope that these color marked birds will help us to better understand and learn about wild bird migration, stopover sites, population connectivity, and the preferred wintering grounds for these species. Additional information on our activities on waterbird research and avian influenza surveillance can be found here.

In 2011, the project focused on western Mongolian lakes and wetlands. The work was carried out at a stationary field camp at Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake National Park in Arkhangai Province, and mobile survey operations that covered Arkhangai, Zavkhan, Bulgan, Uvs, Bayan-Olgii, Khovd, and Bayankhongor aimags (provinces). This year we have successfully captured and marked 101 Whooper Swans, 2 Mute Swans, and 117 Bar-headed Geese. The swans were marked with blue neck collars with a four digit letter-number code and the Bar-headed Geese have green neck collars with a three digit letter-number code.

All captured birds were sampled for avian influenza. The samples will be analyzed in a laboratory in USA.

The project was implemented by the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center and the Institute of Biology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences with the generous financial support from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

We would like to ask again colleagues in the Asia region to watch out for swans and geese with neck collars. All resightings should be directed to Nyambayar Batbayar at WSCC of Mongolia by email. Last year, we received many exciting resightings from colleagues in stopover and wintering grounds in India, China, Russia, and Korea. I hope we will continue to receive more resightings from you in the future. Thank you very much for your support in advance.

Regards,

Nyambayar Batbayar

Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia

Undram Plaza, Office 404

Bayanzurkh District

Ulaanbaatar 210351

Mongolia

Mobile: +976-99257886

Tel: +976-70157886

email: nyambayar at wscc.org.mn

web: www.wscc.org.mn

Avian influenza surveillance training in Hovsgol aimag

Hello All,

I thought you might appreciate the attached photo taken at the conclusion of our avian influenza surveillance training session held in Hovsgol aimag, Mongolia on 22-23 June 2008.

The initial concept had simply been to initiate our Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) field team in bird survey and sampling techniques in order to prepare them for the summer fieldwork. However, following discussion with Erdenetsetseg, head of the aimag (provincial) veterinary laboratory in Moron, it became clear that there was also considerable interest among the local veterinary and environmental departments to join the sessions. Thanks to support from Murray MacLean (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization), and Ts. Purevkhuu (Department of Veterinary Service, Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Mongolia), we were able to secure funds to extend attendance to representatives involved in influenza surveillance at the district, provincial and national level.




In total 38 people joined the training including 17 from the WCS surveillance team (plus seven support staff), six from the Veterinary Departments in Hovsgol and Bulgan, four from the National Environment Office and one from the Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, two from the Veterinary Research Institute and a visiting researcher from the University of Iowa. Among the attendees were three veterinarians from our WCS-Afghanistan programme as well as Chea Sokha, a member of our WCS surveillance team active in Cambodia.

The two-day course began in Moron, with indoor sessions including introductions to avian influenza, bird identification and colour marking, before relocating to Sangiyn Dalai Nuur, the lake where WCS field surveillance will begin this summer. The following day included practical sessions in bird identification, mortality surveying and GPS navigation.




The highlight of the whole course came during the bird identification practical, when the first waterbird observed by the team turned out to be a Bean Goose wearing a WCS neck collar that had been tagged during our work in July 2007! This species will be the focus of our early work in the 2008 field season, and together with our collaborator Thomas Heinicke in Germany (who supplied the collars), we will increase awareness of this species in potential wintering quarters in China with the intention that resightings of collared birds during the winter will further define the migratory routes and wintering areas of this little known Mongolian species.

Best wishes to all,

Martin


Martin Gilbert M.R.C.V.S., B.V.M.S.
Wildlife Veterinarian, Associate Director - Asia,
Global Health Program, Wildlife Conservation Society

H5N1 / POULTRY FLU

extract from:
BirdLife Statement on Avian Influenza, 9 February 2007

"In Mongolia, at Erhel Lake, the main species found dead or dying with H5N1 in July 2005 were Bar-headed Geese and Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus, and a small number were found to be infected with H5N1. Because this outbreak occurred after the Qinghai Lake outbreaks, researchers have speculated that migratory birds may have carried the virus to Mongolia. Bar-headed Geese and Whooper Swans also died in the Qinghai Lake outbreak, and one of the four strains of H5N1 isolated from Qinghai Lake was also isolated in Erhel Lake. However, both these species would have arrived to breed in Mongolia several months earlier, and during the outbreak the birds would have been near to completing their annual feather moult, during which they are sedentary. Thus it seems unlikely that they carried the virus from Qinghai to Lake Erhel. There were no signs of large mortality events in eight wetlands within 450 km of Lake Erhel and 4,119 H5N1 tests of healthy wild birds carried out during the same period were negative. Although a large number of birds died at Erhel Lake, few actually tested positive for the virus and it was estimated that only 0–1% of the living or dead birds were infected with H5N1. These facts point to the source of H5N1 infection being local to Lake Erhel and that the infected wild birds did not spread the disease to new locations, or even among themselves to any significant extent."

full text available at: www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/avian_flu/index.html