It’s hard to believe that it’s almost time to once again begin accepting submissions for the Global Raptor Research & Conservation Grant! But, before we do that, we’d love to update you on how our existing grantees are doing. Here’s how 2022’s awardees have spent the first six months…
Philippine Hawk Eagle in Luzon Island, Philippines, Marilyn Dela Torre
Marilyn’s team scans the sky for raptors in the Phillipines.
Prior to actually getting down to conducting research or implementing conservation actions, there’s often a lot of planning involved. That’s especially true when you need to work on lands sacred to indigenous communities. We’re thrilled to hear that Marilyn has officially secured permission for her work from the National Commission on Indigenous People in the Philippines and is beginning raptor identification training for her team.
Cloud-Forest Pygmy-Owl in Colombia, David Ricardo Rodríguez-Villamil
David just returned from his first trip into the field. David’s team installed nest boxes to study the Cloud-Forest Pygmy-Owl in Colombia.
There’s also lots of preparatory fieldwork to be done prior to collecting data. David just returned from his first trip to his humid, foggy field site where his team installed nest boxes, camera traps, data loggers, and Swiftone to collect data about the Cloud-Forest Pygmy-Owl. David also secured extra support for this research to truly begin to understand the basic biology and life history of this species that was only discovered in 1999. We can’t wait to find out more about this understudied species!
Hooded Vulture in Southwest Ethiopia, Million Abushi Tiko
Million A.T., working on a field, Jimma City landfill. Four endangered vulture species and Marabou Stork scavenging.
After doing his own prep work and establishing relationships with the municipalities of Jimma, Bonga, and Agaro, Million and his team have carried out their first field surveys. Conducted at pre-selected feeding and roosting sites, the team observed four vulture species—the Endangered Lappet-faced vulture and the Hooded, White-backed, and Ruppell's vultures (all Critically Endangered). Unfortunately, the team also observed three dead Hooded Vultures on the ground, all of which had been electrocuted. The team is looking forward to conducting more surveys during the dry season as they work to better understand, and conserve this endangered species.
We’re thrilled to see 2022’s GRRC Grant awardees already accomplishing so much and are anxiously awaiting their next updates! In the meantime, our 2021 GRRC Grant awardees have just wrapped up their fieldwork and are ready to share all they accomplished thanks to your support. You can hear directly from them and ask them all your questions during upcoming live presentations. Join us:
- Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at 9:30am MDT for an update on the Conservation of Critically Endangered Red-headed Vultures in India Himani Khati
- Friday, September 2, 2022 at 9:00am MDT for an update on a Population Assessment and Conservation of the Critically Endangered Ruppell’s Vulture in Ghana with Veronica Dandzo-Adzagudu
This blog was written by Kirsten Elliott, HWI's Development and Communications Director
You can learn more about Kirsten here.