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World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the intrinsic value of wildlife and to the way in which it contributes to the social, economic and cultural aspects of human well-being. Migratory birds of prey are a critically important part of many ecosystems. As top-level predators they can act as sentinels to the health of the environment. In addition, throughout human history certain raptor species have been afforded special cultural significance for many reasons. For example, the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) is considered a heritage icon by rulers and peoples, particularly in the Gulf Region, for its prowess as a hunter in falconry.

International experts on birds of prey will convene today in Edinburgh, Scotland, to review conservation priorities within the framework of a UN agreement on migratory raptors in Africa and Eurasia.

During the period of 31 October–2 November 2013, in the framework of the LIFE Project ”Conservation of Aquila Pomarina in Romania,” funded by the European Commission and the Romanian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, more than 50 ornithologists from 16 European countries attended an international Workshop in Romania to update the European Action Plan for the Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle.

The First Meeting of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG1) to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU) will be held on 20-23 January 2014 in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Libya signed the CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU) at a ceremony organized during a Coordination Meeting on Bird Netting in Egypt in Libya held in Bonn, Germany.

The African Raptor DataBank (ARDB) is an ambitious non-profit, citizen science project. It aims to inspire birdwatchers and other observers to submit information that will reveal the conservation status of raptors and their habitats throughout Africa. It will also help develop the local expertise needed to monitor these indicator species in the future and to implement sound strategies to safeguard them.

For many decades, Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) have been known to congregate in Nagaland, northeast India for a short period from mid-October to mid-November each year. The state appears to be a stop-over site during their annual migration from breeding grounds in Russia, China and Mongolia, to wintering areas in Southern Africa. Details have always been sketchy primarily because Nagaland was a closed state, with very few outsiders allowed access.

Bonn-Abu Dhabi, 6 November 2013 - Earlier this week an international team of ornithologists counted over 1 million Amur Falcons entering a night roost near Wokha in Nagaland.

Today the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU) turns five years old. The MOU was concluded in Abu Dhabi, where the Coordinating Unit of the Raptors MOU was also established thanks to the generous and ongoing voluntary contribution from the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, on behalf of the Government of the United Arab Emirates.