Forest & Bird Monthly Talk

Local conservation expert Mike Bell will be talking about protecting Pink-Footed Shearwaters in Chile. It was Mike's work with endangered seabirds, predator proof fences, and isolated island communities which led to him being asked to advise on a seabird conservation project on the Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile. Oikonos is a community conservation group working throughout the Pacific to protect seabirds and their habitats, together with working with local communities to developing lasting conservation gains.

The Juan Fernandez Islands lie over 1,000km from Mainland Chile, and have a range of conservation issues. Introduced mammals have altered the vegetation, are causing significant erosion, and are predating on threatened seabirds and endemic land birds. Oikonos have been working on the threatened Pink-Footed Shearwater on the island, and have identified predation by cats and dogs as the key reason for the rapid population declines. As such they started investigating the potential to fence off a remnant colony of shearwater with a predator proof fence. With no expertise in South America, Oikonos asked Mike to visit the island and advise on the design and construction of the fence.

Mike will share his story of travelling to Robinson Crusoe Island and working with the local team to get this important conservation project off the ground.

Photo shows Chilean local using a scope to monitor Pink Footed Sheerwater.