CLICK ON MAP FOR ENLARGEMENT (54k JPEG)
A unique project that has been harnessing the enthusiasm and skills
of amateur and professional ornithologists throughout Arabia is
now entering its tenth year. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of
Arabia project, ABBA for short, was the brain-child of Michael
Jennings who has played a key role in running the project, now
sponsored by the NCWCD, and in making sense out of all the data.
We asked him to tell readers of Arabian Wildlife the background
to ABBA and where it is heading from here.
A decade ago, if someone had asked me how many birds breed in Arabia,
after some research, I could probably have answered “maybe about
180”. But for many species I would have only a scanty idea of
their status, breeding biology or how common they are in each
area. Ten years on with the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia
having been running since 1984, I can answer the question accurately,
there are 236 birds known to breed in Arabia (October 1983) and
we now have a very good idea of the status of all of them, their
habitat, numbers and distribution.
The objectives of the ABBA project were to establish which birds
breed in Arabia, where, in what numbers, and to collect as much
data as possible about breeding biology, habitat and historical
changes etc. 1993 represents a milestone for the project as the
Interim Atlas has now been completed, presenting the results of
all data collected so far. In the longer term the final Atlas
will appear and will provide a full review of each of the species
breeding in Arabia.
So far the emphasis of the data collection has been on field work
by both amateur bird watchers and professional ornithologists,
including residents in all the countries of Arabia, specialist
visitors and the increasing number of wildlife tourists visiting
the peninsula. there have also been major inputs from natural
history and ornithological societies. As ABBA Co-ordinator, apart
from dealing with the mountain of paperwork connected with the
project, I have decided that my main objective should be to visit
the least recorded regions of Arabia to collect atlas information.
This should help to ensure that the final maps provide as representative
coverage as possible. So far this has involved me undertaking
14 atlassing surveys to Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and the UAE.
Future plans include more work in the mountains of Oman and in
the lava deserts of north-east Saudi Arabia in the early part
of 1994.
Increasingly, in the next phase of the project, information will
be collected from literature sources and museum collections which
will add a very important historical context to the database.
During the first nine years of the project I have personally contacted
and corresponded with everyone I could trace who has either been
to Arabia, or who might go there in the future, who might possibly
have ornithological data they could contribute to the project.
Each such potential contributor has been sent an information pack
about ABBA together with the necessary instructions and report
forms, to enable them to report data in a predetermined format.
Clearly, any data project like ABBA has to be computer based and
so a strict method of reporting data had to be prepared. The data
systems took some time to design and prove but now that they have
been operating for several years the result is the most comprehensive
database of Arabian breeding birds ever assembled. To date, 146
fieldworkers have contributed records to ABBA’s database. The
latter has become an extremely powerful and valuable environmental
and conservation tool since it can identify species range changes,
link their distribution to habitat types, identify areas important
for birds, schedule behavioural information and a great deal more.
In many respects, because the Arabian Peninsula is especially
exciting for seeing migrant and visiting species, birders have
in the past tended to concentrate their observations and recording
in those places where a large variety and great numbers of migrants
are to be found, rather than studying the less exciting resident
birds. One great achievement of the ABBA project has been the
stimulation of observers to record and report breeding birds and
to pay more attention to their breeding distribution. The Interim
Atlas is evidence of this and records no less than an additional
34 species which have been included in the list of Arabia’s breeding
birds since the commencement of the project. Approximately one
third of these “new” breeding species are species that have been
able to utilise the new habitats created in Arabia as a result
of developments taking place in recent years. Two prime examples
of these are the large areas of irrigated fields where crops are
grown, and extensive wetlands created by effluent outflows. Another
third are species that have probably always bred in Arabia but
have only recently been discovered to do so, often through the
efforts of those collecting information for ABBA. The remaining
third are exotics introduced into the Arabian environment in the
last few years, mainly from the Indian region. One aim of the
ABBA project is to keep a close eye on the occurrence and range
extension of such species because some are potentially of pest
status, through the damage they may cause to crops.
In addition to many extra breeding birds discovered during the
course of preparing the Atlas our knowledge of the range and status
of many others has been turned on its head. For example, the lappet-faced
vulture, Torgos tracheliotus, was hardly known from Arabia 30
years ago but the atlas has shown that it is a common and widespread
breeding bird in central Arabia, and possibly on the increase.
This contrasts markedly with all the other vultures which the
atlas has shown to be decreasing.
Whilst the whole database will eventually be published, a major
achievement of the project to date has been its willingness to
share information collected with a variety of ornithological projects
such as the Handbook of the Birds of the Western Palaearctic and
the Important Bird Areas in the Middle East project of the International
Council for Bird Preservation. In addition, very many individuals
have benefited in their research and interests from the ABBA database.
A large number of papers and reports have now been generated by
the ABBA surveys. An additional major contribution to our knowledge
of Arabian bird life has been the publication of a regular project
newsletter, The Phoenix, which publishes all the news about breeding
birds and environmental issues in Arabia.
More information about the ABBA project, the Interim Atlas, and
a free copy of the project newsletter The Phoenix, can be obtained
from the author who would also like to make contact with anyone
going to, or already studying birds in Arabia, and who are not
already contributing to ABBA.
Correspondence can be sent to Michael C. Jennings, ABBA Co-ordinator,
1 Warners Farm, Warners Drove, Somersham, Cambridgeshire, PE17
3HW, UK.