I landed at Medan international airport on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, not knowing what to expect, but knowing I would be in for an adventure no matter what. I am on a quest to find the Simeulue Serpent Eagle. Depending on which taxonomic opinion you accept, it is either a race of the Crested Serpent Eagle, or a unique species in its own right. Either way, it occurs only on one island, Simeulue, about 120 km west of Sumatra. Simeulue is the northern-most of a chain of islands along Sumatra’s west coast that starts with Mentawai in the south; the chain continues beyond Indonesia northwards to the Nicobar and Andaman islands off the coast of Burma. The chain is geologically older than Sumatra, and is thought to have species with a unique evolutionary history, which gives rise to the idea that the islands’ Serpent Eagles may be separate species with their own unique lineages. The Simeulue Serpent Eagle is smaller than the Crested Serpent Eagle, and has different detail in the plumage (darker hindneck, richer purplish-brown upperparts, narrower tail-band, more barred underparts) which adds to the argument that it is different. If the Simeulue Serpent Eagle is a species then it may be at risk of extinction as the island’s forests are cleared for plantations of oil and coconut palm, cloves and other agriculture, and establishing protection for the species might protect some of the other species found only on this small island.

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It’s January 1^st and it’s an unusual start to the New Year for me. Instead of being out partying last night, I was at home, packing. It’s a familiar task and one I always look forward to as it signals the end of a long period of pre-fieldwork planning and preparation. The funding proposals had been written, submitted, and accepted; the research permit from the host country’s government applied for and received; this year’s field team selected and briefed; the field transport and accommodation booked; the fieldwork schedule planned; the budget checked and revised; immunisations updated; medical insurance updated; emergency evacuation procedure planned; flights researched, booked and confirmed; visa procedures confirmed; specialist sampling equipment procured; export and import permit restrictions for shipping biological samples from one country to another read and (grudgingly) understood; currency exchanged; passport found.

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The Maasai wedding - Part 1

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If you live near an open area with low vegetation and plenty of small rodents and insects, The Peregrine Fund encourages you to consider building a nesting box for American Kestrels. Not only will you have the opportunity to watch these beautiful birds of prey raise a family; you will also get to contribute to one of our research projects: The American Kestrel Partnership.

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Arctic breeding raptors generally don't immediately come to mind when we think about the effects of climate change on wildlife, and peregrines would not be among the first species considered when we contemplate the impacts of warmer and potentially longer Arctic summers.

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