14 DAY TRIAL // Conservationists agree upon the fact that authorities must scale up their efforts to protect the long-distance migratory birds in Europe, since the populations are rapidly declining because of illegal killings and land use changes.
The most threatened species are the nightingale, cuckoo, wood warbler and the turtle dove, traveling approximately 3,000 miles twice every year to come to breed in the UK, according to the Independent.
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International has already expressed its concern towards the fate of migratory birds that are threatened by man-made and natural disrupting factors.
The officials have put all their hopes in the conference of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), which will be hosted this week in Norway with the purpose of indicating effective measures of preserving the endangered bird species.
The meeting is seeking for international cooperation, in order to draw out the most effective ways of putting an end to this alarming situation, by creating a special conservation plan destined for warblers, flycatchers and turtle doves.
The numbers reflect the current worrying situation, since experts reached the conclusion that they are dealing with a 74 percent decline rate for turtle doves, 60% for nightingales, 48% for cuckoos, and 63% for wood warblers, in 2009.
In some of the cases, human intervention plays a significant part in disrupting the natural balance of bird populations. Taking into account the land use changes reflected both in Europe and on the African continent, it shouldn't come as a surprise that migratory birds have no place left to call home.
As this threat wouldn't be enough, representatives of this fragile population that manages to survive throughout the difficult migration process risk to become victims of illegal killing operations developed in the Mediterranean.
For the rest of the survivors, climate change might bury the last hope. Unless the authorities succeed in adopting a legal framework that will preserve the fate of migratory birds, they might be gone for good in the near future.