My work in conservation has taken me to different corners of the planet, working on a range of projects, including reintroductions, conservation of critically endangered species, and applied research to inform conservation management.
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I have worked on the reintroduction of harpy eagles Harpia harpyja in Panama and of the critically endangered Ridgway's hawk Buteo ridgwayi in the Dominican Republic. Harpy eagles are top predators of lowland tropical forests in Central and South America. Ongoing population declines are the result of widespread habitat loss due to deforestation and extensive direct persecution. A conservation project initiated by the Peregrine Fund aimed to reintroduce captive bred eagles into different areas of Central America where the species had disappeared. In Panama, I assisted with the release and monitoring of eagles through the critical first year of their life, when they are learning to hunt for themselves and become independent.
Read more about the Peregrine Fund's Harpy Eagle project.
Juvenile harpy eagle, shortly after release.
Adult harpy eagle with nest material.
Ridgway's hawks are endemic to the Dominican Republic and critically endangered, with only 500 surviving individuals. Like harpy eagles, their natural habitat has suffered major transformations, and their tameness towards humans has made them particularly vulnerable to poaching. I joined the Peregrine Fund's Ridgway's Hawk project in 2009, with the aim of helping establish a new population, given the vulnerability of the species - which at the time was restricted to a single population in Los Haitises National Park. While working as reintroduction officer I monitored the existing population in the National Park and was in charge of the release and monitoring of juvenile hawks in Punta Cana. This was the first reintroduction attempt involving a species of the Buteo genus, and despite some losses, the birds settled in the new area successfully. Thanks to the work continued by many others involved in the project, there is now a second breeding population established in Punta Cana.
Read more about the Peregrine Fund's Ridgway's Hawk project.
Adult Ridgway's hawk in Los Haitises National Park.
'SN red', one of the juveniles released in 2009 would go on to become the first breeding female of the reintroduced population.
Aside from reintroductions, I have worked on several other projects for the conservation of raptor species. A lot of this work has been carried out with BWI BirdLife Ireland, focusing on surveys, nest monitoring, tracking, and improving current knowledge on ecology of species such as kestrel, merlin, hen harrier, barn owl, and long-eared owl. I have also been involved in work with the globally endangered solitary crowned eagle Buteogallus coronatus. This species inhabits open areas over a large part of South America, but its ecology remains largely unknown, and my work focused on improving our understanding of its breeding biology and diet. Uniquely, these eagles feed on skunks, armadillos and snakes and, in some areas they have a curious relationship with monk parakeets as the birds use parakeet colonies as a base for their nest. While having a predator living upstairs may seem dangerous, both species benefit from this: the parakeets are the first to notice (and noisily warn) of any approaching danger, while the eagles are more effective at fending off any unwanted visitors.
Male solitary crowned eagle delivering and armadillo to the nest, located on a monk parakeet colony.
Kestrel chicks in the nest.
Barn owl.
Wader populations are declining across Europe at alarming rates. I have worked with BWI BirdLife Ireland throughout the Shannon callows and machair habitats along the north-west coast on projects focusing on curlew, lapwing, snipe, redshank, oystercatcher, and dunlin. Even in the short time I have worked in these areas from 2008 until now, wader numbers have plummeted, with several species disappearing from many sites. My work focused on surveying breeding populations and understanding the reasons behind the declines of different wader species on a site-by-site basis. Monitoring, radio-tracking, and predator surveys then helped inform the design and implementation of specific conservation measures which have succeeded in slowing declines and even boosted numbers in key population strongholds.
Shannon callows.
Recently hatched lapwing nest.
Oystercatcher in machair habitat.
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