For more than fifty years, experts from Iran’s Department of Environment have been conducting mid-winter waterbird censuses across the country. This long-running monitoring program has played a crucial role in understanding population trends among migratory waterbirds that occur in the country. However, recent improvements in equipment, including through the donation of high-quality LEICA Trinovid binoculars have significantly enhanced the accuracy and scope of these efforts.
“The impact of advanced optics on the quality and accuracy of bird monitoring cannot be overstated. Thanks to the new binoculars, field researches in Iran can now observe birds with greater clarity and precision, allowing for more reliable data collection,” says Dr Tayefeh from the Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD).
Iran is a critical stopover and wintering ground for migratory waterbirds traveling along the Central Asian and West Asian-East African flyways. The country hosts a diverse range of wetlands, including many of international importance such as the Anzali Wetland, Miankaleh Peninsula, Lake Amirkelayeh, Shadegan Wetland, and Lake Urmia. These habitats support a wide variety of migratory waterbirds such as the Dalmatian Pelican, Common Pochard, and Sociable Lapwing as well as many others that are listed under the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).
“The new equipment is a real game-changer for bird monitoring efforts in our country. This is particularly the case when it comes to the identification and counting of small waterbirds such as the Great Knot. Thanks to the improved optical equipment, these small waders are now being identified and counted even more consistently,” says Dr Tayefeh.
The protection and monitoring of wintering waterbirds in Iran is a nationwide endeavour, with the Department of Environment operating offices in both large and small cities. The distribution of high-quality professional binoculars among these teams helps ensure that bird monitoring is conducted more effectively across different regions. The Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development, which analyses the census results, uses these findings to develop policies for the protection of endangered species and the establishment of new protected areas in the country.
“Equipping monitoring teams with high-quality binoculars has far-reaching conservation impact. The data collected using this equipment is crucial for designing and implementing effective conservation strategies. Improved optics mean fewer misidentifications and a notable decrease in the number of unidentified waterbirds recorded in census data,” says Dr Tayefeh.
New, high-precision optical equipment can not only help improve the performance of experienced bird counters but can also make it easier to involve new volunteers and researchers. In other words, the new binoculars are not only helping to increase the accuracy of the census data, but are also helping to encourage greater participation in bird monitoring activities in the country.
Photos by: Sergey Dereliev (www.dereliev-photography.com) and A. Ashoori