Do join us for our next special SLN Webinar: “Birds in snow leopard habitats”. Many SLN members may recall that over the last year we have featured and explored the world of species co-existing with the snow leopard, including the grey wolf and the brown bear. When we think of other species co-existing with the snow leopard; we often don’t focus on birds. Yet a number of bird species have evolved at high elevations in snow leopard habitats and many more migratory species use snow leopard landscapes in summer.
This Webinar will describe the remarkable diversity of bird life in snow leopard habitats and highlight how conserving the unique high elevation habitat of the snow leopard will benefit a range of other species. We welcome John MacKinnon, distinguished author of A Field Guide to the Birds of China (published in 2000), and Terry Townshend, well known in Beijing as a leading expert on ornithology, to lead the webinar- they will take us to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and give us more than a birds eye view on this interesting look at snow leopard conservation.
About the Webinar
John and Terry will set the scene by describing a set of resident bird families (from small to very large) that have evolved in snow leopard landscapes at high altitudes. They will then move on to describing seasonal migrant birds and trace the routes they use into snow leopard mountain regions such as the river valleys of the Mekong. Some of these are short distance migrants, others longer and some remain unconfirmed in terms of routes and ultimate destinations. Finally they will explore the conservation implications for birds and snow leopards together. Throughout their presentations our speakers will draw on observations and learnings from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
About our Guests
John MacKinnon is a well-known ecologist and conservationist who has worked for for 45 years in Asia and over 30 years in China. He has written Bird Field Guides for several parts of Asia including China and has made several trips into snow leopards ranges including Bhutan, Nepal, the Tianshan and Qinghai, China. He has also produced a number of films on the wildlife of the Tibetan Plateau and Xinjiang.
Terry Townshend is a Beijing-based wildlife conservationist. Since 2016 he has worked with ShanShui Conservation Center to set up a community-based wildlife-watching tourism project on the Tibetan Plateau focusing on snow leopards and other apex predators. During more than 20 visits, he has documented the birds that share the mountain habitat with these magnificent cats, including their interactions.
Date/Time
Tuesday, July 27th, 2021; 19:00- 20:00 Beijing, China time
Location
ZOOM, to join this talk, REGISTER HERE
Please note
- If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
- Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
- Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.
