- Japan inflation firms to 2.8% ahead of BoJ rate decision
- Russia's Kadyrov accuses Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck
- Titan sub had to abort a dive days before fatal implosion: testimony
- Ohtani makes MLB history with first 50-homer, 50-steal season
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases, 49 homers
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases
- Barca downed by Monaco as Arsenal held in Champions League stalemate
- Head's 'good night at office' after century seals win over England
- Dubois seeks legitimacy with Joshua scalp
- Rate cut could lift consumer spirits before US elections
- Last-gasp Gimenez strike sends Atletico past Leipzig
- Barca stumble at Monaco after early red card
- Raya heroics save Arsenal in Champions League opener at Atalanta
- Cathay Airbus engine fire linked to cleaning: EU regulator
- Guardians beat Twins to secure MLB playoff berth
- Jihadist attack in Mali capital killed more than 70: security sources
- Alonso hails 'efficient' Leverkusen after Feyenoord rout
- Head's hundred seals Australia win over England in 1st ODI
- Ex-Man United striker Anthony Martial joins AEK Athens
- NFL unbeatens meet as Texans visit Vikings, Steelers host Chargers
- Head's hundred seals Australia win over England in 1st ODI after Labuschagne strikes
- Dream debut for Wirtz as Leverkusen thump dire Feyenoord
- Myanmar flood death toll climbs to 293: state media
- Israel army says West Bank air strike kills 4 militants
- LIV golfers get green light for US Ryder Cup team, PGA Championship
- US accuses social media giants of 'vast surveillance'
- Ten Hag to bed Hojlund, Mount in carefully when they return for Man Utd
- Breaking bad as McIlroy endures 'weird' day
- EU chief announces $11 bn for nations hit by 'heartbreaking' floods
- Spanish PM, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation
- New study reinforces theory Covid emerged at Chinese market
- World Bank boosts climate financing by 10 percent
- Bagnaia eyeing summit on home ground in 100th MotoGP
- 'Something was wrong', defendant in French mass rape tells court
- Hezbollah chief admits 'unprecedented' blow in device blasts
- Sales of US existing homes slip slightly in August
- Fear, panic haunt Lebanese after devices explode
- Labuschagne sparks Australia fightback in England ODI opener
- S.Africa's HIV research power couple says fight goes on
- Why is Israel focusing on border with Lebanon?
- Mpox vaccines administered in Rwanda, first in Africa
- US Fed rate cut is 'very positive sign' for economy: Yellen
- Unknown Mozart string trio discovered in Germany
- 'Are we five-year-olds?' F1 drivers won't mind their language
- Brazil judge orders X to reimpose block or face hefty fine
- Munich to rename stadium street after Beckenbauer
- Champions Italy to face Argentina in Davis Cup Final 8
- The winding, fitful path to weight loss drug Ozempic
- Italians defeat American Magic to reach Louis Vuitton Cup final
- Norris has 'nothing to lose' as he hunts Verstappen in Singapore
Rising temperatures upend migratory bird habitats in Albania
Long considered a Garden of Eden for migratory birds, the Vain Lagoon along the northern Albanian coast has been increasingly abandoned by a range of species as rising temperatures wreak havoc on wetlands across the country.
Millions of birds pass through Albanian lagoons and estuaries during flights north every year, providing critical grounds for migratory species travelling between northern Europe and Africa.
The Vain Lagoon covers more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) stretched along the Adriatic Sea and is home to 196 species of migratory birds.
Long-legged flamingos with bright pink plumage, black-headed gulls, slender egrets, whistling ducks and teals with their raspy birdsong are among the species that frequent the area.
But their numbers are in steep decline, according to experts.
At least 40 percent of the total migratory bird populations were missing in January, the latest survey reported. For several years, the mallard duck has all but disappeared.
Scientists say that poaching, poisoning, collision with power lines and loss of habitat kills migratory birds by the thousands every year. But spiking temperatures across the globe may prove even more disruptive.
"There are many reasons, but above all it is global warming which has affected migration and breeding seasons," said Kreshnik Toni, who oversees the protected nature reserves in Lezhe, which includes the Vain Lagoon.
Local fishermen have also blamed warming waters for the overall decline in fish populations in the area, depriving the birds of vital food supplies.
"Water temperatures, rising sea levels and other factors have led to a decline in fish stocks," said Nikolle Lucaj, who has been fishing commercially in the area for 35 years.
Once abundant, the population of eels -- a favoured prey for many bird species -- in the area has dropped by as much as 80 percent, said Cel Arifi, who oversees fishing operations at the Vain Lagoon.
Invasive species like blue crab, which are native to the waters of the West Atlantic, have also threatened the biodiversity of wetlands in Albania.
"They attack birds and they are very aggressive even towards flamingos," Lucaj told AFP.
Pollution along with the degradation and destruction of the birds' habitat by humans also poses a significant risk, warned Mirjan Topi, the author of the first field guide of birds in Albania.
A young stork carrying a GPS device that tracked its migration in real time died last year in Greece after hitting an electricity pole.
- 'Global problem' -
Some birds, like white storks -- an endangered species -- spent less time in Africa this year only to return much earlier than expected to Albania, according to conservationists.
Scientists have also been closely watching a pair of mated storks for the past seven years, with the couple nesting at the same spot in Albania.
"But another pair of storks preferred to spend the winter in Albania rather than take the risk of a long and perilous migration to Africa," said Taulant Bino, who chairs the Albanian Ornithological Association (ASO).
Worried Albanian ornithologists are also impatiently awaiting the return of an Egyptian vulture from Chad, which is equipped with a GPS device.
The sacred bird of the pharaohs, which is now endangered, "is exposed to a lot of danger during this journey of more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) across three continents" said Ledi Selgjekaj, a biologist working with the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania group.
The European population of the Egyptian vulture alone has fallen by 50 percent since the 1970s. In the Balkans, it has declined by 80 percent over the past 30 years alone, according to Topi, who wrote the field guide on Albanian birds.
In Albania there are only five couples left, Topi added.
To preserve the dwindling population, ornithologists groups from Albania and Greece have built secure sites aimed at eliminating threats during breeding.
"No country can fight the battle alone," said Bino from ASO. "Climate change and the risks that migratory birds face during their journeys are a global problem."
D.Schneider--BTB