Cambridge, 19 October 2007 - BirdLife International reports that a 3,000-strong flock of Sociable Lapwings (Vanellus gregarius) have been sighted in south-eastern Turkey. The discovery of such a large flock of this critically endangered species is being celebrated by conservationists around the world, as the flock is said to be the largest seen in more than 100 years.

The flock was found in the Ceylanpinar district of Turkey after one of the birds was satellite-tagged before migrating from breeding grounds in Kazakhstan. The tagged bird traveled 2,000 miles along the north of the Caspian Sea and through the Caucasus before it stopped in southern Turkey. According to BirdLife International, conservationists from Doğa Derneği, the BirdLife Partner in Turkey, visited the site and found that the tagged bird was part of a flock of 1,800 other Lapwings and that in total 3,200 Sociable Lapwings were observed at the site.

The discovery of such a large number of Sociable Lapwings is seen by many as a success-story for international flyway-level conservation. In 2004, at a time in which the global population of critically endangered species was estimated at being under 1,000 breeding pairs, an International Single Species Action Plan (SSAP) for the Sociable Lapwing was commissioned by AEWA and BirdLife International (European Division) and prepared by the Russian Bird Conservation Union. The Action Plan, like all AEWA SSAPs provides a framework for coordinated international conservation of the particular species and its habitats for the countries along the birds’ migratory route.

In recent years, a number of conservationists and researches from different countries and organisations have been working more closely together to conserve the Sociable Lapwing both on the national and international level. The BirdLife report highlights a number of these coordinated efforts currently underway in many countries along the species' flyway.