Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

A Hungarian shorebird conservationist, writer, and lifelong birder working to connect science, fieldwork, and storytelling. Founder of the Hopp Ferenc Bird Ringing Station in Hungary, The Ornithologist, World Shorebirds Day, and PatchBird Surveys.

United Kingdom

Peregrine Falcon Downlisting Debate Exposes a Flawed Conservation Cycle
A proposal to ease international trade restrictions on the Peregrine Falcon has triggered warnings that conservation gains could be undermined just as the species recovers. © Attila Szilágyi

Peregrine Falcon Downlisting Debate Exposes a Flawed Conservation Cycle

Peregrine Falcon CITES Downlisting 7Dec250:00/194.664489795918371× The proposal to downlist the Peregrine Falcon from Appendix I to Appendix II under CITES has prompted a wave of concern among raptor specialists, who warn that the move risks destabilising one of conservation’s most expensive recovery stories. The issue, highlighted in The Parliament Magazine, underscores a broader problem in international wildlife governance: the assumption that population recovery is equivalent to lo


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

Farewell to Solstice: The Last Stewart Island Kākāpō Passes Away
Kākāpō conservation remains one of New Zealand’s most intensive recovery missions — a reminder of what has been saved, and what could still be lost. © Oscar Thomas

Farewell to Solstice: The Last Stewart Island Kākāpō Passes Away

Solstice, the final female kākāpō originally from Stewart Island, passed away in Dunedin after several months of treatment for cloacitis – a recurring disease that has claimed several individuals in recent years. Her death has resonated deeply among conservationists who have followed her story for nearly three decades. First discovered in 1997, Solstice was found against all odds – years after her species had been declared locally extinct on Stewart Island. At that time, the last kn


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

In Defence of Bird Conservation in a Broken World
Native to Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean, this small passerine fell to a few hundred birds in the 1970s as forests disappeared. Thanks to sustained restoration, the Rodrigues Fody population has rebounded, becoming one of conservation’s quiet success stories. © Alex Jones

In Defence of Bird Conservation in a Broken World

When the world feels fractured beyond repair, speaking about bird conservation can sound almost indulgent. Yet in the quiet persistence of those who still care, a truth endures: to protect the living fabric of the Earth is not a luxury. It is an act of survival — and of humanity.


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly