Natu Connecting nature & people Quest for Shoebill! Fundamentals of 7th - 9th September Herpetology lecture, at the Nairobi Arboretum’s Tree Centre: Visit Uganda - the Mpigi area along Kampala-Masaka road - with a possible night stopover at Jinja town Mpigi is a wetland area while Mabamba Bay is an Important Bird Area and Ramsar site. The Shoebill is the flagship bird species for Mabamba Bay. The cost for the whole tour is KSH 5000 per person, inclusive of humble accommodation, transport from Kisumu, meals. Organised by the Lake Victoria Sunset Birders (LVSB) together with Wildlife Clubs of Kenya Kisumu (WCK) and the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda (WCU) For further details please contact: Philip - 0721 263 797 Mike - 0734 994 938 This herpetofauna training is of interest to members interested in learning more about Amphibians and Reptiles. It will be held every Wednesday of the week between 1 and 2 p.m. at the Invertebrate Zoology Lab, Natural Sciences Building, at the National Museums, Nairobi. Lectures begin 18 July. Registration fee is Ksh. 200/- person with an additional course fee of Ksh. 100 per lecture (i.e. per Wednesday session). Organised by Kenya Herpetofauna Working Group (KHWG) Water Harvesting Thu 30 August 5:30 p.m. (Entrance fee 100 Shillings, students free. Coffee and tea is served from 5 pm. Guarded parking space provided) Thank you to our Corporate members for their very valuable support * Kenya Airways Buy a Cooking basket Save fuel and money by using a basket. From 700/- at the Nature Kenya office AUGUST AT A GLIMPSE THU £ SAMAKI O UTING -- BAT 11 TREE WALK -- SUN 19 SUNDAB BIROUALK _ HON 27 TRE£ WALK _ THU 30 WATER HARUESTING TALK BIRDUALKS EUERB WEDNESDAB MORNING bird ringing euerb thursdab morning Editorial Team Editor Catherine Ngarachu Evening Skies Fleur Ng'weno Naturalist Dino Martins Action Serah Munguti BirdLife Partner INTERNATIONAL Library has closed for relocation to new permanent premises. This will take a few months - watch this space for opening dates! Fleur Ng’weno receives Eve award Fleur who emerged the winner in the category of Wildlife and Conservation of this years Eve Award, receives her award at a Wednesday Morning Birdwalk action Launch of Bird tourism project The project to be Implemented by Nature Kenya, with funding from the EU-TTF, aims to enhance Kenya's potential as a bird tourism destination through targeted marketing and advanced guide training. By building on conservation gains made at Important Bird Areas (IBAs), the project will endeavor to create a demand for Kenya's avifauna attractions as well as enhance the visitor experience by providing a high quality visitor interpretation product through a well trained pool of professional bird guides for the country. Illustrations: White Stork by Andrew Kamiti and Marabou Stock by Nani Croze A number of vultures in the Mara and Serengeti are tagged. If you see one, please note the number, date, time, and location (by GPS or nearest landmark). Kindly e-mail information to any of the following addresses: tanzaniabirds@yahoogroups.com pkirui@mitsuminet.com mkoikai@hotmail.com tpf@africaonline.co.ke Play a part for the Mara-Serengeti... report tagged vultures. The plight of Marabou Storks the environs of Wajir Town By 'JadoB Muet 't Afatoa/a T had coveted visiting the arid parts of northern Kenya for quite a long time. My main interest was to have a glimpse of the biodiversity of the region. With scarce water resources what did the life forms here look like? Some kilometres past Garissa town on my way to Wajir town, there were several scattered dwarf desert shrubs observable on the vast land. Here and there, I would observe a herd of giraffes, several ostriches, cattle egrets accompanying a herd of zebras, here a gazelle and over there a hungry hyena. It was really amazing and inspiring to find such rich diversity in this dry land. On the following morning I woke up early and by eight was on my way to the Kenya Wildlife Service station in Wajir town. What I saw from the gate to up to ten metres from the Warden's office was shocking to say the least. Several bones of all kinds were observable scattered everywhere beneath the electric wires. I identified them as avian bones. Moving to the office I didn't find the Warden in charge, but was fortunate to find a game ranger on duty who gave me some insight regarding the scenario. There are thousands of Marabou Storks in the environs of Wajir town. These are of great importance in this ecosystem inhabited by livestock keepers who have meat as their staple food. Being scavengers, these birds help in sanitation of the area by feeding on dead animal remains. They are believed to have a very advanced digestive system that enables them to feed even on very tough bones. If a bone is too hard they pick it, fly high and release it to strike upon a rock in which case it will break so that they can easily feed on the smaller fragments. During the breeding season these birds visit the areas adjacent to the KW5 station, which enjoys close proximity to a watering point known as Lake Yahood, in large numbers. Unused to the electric wires, several birds end up perching on these tines. The lines have been positioned horizontally and parallel to each other. Since the birds are wide they complete the electric circuit and are badly electrocuted. That is what qualifies the area outside the Wajir KWS Warden's office to be called the valley of dry bones. Can nothing be done to save the Marabou Storks? Vultures play an important role by feeding on wildebeest and zebra that die during their migration It is estimated that vultures (not lions and hyenas) consume nearly 70% of the dead animals in the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. If vultures disappeared from the Mara- Serengeti ecosystem, the sights and smells of rotting animal carcasses would turn oway millions of visitors, denying Kenya and Tanzania revenue. Vulture populations are fast disappearing in Africa. In South Asia and parts of West Africa, populations have declined by as much as 98 percent aver the last decade. They face poisoning, habitat loss and persecution. The Vulture Project is aimed at improving our knowledge about vulture ecology so that conser¬ vation interventions are based on sound scientif¬ ic principles. At the Project launch event held at the Nairobi Aboretum left to right: Nature Kenya Chairman Dr Ian Gordon, the Tourism Trust Fund CEO Mr Dan Kagagi, the EU Head of Delegation HE Eric van der Linden, Chairman TTF Mr O Ole Kamuaro, and representative for Ms Rebecca Nabutola PS Min. of Tourism and Wildlife NatureKeiryaJr Connecting nature and peftyle natural history ~7~h<° £v&/n/ia ^>ky 3u/y 2001 JLar> Mac J(ay ojid M&