Nov 20, 2013

A new population of Taita apalis discovered - but deforestation will soon wipe it out

There might be less than 300 Taita apalis left - an incredibly small population. This unique species lives only on top of the highest peaks in the Taita hills of southern Kenya.

A male Taita apalis
With such a tiny number of individuals involved, the discovery of a new population of Taita apalis makes a huge news - even if it consists of just 8 pairs!

In October 2011, we discovered a new patch of forest in a site called Msidunyi, in the eastern part of the Taita Hills, and we observed a small number of Taita apalis in the forest.

Field work during 2012 and 2013, supported by a grant of the Conservation Fund of the African Bird Club, has enabled us to precisely map the territories of the 8 pairs of Taita apalis in Msidunyi. These are shown by the red lines and dots in the map below. As tiny as it might look, the population of Taita apalis in Msidunyi might represent as much as 5-10% of the individuals of the species.

Apalis territories in Msidunyi
 But as we struggle to map the few apalis territories in Msidunyi, deforestation progresses. The human population in Taita is growing fast, and as more people are added, more land is converted in to crops. In the two years that elapsed from our initial discovery to now, almost 20% if the indigenous vegetation in Msidunyi has been damaged or converted. Soon, little will be left there to protect.

Cut logs in Msidunyi, October 2012

Nov 18, 2013

Teaching conservation in Kinangop plateau

Dominic Kimani, one of the students who received a fellowship in 2012-2013 has sent me some photos taken in the primary schools of Kinangop plateau, where he has been teaching about conservation and biodiversity to the young pupils.
Kinangop is a vast plateau about 70 km north of Nairobi. It is one of the of the most important sites in Kenya for Sharpe's Longclaw and for several other rare and threatened specie. Unfortunately, Kinangop is also a densely inhabited area, and agriculture is expanding at fast rates - between 2008 and 2013 alone, 25% of the natural habitats have been destroyed and converted to agriculture - and this adds to substantial habitat losses in the previous years.

Field class

Watching a nature film in Purple Hearth Academy

Nov 7, 2013

Teaching conservation at Lake Ol Bolossat - Report of the activites


George Muigai just sent me these photos of his work at Lake Ol Bolossat, where he is very active in teaching environmental conservation to the local communities and in the schools. George is receiving support from us for his work in 2013.

In Georges's words:
"Lake Ol’ Bolossat is the only natural lake in Kenya’s Central Province ... the wetland offers a variety of habitat and hosts a wealth of bird species, some of them in very large numbers, others only known to occur in a restricted area of the world ... this wetland is facing threat due to human activities in and around it. One step to achieve a mind of conservation amongst the communities living around is empowering them with information about this lake..."
Starting from  January 2013, I engaged myself in an awareness campaign on the biodiversity value of Lake Ol’ Bolossat ... I visited target school pupils and local farmers on the ground as they move on with their daily livelihood schedule... I gave out copies of a booklet I wrote in Kikuyu language highlighting the importance of birds in people’s life to adults, and a translation of the same book in Kiswahili language to schools..."

Congrats George! Keep doing the good work!