Hi Members, March 2009

N e w s l e t t e r o f B i r d L i f e B o t s w a n a

Familiar Chat

IF ANYONE CAN

CAN

In This Issue

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION WORKSHOP

2

THE BLUE DUCK AND OTHER EXCITING SPECIALS

3

BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL NEWS-BYTES

4

MORE BIRDING SNIPPETS FROM FRANCISTOWN

5

STAFF APPOINTMENTS 7

PROTECTING AFRICA’S IBAS – PEOPLE AND PARTNERSHIPS 8

FOR BIRDS & THE PEOPLE … MEMORIES FROM JWANENG

9

BIRDING HOT SPOTS ON THE KENYAN COAST

11

BOOK REVIEW 12

KIDS FOR BIRDS 13

BRANCH EVENTS 14

BLB COMMITTEE 16

MEMBERSHIP FORM 17

GABORONE BRANCH WALK 10

Summer is on its way out and what a bumper season it has been! Wonderful rains have really soaked the ground and the bush is thick and full of fruit and berries. I don’t think I have ever seen so many varieties of butterflies and insects and of course that means a bumper year for birds with plentiful food for hungry babies. The Grewia bushes have put on an extra flush of flowers and fruit and many leaves are tightly wrapped with silk threads enclosing juicy larvae. The birds are having a good time!

Harold writes of his trip to New Zealand, on page 3, and the silence of the forests there, quite different to Botswana where we are blessed with so much activity and birdsong.

Don’t miss Nicky’s delightful notes from Francistown on page 5 — her insights into bird behaviour are based on a lifetime of close observation and love of birds.

Protecting Africa’s IBAs, on page 8, talks of Kenya & Zambia, but relates closely to our own experiences and has messages for us too.

In closing I once more ask for feedback and contributions. I really would love to hear from you.

Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw

To all those who supported us by submitting their photos for the 2010 calendars — thank you!

Progress is well under way to produce not one, but three unique

and beautiful calendars showcasing birds of Botswana’s

IBAs. Our newest format is expected to be a hit – proposed

and motivated by Molebi.

Well done, Molebi!

To whet your appetite, here is just one of the oustanding pics

Please renew your membership if you haven’t already done so — it runs

from January to December each year. A form is

available on page 17 or on our website

www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw

On behalf of BirdLife Botswana, I recently attended an environmental education workshop for the visually impaired students from Lentswe Community Junior School held at Gaborone Game Reserve. The event was organised by the Community Outreach Department of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Objectives of the workshop

Special education teacher Ms Gakekgonwe said “the optimism is to provide conservation education to Batswana overall, including the visually impaired”. An official from Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Mr Mogorosi complemented Ms Gakekgonwe by emphasizing that education empowers individuals to create a healthy and sustainable future for people, for birds, for wildlife as well as our environment.

Tour of the displays by the visually impaired

The CD “Bird Calls for Beginners” was played to the visually impaired students to teach them to recognise some of the amazing sounds our birds make and also to give a little information about each bird before they could hear its call. I also had some live birds from Mokolodi Game Reserve including a Parrot, Barn owl and Lanner Falcon for those who were short-sighted to experience. I also quizzed them on birding issues.

BLB Conservation Presentation

I spoke extensively about birds because birds have always delighted people all over the world because of their beauty and charisma, and they represent a global symbol of freedom. More importantly, because birds are an important component of biodiversity and have an added advantage of being good indicators of the state of the environment. They are high up in the food chain and so can be sensitive to land use and climate change, and can therefore be useful in raising awareness of wider conservation issues.

The workshop programme for those with vision on the left or on the right is the Braille programme for the visually impaired

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Environmental Education Workshop — Gaborone Game Reserve 31 January, 2009

A report by Molebi Mosokotso

Tour of displays during the workshop

The DWNP had live snakes so that the visually impaired students could get the feel of these creatures

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We recently visited New Zealand to attend my son Andrew’s wedding to Rebecca. While there, obvi-ously we did some birding. Let me say at the outset that New Zealand is not for the birds. It is a most beautiful country with magnificent snow-capped mountains, blue lakes, clean fast flowing rivers, hot springs and many forests of hardwoods and ferns, but sadly relatively few birds. However, the spec-tacular coast line supports a multitude of sea birds.

Several flightless species have become extinct due to the introduction of stoats, rats and possums over the years by settlers. In the recent past the Department of Conservation has tried to rectify the situa-tion, but it is an uphill battle. Several Islands such as Tiritiri Matangi near Auckland and Kapiti not far from Wellington have been returned to their natural state as at the time of Adam and Eve, as have some reserves such as Mount Bruce and Karori. The reserves which have been reclaimed are a tribute to the conservationists.

Two of the best songsters are the Bellbird and Tui, which are both found almost throughout the coun-try. It is such a pleasure to listen to their rich, fluid, melodic, tuneful calls. There are a number of indigenous parrots, of which the the Kea, Kaka and Kakapo are best known. The Kea were a particular nuisance at Arthur’s Pass when they attacked the beading of our campervan windows as soon as we parked our vehicle. Needless to say, we did not stay there long. The Kakariki or Yellow-crowned Parakeet is a beautiful bird confined mainly to native forests. We enjoyed a good sighting of a small flock on North Island. We had an excellent sighting of the indigenous owl, Morepork, on the island Tiritiri Matangi. The name is derived from its call, which sounds like, you’ve guessed, “More pork”.

There are a few native passerines, most of which we saw. The ones which come to mind are the Fern-bird, Whitehead, Yellowhead and Fantail. Their names describe their distinguishing features precisely. We also saw the Tomtit, NZ Robin, Stitchbird and Saddleback. The last named is a beautiful bird with a distinguishing chestnut saddle over its back. Great efforts have been made to conserve the Kokapo, which was endangered but whose numbers have been increasing of late. This is a large, dark bluish-grey bird with blue wattles. The Kokapo is known for its haunting, chime-like song; it is a poor flier but moves with agility by running and hopping through the trees. Although it is shy, we did see them twice at Mount Bruce and Tiritiri Matangi.

Two impressive birds were the Pukeko (Purple Swamphen) and the Takahe. The Pukeko is one of the most common birds and looks like a Purple Gallinule. One sees it often in fields and at the roadside. The Takahe is like an enormous Pukeko and is flightless. Its colour ranges from a dark blue iridescent head neck and breast, to olive-green and blue back and wings. Its bill and shield (face) are massive scarlet and its legs and feet are red. It is slightly bigger than a Ground Hornbill. The Takahe is a rare bird so we were fortunate to see it. It was thought to be extinct until re-discovered in 1948.

One species we particularly wanted to see, but hadn’t, was a Blue Duck. The bird is an uncommon en-demic and found mainly foraging in the headwaters of strongly-flowing mountain streams and rivers in native forests. It is one of only four ducks worldwide which live permanently in fast-flowing rivers. We searched long and hard for these ducks and eventually found three standing on rocks half submerged in a stream running through the Pureora Forest near Lake Taupo. They are slate-blue in colour and looked much like the rocks on which they were standing. There were high fives all round when we spotted them.

The Blue Duck and Other Exciting Specials

Harold Hester

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We saw an impressive flock of probably five thousand Black Swans in the sea off Cape Farewell at the northern tip of South Island. Probably one of our most exciting sightings was of a flock of Wry-bills at Miranda not far from Auckland. These birds are the size of our Three-banded Plover, and are distinctive because of the black bill with the tip curved to the right. These are the only birds in the world with bills which curve to the side. Miranda is one of the most accessible sites to observe waders and is one of the end points of the East Asian-Australasian flyway, the network of routes flown by migrating birds between the northern and south-ern hemispheres. Other species we were fortunate in seeing were large flocks of Banded Dotterel, New Zealand Dotterel, Pied Oystercatchers, Bartailed Godwit, Lesser Knot, and Black-billed Gull.

New Zealand has the greatest diversity of sea birds in the world, and no visit would be complete without doing a pelagic trip at Kaikora. This town is situated on the upper east coast of South Island, well north of Christchurch. Kaikora provides some of the most accessible pelagic bird watching in the world; whale and dolphin watching are also popular here. We were fortunate in seeing at close quarters six different species of Albatross, includ-ing Northern and Southern Royal, Gibson’s and Antipodean Wan-dering, Salvin’s and NZ White-capped (Mollymawk). Also seen were Hutton’s, Buller’s, Flesh-footed and Sooty Shearwater, Cape Pigeon, Giant, White-chinned and Westland Petrels and sundry Shags, terns and gulls. It was an incredible outing.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive account of all the species we saw, but an indication of what one could see on a four week visit to New Zealand. The country has some iconic birds that stand out for their uniqueness and rarity. Lasting impressions are that the Department of Conservation is doing an outstanding job in re-introducing many species to areas where they had previously become extinct.

Kakapo found after 22 years A miraculous find by a ranger of a Kakapo Strigops habroptilus boosts the Critically Endangered endemic parrot population to 91. The flightless nocturnal bird was one of four male Kakapo re-leased in 1987 on a 1,400 ha conservation sanctuary, near Stewart Island, New Zealand. The bird had not been seen since until it was recently discovered booming - its unique resonant mating call - where no Kakapo had been detected before. Go to www.birdlife.org:80/extinction/ or press ctrl and click on the link to read about the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme aim-ing to save all Critically Endangered birds.

Forest & Bird in New Zealand is taking intensive conservation action to save the Critically Endangered Kakapo Strigops habroptila.

BirdLife International News-Byte

Blue Duck Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos

More Birding Snippets from Botshabelo Francistown Nicky Bousfield

Season in Transition

By contrast, seed-eating birds have been moulting over the past several months and now look fresh and sleek. There is evidence that they are in breeding mode - nest materials are being gathered and birds in the hand show brood patches. Why this difference? It is based on food supply. Grasses are heavy with seed and seedeat-ers can afford to invest in producing their progeny.

Palearctic migrants captured are mostly in final stages of moult. Flight feathers that were tattered and worn when they arrived in Oct/Nov/Dec are being replaced in preparation for the long jour-ney back to their breeding grounds. Those that have completed moult are storing extra fat to fuel the journey. This is evident in the increased weight. (not as marked as in larger migrants since the birds we target in mist nets will also feed along the route.)

Immigrants

Bronze Mannikins (Spermestes cuculattus) are moving into NE Bot-swana in substantial numbers. This has been observed by birders in Francistown and confirmed by being commonly trapped in mist nets in the past year.

Terrestrial Brownbuls (Phyllastrephus terrestris) Over the past 12 yrs of bird ringing these birds were very rarely seen, however during the past 12 months they are trapped on a regular basis.

Yellow-bellied Greenbuls (Chlorocichla flaviventris) were a rarety 2 years back. Now they are breeding in substantial numbers in Bot-shabelo .

The latter 2 varieties are normally resident in habit. Their recent infiltration into Botshabelo may be due to loss of habitat through human impact elsewhere or it may be food driven.

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One of the joys of bird-ringing is the privilege of holding the bird in your hand for close examination and observation. Over the past few months, whilst the rains fell, there was an abundance of insects and insectivorous birds capitalized on the bounty by furiously nesting and breeding. This was evident in cap-tured birds by brood patches and sometimes captures of adult birds with their fledged young. Roughly 25% of insectivorous birds ringed over this period were juveniles.

Feb/March—the rains are tapering off. Insects are still fairly abundant, but now the insectivorous spe-cies are utilizing the energy from less abundant food to progress through post breeding moult. Pristine new feathers will insulate them against the winter cold. The birds are telling us that summer is passing and winter lies ahead.

Bronze Mannikin photo Ron Eggert

Terrestrial Brownbul — Ken Newman

Yellow-bellied Greenbul — Ken Newman

Garden Babies

A pair of Jameson’s Firefinches (Lagonosticta rhodopareia) nested in the entrance to my flat. They hatched 4 babies and the youngsters were so active that the nest collapsed on the floor. The pulli were just beginning to grow feath-ers. I rounded them up, placed them in a make-shift nest in a hanging basket (having ringed them) and the parents con-tinued to feed them. Presumably they fledged when I was not looking, because I no longer hear them calling for food.

Amazing Recoveries

A Black-backed Puffback was ringed in Francistown on 3/9/2000. Eight years and four months later he was recovered in Bloemfontein – some 883 kms away. Since this species is de-scribed as resident and sedentary, it begs the question ‘what prompted him to fly all that way?’

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Nature’s Captives

On account of the prevailing humidity, the gum from trees such as Acacia mellifera becomes saturated and drips steadily to form a jelly-like lump on the ground. Flies are attracted to these sources of food and stick on the gum. Lizards see an easy meal in the immobile flies and get stuck themselves. Along comes a Brown-hooded kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) who launches into a full scale attack on the liz-ard only to get entangled in the glutinous mass. The more he flaps and fights, the more he becomes captive .

This was the sorry state of one male kingfisher brought to Botshabelo by a kind neighbour. The bird could barely breathe. (It reminded me of those paper-weights made of insects or shells set into transparent perspex!) We went to work sponging it down with luke-warm wa-ter whilst some members of the team pro-vided a cage in which the bird could eventu-ally dry out and others collected crickets and other suitable dietary items.

It worked! All the gum was finally removed. The water-drenched bird was placed in the cage in a sunny spot with a plastic container so designed that the insects inside emerged one by one. These were snapped up greedily. By the end of the day a team of humans were very relieved to see a totally re-vived kingfisher fly off to a nearby tree.

The proverbial “cherry-on-top” was when more insects had been collected and placed in the same con-tainer on the ground , the kingfisher flew down from the tree and continued to benefit from the offer-ing as they emerged. That’s what I call a farewell salute of gratitude.

Kenneth Newman

Staff Appointments

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Boitumelo Sekhute-Batungamile - Project Manager

Ms Sekhute-Batungamile holds an MSc. in Sustainable Agriculture, and BSc.(Honours) in Soil Science both obtained from the University of Aberdeen. She has extensive experience in development work relating to environmental conservation, poverty alleviation and enterprise development, having worked for BOCO-BONET, the WK Kellogg Foundation, University of Bot-swana and Kalahari Conservation Society, amongst others.

Boitumelo has been appointed Project Manager for the UNDP-GEF Medium-Size Project (MSP) recently granted to the Society.

The objective of the project will be to improve the financial and operational sustainability of small but biodiversity-rich Protected Areas (PAs) in Botswana through enhanced working partnerships between pub-lic, private, NGO and community stakeholders.

Dikabelo Koboyatshwene — Administration Officer

Ms Dikabelo Koboyatshwene recently joined BirdLife Botswana after more than nine years as the Office Assistant at IUCN, The Conservation Union, where she worked closely with Line Managers to provide assis-tance to other local non-governmental organizations and assisted Project Managers to project implemen-tation.

As the Administration Officer at BirdLife she has the responsibility to support the delivery of the organisa-tion’s project outcomes and activities, in accordance with project documents and agreed work plans. She will keep financial records for the office and support the Project Managers in daily operational and admin-istrative aspects of their work.

Boitumelo Sekhute-Batungamile

Dikabelo Koboyatshwene

Protecting Africas IBAs—People and Partnerships A report from BirdLife International 27.02.09

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Kenya: A new report documenting the condition of Kenya’s 60 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) has been launched. It shows a slight improvement overall in their conservation status, with the greatest progress being made at protected sites. However, this was offset by the continued deterioration of many unprotected locations. IBAs are key sites for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity, and have been identified all over the world using BirdLife International’s objective and scientific criteria. Over 1,200 IBAs have been identified in Africa; many of which are threatened by habitat degradation and a lack of legal protection. ‘Kenya’s Important Bird Areas - Status and Trends 2007’ is the result of concerted effort by NatureKenya (BirdLife in Kenya), government environmental agencies and Site Support Groups (SSGs). It documents that thirty-five IBAs (58%) are under the protection and management of the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Forest Service, and shows that increased patrols have led to a substantial reduction in the number of illegal activities. Fifteen IBAs now have fully operational SSGs. These are local volunteer groups which undertake conservation management and monitoring activities at IBAs. However, despite this, it is still too little to offset the ever increasing pressures, the greatest being the increasing human demand for land, coupled with changes in land-use. The report predicts that in future, agricultural expansion will pose an even bigger threat. Growing crops to produce biofuel – such as the proposed Tana Integrated Sugar Project – can lead to food insecurity and degrade land currently under biodiversity conservation. “The issue of biofuels must be urgently addressed as it threatens not only biodiversity but also human survival”, said Paul Matiku – Executive Director of Nature Kenya. The Kenyan IBA review supports a new study in Bird Conservation International – BirdLife’s journal – reporting that IBAs within Protected Areas hold more Globally Threatened bird species than those outside them. The scientists studied patterns between the presence of particular kinds of threats at IBAs and the characteristics of the sites. They concluded that the most prevalent threats could be detected from satellites, which would allow monitoring of a greater number of sites than is feasible by conventional, ground-based approaches - saving time and money.

“The paper proposes at least a partial solution to one of the biggest barriers to effective conservation of biodiversity in Africa - the timely detection of threats and their extent and severity of their impacts”, said Dr Julius Arinaitwe, the regional IBA Programme Manager for BirdLife in Africa. Zambia: Successful IBA management also involves working with local communities who depend upon the land for their livelihoods. This principle is embraced by the Zambian Ornithological Society, ZOS (BirdLife in Zambia) who believe that local communities' use of natural resources is critical to poverty reduction, food security and biodiversity alike. One way in which ZOS are engaging with communities is to work with children; getting them involved in hands-on conservation activities in and around their local IBAs. The ‘Zambia IBA Schools Programme’ aims to improve the conservation status of all IBAs involved in the scheme by the end of the project in 2011. As part of the successful scheme, ZOS recently ran a wildlife story competition in their IBA schools. Children were asked to write stories about birds, animals or plants. The competition achieved tremendous results, none the least being a sense of pride that school children have in participating in a highly targeted and yet world-wide conservation programme “Since the start of the programme, there has been an increased interest in the environment, conservation and birds especially in areas around 11 IBAs which the programme is focusing on” - Pius Lilanda, Zambian Ornithological Society’s Coordinator of the Zambian IBA Schools Programme

To read about BirdLife's work assessing land cover and threats in Important Bird Areas in Africa, please click here. Or go to www.birdlife.org.news/extra/africa/african_ibas_bci_article.html

I pulled up slowly and carefully into an empty parking spot overlooking a vast undeveloped piece of land allocated for a school. A few cars are already parked near the big Debswana Club Hall. Soon more cars and people arrive. It is just before eight o’clock, the time at which the meeting is scheduled to start. We are gathered here to be updated on the current economic challenges and the proposed mitigation plans.

I chose to sit back in the car and wait for the time but also to recollect. I looked ahead at the bush. A group of small birds just ahead of me. I identified them as Masked Weavers and Cape Sparrows, darting in and out of the trees in what seemed to be a feeding frenzy. In the foreground a few metres away, an African Hoopoe and a Laughing Dove, perched on a False Umbrella Thorn (Acacia luederitzii), preening.

The weather conditions are just perfect for a bird photography session. But the weather conditions, social and mental that is, are not so perfect for any birding activity. Birds are too trivial for these challenging times when big economies in the world are reeling under the pressure of possibly the worst economic depression ever to unfold. An old employee told me that he has “never seen Jwaneng in such a state of silence and shock ever since the beginning of operations, in the last thirty years”. I am almost that age or slightly older and just started work, I thought.

I thought harder and looked harder ahead. The birds do not seem to know, albeit to care, what the people are going through. They have this day to enjoy and celebrate. They have but this moment to chatter excitedly and feed from the bountiful supply of seeds after this year’s good rains.

The Hoopoe seems to have finished his cleaning routine quicker than the perfectionist Dove. He heads straight down in my direction as if to dive bomb me, but in the safety of the closed car I was only slightly perturbed. Once landed beside my car, he walks around intently, foraging for food on the ground. From time to time he stops and knocks at the seemingly empty belly of the earth and then is rewarded with a juicy worm or insect from under the ground. I watched him for a while and observed that sometimes he gets rewarded more easily than other times. Once satisfied that I have learnt something he flew off into the thicket, hoping to share the lesson with another hopeless human being who might care to learn.

So I have learnt — to embrace each day with joy and hope. To feed and chatter with excitement while the sun shines, to knock and demand opportunities from life even in lean times. Then I will definitely know how to ‘fly over’ the economic meltdown. Thanks to our feathered friends, for teaching me the basics of life. I got out of the car with renewed vigor to join the rest of the staff while knowing that life will be sweeter some day. . .

For Birds and the People: the Economic Crisis,

Memories from Jwaneng Kabo Ditshane

Page 9

Gaborone Branch Walk – 1.03.09

John and Sandra Stonehill

The Sunday bird walk was up to its usual high standard with an early gathering of the convoy at Molapo Crossing before heading to the hills at Lekgolobotle, west of Otse, collecting extra cars on the way.

Chris led the way from the Police College following the usual pattern with a sudden left turn through the most unlikely looking gate onto a dirt road which he later assured us was the road to Manyana.

At a suitable point we parked up next to the road and Harold quizzed us on the birds we had seen on the way – a Giant Kingfisher at a river crossing and a Marabou Stork wheeling over a municipal dump.

The walk was a gentle stroll along the road as there wasn’t much traffic and what there was had to divert through the bush to get round us. We did also manage to create some interest for a group of spectators up on the hill, who barked occasionally by way of support.

What birds did we see? Please go to tickbird for the full list but highlights were the Spotted Flycatcher, Southern Snake Eagle, Paradise Flycatchers and a Gymnogene being mobbed by a Fork-tailed Drongo.

After walking for an hour or so, the sun became quite hot and we headed back to the cars for our usual breakfast gathering and chat before heading for home. It had been a lovely walk through pristine mixed bushveld.

Gymnogene being mobbed by a Fork-tailed Drongo

BLB group with Chris, Kevin, Harold & Roger in the foreground

Where we went

Local traffic Group of spectators!

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Page 11

Birding Hot Spots on the Kenyan Coast

Karin Duthie

Along the Mombasa-Malindi coast of Kenya are a number of truly amazing birding areas including significant areas of the coastal reef and the surrounding waters, designated as Marine Reserves and administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Inland there are mangrove swamps, seasonal ponds, estuaries and rain forest. All in all this is a must visit place for birders

Less than 10km from Malindi and bordered by the main Malindi-Mombasa road is the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest - an important area for Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Fischer's Turaco, Sokoke Scops Owl, Spotted Ground Thrush, Sokoke Pipit, East Coast Akalat, Amani Sunbird, Plain-backed Sunbird and Clarke's Weaver. It is very accessible and offers excellent trained guides. Not far from the forest are Mida Creek, Whale Island and Watamu, excellent places to see waders and important congregatory areas for Crab-plover, Lesser and Greater Sandplover as well as Roseate and Saunder's Tern. Still in the same area you have the Gede National Ruins in an area of Coastal semi-deciduous forest.

The Sabaki River Estuary, just north of Malindi is one of the "must see" places for birders - not only the best area to see the Malindi Pipit (an endemic with a very small range), but also an important area for Madagascar Pratincole, Sooty Tern, Saunder's Tern and Lesser Crested Tern. The species count for this area is massive and the area itself is beautiful, quiet and a wonderful place to wander and watch birds. The nearby Dakatcha Woodland is home to Clarke's Weaver (it may even be the breeding area for this species although little is known about its breeding habits and the nest site hasn't yet been identified). You can also reach Gongoni Ponds, the settling pools for the salt works, and see a variety of waders and salt tolerant species including Greater Flamingo.

North of Malindi and Sabaki is the Tana River Delta, a roughly tri-angular area covering Lake Bilisa at its apex and a 50km stretch of coastline from Kipini to Mt Kilifi at its base. This is rich mix of lakes and streams (fresh and brackish), grasslands and wetlands (saline and freshwater), beaches, mudflats, dunes, woodland and forest. Such a diverse habitat has an equally diverse avifauna and includes Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Malindi Pipit and Basra Reed Warbler as well as hosting internationally important levels of Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Saunders's Tern, Pink-backed Pelican, Yellow-billed Egret, Great Egret, Open-billed Stork, Yellow-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Lesser Sand-plover, Little Stint and Marsh Sandpiper. Upstream from the Delta, along the last 65km of the Tana River is the Tana River Forest, home to Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Fischer's Turaco, Malindi Pipit, East Coast Akalat, White-winged Apalis, Tana River Cisti-cola, Basra Reed Warbler and Plain-backed Sunbird.

Roseate tern photo Scott Hecker

Fischer’s Turaco wikipedia

Pink-backed Pelican

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Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds

By John Long and Peter Schouten Oxford University Press, 2008

Had humans lived in the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million years ago, they might have celebrated the winter holidays dining on roast Avimimus portentous. Although Avimimus – a dinosaur almost five feet in length – might have been a tad too large to fit in a standard-size oven, the creature bears an undeniable family resemblance to a Thanksgiving turkey. Seeing it, or any of the more than seventy other species illustrated in this book, makes it clear why paleontologists regard the feathered dinosaurs as the true ancestors of modern birds.

Because of the petrification and fragmentary state of most dinosaur remains, we can only imagine what those pio-neering birds looked like in life, particularly in matters of feather configuration and coloration. Still, the hard data of paleontology blends with inference from observations of present-day bird species to create plausible plumage and likely poses. We will never see a live Epidendrosaurus ningchengensis, a small dinosaur that was one of the first to climb trees, or a Microraptor gui, which sported not two but four wings. But with this handsome field guide you can spend an afternoon happily “proto-birding,” as it were, without leaving your living room.

Reviewed by Laurence A. Marschall, Professor of Physics at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania for Bookshelf, Natural History Magazine 12/08-1/09, American Museum of Natural History, New York

Book Review

Lamu Archipelago, north of Tana Delta, is an area rich in history and ancient settlements. The Kiunga Marine National Reserve hosts large numbers of Crab-plovers and Roseate Terns and adjacent to it, but inland, are Dodori and Boni National Reserves with a variety of interesting species including Brown-breasted Barbet, Honey Buzzard and Violet-breasted Sunbird.

In the next edition I will tell you about birding in the southern coastal area from the Tanzanian border to Malindi

Sources: Google - Birding in Kenya and Magical Kenya

Accommodation on the coast is plentiful and ranges from package hotels to private villas. Neem House in Malindi, is a private residence built in the classic Swahili /Arab style. It is fully furnished, fully staffed and sleeps a maximum of 12 people. The lush, tropical garden attracts a variety of birds and has a resident population of Palm Swifts. Car or 4x4 hire, with or without a driver, can easily be arranged. For more information please go to www.neemhousekenya.com.

Entrance to Neem House Bedroom decor

In this, our third issue, we continue to look at the names of the different parts of a bird. As men-tioned before, it is important to know what the different parts are called so we can describe a bird accurately to someone who can help identify it or look it up in a bird field guide book. The legs and feet and the different kinds of feathers (plumage) will be discussed in following issues. In this one we will focus on the names for the other parts of the body. It might help in remembering the names to compare the different parts of a bird with those of humans. However, their wings take the place of our arms and hands. Birds stand on two legs just as we do, al-though the placement of the legs and the resulting posture can be different for dif-ferent species of birds. This is quite evi-dent when you compare a penguin with a duck. Which one of these two birds has a posture more like a human?

1. neck 8. belly

2. mantle 9. breast

3. back 10. chest

4. rump 11. throat

5. tail 12. carpal

6. vent/anal region 13. wing

7. thigh 14. shoulder

The different feathers found on the wings and tail also have special names that will be discussed in the next edi-

tion. If you find any feathers, keep them so you can try and match them with the descriptions of the various

feathers that will be given in the next article.

Compiled by Doreen McColaugh

Kids For Birds

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BirdLife – Kasane

This branch plan to meet on either the last Saturday or Sunday of the month.

Contact Lyn Francey lynfrancey@gmail.com or Pete Laver petelaver@bluebottle.com

or check the website www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw for details

BirdLife – Ghanzi Contact Lorraine Boast lboast@yahoo.co.uk tel: 72146997

BirdLife – Maun

Evening activities (talks, films etc.) are held at Maun Lodge starting at 19h00 unless otherwise in-dicated. Contact Pete for programme.

Field outings on weekends commence from the parking area outside Ngami Toyota. Exact details for outings (e.g. time of departure) are announced at the evening meeting prior to the field outing.

Additional activities may be scheduled depending on demand.

Contact P Hancock at BirdLife Maun office for further information - 6865618.

Maun office address – P O Box 1529, Maun

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If you would like a really special way to remember someone who cared about the bush and its birds, an In Memoriam gift to BirdLife Botswana is something you may want to think about. That’s because your gift would go directly towards protecting and conserving our birds and the environment in which they live. BLB is working assiduously to protect our birds and promote an interest in them. We are particularly trying to in-terest children in learning to appreciate and love our birds.

Your In Memoriam gift can ensure a future for the birds that meant so much in the life of someone who is sadly no longer with us. In celebrating the name of someone who cared about these things, you can help us learn more about endangered species, and promote the popularisation of a healthy pastime for others and in so doing, protect these precious birds and the environment.

It may be that you, your family and friends would like to do something more to honour the memory of the one you have lost. If so, you may wish to consider a Feather Fund in their name (e.g. the Mary Wilson Feather Fund). This on-going personalised fund will celebrate their memory, and can be added to at appro-priate times, like special anniversaries that you may wish to honour. There are many ways in which friends, relatives and colleagues may wish to increase the Feather Fund – from fund-raising to making a regular do-nation. Just let us know if you would like to know more about this rewarding way to sustain the memory of someone who had a special love for birds and the bush.

Please contact Harold Hester on 3161766 or email him at haroldh@accelerate-it.co.bw

For all Eternity

Bird walks start at 06:30 September to April and 08:00 May to August. Meet in the southern carpark of Malapo Crossing. Please note the change.

We have discontinued the monthly talks. Sundry talks may be held at the Museum on the third Tuesday of the month if a speaker is arranged. Members will be informed.

BirdLife - Jwaneng Contact Kabo Ditshane for details kditshane@debswana.bw

BirdLife – Francistown The Francistown branch hold their meetings on the second Wednesday of each month, starting at 19h00 at the Supa-Ngwayo Museum, located at the corner of the first turn to the left as you travel from the Bulawayo roundabout towards the light industrial area. If you have any questions please call Guy Brina on 2412913 or email him at gltm@botsnet.bw.

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Date Activity Remarks

March 1

March 6, 7, 8

March 28

April 5

April 25

May 3

June 7

July 5

July 12, 13

August 2

September 6

September 25, 26, 27

October 3

October 3

October 4

November 1

December 6

Walk

Camp

National Board meeting

Walk

AGM

Walk

Walk

Walk

Water bird counts

Walk

Walk

Camp

National meeting

Annual dinner

Walk

Walk

Walk

Lekgolobotlo area

Bing farm

Francistown

Gabane

Kgale Siding

Metsemothlaba River

Ruretse

Notwane/Ramotswa

S Tyler

Mogobane

Bokaa

Mrs Riggs’ farm

Gaborone

Gabane

Modipe Hill

Mokolodi

BirdLife Events 2009 - Gaborone

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Committee of BirdLife Botswana 2008/09 Chairman Harold Hester haroldh@accelerate-it.co.bw Vice-Chairman Mike Goldsworthy mgg@accelerate-it.co.bw - also membership secretary Hon. Treasurer Jane Fleming flembo@accelerate-it.co.bw Secretary Sandra Stonehill s_m_stonehill@yahoo.co.uk Committee members Balisi Bonyongo bbonyongo@debswana.bw Guy Brina - organiser of activities in Francistown gltm@botsnet.bw Chris Brewster - recorder cbrewster@botsnet.bw Mary Lane-Jones mlj@it.bw Dolina Malepa - dmalepa@gov.bw Doreen McColaugh – education bdmac@info.bw Geoff & Trish Williams - williams@botsnet.bw Eugenie Skelton – editor Familiar Chat skelton@home.co.bw Ian White – no1foods@inet.co.bw Lucas Rutina – lucasrutina@hotmail.com Staff members Kabelo Senyatso – Dir. & Conservation Officer blb@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Pete Hancock - Conservation Officer Maun birdlifemaun@botsnet.bw Keddy Mooketsa - Assistant CO – Gaborone education@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Virat Kootsositse – Ass. CO Gaborone ibamanager@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Boitumelo Sekhute-Batungamile – Proj. Man.Gabs pspamanager@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Dikabelo Koboyatshwene – Admin. Officer –Gabs –admin@birdlifebotswana.org.bw

Records sub-committee Recorder Chris Brewster, PO Box 2316, Gaborone cbrewster@botsnet.bw Secretary Keddy Mooketsa admin@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Andrew Hester Huw Penry supenry@yahoo.co.uk Stephanie J. Tyler steph_tyler2001@hotmail.com

Richard D. Randall rrsafaris@yahoo.co.fr

Conservation/Research sub-committee

Chair Pete Hancock birdlifemaun@botsnet.bw Kabelo Senyatso blb@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Stephanie Tyler steph_tyler2001@hotmail.com Graham McCulloch gmcculloch@botsnet.bw Sekgowa Motsumi semotsumi@gov.bw Caspar Bonyongo cbonyongo@orc.ub.bw Editorial sub-committee (Babbler) Editor Stephanie J. Tyler steph_tyler2001@hotmail.com

Asst. Editors Pete Hancock & Doreen McColaugh

BirdLife Botswana tel (+267) 319 0540, Private Bag 003, Suite 348, Mogoditshane, Gaborone, Botswana Website: www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw