Race is on to save the rare Taita Apalis

Taita apalis featured in a recent newspaper article by journalist Rupi Mangat, who summarizes the latest research findings from our work and the initiatives to try and save this unique bird from extinction.

Here is the link to Rupi's article

Teaching Conservation in the Taita Hills

Taita apalis survives in just 3 small forests and nowhere else!

The Taita hills in southern Kenya are one of the key area for the conservation of biodiversity in East Africa. Many species are endemic to these small mountains - that is, they only exist here and nowhere else in the world. Some species, such as the Taita apalis and the Taita thrush are restricted to a range of less than 500 hectares, which is more or less the same area as Central Park in New York. This is an extremely tiny range! For these reason, the IUCN and BirdLife International consider these two birds "Critically Endangered" which means an extremely high risk of extinction within less than 10 years.

Lawrence leading primary school pupils in the Taita forest

For many years, we have been involved in research and conservation activities in the Taita Hills. One of the key goals in conservation is increasing awareness, that is, making everybody know about the importance of conserving biodiversity. We must conserve it because these unique species are the common heritage of the entire world, and if we loose them, nobody will be able to to resurrect them.

Lawrence Wagura, one of the members of the Taita hills team, has been very active in teaching about conservation in primary and secondary schools in the Taita hills.

With support from the African Bird Club, Lawrence has recently embarked in an ambitious project that has involved more than 700 pupils from primary and secondary schools in the Taita. Lawrence visited the schools, and taught the students about biodiversity,, first in the classrooms, and then in the field, leading the students in a walk through some of the most interesting forests of the Taita hills. The students have been able to hear about the endemic birds, insects, plants and herps, and have even been able to see some of them with their eyes. For many of them, it was the first time, even though they all live in the Taita hills!

You can read more about Lawrence's project here.

Butterflies in the Chyulu hills

Lawrence and I recently spent some days in the Chyulu hills to teach the art of butterfly-watching to a team of local Maasai tourist guides. Here is a report on our pleasant stay.

Hypolycaena philippi

Endangered species gets even more endangered

Survey data show a 45% decrement in the population of Sharpe's longclaw in just five years.

Between 2013 and 2014, we carried out a reassessment of the population of Sharpe's longclaw, one of Kenya's most charismatic endemic birds. The survey revisited a network of over 100 transects that were first visited five years ago, in 2008 and 2009. 

The sampling sites are spread over the entire range of Sharpe's longclaw and represent the most updated and detailed assessment of the range and population of this species. They are as well a survey of the conservations status of Kenya's highland grasslands, a habitat that harbours several endemic and highly threatened species of flora and fauna.

In just five years, we observed a dramatic contraction of natural grasslands (-16%), which are being rapidly converted to agriculture and settlements. But the decrement in the number of birds was even more worrying: -45%, with extremes beyond -60% in some key sites (e.g. Kinangop plateau, Molo grasslands).

Sharpe's longclaw range in Kenya

As it appears, habitat loss alone can not entirely justify this rapid decrement of Sharpe's longclaw's population. We hypothesize that other factors, such as habitat fragmentation, edge effects and overgrazing are all contributing and compounding the rapid decline.

It is likely that several other grassland endemic species are sharing the same fate of Sharpe's longclaw. these include the globally endangered Aberdare Cisticola, the frog Amietia wittei and the snake Bitis worthingtoni.

As Kenya's economy and human population are both rapidly expanding, prime agricoltural habitats are facing a massive onslaught to develop them. It is urgent that a network of protected areas is established to save at least part of this ecosystem, which is might be one of the most severely threatened habitat in Africa. 

Akcnowledgments: the field work was a collaboration between NABU (BirdLife Germany), Nature Kenya and the National Museums of Kenya. Funding in 2013-2014 was entirely provided by NABU

The proud survey team in the Aberdare mountains

Drought in the forests of Northern Kenya

An article by journalist Rupi Mangat on our research in the forests of Northern Kenya and the effects of the drought that is taking a big toll on them. Populations of some forest birds have dropped by more than 50%, and big trees are drying up and dying everywhere. Is this drought just a natural event that recurs periodically or an effect of global climate change caused by human activities?

A guide to the Wildlife and Natural History of the Taita Hills

Lawrence Wagura, who has been one of our field assistants and collaborators for long time, has just published a new guide to the Natural History of the Taita hills. Printing of the initial copies of the book was supported by BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat and Nature Kenya (BirdLife Partner) as part of a project funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).

This is the first published guide for this important site. In simple language, backed up by colourful pictures, Lawrence comprehensively describes the site: he includes, among other topics, its history, geography, value, indigenous culture, and various types of plants and animals found there.
The book is not only useful for visitors and researchers; Lawrence also intends to use it as a tool for educating the youth and other residents of the Taita Hills on the value of conserving the site.

“With support from teachers, I have already been giving talks in schools in the area and I often take students for educational trips to the forests. I will now distribute free copies of the book to the schools, and in future use them for my educational talks”, says Lawrence. Lawrence hopes that the book will also encourage tourists who venture into the lower Tsavo plains and other areas to include a visit to the Taita. The booklet is now available for sale at Nature Kenya's offices in Nairobi and will of course also be distributed in the Taita Hills.

Another bad year for Taita apalis

We have just received data from this year's monitoring and, as it appears, this was another really bad year for Taita apalis.

Standardized counts show that numbers went down by about 50% since 2013 in the species' main stronghold - Ngangao forest. Putting the records on a map shows it clearly: between 2001 and 2014, the decrement is in the order of 90%. At this rate, the extinction of the species in Ngangao might be no more than one or two years away.

Ngangao used to host more than 60% of the global population no more than ten years ago.

Things are not going better in the other forest fragments where the species occurs - we obtained no records from Chawia, Fururu and Mbololo for more than two years. We suspect that  Taita apalis is now very rare or even locally extinct in these forest fragments.

Only Msidunyi and Vuria, the two fragments located at the highest elevations, have relatively stable numbers in the last years. But the area of these two forests is tiny: little more than 100ha of suitable habitat remains there.

Our research continues to identify the causes of the so far unstoppable decline. We already know that some apalis territories were lost along forest edges due to direct human disturbance, but the story is more complicated, because we noticed severe declines even in the best preserved, and apparently undisturbed, parts of the forest. It is a race against time, and the clock is ticking fast.

Acknowledgments: We thank RSPB for funding this work.

Records of Taita apalis in Ngangao forest, the species' main stronghold

Evironmental awareness at Ol Bolossat : news from the field

George Ndungu, one of the recipients of our support in 2014 is now working at full speed on his environmental awareness project. Lake Ol Bolossat is one of the key areas for the conservation of biodiversity in Kenya, and is especially rich in birdlife. Unfortunately, this wetland and the rich grasslands that surround it are being rapidly converted into agriculture and settlements. In many cases ploughed fields now abut directly on the lake, leaving no space for natural habitats and exposing the shores to increased risk of flooding during the rain season.

A newly opened field right at the edge of the lake's water

George Ndungu, a member of the local community and self-taught ornithologist, has been very active in the area for many years. With our support (together with the German NGO NABU, and with help from several private donors from Italy and the UK) George visits the local farmers and schools in Ol Bolossat area campainging for the preservation of the lake and its surroundings.

Teaching to primary school students

George has already been supported by us in 2013, and the good results we achieved prompted a prosecution and upscaling of his project in 2014. From April till the end of this year, George will be very busy!

According to his proposal, his activities this year are focusing on:

A bird booklet written by George

1. Visiting target groups on the ground
2. Holding lectures and demonstrations in the primary schools, donating copies of “Ndege na Watu” book and other environment education materials available to each of the ten-targeted schools.
3. Giving out copies of “Nyoni na andu” book (Birds and people) and birds role posters free especially to adults.
4. Distributing bilingual posters at target points e.g. markets, schools and churches as well as in public places
 5. Planting 1,000 indigenous trees in all of the ten-targeted schools.
6. Doing bird watching with participants using a pair of binoculars as a way of captivating their interes

Conservation booklets and posters published

George Ndungu, one of our 2014 grant recipients has just printed 500 copies of a booklet and 200 of a large-sized poster on the birds of Lake Ol Bolossat, in central Kenya. This material will be given out for free to school students and local farmers in the area to campaing for the conservation of Lake Ol Bolossat wetland and montane grasslands

The most threatened habitat in Africa

Grassland under conversion to crops near Naro Moru - September 2013

Which is the most threatened habitat in Africa? Rainforest? No, you are wrong.
The truth is that highland grasslands are disappearing at a much faster rate than forests. And that is worrying, because grasslands host a lot of endemic and globally threatened biodiversity.
Highland grasslands are widespread in Africa, but their total area is not large. They occur in Southern, Eastern and Central Africa. In Kenya, much of the land above 2000m elevation used to be grassland at the beginning of the last century, and it was home to huge herds of wild herbivores, endemic birds, amphibians, reptiles and plants.
Just one century later, most of these grasslands are gone. Conversion to agriculture is the main cause of their disappearance, and unfortunately, as demand for food and cropland grow fast in Kenya - as anywhere else in Africa - rates of destruction are increasing.
In 2008, we surveyed the grasslands located on the northern slope of Mount Kenya, between Naro Moru and Nanyuki. We found quite large expanses of good grassland still existing, and along with them some interesting species such as the globally-threatened Sharpe's Longclaw (an bird endemic to Kenya).
Just five years later, at the end of 2013, we revisited the same grasslands, and could not believe to our eyes. Most of the grasslands were heavily damaged, some did not even exist any more. On the whole, we recorded 23% loss of area within just five years - a rate suggesting that in less than 15 year no natural grass will be left there.

Wild dogs in the Segera plains, north of Nanyuki, September 2013