The 2023 annual Tana bird count happened from 9th-12th of February. Tides above 3.2 meters are favorable for the bird counting. This is why it is usually done on the first week of February.
Having started in 2006, the Tana River bird count is one of A Rocha Kenya’s long term projects. It is part of an International water bird census that is done to document the status of the species that use water areas. Since it is done annually and on the same river channel and distance, this count helps in establishing the trend on the number of species, diversity and population of the birds found here over the years. In reality, the count is supposed to be done twice a year, at the beginning and in the middle of the year. However, lack of enough funding has limited the it to once a year.
The banks of Tana River, this why the count is done while inside the boat
About the count
For a better part, the count went on as planned and everything went well. The team managed to see a few interesting species including Blacksmith Lapwing. It had not been recorded in the previous years and it was quite interesting to find them in a flock of other lapwings. The other species that was eye-catching was the African skimmer.
Black smith Lapwing (black chest), Spur-winged Lapwing (Middle) and Long-toed Lapwing (red beak and feet)
Few problems along the way
However, this years’ count came with a few challenges. The water level was so low that the team had to cut their journey by a whole 5Kms as it was difficult for the boat to move. This could explain why they counted fewer birds as compared to the previous years. But with the tide level that low, it is quite possible that the numbers could still have been lower even if they had managed to go all the way. In addition to that, the 5Kms gap made it difficult to establish a conclusive comparison with the previous years.
Fleur (first in the picture), Albert (middle) and Colin (far-end). Three of the five who went for the ringing
We appreciate the effort
We appreciate the group of 5 led by Colin and Kirao who participated in the count this year. The Tana delta dune lodge were legends as they provided free accommodation to the team. Our appreciations goes to everyone who made this count possible. We acknowledge the outstanding efforts of people like Florian (manager Ocean sports), Eden Forestation Project and Lower Tana Conservation Group. It is with help from people like you that we get to stand.
The beauty of volunteering with A Rocha Kenya (ARK) is that it is a win-win situation. We get to receive different people, at different stages and ages, from different locations all over the world, different walks of life, all willing to do different things. Volunteers do more than just help push our conservation work forward, they bring variety to the team and beautiful stories from different corners of the globe.
In return, they get to be involved in new things, gain experience in different fields, make new friends, bask in the warm beaches and rich heritages as they meet and learn from new people. Katie Henderson is one of our volunteers in 2023, and she was kind enough to put this short story together about volunteers’ experiences at the Center.
From the left: Katie, Nigel and Faith
Katie Henderson
My name is Katie and I am from Colorado, United States of America. I joined ARK on 1st of February, 2023. I serve as a general volunteer and as a result get many opportunities to help in different departments.
Some of the key focuses that I have been helping with include communications, research, writing articles and designing(posters & pamphlets). I enjoy being able to participate in the projects here. Projects such as trail and beach clean ups, fence building, and tree planting. I particularly liked taking part in the tree potting at Kuvuka tree nursery and getting to learn new skills. Also I have liked exploring around the local community and going into town with other volunteers and staff. I still remember how wonderful it was when some volunteers and I joined our visitors on a boat tour in the ocean where we saw lots of dolphins. We also managed to snorkel, and I gotta say, it was an amazing experience.
Way to go Katie
Franciska Sprong
Franciska first joined A Rocha Kenya back in 2021 where she served as the only volunteer for 10 weeks. Being a period when the world was just coming from Covid-19, Franciska ended up serving in all departments at A Rocha. She came back to ARK on February 23rd, 2023.
Franciska is from the Netherlands and is currently volunteering in the sciences and art departments. She has been assisting with bird data, marine research and has been painting murals around the property. It has been a wonderful reunion for her and she has really enjoyed being able to reconnect with staff from her previous stay. Her favorite volunteer activity is participating in the bird counts at Sabaki estuary. Using her own words, “I really love meal times and the dishes served at Mwamba. As well as the conversations I have with guests and staff.”
Franciska busy with her designing, the smile says it all.
Faith Aboki
Faith, or as we love to call her Fay, joined ARK as a volunteer at the beginning of February. She is originally from Eldoret(one of the towns in Kenya) and has enjoyed volunteering in the communications department and getting to assist in other departments. Faith helps with preparing social media posts, taking photos and working on the new website. She has enjoyed taking part in the tree potting and seed planting at Kuvuka tree nursery. She has also liked being a part of the fencing project that was done at the bottom of our property.
According to her, it is just amazing how Mwamba is such a welcoming and hospitable community with lots of opportunities to learn. “I liked being able to join the science team at Mida-Creek for the water bird counts and even being asked to scribe. Now when I get down to prepare a post, at least am doing that with first hand information”. Faith also enjoys exploring Watamu, a bit of reading and relaxing.
Katie(left) and Faith(right)
Jonas Flohr
Jonas has been volunteering with the Science and Maintenance departments for almost 2 months now. To him learning about birds through the bird surveys and bird ringing, and getting involved in the Shark survey have been some of his major highlights.
He feels that the projects he is involved in are a great way to help with conservation and help contribute to the local environment. “The tasks that we do are very fulfilling to me because I can actually see that the work we are doing is helpful and important. When am working on watering the young trees around the property, I get to see first hand the contribution that is making to the environment. Seeing them grow and remain healthy makes those trips I make all the more worthy it. In addition, the balance between maintenance and science has always given me a variety of activities that makes me look forward to every day.”
He enjoys how Mwamba has such a community atmosphere and so many different guests that he can talk to. Jonas enjoys exploring the local area and taking beach walks to Watamu, snorkeling and taking some downtime on the nature trail. Food variety, learning Swahili and visiting the local market with other volunteers is just adds to the list of the many things that Jonas loves about being at A Rocha. How I wish you could see the excitement in his eyes! Oh, Jonas is from the United Kingdom.
Jonas in action
Miyo Yasuda
All the way from Japan, Miyo is currently the newest member of the team, having joined us just a few days ago. She loves being able to help out wherever is needed and enjoys helping with arts and hospitality. Maybe it is a bit early to say, but Miyo already loves the atmosphere of Mwamba and the connections she has made. She also loves learning about new customs and cultures.
Miyo has enjoyed the encouragement and support that she has been offered here and how she is able to learn new skills and more about conservation. One of Miyo’s highlights has been the fellowship and services that we have on Sundays. She has loved being able to have the opportunity to help with the bible study for kids in the community. Miyoalso loves being around other Christians and the values that A Rocha has, “I really enjoy how we pray before every meal, and get to share the meals together as a community”. She loves going on swims in the afternoons before dinner with other volunteers.
Miyo helping with the ringing nets
Dr. Nigel Mathews
The only volunteer with three nationalities, Kenyan, British and Canadian. Nigel has been helping in the Science and Hospitality departments for just under a month now. He has enjoyed taking part in the monitoring of waders on the coral headland at the entrance to the Mida-Creek. He is also looking forward to taking part in the Wader count at Mida-Creek and monitoring the Sakoke Scops owls & the Clarke’s weaver.
Nigel loves the fresh fruits, such as pineapple, bananas, and papaya that Watamu has to offer.
For Mwamba, Nigel loves swimming in the sea. “It is my ultimate joy!”. He also likes helping out in the hospitality department and preparing the dining room before meals. One look at the dinner table arrangements he makes and you will agree that he is more than just a beautiful mind.
Dr. Nigel proving you can still work and pose for a picture
One of the major highlights of the year for the science department is the annual water bird counts. This year’s count happened on 3rd and 4th of February. However, the wet areas continue drying up, with every year worse than the one before…another effect of climate change? Here is a summary of the 2023 counts as compiled by one of our volunteers.
During the bird count
Lake Jilore
On February 3rd, 2023, a group of us from A Rocha Kenya headed to different locations to do wader counts that were to be submitted for the national bird count data. We left early in the morning and were out all day driving around with our binoculars and birding telescopes. I offered to be the scribe for one of the group, which I soon realized was a very important task. I had never taken part in a bird count before and was very excited to see what the day would entail.
We first arrived at lake Jilore in Kilifi County and we were shocked to see how dried up the water was. I was told that years before the lake was triple the size. We went on a walk down the hill towards the water. It seemed far in the heat and all around us the dirt was cracking from the warm temperatures. Once we arrived at the water, we were pleasantly surprised to see large groups of birds. We saw birds from Little stints, Glossy ibis, Greenshanks, Sandpipers among others. While we were observing the birds, Colin noticed that there were bird snares along the back coast of the lake. We counted 13 illegally placed snares and noticed that there was a Glossy ibis caught by the foot. Not only is there the issue of bird snares, there is also the concern of overfishing.
A trapped Glossy ibis
Elephant water hole in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
From Lake Jilore we headed down to Lake Mbaratum which was completely dry with no water birds in sight! From here, we went to the Elephant water hole in Arabuko-Sokoke reserve. By this time, it was around lunch time and quite warm so that could have explained as to why we didn’t see as many water birds. The watering hole was also so small, hard to even see from the road. We stood there for about 10 minutes without seeing any birds. We were all watching very intentionally and we did end up seeing about 5 different bird species. Species such as the Little stint and the Black tip white tern.
Lake Chemchem
By the time we got to Lake Chemchem, it was very hot, clear and sunny. The habitat contained trees and shrubs. Surrounding hills appeared slightly eroded with no much trees or shrub cover. The bottom of the lake contained dry dark silt with dry snail and mussels scattered. No water was on sight. Tall grass scattered all over the dried lake. People were observed burning charcoal near the lake’s shore while others were grazing towards the far north end. Since the water had dried up there was a smaller number of water birds present.
Spur-winged Plovers
Malindi Harbor
Our final stop that day was the Malindi harbor area next to the Vasco da Gama pillar. The weather was hot, humid and clear. There were less birds at shore at first as many birds were out in the small “islands” formed because of the low tide. We started by counting the few herons, plovers and sandpipers at shore. We later advanced towards the northern side of the beach as the water started coming back, the birds began flocking at shore which made it easier to count.
The shore looked less disturbed with few fishermen. There were a lot of water birds around, species of terns, plovers, ibis, whimbrels among others.
Conclusion
Numbers don’t lie, and this year’s numbers didn’t paint a really good picture. The effects of climate change that we have been merely talking about are finally catching up, steady and fast! With fewer wet areas comes fewer birds. Setting up bird traps on the few remaining areas just makes matters worse.
Even though the wet areas keep reducing with every successive year, we are glad we got to do this count. With the results we found, we can now assess and see where we need to put in more efforts and who we need to involve. I believe it is time to change the “we need to start doing something about this” to “we are doing something about this”!
It also always fun to have volunteers around Mwamba and have them join in the many activities we are involved in as an organisation. Here is a fascinating story from Hannah, our latest volunteer, about one of the activities she was happy to take part in. This was a journey she will forever be grateful she was bold enough to make. Enjoy!
The unexpected call
“Having been told virtually nothing about where I was going and what I would be doing, my experience at Dakatcha Nature Reserve was nothing but exciting. I was helping in the finance office stapling random things when someone walked in and told me I would be going to Dakatcha the next morning. All I was told was to ‘be ready to leave at 7am. Oh and wear a hat… and lots of sunscreen.’ With Stanley intermittently breaking the silence by yell-singing various reggae songs, he quickly became the entertainment of our road trip. Once the buildings became sparser, the trees more brittle and dispersed, and the rolling dirt hills an increasingly deeper red colour, as we got closer to this mysterious land of Dakatcha that I had constantly heard of yet knew so little about. The roads became significantly narrower and I increasingly began to question Stanley’s sense of direction, while he continued to relentlessly deny that he was lost. We abruptly took a turn off the main road onto what looked like an animal trail. He was definitely lost! Nevertheless, through the sharp turns and washed out paths, we arrived to what was quite literally the middle of nowhere before Stanley excitedly declared that “we had arrived.”
Let’s get it on
A school bus pulled up shortly after, and a small group of wide-eyed and curious children piled out. It wasn’t long before our environmental education officer Lenah, emerged out of the forest and beckoned for us to follow her into the dry thorny bushes. We carried the bread and water we had brought with us down a small path and gathered underneath the shade of a large tree, where we met a few other educators.
We soon started a nature walk, dodging underneath low-hanging branches, brittle thorny bushes, and far-reaching cacti. What at first looked to me like a dry wasteland of dangerously sharp plants and red dust, soon became an abundant ecosystem filled with complex creatures and plants. We learned about vines that stretch across the expansive desert floor before reaching each other and attaching, creating a bond so strong that even elephants will succumb to their tripwire. We appreciated the adaptability of the desert trees with roots so long they can tap into what little moisture hides meters below the dry sand. We found inch worms disguised as lichen, grasshoppers camouflaged underneath peeling bark, and elegant ladybugs painted in an array of reds and oranges. While walking through the relatively colourless landscape, vibrant pink flowers occasionally scattered the mundane beiges around us.
I walked behind a timid young girl who had found two giant African land snail shells, gently tapping them together to create a melodious echo. We walked together through the weaving trail, silently warning each other of any deviant cactus branches that reached a little too close to our path. I watched as the students so curiously absorbed the ways of the forest around us, gently feeling the various textures of the different plants and excitedly looking into the trees when they heard the slightest sound.
I joined a small group of students for a forest scavenger hunt, getting quietly giggled at as I excitedly exclaimed that I had found a seed before accidentally picking up a rabbit turd. We played a small game where we acted out the lifespan of a tree, from seed, to sprout, to branch, to tree. The children brightly laughed as Stanley swayed in the imaginary wind that these trees are so resilient against.
A time well spent
Throughout my time at A Rocha Kenya, I have curiously yet blindly gone along with whatever was happening (which is how I ended up wading in knee-deep water to ring birds with Colin at 3am when I thought I was going on a ‘camping trip’). I had gotten into the A Rocha truck and immediately asked, “so where are we going?” – and, yet again, I had been wonderfully surprised and amazed to see another way that the A Rocha staff so genuinely cherish their work.
Whether it is the way the ecstatic Hungarian-DJ-slash-butterfly-expert’s eyes lit up while he searched for caterpillars in the bushes next to the supermarket in town, Or the way that Peter the marine biologist excitedly waddled across the beach when I yelled that I had found a puffer fish skeleton, Or the way that Kirao has enthusiastically told me that “today is the day he’s going to catch a Red Capped Robin Chat” as he tirelessly skips into the forest, just as cheerfully as he’s told me every other day of the past month, Or how Colin tilts his head and mutters to himself about how beautiful the 20th plain looking grey bird he’s caught that day is, Or when Queen, the heart and soul of the environmental education program, starts passionately describing how huge the head of lettuce was that a local community member grew through her women’s environmental empowerment side-project, “Kitchen Garden.”
Whether birds, butterflies, fish, lettuce, trees, or even dirt, the people at A Rocha Kenya have taught me to cherish every bit of my surroundings; and through visiting Dakatcha, I was able to see a little bit of that passion passed on to the students I walked through the forest with, in what was much more than the middle of ‘nowhere.’…”
As a Christian organisation in conservation, one of the most common questions we are asked by both believers and nonbelievers is: “doesn’t the bible say that we should subdue the earth?” Often, this innocent command is manipulated and misused by many to propagate the harm they are inflicting on the environment. Instead of it being a shield behind which we stand as we aim to take care of God’s creation, it has become a licence that we readily show to anyone who dares question our questionable activities on the creation. But when God said rule the earth and subdue it, he didn’t mean misuse the earth and exploit it.
In Genesis 1 (verse 28), after God has created man, He blesses them. “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over everything.”A closer examination of this statement reveals more than just a blessing, it reveals a job description or a way of life for man. It does not say, “live however you want and do whatever you want”. It says, “you can do everything you want, if it is in the boundaries of this responsibility I have assigned you”. To help us better get the point here, we will look at this in two stages. First we will look at what ruling and subduing the earth isn’t, and finish with what it is.
What it isn’t
To subdue God’s creation does not mean destroying it or using it to our own ends without bearing in mind what we are doing to it in the process.Creation was never made for us! In fact, part of the reason why we were created was to take care of creation. God entrusted His beautiful creation in our hands, asking us to be good stewards of it. His expectation being that we would rise to the occasion and take care of it. Subdue the earth wasn’t an instruction for us to misuse it until we bleed it dry. It was an instruction to nurse it and live under its providence. Subdue the world was never meant to imply destroy everything else on earth until only man is left. On the contrary, it implied tend to the creation imprinting it with that human touch until your good work can be seen in every part of it.
What it is
Even though the earth wasn’t created solely and primarily for us, God made us stewards over it. He allowed us to use it well for our needs. Working hard to bring everything in it under our dominion (which ultimately is God’s dominion since we are under His dominion). In subduing, we are meant to be working the earth as we continue the wonderful work that God started, bringing form and order into it.Whereas we aren’t supposed to destroy this creation to build our own artificial one, we are supposed to continue developing this one and bringing it to its full potential. In reality, ruling and subduing the earth is more about what we give to the creation and less about what we take from it. Being made a steward of something, doesn’t mean that thing is now ours. It means we have been entrusted to take care of it. Whatever happens to it is our responsibility now.
Conclusion
Ruling the earth and taking care of it is a continuous thing. Something we must do every single day of our lives. That is how it was meant to be, that is how it should be. God asked us to do that, not only that, the symbiotic relationship between our lives and a fit creation demands so. We take care of the earth and through it we get our provisions and a healthy life. That is why things start going really wrong when we upset the system. The problem with taking is that we will take and take until the earth will have nothing more to give. Scratch that, actually it will have something to give, but it won’t be what nourishes and satisfies us, but rather mutilates and kills us.
In everything you are doing today, all I ask is that you take a second and reflect. Are you subduing the earth by filling it with more human touch and bringing everything under the dominion and glory of God as HE intended? Or are you subduing it by choking the very life out of it? At the end of the day, I hope we get to subdue the earth and keep it as God commanded, before the scales tip and the result squeezes the very lives out of us.
The ASSETS eco-bursary scheme has sponsored close to 800 students in the past 20 years, and we have witnessed some really encouraging stories! Today we zoom in on one of the beneficiaries whose life was transformed in a great way through ASSETS. I had a little chat with him, and here is what he had to say about the program.
Thoughts on the program
“My name is Lennox Kirao, and I became part of the ASSETS program in 2005 and graduated from the program in 2008. Even before this, I was exposed to the program while I was still in primary school. My interest was picked when the Environmental Education officer from A Rocha Kenya visited our primary school and taught us about the environment and conservation matters.
Since I live on the border of the Mida-Creek and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, I have seen the destruction being done to these forests by my community. These environmental awareness sessions were therefore informative and transformative to say the least. They played a huge role even in the career decision I made. Since most of those who came to create awareness in my community and school were mostly considered ‘outsiders’, the impact they made was minimal. I therefore felt that if I took up the role, then my people would at least pay attention to me, their own son. This is what pushed me into pursuing Environmental Science in the University.”
Kirao equipping a Mangrove Kingfisher with a geolocator tracking device, and educating his family about the wonders of migration at the same time!
Life without ASSETS
”If it were not for ASSETS, I don’t know if I would have been able to join secondary school. In fact, I had to skip a whole year since I couldn’t afford school fees. I was supposed to join High School in 2004 but ended up joining in 2005 because of financial constraints. With a little help from my brother I was admitted in school and ASSETS ended up supporting me for the whole four years. This was both a huge relief and blessing. Were it not for ASSETS, I wouldn’t have been able to reach this far.
Conservation-wise, ASSETS really shaped me. Because of it I wanted to be part of the conservation voice that people could listen to, turn their greedy kind of life and be educated on other ways of benefiting from the environment without destroying it.”
Kirao during one of the surveys on the whale island.
Conclusion
Even after joining University, Kirao always came back to volunteer with A Rocha Kenya during every break he had. He worked as an intern with ARK in 2014 and joined as a full staff in 2015. Almost 10 years later, he is serving as the Research Scientist for A Rocha Kenya. Through his efforts and hard-work in the science department, we have been able to achieve a lot as an organisation. He has been of great help within his community and with other local communities, as far as conservation is concerned. Even as he helps us push the conservation agendas of the organisation forward, we hope that this platform helps him achieve his personal conservation goals. That he will continue to achieve what he set out to be: a voice in his community that his own people will listen to!
Kirao setting camera traps in our Dakatcha Nature Reserve
