What we do about the birds

Yesterday I had a chat with various people who are interested in doing a 'big year' in Namibia this year. I'll be posting more about that later because one of the ideas is that each person who wants to do it can blog about their year and post a list.

But one really good question came up which often comes up in this kind of arrangement..."is there any ornithological benefit to this activity?"

Well, sometimes it is tempting to try to say something to the effect that we could contribute our sightings to some database or towards someone's research. The reality, of course, is that there is no such database (unless we actually see a bird not previously found in Namibia).

I have some clear feelings about this. I see three branches of interaction with birds that birders can get involved in. Ornithology..for sure there are opportunities to get involved in ornithology. Any zoologist studying avian populations or various other aspects of bird life in an are would often be interested in the help of a knowledgeable local. Bird, probably by a long way, have a huge contribution to the body of knowledge from non-scientists.

That's true, but on the whole there isn't really that much meaning in your daily birding activities to ornithology. When this question is asked, I often think that people actually mean to ask a related question, namely 'is there any conservation benefit to our activities?'

Here again I would say that just potting around looking at birds around the whole country has little real contribution to ornithology. Mad twitching is actually bad for the environment in a way...a big contribution to global warming with all the fuel used up doing all that travel.

Of course there is a meaningful contribution made to conservation and population monitoring by birders...a huge contribution. If you have been following my blog for a year you would know that last year this time I was really involved in counting birds down at the coast at this time.

This leaves the third, just birding for pure fun. I don't personally have any dilemma with doing birding for pleasure. Writing up my life list (which I am busy with at the moment) has reminded me of a time when I was borderline crazy with all my birding. Actually, one of the reasons for doing a bit of a big year is to re-capture that madness. It didn't matter to me if I was conserving, ornithology..ing, or even if I was any good at it. I just wanted to add birds to my life list, enjoy getting out an about, and enjoyed doing something that was a little different from the norm. I loved (and still do) birds, but it was nature more than the birds that was so compelling. I was somewhat of a 'twitcher' (depending on how you want to define that term). I was having fun, and that was important to me.

In recent times that has gone one step further. I am now really interested in people who want to bird for fun, because I earn some of my living from taking people out birding.

If you got through all my jabbering on till here, I would love to have your thoughts about birding. Why do you bird. Is there some compelling reason, just because birding is done in nature that it should contribute to ornithology. How much does cricket, rugby, soccer, drama and Disney have to contribute to ornithology?

I LOVE contributing to conservation. I have a set of personal goals or more a sort of core of focus that I want my life to be about, and one of the things clear on there is that I want to make some contribution to conservation throughout my life. I feel I have had some contribution in the past, be it counting birds or just having a chat to the conservation officials in the Namib Naukluft Park. I've picked up lots of rubbish in my life. I've given a little money to some conservation organizations either directly, through magazine or club subscriptions, or through organizations I have worked with. I haven't saved the world, but I have done a bit. And I feel a little bit chuffed about that.

I have contributed to science a little. Very little. I don't have much feeling that any old contribution to science is meaningful in a moral way. I don't pat myself on the back for any involvement I may have had in that way, even if it had been bigger. But science is fun. I am interested. Most of the jabbering on about nature I am able to do today is because of the access that I have had to a lot of information about nature.

I am also not a very good birder and don't feel to bad about that. Sometimes a Warber that you can barely see through the reeds, or a Cisticolla that will not sing or perform makes me feel like looking the other way for brighter, easier stuff. That's a poor claim for a birding guide to make, but it is true. I promise that a birding trip in Namibia with me will be interesting, I am certainly no beginner. I do 'know my birds' for the most part. I know where to find many of the countries specials. I do an okay job with a number of hard birds. But I would be really lying to claim that I was a hotshot, top-notch birder.

But when I go out to bird, none of the above affect my thinking at all. I just plain simple get a kick out of going to watch birds.

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Conservation

I believe strongly that conservation needs to be taken extremely seriously. Just watched a video that is somewhat of an emotional plea for conservation of the oceans. Have a look. What do you think?

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Namib Sand Sea as a world heritage site

I have just been looking at the Namibian sites that were submitted to UNESCO to be proclaimed world heritage sites. One of the sites included is the Namib Sand Sea.

Sossusvlei, where I have been taking tourists for over a decade now,is in the heart of this sand sea. It's conservation status is of real importance to me, and to Namibia. It may not be under to much threat, but there is the very real threat of more and more mining areas in or nearby the dunes. Mining is perhaps fine, and an important income generator for the country, but they do need to be controlled in order to minimize their impact on the environment.

So, I would be really happy to see the Namib Sand Sea become a world heritage site. The trouble is that this recommendation was submitted in 2002. So it doesn't look good for it to become a world heritage site.

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Lesser Flamingo Update

One of the great pleasures of birding here in Swakopmund is the presence of Flamingos. We see both the Lesser and the Greater, but to me, the more threatened Lesser Flamingos, with their dark beaks and smaller size, are the most attractive. In full pink plumage, a group of Lesser Flamingos makes one of the memorable sights of Africa.

In the most recent Africa Birds & Birding magazine, there is an article about the breeding of Lesser Flamingos Phoenicopterus minor on Kamfers Dam. Many now know about the artificial island that was purpose built for the breeding of the flamingos.

Currently the flamingos on Kamfers Dam face the threat of pollution and additional development in the area, which may destroy this very useful additional breeding area for these threatened Flamingos.

If you are interested in the story, you can read about it in the latest Africa Birds & Birding magazine (February/March 2009 edition, page 15) or go and visit the save the flamingo website here.

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Damara Tern

If you visit the area around Swakopmund you may see little signs out in the desert with a picture of a bird on them. The Damara Tern is a breeding near endemic to Namibia. They are small little Terns (family Laridae) that breed on the open gravel plains.

These small terns have suffered the off-roading craze. In the Namib Sand Sea, south of Walvis Bay, the area is protected. But the dunes and gravel plains north of the Kuiseb River are declared a 'recreation area.' This isn't some small little park. This is a significant peace of land, with hundreds of kilometers of coast.

Each year Swakopmund becomes a mad buzz with holiday makers in December. If you stand along the road leading in to Swakopmund from the east, thousands of four-wheel drive vehicles and thousands of quad bikes on trailer arrive into the town. Prior to this boom, the terns had miles and miles to breed and the loss of a few nests here and there could be tolerated. Now, however, the sheer number of vehicles that use these areas means a significant threat to a very special little bird.

If it wasn't for the work of a few dedicated individuals, this bird may well have been right on the point of extinction. There is one man, Rob Braby, together with his family, who has almost single handedly taken on the plight to save this bird. Elevator cable fences have been put up in places to restrict the use by off-road vehicles. Nests are monitored and the constant battle with developers and those who wish no restrictions to be placed on the off-roading community.

I will certainly post a lot more about the coast in 2009, but if you would like to learn more about conservation of the Damara Tern and other Namibian birds, visit the NACOMA website.

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