Parrots and other birds here and there

I am in the process of working on an article about human-wildlife conflicts, but I am taking longer to write it than I originally planned. In the meantime, here are some of the beauties Michele and I are finding around Rwanda. All of these birds are found in the wild only on the continent of Africa.

A pair of African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) hang out
near the shore of Lake Kivu, in Gisenyi, in the Norhtwest of Rwanda.

According to BirdLife International, the African Grey has
experienced significant population declines due to habitat loss
and the international pet trade. They are apparently so
popular as pets in the United States, Europe, and Asia that up
to 21% of the wild population is harvested annually. Read more.

A Red-chested Sunbird (Cinnyris erythrocerca) sings
near Lake Kivu.

A Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis) perches
on an acacia tree near the shore of Lake Muhazi
in Eastern Rwanda.

An African Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus senegallus)
searches for food near some rice paddies. Note its yellow
wattle on the side of its bill!

Four Lesser Striped Swallows (Hirundo abyssinica) rest atop
a banana leaf. These are the most beautiful swallow species
I have seen in the world. They make metallic-like sounds
and nest at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village.

An African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus) patrols the shore
of a lake in Akagera National Park, which forms the
Eastern border of Rwanda.

One Hammerkop (Scopus umbretta) lands on another
in the Eastern Province of Rwanda.

A Hammerkop stands on its nest in a garden in Kigali,
the capital and approximate geographic center of Rwanda.

The most beautiful bird of all... Michele stands at the edge
of Lake Kivu, which forms the Western border of Rwanda.
Across this body of water is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

As you can see, this country is rich in birds. Michele and I use our free time to travel around Rwanda in search of them and other wildlife too. I am reminded of a quote from the poet Pablo Neruda that I saw posted at the Central Park Zoo:

"I've wandered the world in search of life: bird by bird I've come to know the earth."

I hope to see them all... thanks for reading!

Organic Agriculture and Composting in Rwanda

On Friday, I joined a small group from ASYV for a field trip to learn about organic agriculture in Rwanda. This group included a chemistry teacher, school administrative staff (myself), an informal education representative, two farm staff, and a landscape staff member. Our objective was to get some ideas on how to build environmentally sustainable practices into our operations and educational programs. We specifically wanted training on composting in the tropics and on plants that could be incorporated into our landscaping and farm to decrease pests without pesticides.

Entrance to the GOFTC demo farm

The training was at the Gako Organic Farming Training Center (GOFTC). The center opened in 2000 and has since trained over 60,000 farmers from Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its founder and director, Richard Mynyerango, was our host for the day.

“No matter how big you are, a president, a businessman, or anyone, at the end of the day you still have to eat.” Richard said. The center is largely focused on just that: connecting people to the idea of healthy food and the how-to of growing it.

A terraced mound garden at GOFTC

While Richard and his center promote protecting the environment through organic agriculture, their approach is centered in helping people. Richard said they are looking for ways that organic farming and conservation can boost peoples’ income, open new cottage industries, and shift people from subsistence agriculture to accessing markets. With the environment as his guide, he is searching for “anything we can do to improve the livelihood of the people.”

Many of the innovations that the center promotes are not necessarily new to the world, but they are adapted to local conditions for use by local people. For example, space is very limited in Rwanda. Not only is it a small country, but it is very densely populated. If people do not have enough land, then they may not be able to produce enough food. Since 90% of Rwandans are farmers, this is a huge issue. The GOFTC promotes several space-optimization schemes to increase the amount of food grown in the same space. Two that really stuck out to me were the mound gardens and the sack gardens.

A mound garden can double the growing space

Mound gardens are soil (and compost) piled up in a small hill. The mound allows more plants to grow because it increases the surface area available for growing. The chemistry teacher with us calculated that it doubles the amount of growing space.  The sack garden is like a kitchen container garden on a larger scale. A durable sack is filled with soil and compost, staked with a post on 4 sides, and holes cut from bottom to top. Plants like onions were planted in the sides of the sack garden and herbs on top. Again, it is an increase in the surface area- and thus growing space- that is the real benefit of the sack container.

Sack gardens are used to optimize space

Other technologies they promote are rabbit, goat, or cow pens that allow for easier collection of manure and urine for use in composting or fertilization. They are also promoting dairy goats, but face a lot of resistance as there is a stigma about goat milk here in Rwanda. They experiment with different drainage systems and siltation traps to reduce erosion and catch topsoil that would otherwise be lost. They keep bees and remind people that if they use chemical pesticides on their farm, it will kill their bees. They experiment with mushroom production and with plants as-of-yet unused by most Rwandan farmers like bamboo. Perhaps most impressive to me is that these technologies are being tried by Rwandans for Rwandans; they are using materials that are accessible locally and are affordable for most people.

Rabbit hutch with easy manure collection (this hutch was
three containers high, again optimizing space)

One technology that has potential for renewable energy production in Rwanda is biogas. GOFTC has several underground tanks that allow for anaerobic (without oxygen) breakdown of its cow manure; they are able to use one of the end products of the breakdown, methane, to power their stoves (and hopefully some day, their other electricity too). Our lunch for the day was cooked on a biogas stove, and it was delicious! We ate most of the food, but I am guessing what was left over was composted.

Lunch being cooked on a biogas stove

GOFTC promotes composting as a way that Rwandans can improve their soil fertility. From my observation, composting in Rwanda is not that different than composting in the Midwest or Eastern United States (or perhaps elsewhere, but I have only composted in those two regions). Decomposition is the same process, with pretty much the same biological and chemical forces at work, and humans are just managing it to get a desired product. Climate does affect the composting process. There are two main seasons here, wet and dry, which essentially produce opposite problems: too much moisture getting into your compost or too much moisture loss from the pile. The compost book that GOFTC uses is a UK-based book (All About Compost by Pauline Pears) that has two basic pages on composting in the tropics. For the wet season, it recommends using large leaves to cover the compost to retain moisture. For the dry season, the book recommends again using large leaves for moisture retention or to bury the compost in a shallow pit.

Compost site with greens and browns waiting to be processed

GOFTC builds small structures over their compost to reduce moisture loss, protect from torrential rains, and keep their compost form baking in the equatorial sun. The compost cover has a post on each corner and a basic roof structure of attached sticks and large leaves draped over the sticks. As GOFTC does a lot of composting, these structures were fairly large and provided nice shade for us as we observed. The method of composting that GOFTC uses is called lasagna composting (called that in America, but I am not sure if they have names for different methods here), and it involves building your compost pile with specific layers. They start with sticks at the bottom to provide aeration and room for macro-invertebrates, then a 30 cm layer of dry brown materials, a thin layer of dry ash, a soaking of water or animal urine, a 30 cm layer of dung, a layer of topsoil, a 30 cm layer of freshly dead green materials, dry ash, and then start over adding another dry brown layer. Richard presented a reason for each layer, such as for instance, using ash to add potassium. He recommended checking the compost every 3 days and then after 14 days turning it. Most of these “waste” materials are available on a Rwandan farm, and while they will break down anyway, composting them in a managed way can provide the farmer with quick and high-quality humus that improves their soils’ productivity. Richard said they get finished compost in about 4 weeks.

Smaller compost site at the demo farm
also has a pit for materials storage

I got the impression from Richard that organic agriculture is still in its infancy here in Rwanda, but it has serious room for growth. One major challenge is that most people here cannot afford the higher prices of organic food. Organic food commands premium prices, but these are mostly from external markets, not local ones. Encouragingly, he said that the perception of the organic approach has changed in the last ten years from discouraged and un-modern to viable; he said even some agencies are beginning to promote it. Richard said, “no longer do the organic farmers walk with shoulders down. They now hold their shoulders high.” For the sake of the butterflies, birds, and the people of Rwanda, I hope that organic agriculture continues to grow and improve the lives that it touches.

Digging in!

Safari at Akagera

This past Sunday, our volunteer group headed out from the village for a safari at Akagera National Park. With over 1000 square kilometers, Akagera provides habitat for hundreds of species of animals, including large mammals such as hippo, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, lion, and elephant. Its bird list includes over 500 species, including the shoebill. With such potential, I could hardly sleep the night before, and I stayed up studying other peoples’ trip lists and the plates in the field guide for what could be a bonanza of new birds.

Akagera National Park

Only three of the nine people on the trip were birdwatchers so we agreed to try for a balanced safari with a mix of birds, mammals, plants, and any other wildlife we could find. Our chances for some animals were pretty slim due to the events of the past twenty years. Akagera has lost over half of its original space due to people settling and cultivating its lands (about 1500 square kilometers lost), and several of its big animals have been devastated by poaching. Still, it is a giant space… what did we see?

Once inside the park gate, interestingly enough, the first bird we saw was a red-necked spurfowl, and it gave great views. This was such a contrast to the experience with the spurfowl that I described in the last post (In Search of Inyoni). Whereas it took us days to get a good look at ASYV, the spurfowl were fairly easy to see throughout the day in Akagera. Soon after passing some impala (a type of antelope) but before even reaching the park headquarters, we found two excellent birds, the crowned hornbill and the African grey hornbill.

African grey hornbill (Tockus nasutus)

The park cost $30 for each person to enter, and you have to have a vehicle to enter the park (luckily we had a vehicle for the day). A guide, paid for in the entrance fees, accompanies visitors during the safari drive. Our guide was named Charles, and although he claimed his bird knowledge was just ok, he proved to be a great companion in helping identify difficult birds and in sharing his knowledge of the local ecology.

Nile Crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus)

At our first lookout point near Lake Ihema, we found Ruppell’s long-tailed starling, African open-billed storks, an African fish eagle, an African darter, glossy ibis, Egyptian geese, a pied kingfisher, and a woodland kingfisher. The spot seemed to be ripe for finding birds. We were not, however, permitted to stay long or wander away from the specific place we had stopped. One drawback to Akagera is that you are not allowed to leave the vehicle except at lookout points and then not allowed to stray from those points. This was a major challenge to finding birds.

Hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius)

As we drove through the park, we found two types of primates, the vervet monkey and olive baboons. Nearly all of the bodies of water contained hippos, and we saw a good number of Nile crocodiles too. Birds like African jacana, black-collared barbet, helmeted guineafowl, and bare-faced go-away birds impressed even the non-bird folk. A few warthogs darted in and out of the bush just long enough for us to see. As we approached the northern section of the park, the big mammals became more numerous. Impala, bushbuck, waterbuck, topi, and zebra grazed in the woodland that surrounded the road or even crossed it in front of our vehicle.

Common Zebra (Equus quagga)

African open-billed storks (Anastomus lamelligerus),
spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gambensis),
white-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata)

We stopped for a picnic lunch at a body of water called Lake Mihindi. The view was spectacular and made up for the simple lunch of bread and bananas. With hippos and crocodiles further out in the water, open-billed storks, spur-winged geese, white-faced whistling ducks, spur-winged lapwings, and water thick-knees populated the banks. Shortly after lunch, we passed a tree with a couple European bee-eaters. Michele and I had searched and searched for this species in Israel in August 2009 but we never found them; they had already migrated from the area for the year. No worries after all- we got them in Rwanda!

African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
with yellow-billed oxpecker (Buphagus africanus)

Once we made it onto the plains, we found three additional very large mammals: the eland (largest antelope in the world), the African buffalo, and a single giraffe. These brought the mammal count to 11 for the day. As everyone took in the beauty of the open grassland and its wildlife, Ido spotted three grey crowned cranes far in the distance. A black-chested snake-eagle soared overhead, giving us a total of 54 species of birds on the day. The variety of life on the plains was a thrilling conclusion to our visit, and we soon reached the park exit.

Grey crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum)

Seeing 54 species of birds is a mere scratch of the surface of Akagera. I am eager to return and explore different parts of the park. I really want to find spots that allow for some out-of-the-car bird watching, such as trails, but they may not exist. Let me illustrate how few birds we saw, relatively speaking. On average, I see about 36 species each morning at ASYV in about two hours; ASYV is not a park nor does it contain a variety of habitats. In about nine hours at Akagera, which contains several habitat types, we saw 54 species. Covering so much ground on the safari and being limited to searching for birds from the car made this not so much a bird watching trip but a get-lucky-and-see-what-is-around-while-doing-other-things type of trip. The car had to keep moving on, or even if we did stop, the birds sometimes flew just out of sight from the car. I have read that the outskirts of the park are also quite good, and you are not bound to stay in a vehicle. The birdwatchers among us vowed to return to try to see some of the other roughly 475 species that live in or visit the area.

Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) with Homo sapiens Ido and Michele

In Search of Inyoni (birds)

3 weeks. 21 days. More than 500 hours. It has been just a short time since I first set foot in Rwanda. As you may know, I came here to volunteer at a youth village designed to help orphans repair their hearts and then help repair the world. I am very interested in the role that outdoor environmental education can play in helping the students, and I have dedicated myself to exploring the possibility.

Last sunrise of 2010, Eastern Province, Rwanda

Before I start any programs or proclaim that birds or trees can help people here, I need to know what is out there. Documenting the flora and fauna of the village will be a long-term process, but I have started thus far by using a good amount of my free time to document the bird life here at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV).

View of ASYV and beyond from the school

ASYV is about 144 acres large, which is bigger than 100 American football fields. The land is mostly spread out over one side of a hill, but the property does contain the top of the hill and some of the other side. There are farms and other people that live and share this hill with ASYV, and we are bordered by a perimeter fence. At the lowest point of the property is the farm and residential area; as you go up the hill, you pass the offices, sports fields, and dining hall. Toward the top of the hill is the school, which looks far out over the village into other hills, some wetlands, and a lake (Lake Mugesera- see Hike to the Lake). Behind the school and up the hill a little bit more are several acres of abandoned farm land which has been mostly overtaken by grasses, a few trees, and bushes. The birding is pretty good from top to bottom, although the top seems so far to have the most potential for viewing unusual birds.

Michele searching the top of the hill area

On 18 of the days I have been here, I have gone bird watching at ASYV. Most of the time, I start at around 5:40 am to catch the sunrise and conclude before starting my job at 8 am. I have gone out midday, in the afternoon, and before sunset as well. I take binoculars, sometimes a camera, and sometimes my spotting scope. I always take notes, usually just recoding bird names, but I will describe any species that I cannot immediately identify and make notes about behaviors, hot spots, or other meaningful observations. My walks cover the property starting from bottom to top, but I am never able to explore the whole property all at once, so I alternate routes. Michele joins me for most of the trips, but there are days when she prefers sleep (and she has missed a few birds- tough trade-offs!). So far, I have spent 42 and a half hours bird watching on the property.

Yellow-backed Weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus)

We have found and identified 74 species on the property. I expect this number to go up as seasons change and birds migrate. There are around 5 more species that we could not positively identify yet, and they are not included in this analysis. Birds from 28 families are represented, with Ploceidae, the weavers, having the most species present (11 species). In fact, two of the weavers, Yellow-backed Weaver and the Baglafecht Weaver, are among the most commonly seen birds. Of the 74 bird species, all but 11 have repeat sightings. Twenty-six of the birds have been spotted on more than 50% of the days.

Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)

We have birds that are red, yellow, blue, brown, black, white, striped, spotted, and all sorts of mixes in between. Several of the more common birds are spectacular, including the Southern Red Bishop and the Variable Sunbird. We have recorded some amazing visiting birds just once and look forward to seeing them again, including Ross’s Turaco, Long-crested Eagle, Double-toothed Barbet, and Black-chested Snake Eagle.

Variable Sunbird (Cinnyrus venusta)

Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis)

One species in particular that gave us great trouble was the Red-necked Spurfowl. This species is a francolin, which to all the non-birdwatchers, is similar to a quail or even a small turkey. This species is reportedly very shy, and I can attest to that. Michele and I had spotted a pair in the same spot near the bottom of the village on 5 occasions before finally getting the field mark we wanted for a positive ID. We could easily see that the birds had bright red legs and feet, a red bill, and a red face patch over its eye. Furthermore, it had the size and shape of a francolin, was not striped, and was fairly dull brown all over. That narrowed our choices down to just about 2-3 species. We could assume, but when you see a new bird and want to add it to your list, you want to be absolutely sure of the identification. Most of the time we tried to get a closer look, however, the birds became aware of our presence (even at a distance) and flew or scurried into the bush. This week, we set up before dark on three days to scope them from a distance. Unfortunately, fog hampered our efforts on two days; one day the fog moved in after we got there! Today, we stayed with the birds for around 40 minutes, and finally got to see its red neck. The field guide shows the bird, subspecies cranchii, in sort of an upright position, displaying a small red neck patch. The birds in the field were often with their heads pointed to the ground to feed, thus obscuring their neck. As the saying goes, patience is bitter, but the fruits of patience are sweet. Indeed they are, as we finally saw the red neck patch on each bird. With all of the details matching and all the other possibilities ruled out, we had our bird.

Red-necked Spurfowl (Pternistis afer)

In addition to writing about sustainability and life in Rwanda, I plan to feature a bird family every so often by displaying photographs and discussing their roles in the ecosystem. This country is rich in birds, and I cannot wait to share their beauty with all of you. Umwaka mushya (oom-nwaka mu-tcha) (Happy New Year)!

Meeting some of the world’s poorest, but nicest, people

12/19/2010

I slept in today for the first time in several weeks. When Michele got back from leading a yoga session, she told me we had been invited to visit a Batwa village.

The Batwa are one of the ethnic groups here in Rwanda. They were pygmy hunter and gatherers settled here long ago, but adapted as the forests were cleared and other groups settled. Over the last couple centuries there has been much mixing of ethnic groups here so now the term “Twa” (short for Batwa) is generally used to describe very poor people.

Twa people singing and clapping

Our two hosts for the field trip met us at our village. One works here from America on official business and the other is a Rwandan social entrepreneur who does many things, but is currently involved in helping spread technology through Rwandan schools. Both of these individuals had helped this Twa village over the last couple years to improve their situation.

When our hosts first got involved, the village was extremely poor and was seriously impacted by malnutrition. For example, they ate no more than one meal a day. They did not have sewage treatment or even pit latrines, so their waste was a direct hazard to their water supply.

Over the last couple years, with outside help, they have acquired a few cattle, a few goats, rabbits, and improved their wastewater situation. They also have built two water catchment systems (think big rain barrels) that collect water from the two metal roofs they have, which reduces the trips down the hill to a small stream. They now get to eat twice a day, but are still food insecure (if disaster, drought, or if disease hits, their health will decline rapidly and they will starve).

View from the Twa village

One-hundred and sixty-eight people lived in this village, on the side of a hill outside of Kigali (the capital). Their view was beautiful, looking down over a green valley eventually climbing up into hills. The first striking thing, however, was not the poverty, but the overwhelming warmth with which we were greeted. So many people came up and hugged each of us.  Men, women, and children all came up to hug and shake our hands as if we were old friends or family. It was almost overwhelming, but I felt like I was very welcome on their land.

A Twa family's circular hut

We toured the village and got to step inside a few “houses.” This settlement had no electricity or running water. The first home we visited was constructed of wooden limbs tied together and walled with red clay and pebbles. Its roof was thatched plant material.  While these roofs are traditional Rwandan, they can be problematic when it rains. Only two homes in the village had corrugated metal roofs, which keep water out. These metal-roofed homes had the water catchment systems. Just across from the more modern hut with the metal roof was a circular hut with a thatched roof. A mother and father lived in this hut, which contained a raised cot and shelf hand-made of local materials. It also contained several pots on top of an open fireplace (really just a place for a fire on the floor).There was only room for three of us to stand huddled together, and we were nearly spilling out the entrance. Other homes were even smaller, with some like tents made of thatched plant material and some made of clay. Families live in these tiny spaces… And I thought my 315 square foot apartment in NYC was on the smaller side.

A Twa family's residence

Once back in the common area, the inhabitants broke into song and dance. It was like a flash mob, without any clear direction or leader. From the video we got, I can count at least 41 people of all ages involved.  The mix of clapping, drumming, and singing lasted around six minutes. Afterward, some villagers spoke in Kinyarwandan and a translator explained to us that they were so grateful for us to come and see their performance.

Twa dancing

The young Rwandan social entrepreneur then handled details of some microloans with the villagers. People expressed their concerns, asked questions, and divided up the funds. They will be trying three small new businesses that should bring desperately needed income. Currently, other than subsistence farming, this village has one source of income. They carve sharp sticks for brochettes, roasted lamb meat on a skewer, which is a popular treat in Rwanda. For 100 skewers, they get 100 Rwandan francs, which is about 17 cents US dollars. I counted at least two piles of 600 sticks made by many people, and I am not sure how many they make over all.  But consider the math: if they produced 10,000 skewers a day, then that would bring in about $17 USD. Divided by 168 people, that is just about a dime a day per capita income. And I doubt they produce or could sell that many skewers on a regular basis. Such small amounts, such as a $100 microloan, can make tremendous impacts on the lives of those who need it most; they are often are willing to work very hard to improve their lot when given the opportunity.

Both men and women carve the brochette skewers

Poverty comes in many forms and can be defined in many ways, but generally, according to the World Bank, poverty is “pronounced deprivation in well-being.” The people I met today have very little income, produce most of the food they eat, and have no refrigeration to prevent spoilage. They do not have access to modern health care, do not have running water or electricity, and do not have vehicles or other personal transportation. The road to their village is narrow, unpaved, and marked with deep gullies from erosion. Some of these challenges can be resolved fairly easily, while other improvements may take decades of societal change to produce.

600 brochette skewers will sell for just over $1 USD

As we left the Twa village, I reflected on how positive they seemed to be despite the tremendous challenges they face. They have so little, but they work hard. They band together to share when it would be easy to fight for small bits. I hope that their situation improves and that as it does, they keep the sense of community that they possess. My visit with some of the world’s poorest people was quite a humbling experience.

Hike to the Lake

The road to Rubona, a nearby marketplace

This Saturday morning, Ido, Michele, and I left the village at 5:40 am just as the sun was rising. We hiked 6km mostly downhill on dirt roads and footpaths to a swamp and lake. We considered taking motos, which are two-seater motorcycles/mopeds driven by their owners, but opted to walk instead. And what a good decision! Out of all the new birds we saw, most were on the way to the lake. We saw hadada ibis, a male grosbeak weaver, two fork-tailed drongos, and a black-necked weaver on the walk down.

The swamp, mostly of papyrus, was a place we wanted to go, but only got there after some young kids helped us navigate the footpaths dividing small farms. In and around the swamp, we found fan-tailed widowbirds (new to Michele and Ido), two blue-headed coucals, and a sunbird that we could narrow down to two possibilities but not fully identify. At one point we saw a large raptor in a tree. We spent about half an hour observing it, noting details, and narrowing down the possibilities. It was a real puzzle. The bird was very dark if not black, had a black eye with no ring of any kind around it, had a bill that was yellow on the base and faded into a black tip, wings that extended beyond the tail, appeared to have reddish on the tail and some white on the wing, but it did not fly. We went through all 80+ raptors that occur in the region (only about 60 have been recorded in Rwanda), took some pictures, and finally gave up. There were two raptors that looked most like it, but neither had all of the details that matched and neither had the size of this bird. We hoped this bird would appear later...

"Mystery Raptor" (read on for its identity)

We arrived at the lake and were disappointed with the paucity of bird life. Agriculture consumes most of Rwanda and at this particular lake cultivation went right up to the banks. We have heard that the water quality is very poor in this lake (no swimming) which also may contribute to the lack of birds. There were a couple pied kingfishers around, which we all have seen in Israel. At once small cove, we saw black crakes and a malachite kingfisher (again, life birds for us all). The black crakes were quite beautiful with black and brown bodies, a bright yellow bill, and red legs and feet. The kingfisher is dark blue with a long bright orange bill for snagging and spearing its prey. Other than that, there were no birds to be seen, so we headed back to the swamp.

Black Crake

We crossed the swamp at a strange sort of bridge, which consisted of straw packed down to absorb the water and make crossing possible. It sunk as we stepped on it and at times we felt like we might collapse in! It was clearly used by local people to reach pools in the swamp for filling jugs of water so we assumed it be safe. On the other side, we found yellow-throated canaries, but decided it was getting hot and thus time to start the journey back. Just then I spotted a flash of red down in the papyrus. We stood and waited to no avail, but then spotted a path that led to the edge of the swamp. There we found two black-headed gonoleks and even snapped a picture! The field guide reports these beautiful birds to be shy so seeing them so clearly made them the species of the day.

Black-headed gonolek

As Ido, Michele, and I were staking out the black-headed gonoleks and a couple emerald-spotted wood-doves that showed up (both life birds for all of us) by the papyrus swamp, up the hill a little bit a crowd of twenty-three local residents had gathered to watch us. Apparently “umuzungus” (white people/foreigners) don’t walk past their farms everyday with binoculars and a telescope, so we were quite the spectacle. After we had identified and seen the birds to our content, we started back up the hill. We greeted the crowd “mwaramutse” (good morning), and they greeted us back. Ido pointed to the bird book and said “inyoni” (birds) to which the crowd exclaimed “inyoni!” and erupted into laughter. My guess is that to subsistence farmers who work hard on these pieces of land, the birds are just there, almost an afterthought, so it is absurd and funny that we would come to see them. We birdwatchers are indeed an absurd and funny lot!

Long walk home

The hike there was fairly easy as it was cool in the morning and downhill; the hike back was almost entirely uphill and in the hot approaching-midday sun. We did find several new birds on the way back, including a village indigobird, a bateleur on the wing (new to Michele and I), and a tawny-flanked prinia (new to Ido). We also spotted what appeared to be the same confounding bird of earlier. This time, after we saw it perched, it flew and we easily figured it out. It was an auger buzzard, but the dark morph of the bird, which is not pictured sitting in the book. Finally all the details matched. Glad to have figured out one of the tough identification puzzles of the day, we trekked on.

Dark morph auger buzzard, on the wing

We got to see how a lot of people live in this area of the world. There were rectangular huts made of bricks with open window holes or with wood slats blocking the windows. Peoples’ homes were made with what appeared to be very local materials, including the red clay-soil that blankets the region. For some, a cow or goat grazed outside the hut and all were surrounded by plants, including banana trees, cabbage, beans, and peas. Small children played in the yards without shoes and ran towards us as we passed. Everyone greets us as we go by or we greet them first. Bicycles, a couple motos, and one truck passed us on the red unpaved road as we approached Rubona, the area with the market. 

Jared and Ido reviewing birds, quenching thirst

We stopped in a small bar there, quenched our thirst with glass-bottled sodas, and discussed the birds of the day. At about 12:30pm, nearly seven hours and 12 km later, we returned to Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. Ido got 7 life birds, Michele got 14, and I got 11. Quite a day!

(PS Props to Michele for great photos of the day!)