GVI’s research team headed back in to Shimoni Forest today, to survey the primates along our Transect 1, which runs parallel within 100m of the coastline - the area of forest at most risk of development. We survey Shimoni East forest on a regular basis to keep track of the presence of the Colobus, including ‘Burundi’ troop who have shown remarkable resilience in maintaining their home range over the last two years in the face of the felling of trees in a plot of land being cleared for development at the beginning of Transect 1.

So it was good to hear that Burundi troop were still present with two adult males, three adult females and the sub-adult that we had first recorded as a juvenile three months ago. The team recorded two further troops within 500m along the transect, with the excitng news that one small group of an adult male with two adult females also had an infant present - clearly identifiable as being within 3 months of age by its all-white fur colouration. From 3 months their fur becomes grey with the characteristic black and white pelt colouration showing up after 6 months. The third group, observed in an area where we have often seen an unusual troop of predominantly adult males, contained 3 males, 3 adult females and another sub-adult.

However the exciting news from the field today was the presence of an African Fish Eagle nest on the transect… the adult eagles were seen and the chicks heard calling in the trees above although the team couldn’t quite see where the nest was today! We will be keeping our eyes and ears open in future to see how they fare. The African Fish Eagle is a beautiful raptor and, for me, its haunting cries are one of the most evocative sounds of my time in East Africa.

Fortunately the team weren’t looking up in to the trees the whole time or they would have missed the hinged tortoise along the transect. We are still uncertain of which species we find here in Shimoni, with the both Bell’s and Speke’s Hinged Tortoises potentially in the area, and to confuse matters more, they may also have the potential to interbreed!

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