GVI Kenya

Category: Birds, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Shimoni Forest | Date: Feb 04 2009 | By: gvikenya

Our team of interns gave up their Saturday morning to catch up with some of our forest research work… Sara reports: 

A lovely Saturday in Shimoni was unraveling its mysteries before us…  After a sunny and splashtastic crossing of the Wasini Channel for the weekend we arrived well pleased to be back on the shores of our little coastal village.  The night before had brought with it surprised concerns for the well-being of this community and the precious forest that surrounds it as we had seen the foreboding pinks and whites of forest fires dotting the horizon.  We all know that Shimoni’s coastal forest is a bio-diversity hotspot.  It is home to the enigmatic Angolan black and white colobus monkey, the vulnerable Zanj Elephant Shrew and the endangered and notoriously shy Spotted Ground Thrush.  These are just a few of the wildlife celebrities that call this track of forest home.  On any given day one can easily see Sykes monkeys, yellow baboons, suni, duiker, tortoises, lizards, snakes and so many more exciting animals.  So with a little trepidation in our hearts about what we might find after the fires, and the hopes of doing some maintenance work on our transects… three brave interns stole into the forest to do some work.  And our adventuring spirit was met with incredible rewards – a spotting of a Spotted Ground Thrush!
 

The Spotted Ground Thrush is a recognized endangered species and organizations like Nature Kenya are seeking to promote the protection of habitats for this bird.  Documented sightings of Spotted Ground Thrushes in Shimoni Forest bring us one step closer to conserving this vital ecosystem.

Heading all the way out to our furthest transect, the goal was to help straighten out the tagging system used to lead surveys on a few sections.  While the day was hot and sweaty as is the custom here, there were encouraging sightings of colobus along the way, as well as the challenge of navigating above and below the many trees, vines, branches and coral rag outcroppings.  After navigating through the landscape and swinging a few pangas, the work of the day was done and the girls were homeward bound.  But not before two very important events took place: Sara P’s first sighting of an Elephant Shrew (those wily little long nosed beauties that hop about in the leaf litter and undergrowth); followed by the SPOTTED GROUND THRUSH!!  While there have been two previous sightings in 2008 this was not only the first for 2009 but the first time that multiple people had been able to positively identify the species.  Bigger than many of us expected the bird to be, it was easily identified by the double lines of white spots on its wings as well as a number of other identifying characteristics.  We were graced with several extended moments of the birds elusive presence – first seen, unsurprisingly, on the ground itself (thus the name!), and then hopping from one low branch to another.  A graceful and charming animal that immediately won us over and inspired us to go racing back to the cottage to share our very exciting news with the rest of the team.  The next step is to compile more data about the thrush to be shared with Kenya Wildlife Service and beyond with the aims of protecting both these amazing animals as well as the unique forests that it calls home!

Tags: , Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest, Spotted Ground Thrush