Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: Organophosphates, Uncategorized | Date: Nov 06 2009 | By: paula

In a recent statement the FMC responded to the rebroadcasting of the CBS 60 Minutes show on the poisoning of lions.

Note my comments in bold italics against their claims reproduced here

In The News

· We expanded our contact with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Africa to improve reporting of suspected poisonings.July 26, 2009 FMC Response to 60 Minutes Rebroadcast of Story on Kenyan Lion Poisonings

Apart from the Masai Wildlands Trust we are not aware of any other NGO’s that FMC are talking to in Kenya and FMC have not responded to any of the incident reports sent and Linda Froelich has stopped responding  to our emails

On Sunday, July 26, CBS News 60 Minutes rebroadcasted a story on the human-wildlife conflict in Kenya that reports Furadan®, an FMC insecticide, has become the preferred product that many cattle herders use to poison lions that kill their livestock. As we stated when the story first aired in March, FMC strongly condemns the misuse of its products that are clearly intended to be used for crop protection. We are very concerned about allegations that the product has been used illegally to kill wildlife. The company has taken several actions to address the situation including:

· Stopped all sales of Furadan to Kenya immediately after learning of an incident in May 2008.

· Initiated a Furadan buy-back program in Kenya in March 2009 to remove any remaining product from the market. Our distributor and conservation groups, such as the Maasailand Preservation Trust, report that Furadan is no longer stocked in Agrovet stores.

This is not true. Carbofuran remains available throughout Kenyan Agrovets.

The distributors website (Juanco) does not mention that Furadan is toxic to human beings and must be handled with great care.   We believe that the impression given through the label is that Furadan is a safe product.  Juanco now markets itself as safe through the tag line promise ‘Juanco going biological’.

· FMC’s distributor discontinued Furadan sales into Tanzania and Uganda in April 2009. Packages of Furadan in Tanzanian agrovet stores show that carbofuran is still coming into Tanzania from imports via Kenya

· FMC has offered to subsidize Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) lab analysis of samples of animals suspected to have been poisoned with Furadan. The KEPHIS lab uses a more expensive but substantially more sensitive analytical test than other Kenyan labs.

We have seen nothing in writing to confirm this and the KEPHIS laboratories seem oblivious of this. They have refused to test our samples 

· FMC has requested all information about suspected wildlife poisonings from the Kenyan Wildlife Service under their official procedures.

The official procedure is not to report to FMC but to the Pest Control Products Board in Kenya (PCPB) who have not met with KWS or conservationists to discuss concerns. Neither the PCPB nor FMC have responded to any of our submitted reports. On phone the PCPB CEO insisted that the data collected did not constitute facts that they could go on - dates, locations, photographs of incidents, samples collected, confessions. 

In April, FMC sent a second team to Kenya (first team was sent in March 2008) to get a more comprehensive understanding of intentional misuse of chemicals in the longstanding human-wildlife conflict. The team met with several NGOs as well as government officials from both the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The NGOs made a firm commitment to report all suspected cases of lion poisonings involving Furadan directly to the government and to FMC. To help encourage accurate reporting, we sent the NGOs specific information on what to look for if witnessing a poisoning event or if poisoned animals are found as well as our offer to subsidize lab analyses through KEPHIS. We continue to strongly encourage NGOs to include substantiated evidence to support their reports to government and FMC on suspected Furadan intoxications.

FMC is a global company dedicated to delivering innovative products that improve the lives of people around the world. We take tremendous pride, not only in our products, but in our stewardship programs. We will continue to work with the Kenyan government, agricultural industry and conservation groups to try to prevent the misuse of Furadan and any other pesticides used to kill wildlife.

From where we sit FMC make gross exaggerations about their stewardship programs in third world countries. FMC are aware of the scale of misuse of Furadan in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana and other countries. FMC do not monitor whether Furadan is being used safely by farmers or test for contamination of groundwater or test for residues on crops produced and sold in local markets. Whatever information FMC has on the impact of Furadan on workers, consumers, users and the environment are not shared with any of the conservation organizations concerned about this product.

Furadan use is not restricted in East Africa. Users of Furadan can buy this deadly product over the counter for a very small fee throughout East Africa. Users are not registered, trained nor warned about the dangers of misuse, spills or symptoms of poisoning. It is sold in Agrovets (kiosks) by non professionals and in locatiosn that do not have effective poison control mechanisms, poison treatment centers, toxicology centers, residue monitoring of products, safe poison disposal mechanisms, pesticide monitoring or enforcement systems in place. FMC knows that Agrovets in East Africa actively offer Furadan to buyers as “Lion kille”. They have done nothing to raise local awareness about the dangers and penalties of misuse. Despite the evidence sent to FMC and the PCPB, no Kenyan has been charged and found guilty of Furadan misuse.

We invite FMC to reconsider the impact of their product on users, consumers and wildlife in Africa and withdraw the product completely and dispose of it safely while discontinuing the production of so dangerous a pesticide. The Kenyan pest control board have responded negatively to reports sent to them and declared that they will not investigate reports made by WildlifeDirect. The FMC could help by insisting that these investigations be carried out.

Tags: Africa, carbofuran, conservation, FMC, furadan, Kenya, pesticide poisoning, pestsicides, Wildlife, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect

One response so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 30 2009 | By: paula

We have just recieved reports that there has been a huge die off of birds at the Thika sewage works just north of Nairobi. This sewage works has been a favourite place for birders as it attracts a huge diversity and massive congregations of birds local and migrants

A team from Ornithology dept NMK in the company Oliver Nasirwa went to the Thika
sewage ponds to assess the reported case of dying birds at the site on the 26th
August 2009.

Ronald Mulwa notes:

“From my assessment and talking to the officers on the ground, the die off cases could
be going down. We found one Sacred Ibis really sick and unable to fly, also found one
Red-billed Teal just dying - apart from that the rest were 1 week old (or so) carcasses -
we assume that some carcasses also get swept away into the sewage outlet.

Though we are working on a more detailed update, the following are the
birds we found dead:
Sacred Ibis - 2 + 1 unable to fly
White-faced Whistling Duck -1
Red-billed Teal - 15
Red-knobed Coot - 5
Hadada Ibis - 2
Black-winged Stilt - sickly and unable to fly 1

We thought this may not be termed ‘Mass Die Offs’ as such, since there were still 100s of birds feeding and actively flying around. But the root cause for the deaths need to be established urgently.

We took samples some carcasses that were in reasonable shape and have been taken to
Kabete Vet Labs this morning. The Cape Teal we found dying had a strange swellings ballooning out of both eyes like bubble! photos available!

The officer in charge was quit concerned, supportive and was keen to be involved in this
assessment and to see the results of the Lab analysis.

We welcome suggestions and further discussion.
Best regards
Mulwa Ronald
Research Scientist Head - Ornithology Section, Zoology Department
National Museums of Kenya
P. O Box 40658 00100
Nairobi Kenya
Tel: 254-20-3742131/3742161 extn 243
Fax: +254-20-3741424 Cell Phone: +254 722499

According to Brian Finch and a report from Oliver Nasirwa of Nature Kenya, the three days between the initial discovery on 23^rd August 2009 and Olivers visit three days later, there was incredible variation in what both parties recorded.

Some of the dead birds disappeared including fifteen dead Spur-winged Plovers, Yellow-billed Ducks, Hottentot Teal, several Ruff and more than five Coot, is a mystery. This could be due to scavenging animals are moving in from the surrounding farmlands, maybe even local dogs.

Brian notes “the difference in live presence which is amazing, our figures
in brackets:

Little Grebe 450    (250)
Sacred ibis 170     (6)
Cattle Egret 5     (nil)
Yellow Billed Stork 13  (1)
Yellow-billed Duck 30   (15)
White-faced Whistling Duck 30   (20)
Red-knobbed Coot 50 (75)
Egyptian Goose 60  (40)
Grey Crowned Crane 12  (4)
Black-winged Stilt 100  (60)
Spur-winged Plover 50  (4 live fifteen dead!!!!)
Common Sandpiper 20 (20)
Curlew Sandpiper 30 (5)
Wood Sandpiper 10  (70)
Marsh Sandpiper 6 (1)
Little Stints 70 (90)
Chlidonias terns 30  (1WWBT)

We also recorded 2 White-backed Duck,  8 Hottentot, 2 Glossy Ibis, 10 Hadada, 2 Long-toed Plover, 6 Blacksmith Plover, 15 Three-banded Plover, 50 Ruff, 2 Green Sandpiper.

I think it erroneous to assume that birds that appear perfectly healthy are not infected and succumb later. Also I think that the difference by the two counts testifies that there is a considerable movement through the ponds, but even the birds that move on south or
wherever could have taken in a fatal dose.

If this were a terrorist situation we would be on a RED not ORANGE alert!”

The hotline to report bird die-offs to the Department of Veterinary Science is 0722-726-682.

To join the Nature Kenya bird group email kenyabirdsnet@yahoogroups.com

Tags: bird poisoning, Birds, Brian Finch, nature Kenya, ornithology, Pesticides, plover, poison, sandpiper, Thika

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 25 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Normally the term poacher brings out the impression that these are fellows hunting average sized to big game. In normal circumstances, ‘normal’poachers hunt game exclusively benefiting entirely from game meat sale and no other activity. I mean they are more or less specialized to this activity targettting ,mostly herbivores.

In Bunyala, poachers are bird hunters in the contemporary setting. But even these have stemed out from an older generation that hunted normally: I mean mainly specialized herbivore hunters relying almost solely on this activity. But of course these were hunted to none in the region.

When I talk of bird poachers therefore, you are less likely to fear that these guys could be dangerous to people who are nosing into their business but reality of the situation is contrary. Noinetheless they are normal people.

Maimed individuals already lying at his feet, this fellow is contemplating a long shot for disoriented individulas that have wondered far

The young man above is hardly in his thirties and poisons birds almost on a daily basis for sale. Off the poisoning field he is an electronics expert repairing mostly radios. Then again he gets hired to work in the irrigation scheme to chase birds, weed or harvest the rice. But may be he does all these tasks because he has two wives, the first of whom is ailing and bed ridden (I hope it is not a furadan-related illness, God forbid) and a couple of children.

This one is an older poacher in his mid thirties I am told has neither wife nor kids. His speciality is small bird and especially dove and pigeon poisoning rather than stork poisoning. But the guy also gets hired for farming activities in the Bunyala RErice Irrigation Scheme.

This guy is a homeowner in his late thirties; a family man and responsible father in a crude way:as you can see his sons are being drilled to take over and follow in his footsteps.

The band above constitutes agemates in their thirties and to a larger part bachelors. These guys all poison storks and it is their unifying factor. A good number have strange story lines inclusive of one known to have chopped off one local tailor’s arm for failing to finish the poacher’s girlfriend’s outfit on the agreed deadline ; another (the guy in green) is renowned for habitually beating up his father, the mentor that saw him rise to bird poisoning profession.

What is common to all these poachers is that they are known to generously spend their money earned in poisoning business in commodities that can best be described as illicit. After work, they flock in Illicit brew dens to down a few tumblers while Marijuana smoking is a norm of this callibre.

Wether the illicit substances are responsible or the guys are haunted by the mad killing of nature’s beings, generally these guys are feared to be bad tempered. Duels and gang fights are not uncommon amongst themselves over poisoned birds-which group’s bird is it?(if the poisoned bird takes off and falls in no man’s land); who is entitled to more dead birds?-It is real jungle style and some days my assistant and I have to watch from a distance. What is worse is that for some reason, which I suspect is poison availability, most of these guys have become so full of themselves and what used to be a joke, “just photograph what I am doing but time is coming when you will have to pay me” is now a real and altered stern warning that I should “absolutely refrain from taking any photos “.

The smell around these strange guys is typically wild, ortherwise fine by me whose ‘brown collar’ job has taught me to appreciate nature in its various shades. This smell is purpoted to be the effect of the many storks they have eaten which smell the same. But acknowledging the odour is disrupted by their warning breath of scary and menacing stench of terror!

Keep reading friends.

Technorati : Bunyala, Poacher, Poisoning

Tags: Bunyala, Poacher, poisoning

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Category: Uncategorized, carbofuran, lions | Date: Aug 20 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers,

This information is found in Telegraph. co.uk.(August 18th, 2009)

Conservationists have warned that lions may become extinct in Kenya within the next 20 years unless urgent action is taken to save them.

Kenya is annually losing an average of 100 of its 2,000 lions due to growing human settlements, increasing farming, climate change and disease, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

And “….there are ever more efficient ways, including poisoning, to kill lions,” explains Dr. Laurence Frank.

Read the full article here.

But is it really 20 years or 10 years and markedly, Furadan is a key player in the catastrophic die out  of the lions and other big cats. Read it all in “Kenya’s lions could vanish within 10 years“, from The NewScientist.

Technorati : Kenya Wildlife Service, Lions, The Telegraph, The NewScientist

Tags: Kenya Wildlife Service, lions, The Telegraph

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 18 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Another case of raptor poisoning is under investigation in Scotland by Tayside Police’s wildlife section and CID officials. The good thing however is that the community’s involvement may just be the beginning of the end to such poisoning.

Alma, a two year Golden Eagle succumbed to poisoning in Glenesk. Brechin Community Council vice-convener raised the issue at the meeting saying that it was fairly conclusive that the bird was poisoned in Glenesk. Community Councillor Agnes Lowdon added that she believes no one was targeting that bird since she is a free spirit but that they were for sure targeting a raptor. The indiscriminate use of poison is threatening to get rid of the population of Scotland’s natural bird.

In Kenya, with early arrivals already reported, we await the coming of the Lesser Kestrels dreading the likelihood that the Lesser Kestrel exhibiting speedy depopulation worldwide (up to 46% in breeding grounds abnd 25% in wintering groundsevery decade since 1971)is directly poisoned in my study site in Bunyala. I am therefore designing a study to this effect.

While the species conventional mode of feeding alienates it from direct poisoning by poachers, probable survival mechanisms may just be exposing it to the poisoning like other birds that feed on poison bait. Normally they will detect insects on close range in flight and feed on them on the wing, but in Bunyala, the small falconids are sometimes observed to perch on the ground and near bait. Scattered Furadan-laced insect bait may not pose great risk of consumption by the Kestrels but gathered bait sometimes left on sheets of paper may just be easy catch for the Lesser Kestrels.

Termites being mixed with Furadan. Sometimes these may be left out in the field where the Kestrels were seen to hunt.

These photos were taken in late April this year and on closer scrutiny left me fearful if the birds are not getting poisoned as well.

A Lesser Kestrel perched on the ground where scattered bait had been laid out

Another Lesser Kestrel flying down to pick an insect in a transect where I was observing for bird poisoning

More Common Kestrels than Lesser Kestrels were seen to perch higher; nearer and strategic to ambush insects in flight?outcompeting the Lessers that were forced to scavenge sometimes?therefore feeding on poison bait?It has been observed sthat ome birds have higher lethal doses such as Egrets or even resistance and may not necessarily die on the site but elsewhere further possibly at their roost;might be the case with the kestrels.

A mixed flock of the kestrels going to roost. The insect like forms against the orange sunset background are the individual birds.

Just a note of concern is that the Golden Eagle is regionally extinct in Ireland, neighbouring Scotland while the globally threathened Lesser Kestrel is known to face pesticide poisoning as one of its threats in its range both directly but also through causing reduction in its prey availability.

Please keep reading.

Technorati : Poisoning

Tags: poisoning

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 13 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers, today’s post is a non-poisoning post of a section of my study site. A ‘cool off’ post I would brand it.

In Bunyala have stood where local legends stood….no, died! Until the 80’s, the villagers congreagated at the south western end of the study site (Munaka)to watch their young men wrestle, drink local brew and may be for the victorious men, win the spouses of a lifetime in commemoration of a lady that was murdered in the area.

30 years down the line, I count dead birds on end and all this because of a deadly carbofuran. It all gained momentum with the introduction of the pesticide about the early 1980’s at the rice scheme. Since then, it has never ended.

The sample poisoned bird above is about the spot where long wethered remains of a Banyala heroine were laid to rest a couple of centuries back.

It was custom that men ’stole’ women from their homes when they were of status to become wives. The dowry negotiations would then be discussed when the lady was safe in the confines of the interested man’s home. Succesful snatching of the woman from her people just added value to the suitability of the man to claim the girl.

A sung lady of ‘paralysing’ beauty was known of the area that is now the death grounds of many birds. When her time was ripe, one suitor engaged his band of agemates in this unavoidable, now medieval operation for any boy turned man. With a succesful raid, the troop made sleek escape back to the man’s home, but lo!tragedy struck in this field. Another suitor, and then another, and another came up to contest for the same lady. To cut the long story short, the outcome was a blood bath of scores dead inclusive of the lady who was stabbed by one of the contesting suitors so that none would have her. After that a bull would be selected from whatever homestead of the clan that the lady hailed from to represent her; her incarnation. This bull roamed freely and you were not to chase it from your farm if he paid you a visit or trouble would come your way. Upon his death, the bull would be replaced according to the dead woman’s command. My agemates tell of a story that when they were in primary school, an unusual antelope in the region wandered into one of the schools neighbouring the site. The kids were out playing. Many chased after the antelope throwing stones, sticks, clubs and the killer clobbered it with a hoe!None of those involved survived without punishment with the voice of the spirit lady heard through one elderly man complaining how she had come to visit her grounds and the ruthless people kill her embodiment. Fines from chicken, goats, sheep and 20 head of cattle for the actual murderer were administered accordingly depending on the role played by the villains.

But the tradition of clebrating this lady is now gone and poisoning goes on unchecked at these once revered grounds. This is tragic!ow I wish the heroine’s multiplied spirits had come as birds and at their poisoning dished out heavy fines to the poisoners.

Please keep reading.

Technorati : Bunyala, heritage

Tags: Bunyala, heritage

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 03 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers,

Watching and appreciating wildlife foraging, watering, roosting or even mating fills one with excitement of what a beauty nature is from deceptive harmony and nonchalance . But looking harder and witnessing them dash and dodge from their predators(including man) ; or huddle together because man has invaded their natural microhabitat and reduced it to almost none; or see them scrambling to dring drink murky, dirty water from a muddy pool because man’s activities have caused climate change inclusive of global warming and hence drying up waterbodies and sources reminds us how tough their survival is and therefore what a miserable beauty they are.

But there is always a way to counter these pressures on them but these ways have to go through the slow process of frog-leaping through a long period of time through myriads of generations probably up to millions of years.

Watching birds out here and contemplating their survival, I pick the natural “am watching your back” stance which reminds me that at some time before poisoning, poaching with modern artillery or even when highly skewed climate changes were not the order of nature, wildlife only had one major threat: predation and developed this watching your back technique that even in birds is so defined. I took these photos without the knowledge that I was capturing the phenomenon. I must have represented the predator! A beautiful presentation by the birds nonetheless.

Malachite Kingfishers

Sacred Ibises

Little Egrets

A Ruff and a White-faced Tree Duck

Unfortunately un-natural pressures by man are faster eveolving than naturally counter mechanisms by the poor wildlife. They have a long way to evolve against climate change, modern poaching inclusive of poisoning.

Technorati : Poaching, Poisoning, Wildlife

Tags: Poaching, poisoning, Wildlife

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 11 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers, no doubt pastoralists poison carnivores-lions, leopards - and in the event scavengers-hyenas and vultures -get killed because of an incessant livestock feud between man and carnivore; prestigious wealth to the pastoralists and food for carnivores whose habitat has been encroached into and food supply as wild game greatly cut short.

Wild bird meat consumers on the other hand are presumed to feed on the ‘cheaper meat’ because they cannot afford properly domestic animal meat sold in butcheries. But just how cheap is the wild meat?

Bush meat dealers are modestly wealthy elites who hang in the business and at any one time skulk the wilderness with a fortune. This is apparent when they are arrested but will comfortably bail themselves out by paying 40 dollars easily thereby avoid the jail walls and get back to killing wildlife as soon as they can. As a matter of fact, the money they get from their business is in most cases that made by the cattle rancher who breeds and sells beef cattle. To further illustrate the lucrativeness of their business is the fact that their commodity is not just sold locally but is also exported.

Bird poisoning by all means also falls under bush meat business with birds sold for consumption. As low class poaching as it may seem, meant to cater for the poor consumer, a critical consideration shows otherwise. When you consider unit costs for the bird meat and compare it to unit costs for the common properly sold meat, beef, it is cheaper or the same price. The Open-billed Storks weigh hardly heavier than 700 grams on the average and cost 1 dollar. The weight is inclusive of feathers, entrails, legs and head parts which are normally discarded. In the end we are talking of about 400 grams being sold at 1 dollar. On the other hand, 500 grams of beef costs up to a minimum of 1.25 dollars. This is healthy meat and you are sure the cattle were not poisoned.

About 250 grams for 0.75 dollars

Traditionally, Africans fed on wild meat; there were occupational hunters and these always supplied the rest of the community with ‘rich’ wild meat. It was believed wild meat kept people strong and free of illnesses and together with wild vegetables ensured long life. The habit is on and wild bird meat eating is an aspect of it with about unchanged beliefs on the advantages of wild meat but has become more backward with poisoning.

People, myself inclusive have perceived that domestic animals in rural areas like Bunyala are an investment and reserved for special occasions but that is not significantly so. Not if visitors and convalescing patients are purchased for poisoned birds to eat; not if cattle are not sold to take children to school but instead the relatives that have moved out to towns and therefore presumed to have more income than their requirements are contacted for the education of the ‘poor’ parents’ children in the countryside and not if the poisoning is frenzied and the reason for which reared animal in part supposed to provide protein is reserved for prestige and nothing else.

Chicken roam in scores in the homesteads; cattle in herds and schools of fish are netted and available to the consumers in sizes from tiny to big and therefore fit for all ranges of expenditure.

Cattle in Ahero

Fish in Bunyala

Tags: Poaching, poisoning

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 08 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers, we are in the coldest month in Kenya, July; of course not as cold as the temperate lands where it gets to single digits with a non digit negative symbol to the left but even with the maintenance of our tropical double temperature digits in a majority of places, it is in deed cold by our stands. However, even with the dipping temperatures, not all places are enjoying the beauty of change from scorching heat to coolness that for the tropical inhabitants prompts wearing of cold-meant, winter jackets, of course many are brought in the country from Four seasons experincing temperate lands and sold to Kenyans as second hand clad.

Well, I have made it a mandatory routine as a field worker to listen to weather forecasting as broadcasted by local radio stations in the mornings prior to getting out in the field. This suppliments my wonderful judgement but sometimes either gets me drenched in a downpour or dehydrated in the solar’s heat. My assistant Joseph is a blessing in this case since his predictions are almost always perfect. Nonetheless, it appears temperatures are only cool in Nairobi and in the highlands only which average 20 to 24 degrees centigrade, elsewhere it is the routine tropical heat: Mwea would as hot as 30 degrees centigrades by 0900hrs; Ahero and Kisumu has you wearing a T-shirt only by about the same time while in Bunyala you wake up feeling hot! may be land breeze overnight from the nearby Lake Victoria but even then the breeze does not seem to warm up the Bunyala landmass but virtually heats it up to uncomfortable post 30 degrees centigrades temperatures, and we say this is July!

The Bunyala early sunrise that elevates the temperatures further from early hours

So as I look at the birds and pity their struggle by luck to escape poisoning by the day. An even keener look and you realise you are looking at poor creatures wrestling beyond just poisoning: global warming? not making things any better!

In Ahero, I had difficulties looking at birds which I felt I knew their identity but for some reason something was odd about them that impeded my iddentifiication. Aha! I realized it was their colouration. A number of brightly coloured species feathers’ are so worn out, compounded furher by the freely burning su’s UV rays that have bleached their feathers to an unrecognizable colour unassociated with the species. Check out the bird below. I forwarded it to a number of people and even a veteran ornithologist friend was puzzled and ended up with a way off guess!

The puzzle bird! Bleached to cream where he should be red

Another bleached individual and will be like the one above in a matter of time

Well this is the normal colour of its colleague in comparably fresher plumage. A Southern Red Bishop.

Look at these individuals. They are gaping their beaks not in calling out but to hyperventilate and boost their heat loss from the smoother membranes in their mouths down their gullets to the hotter inside of their bodies.

Gaping Long-toed Plovers

Going to the species that I described as ‘new’ in Bunyala-the Long-tailed Nightjar- yet vulnerable to the expanding Bunyala Rice Scheme and possible increase in Furadan use in the post Furadan Availability and Expansion of Rice Growing Area; A Major Conservation Threat in Bunyala the bird may have just come this far from its area of known occurence in North Western Kenya. The birds southerly movements are known not to get beyond the southern end of Lake Turkana. North Western Kenya is predominantly arid but with this intense heat and dry conditions, may be its habitat conditions now rhyme (or have become more severe) with the conditions in Bunyala which is just about exactly the northern shore of Lake Victoria in Kenya. It just means Bunyala has become drier and hotter!Yes, it must be global warming!

The Long-tailed Nightjar. Check it out keenly because the bird is camouflaged perfectly in the underbush shade. The head is to the left of the photo, the beak partly obscured by the a blade of grass while the long tail extends into the photo towards the right.

Even I have to sit down sometimes as early as 0800hrs to regain control given the dizzying effect of the heat. It is not yet 0900 hours but my light changing spectacles are dark from the bright, heat radiating sun this early!

And so it is a tough struggle and with all this, a poacher armed to the teeth with Furadan lurks in some nook only to pop up and claim these poor creatures lives.

Keep reading please.

Tags: Ahero, Bunyala, Kenya, Mwea

2 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 22 2009 | By: Martin Odino

I wish to thank our dear readers for your comments and donations hitherto. I am also very sorry for going quiet for almost one week. I assumed that I was fatigued when I came from Bunyala and would handle just alright going to Mwea but I was wrong. just after getting the birds’ test results Mwea Rice Scheme was my stopping point to continue with surveying for Bird Furadan Poisoning. For all those days that has not been possible and I have been on Malaria treatment. I feel better now, a little too weak though but I should update you as from tomorrow, One scout who leads tourists on bird shooting expeditions has informed me that poisoning is on and with mostly Egyptian Geese being poisoned and sold in illicit brew dens.

Will keep you posted.

Tags: Bunyala, Mwea Rice Scheme

3 responses so far