Dear all,

Picking up where I left off from the previous message...my trip to
Kenya was memorable for a number of reasons - it was my first trip to
Africa, it provided an opportunity to renew acquaintances with
researchers and students from Kenya in their home country - rather
than at conferences and meetings scattered across the globe - and I
was looking forward to seeing how ethnoornithology 'worked' in a
country generally considered to be economically poor but biologically
and culturally and linguistically rich.

In all of these matters I was more than pleasantly surprised - people
in Kenya were friendly and welcoming, the climate in Nairobi was
amenable - with warm days and cool nights in October (so different
from Darwin in Australia where in October the days are hot and humid
and the nights only slightly less so).

I arrived in Nairobi a week or so before the meeting so after a day or
so recovering from my long flights I was looking forward to exploring
the city and surrounds. On the Saturday morning I met up with Fleur
Ng'weno, a veritable encyclopedia of things ornithological in Kenya
and who runs the highly-recommended Wednesday morning bird walks
around Nairobi city. She told me that we should head to Nairobi
National Park, just a few miles from the city centre.

I had no idea of what to expect but was absolutely stunned by the
sheer variety of the birds and mammals we saw in a few short hours -
virtually in the shadow of Nairobi's high-rise buildings we saw dozens
of birds (all new to me) and a bewildering variety of ungulates,
baboons, and a few of the 'big five' - all accompanied by Fleur's
knowledgeable commentary.

The next day we went to Lake Naivasha, a fresh-water lake in the Rift
Valley an hour or so's drive from Nairobi. We went with a group of
students, tour-guides and others interested in birds and the mix of
Acacia woodland (so familiar to me from the savannah country across
northern Australia) and lake-side habitat delivered another
bewildering variety of birds and mammals - the sight of a group
(herd?) of hippos lolling around in the shallows a few metres off
shore was unforgettable.

Then down to the business I was in Kenya for - the 1st
Ethnoornithology Conference for Kenya. I've been impressed for some
time with the vigour and interest shown by Kenyan and east African
researchers involved in ethnoornithology and was looking forward to
meeting people I'd only heard or read of.

The meeting - like the rest of Kenya - was impressive and exciting.
About 50 people gathered for the conference and represented all
sectors of ethnoornithological interests in the country - young
students interested in the practical application of cultural bird
knowledge to species and habitat conservation, senior researchers,
including Dr. George Matute and Dr. Hussein Isak, birders and
professional ornithologists from the National Museums of Kenya,
international guests, including Dr John Fanshawe and Dr Leon Bennun
from Birdlife International, local bird-guides (interested in
incorporating traditional bird knowledge to value-add to their work)
and members of local support groups for the many Important Bird Areas
(IBAs) throughout the country.

Mercy Njeri has prepared a comprehensive report of the conference and
I look forward to posting that on the ERSG site soon. I will also look
to post copies of the presentations to the conference and some
photographs of participants.

I can't stress the importance of this meeting enough - I believe that
it is important not only for the future of ethnoornithology in Kenya
and east Africa but it also serves as a model and example for others
interested in running similar conferences elsewhere - I'm sure that
planning has started for the next one in the near future!

That's all for now - must get the Xmas presents out, have breakfast
and prepare for the day.

Best to you all,

Robert Gosford