Anbody know what eagle this is ?

Obviously a weird morph of some kind ...Wahlbergs, / Spotted /Lesser spotted / Tawny/ or Steppe ?? Taken at Sarara in the Mathews Range Nthn Kenya 3weeks ago. Thx Simon Ball

Tana River Delta, Kenya added to the Ramsar List

The Secretariat is very pleased to announce that Kenya has designated the Tana River Delta as a Wetland of International Importance. As summarized by Ramsarâ??s MS Ako Charlotte Eyong, from the accompanying RIS, the Tana River Delta Ramsar Site (163,600 hectares, 02°27â??S 040°17â??E), an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Coast Province, is the second most important estuarine and deltaic ecosystem in Eastern Africa, comprising a variety of freshwater, floodplain, estuarine and coastal habitats with extensive and diverse mangrove systems, marine brackish and freshwater intertidal areas, pristine beaches and shallow marine areas, forming productive and functionally interconnected ecosystems.

This diversity in habitats permits diverse hydrological functions and a rich biodiversity including coastal and marine prawns, shrimps, bivalves and fish, five species of threatened marine turtles and IUCN red-listed African elephant (Loxodonta africana), Tana Mangabey (Cercocebus galeritus), Tana River Red Colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus rufomitratus) and White-collared Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis albotorquatus). Over 600 plant species have been identified, including the endangered Cynometra lukei and Gonatopus marattioides. As one of the only estuarine staging posts on the West Asia - Eastern Africa coastal flyway, it is a critical feeding and wintering ground for several migratory waterbirds such as waders, gulls and terns. The main human activities include fishing, small-scale family-oriented agriculture, mangrove wood exploitation, grazing, water supply, tourism and research (ongoing research on the protection and monitoring of breeding turtles and the conservation of dugongs). Kenya presently has six Ramsar Sites, covering an area of 265,449 hectares. Best regards, Dwight Peck, Ramsar. *********** Dwight Peck Documentation Officer Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971)

Soda ash mining at Lake Natron is not economically viable

Mining of soda ash at Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania is not economically viable, experts have warned. A new Cost Benefit Analysis report shows that projected return on investment over the next 50 years would be a loss of between $44,354,728 and $492,142,797, even if exempted from paying tax by the Government. Read the whole story at Birdlife

All Photos: Copyright Stein Ø. Nilsen / tromsofoto.net

Fantastic chamaleons from Madagscar

These tiny little creatures are found recently in Madagscar, really neat!

Read the whole story at AfriCam

February Gaps 2012

Visit one of these squares and make notes of what you see and hear! Make an effort for the birds of Tanzania! Send your records to tzbirdatlas@yahoo.co.uk

BirdLife welcomes passing of law to secure transboundary ecosystems in East Africa

Fri, Feb 3, 2012 Africa, News Posts, Top Posts The Serengeti National Park is home to one of the last world’s last great mammal migration (amanderson2/flickr) The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has passed a crucial law that could transform how transboundary ecosystems and resources in East Africa are managed. EALA is the legislative arm of the East African Community, a regional block bringing together five countries, namely, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Hon. Dr. George Nangale, the former Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Tourism at EALA, and who moved the bill in 2008 was delighted to see it enacted. “I am glad to see this landmark bill go through, many thanks for the support from all stakeholders,” he said. The new law is considered critical since it establishes a mechanism for addressing developments of a transboundary nature that affect shared ecosystems. Among other things, it establishes a Commission that will supervise and monitor the implementation of policies on the management of such resorces. It emphasises the need for Environmental Impact Assessment of projects with impacts of a transboundary nature, with the Commission playing a key role in the approval process.

“This is a welcome development. East African countries now have a good chance to collaborate and share information on development projects of a transboundary nature. It will no longer be business as usual” Said Mr. Deo Gamassa, the new CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (BirdLife in Tanzania). The new regional legal framework is set to benefit transboundary ecosystems like Lake Natron and Serengeti National Park which, in the recent past, have drawn global attention as a result of proposed large scale development projects. At Lake Natron, the National Development Corporation proposed to build a $ 450 million soda ash plant to produce half a million tonnes of industrial sodium bicarbonate per year. However, concerned groups raised concerns, citing the sensitivity of Lake Natron as the only regular breeding site for Lesser Flamingos in Eastern Africa. Three quarters of the global population of the pink birds are hatched at Lake Natron -read more. The Transboundary Ecosystems Management Bill 2010 was passed on 31 January 2012 at EALA’s Third meeting of the Fifth Session taking place in Kampala, Uganda.

Mystery bird sounds of Tanzania

Hope someone out there can help ID some of the species I've recorded in Tanzania.This one from Mazimbu area in Morogoro town.



And this is recorded in the foothills of Usambara Stein