 |
| Jasson John searching the Ngono River swamp for Shoebill |
On Sunday Jenny and I hooked up with Jasson John and his mate Apollo. Jasson and Apollo grew up in Minziro Village north of Bukoba and both are keen birders. While Apollo has stayed close to home, Jasson has recently embarked on a PhD at a university in Seoul, South Korea. His study is on the ecology and threats to two of Tanzania's most endangered birds - the Shoebill and the Wattled Crane.
 |
| Lesser Jacana |
 |
| Rufous-bellied Heron |
 |
| Goliath Heron |
We showed Jasson where we had recently found the Shoebill and we surveyed three sites on the Ngono River and nearby Lake Ikimba to the south and west of Bukoba. Jasson gave posters to local fishermen at each site and asked for information on the presence of Shoebills. It seems that there are 4-5 resident in the wetland system regularly.
 |
| Grey Heron |
 |
| Yellow-billed Duck |
 |
| Swamp Flycatcher |
Although we didn't see Shoebills on this occasion we saw some 75 species for the day and I managed a few nice photos.
 |
| Ruppell's Starling |
 |
| Red-faced Cisticola |
David has just arrived and we will show him the sights and sounds of Bukoba and district for a few days. Next week I hope to catch up with Jasson and do some more birding further afield.
 |
| Fishing boats on Lake Ikimba |
 |
| Two girls herding cattle and sheep along the Ngono River. |
 |
| Younger of the two girls - "Is he taking my photo?" |
Cheers
Steve
Bukoba - 12th January 2011
Thanks Steve and Jenny. I enjoyed beeing with you for that day! unfortunate we didnt visit Minziro together. Jenny, thanks for the coffee!
ReplyDeleteYour records of shoebill have been of interest to me and I hope for Tanzania Bird Atlas, there was only two previous records and none was on Ngono River. I will share with you the report of my survey in Kagera and what people know about the shoebill....
Keep birding......
Jasson [back in Seoul]