Greetings all,

During this past August I was involved with an
Earthwatch Expedition to Lembus Forest in the Tugen
Hills, near Eldama Ravine.  Together with Timothy
Mwinami from the National Museums and a number of
Earthwatch volunteers, we conducted visual bird
surveys in this forest as a preliminary step to doing
more intensive surveys next year.  Those who do know
about this forest tend to be less than enthusiastic
about it because it is secondary forest. It is also
fragmented, with two large pieces and several smaller
ones.  I don�t know much else about its history, for
instance when it was logged, etc.  I�d love to know
more if anyone has that information.  It also has some
extensive areas of plantation, mostly cypress.  We did
not observe any instances of logging during the two
weeks we camped there.  There was local use of the
forest, i.e. livestock grazing, firewood gathering. 
However, there are substantial areas of the forest
that are relatively intact with minimal human
interference.  We compiled a list of 115 spp., not bad
considering the bird surveys were only a portion of
our work.  Some of the highlights include�

3 woolly-necked storks seen in a swampy area next to
the road 

mountain buzzards seen at 9,000 ft. in the moorlands
(at least that�s what locals called them, but whether
they are natural or as a result of livestock grazing
is debatable)

bat hawk seen in the forest by a couple of volunteers,
unfortunately I missed it

many Ross�s and Hartlaub�s turacos, and black & white
casqued hornbills

common and black-throated wattle-eyes (I know, the
common wattle-eye is definitely out of range)

Sharpe�s, Stuhlmann�s, Waller�s and Kenrick�s
starlings (yes, we are sure they were Kenrick�s
starlings, but if you don�t believe us you�ll have to
check them out for yourselves)

And pretty much the full compliment of highland forest
species, African hill babbler, white-starred robin,
white-tailed crested flycatcher, brown woodland
warbler, golden-winged sunbird, white-browed crombec,
black-billed weaver, etc��

This is a wonderful and overlooked place for
bird-watching.  The local community wants to encourage
more people to come and visit the forest and they hope
to open it up for more tourism and research-related
ventures in the future.  If you want anymore
information on the forest, I can provide a bit more if
you get in touch via email.

Cheers, 
Darcy Ogada






	
		
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