Dear Fleur and all the Dakatcha team,
This is really exciting, and you are obviously close to solving the
mystery. I thought that they would be breeding in the Galana oxbows,
seasonal wetlands never occurred to me.
All interior forest weavers are non-social in breeding, so it made
sense that Clarke's would be in a wetland being such a highly social
species. I wonder how long the wetland has been there, if breeding had
been nearly over then you would have seen young birds... maybe they
are prospecting for a site now and the best is yet to come!
Congratulations again
Brian

On 1/10/13, Fleur Ng'weno <fleur@africaonline.co.ke> wrote:
> Dear Jeremy and all
>
> Indeed, it was when Martin Odino saw the first Weyns¹s Weaver in Kenya in
> October 2010 that I realized that Clarke¹s Weaver would probably also nest
> in wetlands. Since then we have been looking in many seasonal wetlands and
> hidden oxbow lakes as well as in Brachystegia woodland.
>
> The Clarke¹s Weavers we saw this week were not building or feeding young,
> and the only nests we saw were Grosbeak Weavers¹. Monitoring will continue,
> however ­ although not every day, for fear of disturbing the birds.
>
> With best wishes to all, Fleur
>
>
> On 1/9/13 4:05 PM, "Lindsell, Jeremy" <jeremy.lindsell@rspb.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Fleur and team,
>> This is really interesting. It¹s sounding very like the (similar looking)
>> Weyns¹s Weaver story in Uganda, also a social forest weaver - which is odd
>> in
>> itself - with long uncertainty about breeding sites. For Weyn¹s these
>> eventually proved to be in papyrus swamps on edge of Lake Victoria...(M.
>> Mills, 2007: Scopus 26: 44-46). I assume from your description that you
>> could
>> see enough to rule out breeding, or is it possible there were nests hidden
>> in
>> the vegetation that you couldn¹t see?
>> Best wishes
>> Jeremy
>>
>>
>> From: AfricanBirding@yahoogroups.com
>> [mailto:AfricanBirding@yahoogroups.com]
>> On Behalf Of Fleur Ng'weno
>> Sent: 09 January 2013 17:59
>> To: AfricanBirding@yahoogroups.com; "kenyabirdsnet@yahoogroups.com"
>> Cc: Paul Matiku; Ian Gordon; Francis Kagema; George Joshua; Dominic Mumbu
>> Subject: [AfricanBirding] Clarke's Weavers in Dakatcha Woodland
>>
>> Some exciting news from Dakatcha Woodland IBA in Kenya:
>>
>> The first week of January 2013, a monitoring team from Nature Kenya and
>> Dakatcha Woodland Conservation Group visited Dakatcha Woodland IBA to look
>> for
>> Clarke's Weavers. The group comprised Albert Baya, Japheth Garama, Samson
>> Katisho, Julius Mwambire, Kazungu Mboro Thuva, Samson Barisa, Maxwel
>> Issa,
>> Jonathan Kalama, Annet Sifa, Faith Mbago, George Odera and myself, Fleur
>> Ng'weno. It had rained heavily in December, and many of the small wetlands
>> had
>> filled with water and water lilies.
>>
>> At about 10 am on January 6, after a survey in Brachystegia forest, we
>> drove
>> along the edge of a low area lush with grasses. A small part of it seemed
>> to
>> be deeper, with two kinds of Cyperus sedges growing in water. To our
>> surprise
>> and delight, we saw a flock of Clarke  217;s Weavers among the sedges.
>>
>> The Clarke¹s Weavers were flying in and out, chattering, perching on the
>> sedges and on a tree and bush among the grasses, then disappearing among
>> the
>> sedges. Small flocks flew out and disappeared over the trees, and others
>> arrived and landed in the wetland. We estimated more than 100 Clarke¹s
>> Weavers, most of them males in adult plumage. There were also some females
>> (or
>> possibly immature males).
>>
>> In the same wetland there were several Grosbeak Weavers, mostly males,
>> with
>> some old nests. They were displaying, singing, chasing each other and
>> sometimes chasing the Clarke¹s Weavers. There was also a flock of about
>> 40
>> Red-headed Quelea, mostly males, flying and landing with the Clarke¹s
>> Weavers;
>> this is a probable range extension. We observed the birds and their
>> constant
>> activity from our vehicle for about an hour and a half.
>>
>> As we did not want to disturb the birds, we left, then returned in the
>> evening
>> a t 5:30 pm to observe from the vehicle until about 7 pm. There was less
>> activity, and no queleas, but small flocks of Clarke¹s Weavers continued
>> to
>> fly in and out. The Grosbeak Weavers and at least some of the Clarke¹s
>> Weavers
>> remained in the sedges at nightfall.
>>
>> The next morning, January 7, we were back at 5:30 am, still dark.
>> Grosbeak
>> Weavers became active at about 6 am, the Clarke¹s Weavers later. They
>> appeared
>> from the sedges, and small flocks flew out. As we left at about 7:30 am,
>> a
>> larger group of Clarke¹s Weavers flew in.
>>
>> Our last observation was in the afternoon from 4:30 to about 5 pm. At
>> first
>> everything seemed quiet, then a few Clarke¹s Weavers were seen among the
>> sedges, and several small groups flew in. In short, we had observed
>> Clarke¹s
>> Weavers in this wetland for two days and one night.
>>
>> To the best of my knowledge, this is the first observation of Clarke¹s
>> Weavers
>> roosting in a wetland. (Or roosting anywhere for that matter?) The
>> behaviour
>> of the birds seemed to indicate they were evaluating the site as a
>> potential
>> breeding site. We plan to continue monitoring the site, and detailed
>> results
>> will be published.
>>
>> This observation underscores the importance of conserving seasonal
>> wetlands as
>> well as Brachystegia forest for the survival of Clarke¹s Weavers. Our
>> thanks
>> to Nature Kenya and the communities of Dakatcha Woodland IBA for their
>> efforts
>> in conservation.
>>
>> Wishing you good birding, Fleur
>>
>
>