Dear Birders,
I trust you are well this New Year. I am pleased to inform you that the Ornithology Section of the National Museums of Kenya together with NABU and ICF/EWT Partnership are organizing for a national-wide census of the Grey Crowned Crane in Kenya.
Census Dates: 25 Feb. - 9th March, 2019.
Like with other animal population censuses, and given that this crane species is currently listed as Endangered, knowing its population status and distribution is absolutely necessary in planning for conservation actions. Urban et. al. (1986) estimated the species population at 35,000 individuals while Morrison (2015) put the figure at 12,500 cranes. A partial census that conducted in late 2017 indicated that the current Kenyan population could be under 10,000 individuals.
Although we 8 teams that will spread out in cranes potential areas, we won't mind receiving your observations too as for sure we won't be able to reach out to every cranes in Kenya. The following is the information we need:
1. Number of adult cranes
2. Number of young cranes (check on red patches, plumage and crest developments to distinguish young cranes)
3. Locality (County, nearest public school, town etc) - be as specific as possible and/or use a GPS coordinates.
4. Time for each observation (helps to scrutinize same observations from different observers)
5. Name and contact of observer(s).
6. Any other relevant information such as threats to cranes, nesting records etc.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Happy Birding.
Wamiti.