December. 1999 
17 
some prior experience with these species at Usambara 
Furthermore, as I explained during my presentation at 
Usambara. I hope to use some of the skills acquired to 
initiate a study on the threatened Abbott's Starling 
Cimrinrulits ftmoralls as part of a Masters Program 
Lastly, it was refreshing to actually sec. hear and 
handle live birds in iltcir natural habitat, instead of 
staring at pictures in bird guide books— an integral part 
of my work' 
OTHER EXPERIENCES 
At the end of our two- week stay at East Usambara. Dr 
New mark commented on how w ell fellows in our group 
interacted with each other This was absolutely true' 
All fellows got along remarkably well which added to 
the general morale of the team Humorous exchanges 
in adverse conditions were frequent which made the 
whole experience quite memorable 
The majority of the fellows are professionals 
working as persons in charge ol important bird 
conservation programs in their countries Many, like 
myself, were r.ot accustomed to gruelling fieldwork 
but everyone took to their tasks with enthusiasm and 
determination Presentations in the evenings were 
interesting and informative, a fact easily evidenced by 
the numerous insightful questions that followed each 
session. 
Dr Ncwmark gave clear outlines ol each day's 
activities the night before, making sure we understood 
our tasks. He was happy to answer all questions at 
length on his study He also talked about other parallel 
monitoring studies on epiphytes, dune beetles. Irogs 
and hornbills 
Fellows Presentations and Interaction 
The two gentlemen from Cameroon gave an interesting 
account of their work in the Kilum-ljim long-term 
monitoring Forest Project at the Bamcnda Highlands, 
a BirdLile initiative. Some of the large scale monitoring 
techniques employed in their project would be very 
appropriate if adopted in some similar studies in Kenya 
Two Masters students from Madagascar talked about 
their research work on threatened Malaysian bird 
species, with detailed accounts on their fieldwork 
Another student from Ethiopia talked about his 
postgraduate study at the University of Norway He 
also gave an account of his previous job. which was on 
the IB A \s (Important Bird Areas) of Ethiopia, another 
BirdLife project. A fellow from Cole d'Ivoire, but 
working in Senegal, and a colleague from Madagascar 
talked about their work on wciland birds They wcie 
both scheduled to attend an International Welland 
Workshop in Madagascar, a week alter the Earihwatch 
project The gentleman from Madagascar was co 
ordinating the workshop Another fellow talked about 
her leaching work at the Islamic University in Mbale. 
Uganda, and discussed the results of her recently 
concluded Masters program A fellow from Congo 
talked about his postgraduate studies at Makercre 
University. Uganda He also talked about two 
conservation societies- Nature l Iganda ( Uganda branch 
of the East African Natural History Society) and 
ARCOS (the Alheriinc Rift Conservation Society ) The 
Science Officer from Earihwatch talked about the 
lengthy process of selecting proposals as potential 
Earihw atch proiecis She also answered questions about 
the functions and operations of Earihwatch The 
Kenyans, who were the last to give their presentations, 
talked about their work on birds, databases. IB As. 
and forest conservation Contacts were exchanged, e- 
mail addresses up dated and promises made to keep in 
touch after the project 
The three fellows from Madagascar and a fourth 
from Senegal had a three-day stopover in Kenya They 
had an opportunity to visit the National Museums ol 
Kenya, talk with researchers at the Department of 
Ornithology, catch up with old friends as well go 
shopping! Unfortunately for tile two fellows from 
Cameroon, they were denied a similar opportunity by 
visa complications which saw them spend a cold nighl 
at the airport in Nairobi— a very distressing incident 
The Local People and Facilities 
Due to our intense and light work schedule we had 
very little free time We were therefore not able to 
interact with many of the local peoples However, the 
lew we me l were fairly friendly and hospitable The 
local field assistants were amicable and quick lo assist 
when required They were also eager to teach any 
willing fellow the Kiswahili language, which is spoken 
throughout Tanzania It was a pleasant surprise to note 
that lellows from Uganda and Congo also spoke the 
language well The local cook tried to make good ol 
the limned variety of food available, and always had a 
thermos lull ol hot water lor a quick warm-up drink 
Our accommodation wax adequate, especially lor ilk- 
ladies Bui I am alraid our male counterparts (nil mm- 
ol' them) were provided only one tent! Fortunately two 
extra tents from members accommodated lour 
gentlemen and helped ease congestion Large tarpaulins 
were erected over most ol the camp and all managed 10 
keep dry when n rained The outdoor loilcl and 
bathroom facilities were basic but well improvised and 
well maintained 
The lood was sufficient and started out with some 
variety However, this rapidly deteriorated to bland, 
repetitive rice and beans Even after a hard day’s work, 
one did not l«K»k forward to any of the meals Towards 
the end of our stay, a chance encounter with the TBA 
(Tropical Biology Association) team while in the field 
was a godsend The sympathetic and generous director 
of TBA invited all to dinner and dancing ai their Amam 
camp on (he Iasi night of our slay. Though we had one 
free day at Amam ihe dinner-dance with (he T BA group 
was definitely the highlight of our social life at 
Usambara! 
IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROGRAMME 
The informaiion packs on the project. logistics of getting 
