editing and production of the Journ al . One has only to study the 
publication to realize the many hours which must be spent on this 
and the Society are- truely thankful to the excellent editors who 
•have helped so much over the past 70 years* 
In 1961 the name of the Journal was changed, an agreement 
being reached with the Museum Trustees and the Society for the 
production of the ;joint Journal to be entitled » The Journal of the 
East Africa Natural History Society and the - Coryndon . Museum * • 
A survey of the plants of Nairobi National Park was proposed 
in 1961. Lt. Col. Mervyn Cowie offered every assistance and special 
permission was granted for collecting within the Park. Some 400 
species were collected and handed to the East African Herbarium for 
identification. Mrs Heriz— Smith, a talented member of the Society, 
wrote a guide book to the wild flowers of the park. This was sold 
at the Museum as well as in leading bookshops and was very popular. 
Profits from this went to the Society and its appreciation was shown 
by electing Mrs Heriz-Smith as a Life Member. 
Lake Natron, the favourite breeding ground of flamingos was 
flooded in 1962 and tens of thousands of these birds made their 
nests at Lake Magadi, a few kilometres away. Magadi contains an 
excessively high concentration of soda which forms a brittle, thick 
crust on the water. Great concern was felt when it was reported 
that the flamingo chicks were dying there j the formation of lumps 
of soda around their ankles making it impossible for them to walk 
or fly. A rescue operation started on 21st September and continued 
until the middle of October, teams from the army, air force and many 
others working under the direction of Alan Root and his wife Joan. 
The success of the operation was great, an estimated 30,000 birds 
were released from their soda shakles and up to 100,000 more driven 
from the soda pans to deeper water at the south end of the lake. 
During this time 8,000 Lesser Flamingos and 80 Greater Plamingos 
were ringed under the Society's scheme, the rings being obtained 
from the British Museum (Natural History). The money needed for 
this operation was raised by the E.A. Wild Life Society and other 
sources. No praise is too high for the people who worked on this 
task in burning soda with a sub-crust temperature of over 140^P 
under the blazing sun. 
Dr Vernon D. van Someren M.B.E*, B.Sc., Ph.D. , died on 28th 
March 1962. He was a keen and talented naturalist whose spare time 
was spent watching and photographing birds. His study of the birds 
of Madagascar was a noteworthy contribution to the knowledge of 
the species of that island. His book *A Birdwatcher in Kenya^ is 
delightful and informative and much appreciated by bird watchers. 
For many years Vernon was a member of the Society's executive 
committee and a trustee of the Coryndon Museum. 
1963 saw the Society still flourishing with its Journal 
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