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Kitobo Forest Expedition: Avifaunal Survey of Kitobo Forest, South Eastern Kenya

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Kitobo Forest Expedition: Avifaunal Survey of Kitobo Forest, South Eastern Kenya Kitobo Forest Expedition: Avifaunal Survey of Kitobo Forest, South Eastern Kenya Report By Edson Mlamba, Amina Njoki, Vincent Otieno, Edwin Gichohi, Rogers Makau, Cynthia Opany, Domnic Chesire, Florence Karanja, Esther Mwangi and Peter Njoroge; November 2013 Acknowledgements We are grateful to the National Museums of Kenya for granting us all the logistical issues specially the Zoology Department for the use of the Ornithology Sections vehicle, mist nets, camping gear and ringing kit. We also wish to thank Kenya Forest Service for granting us the permission to access and conduct research in Kitobo/Kitovu Forest. The local community through their Community based organization (CBO) Kitobo community forest conservation and environment association (KICOFCEA) availed their services as guides in the forest. This study was made possible by the generous funding from the African Bird Club. Great Team Effort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 ii Executive Summary The little known Kitobo forest also called Kitovu forest (E 037° 36.339' S 03° 27.071') lies in south-eastern Kenya just North of Tanzania’s North Pare Mountains and south of the Kenya’s Taita Hills. It is located within the biodiversity rich eastern arc forests of East Africa and covers 160 ha at an altitude of 725 m above sea level. This study sought to determine the avifaunal diversity, document the different habitats and investigate the threats to the forest. Avifaunal data was collected using timed species count, point counts, mist netting and ad hoc observations. This was done between 8th and 17th November 2012 which is part of the wet seasons in Kenya. Sampling effort was mainly concentrated in the forest but we also sampled the forest edge and the farmlands around the forest. A total of 159 bird species were recorded. Our statistical projections indicate that over 180 bird species could be recorded for the tiny forest with an extra effort. Of the species recorded only 6 were forest specialists, 22 were forest generalists and a further 20 were forest visitors. Three species White-backed Vulture (En), White-headed Vulture (Vu), Southern Ground Hornbill (Vu) recorded in the forest or in the surrounding shrubland are globally threatened while the near- threatened the Martial Eagle (NT) was also recorded. A total of 15 afrotropical migrants and 11 Palaeartic migrants were also recorded in and around the forest. Based on the presence of the 3 globally threatened bird species (category A1) the forest could qualify as an important bird area. However the regular presence of these species in the forest need to be confirmed. Illegal logging of large trees, gazing and flooding were identified as the major threats to the forest. Flooding of the forest occurs through the numerous underground springs that are thought to originate from the melting snow on Mt Kilimanjaro. Local communities living on the edge of the forest think the frequency of flooding may have increased in recent years and may be as a result of global warming causing increased melting of snow on Mt Kilimanjaro. Increased frequency of the flooding is leading the death of many trees in the forest. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... ii Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... iii 1.0. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Aims and Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 1 2.0. Study Area ......................................................................................................................................... 2 3.0. Materials and Methods ..................................................................................................................... 4 3.1. The Team....................................................................................................................................... 4 3.2. Reconnaissance ............................................................................................................................. 5 3.3. Timed species count ..................................................................................................................... 5 3.4. Mist-netting .................................................................................................................................. 5 3.5. Point counts and vegetation surveys ............................................................................................ 6 4.0. Results ............................................................................................................................................... 7 4.1. Total number of species and species accumulation curve ........................................................... 7 4.2. Species of interest ......................................................................................................................... 8 4.2.1. Threatened species .................................................................................................................... 8 4.2.2 Biome species .............................................................................................................................. 8 4.2.3 Migrant Species: ........................................................................................................................... 8 4.3. Forest Dependency ....................................................................................................................... 9 4.4. Forest birds using the farmland .................................................................................................. 13 4.5. Forest structure and Threats ...................................................................................................... 15 5.0. Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 17 5.1. Species Composition ................................................................................................................... 17 5.2. Species of Interest (Threatened Species, Biome Species, Migrant Species) and threats to the forest 17 5.3. Conservation Issues and Recommendations .............................................................................. 18 iv 6.0. Kitobo expedition in Pictures .......................................................................................................... 19 References .................................................................................................................................................. 21 Appendices .................................................................................................................................................. 22 v 1.0. Introduction Biodiversity has drawn the world’s attention due to the fact that its conservation has been known to lead to overall ecosystem maintenance. Various Flora and fauna depend on this ecosystems wellbeing for their survival and so does Man either directly or indirectly through the ecosystem services that he draws from this ecosystems. Biodiversity Surveys Create an inventory of an areas biodiversity and the information generated can form a baseline for reference in assessing an ecosystems well being. Similarly one can take a single taxa to make inferences on the ecosystems well being. Kitobo/Kitovu Forest in south east Kenya is an example of an ecosystem which we discovered as being of conservation importance. Kitobo/Kitovu forest located in Taita- Taveta District in Coast Province is part of the Eastern Arc Mountains that are known to have a large number of endemic species. The little known Kitobo/Kitovu forest lies in south-eastern Kenya just North of Tanzania’s North Pare Mountains and south of the Kenya’s Taita Hills (Fig 1). The Eastern Arc Mountains are one of the WWF’s (World Wildlife Fund) global 200 priority ecoregions and contain at least 19 endemic bird species (Burgess et al., 2003).By the time we carried out this survey, little was known about Kitobo/Kitovu forest’s biodiversity. 1.1. Aims and Objectives The overall aim of the expedition was to conduct a comprehensive bird survey of the little known Kitobo forest and surrounding areas, as part of documenting the forest’s avifauna and assessing its conservation status. The specific objectives of this research were to:- Asses and document the bird species diversity and composition of Kitobo forest. Assess the conservation status of the bird species of Kitobo forest and surrounding areas. Determine the presence or absence of bird species of conservation importance(endemics, IUCN red data List species, regionally threatened species e.t.c) Assess the current and potential threats of the forest. 1 Record any observations of other fauna of conservation importance. 2.0. Study Area The study was carried out in Kitobo forest located in Taita- Taveta District, Coast Province in the southeastern part of Kenya (Fig 1). It is owned and protected by the Community under the Kenya forest service community conservation programme. It lies between latitude 3°25´E and longitude 38°20´S and at an altitude of 717m to 735m. The area receives an average annual rainfall of
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