White-fronted Bee-eater

Leading on from my first blog on South Africa, here are the birding highlights of my recent trip with Eco Training. The Mukaleke concession has some of the best bird life in the whole Kruger National Park, and I was lucky enough to see and learn about all of the following (click each image for a larger pic):

Blacksmith Lapwing - which makes a noise like the chinking of a hammer on metal

Yellow-billed Hornbill - with a beautiful, large, curved yellow bill. The female closes herself up inside a tree trunk to lay and hatch her eggs, and they use millipede toxins to keep predators away

Cape Turtle Dove – which chirps “work harrrrrder” in the morning. In the afternoon, it sounds more like “drink laaaaager”, just around sundowner time….

Red-eyed Dove – which sings “I AM a red-eyed dove”

Kingfisher

Oxpeckers – these hang around rhino and buffalo so are useful to follow/avoid as appropriate

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Lesser Honey Guide – which  sings “Victor”

African Palm Swift – which sticks its eggs to tree. It can’t turn the eggs like a bird in a normal nest would (to make sure yolk doesn’t touch the side of the shell), but the wind blowing does the job instead

Little Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater - the term ‘white-fronted’ doesn’t do this one justice; it’s absolutely stunning

Swainson’s Spurfowl – quite chicken-esque with a bright red
ring around the eye

Mosque Swallow

European Swallow

Swainson's Spurfowl

Barn Owl

European Storks – we saw a huge flock getting ready to fly back to Europe

Pin-tailed Whyder – with a long clumsy tail that made him look ridiculously clumsy in flight

Splendid Starling – heaps prettier than the one we see in Britain

Vultures

Hoopoe

Lilac-breasted Roller and the European roller – two of my favourites

African Hawk Eagle - which has lovely feathery legwarmers

European Roller

Orange-breasted Bush Shrike

Grey Goaway Bird – which has a crazy, fluffy mohawk

Grey-headed Parrot

Nightjars - a right pain in the arse. They jump in front of the Landrover’s headlamps at night and mean you have to crawl along so you don’t hurt them

South Africa Tourism: www.southafrica.net
Eco Training: www.ecotraining.za

Splendid Starling

European Storks

Tawny Eagle

It has three camps in South Africa, but what makes the camp I visited at Makuleke special is that it’s within a unique part of Kruger that has been given back to the tribe which originally owned the land.

In 1969, the Makuleke people were forcibly removed from the land under the apartheid system, and it was only in 1994 that they made a successful claim to have the land (which by then formed part of Kruger) returned to them. I had the opportunity to visit the Makuleke people in the town just outside the park where they now live, and heard firsthand about the difficult decisions the tribe has had to make, and the challenges it currently faces.

When the land was returned in ‘94, the Makuleke considered selling the land for mining or for cattle-farming, but were thankfully persuaded by Eco Training and NGOs that the land should continue being used for conservation and eco-tourism. Three different safari camps within the Makuleke concession now pay the tribe a rental fee for the land, and also employ local people.

Tribal leaders said that the decision to go with conservation had been the right one, but admitted it has been far from easy.

Lemson Maluleke, operating officer for the Makuleke marketing board, told us that Makuleke’s remote location makes it a difficult sell from a tourism point, and that the three camps are not generating as much revenue as expected. Crucially – the tribe feels it must consider hunting on the land again:

“Initially, after engaging with the concessionaires, we decided that hunting was not compatible with the conservation aims. But we haven’t been able to generate the same revenue, so we do want to explore the issue of hunting again,” he explained.

Since the Mukaleke people have the rights to the land, they are entitled to hunt if they wish, despite it being illegal elsewhere in Kruger National Park. Lemson insisted that the hunting would be done in a sustainable manner, only during certain weeks in certain zones.

But conservationists are concerned that even limited, regulated hunting cannot sit alongside the park’s conservation aims, particularly when Kruger has such a problem with illegal poaching.

On the other hand, with 20,000 mouths to feed, I can well understand the Makuleke’s desire to make best use of the resources available to them. Whether they hunt themselves, or grant hunting permits for controversial biltong-hunting, it would prove very profitable.

Thinking back to the marine reserve I visited in the Caribbean last month, what I found so inspiring about the project in Jamaica was the level of buy-in that the scheme had from the local community. The campaign was led by a local fisherman and had the community’s full support. At Mukaleke, on the other hand, the conservation is driven by outside parties, and I’d question how engaged the community really is.

It’s hard to see how tourism alone will be able to generate the kind of revenue the tribe says it needs, without allowing further camps to be built.

The tribe’s leaders have now begun a study to determine just how feasible it is for them to rely on the income from conservation and ecotourism in future years: I hope the results prove positive enough that the Makuleke can fully commit to conservation for the long-term.

• South Africa Tourism: www.southafrica.net

• Eco Training: www.ecotraining.co.za

Experts from the Born Free Foundation and other bodies met in London following the International Tiger Forum in St Petersburg in November. It was interesting to hear their take on the outcome of the international forum, and how we must now proceed if we’re to stand a chance of saving the 3,200 tigers remaining in the wild.

Debbie Banks, head of the tiger campaign at the Environmental Investigation Agency, said the summit had had some degree of success in that £208m has been pledged by world leaders to tackle tiger poaching in countries like Nepal, India and Bhutan.

But she said that what is needed now is increased police presence, covert operations and improved customs so that more information on the smuggling of illegal tiger products can be gathered. “It needs to be intelligence-led, not money-led,” she argued. “Many governments have focussed too much on celebrated, isolated, seizures of tiger skins and bones – within their own locality. Information is not shared cross-border, and the possibility of integrated efforts is lost,” she explained.

She added that China must now show that it really is committed to tackling the problem in its own country. “If the Chinese president is serious, then he will now send advocates to the army, engage the anti-corruption bureau, have meetings with the police and launch a media campaign,” she said. “If the government of China can spend $31 million on the Olympics, it can take the right action here too if it really wants to,” she added.

Steve Trent of innovative campaigning body Wild Aid, argued that reducing demand for tiger products is the most important factor. I was fascinated to hear about Wild Aid’s recent advertising campaign in China which used well-known celebrities like Jackie Chan to hit home the message that “when the buying stops, the killing stops”.

He argued against the idea of farming tigers in captivity for their body parts (some people have suggested this as a way of meeting demand without taking tigers from the wild). “Tiger farms stimulate demand for tiger products; it’s saying that you can make some money from this. So we need to kill off demand,” he said. With up to 10,000 tigers now held in farms, circuses and attractions around the world, I agree with Steve that any tiger held in captivity sends the wrong message.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom at the conference: Will Travers of the Born Free Foundation sounded a cautious note of optimism about our potential to save the species from extinction. He drew an interesting parallel between the plight of the elephant in Kenya in the 1980s and that of the tiger in Asia. “Since the Kenyan government burned its ivory stockpile in 1989, the number of elephants in Kenya has doubled. We can turn things around,” he said.

Let’s hope so.

When I saw the photo, I thought surely this must be the smallest frog in the world?

Au contraire – it’s only the smallest species discovered in the OLD world .

They’ve found even smaller ones in Brazil and Cuba, though there seems to be some confusion over whether the Brazilian Gold Frog (Brachycephalus didactylus) or Cuba’s Monte Iberia Eleuth (Eleutherodactylus iberia) is the smallest.

Here are pictures of them both, anyhow:

The researchers are out in Borneo searching for the world’s lost amphibians as part of a campaign organized by Conservation International and IUCN’s Amphibians Specialist Group.

It’s worth checking out CI’s Search For the Lost Frogs page if you have a minute….

There’s a special photo group set up on Flickr for you to upload your own frog photos, and I’ve just uploaded a pic I took in Le Perinet rainforest in Madagascar…I’m hoping someone will identify it for me.

Inkaterra has some of the most exciting, sustainable hotels in Peru. It all started in the 1970s with Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica right in the Amazon jungle. Next were La Casona in Cusco, part of the super-luxury Relais & Chateaux collection, and Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel right by Machu Picchu. Inkaterra has now launched another sister brand, ‘by Inkaterra’, which is slightly more affordable but retains the same eco credentials.

The hotel group has its very own research arm, the InkaTerra Association, and employs its own scientists – guests can help out too while staying there.

All the guides or ‘interpreters’ employed to give wildlife tours are local, and real experts. I know what a difference this can make – when I went backpacking in Peru we got totally ripped off. The guides who took us into the rainforest didn’t have a clue what they were looking at and I had to point out wildlife to my friend.

Across its various properties, Inkaterra has been responsible for the discovery of many new species of frogs and orchids and planted countless trees and restored other habitats. Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel holds the record for the highest number of native orchid species found in their natural environment in the world!

With all this talk of sustainability, Bumpkin seemed a particularly appropriate choice for the press lunch – all of their produce comes from right here in the UK (except its olive oil – which we really do struggle to produce in this climate, apparently), right down to seasonal cocktails. I enjoyed a lovely duck breast with spring onion and tarragon cake. This does go against my Meat Free Monday efforts, but I didn’t have meat at all over the weekend so I reckon Sir Paul would forgive me?

Inspired by the lovely, locally-sourced salads on the menu at Bumpkin I came home this evening and vowed to have one more go at growing something for myself on the balcony. I know what I got wrong last time – the soil level was too low, so the lettucey shoots had to struggle too high to reach the sunlight and went all limp and wobbly and died. So I’ve topped the soil right up, and also sown just a fine row of seeds, as opposed to chucking in the whole packet like I did last time (also wrong, it would appear).

If it doesn’t work this time, those bloody troughs are going in the bin.

In other balcony news, we most definitely have some birds visiting the feeder now as the sunflower hearts have almost all gone. Wildlife triumph!

Despite a thorough explanation from instructor Derek on how to hold my paddle and how to slow down and change direction, I was still concerned about losing control and smashing up my kayak on the rocks. But Derek assured me the kayaks were practically indestructible. “You might hit into each other, though – the kayaks have got magnets in them,” he warned us.

I’d have thought magnets would make the kayaks heavier and slower, but didn’t like to question it; Derek Hairon is a sea-kayaking expert and wrote the world’s first book on the subject. His company, Jersey Kayak Adventures, has been guiding trips around Jersey’s rugged coast and nearby islands since 2004.

As we navigated through narrow gaps between rocks, I bumped apologetically into my fellow kayakers a few times but nobody seemed to mind. It seemed the magnets in my kayak were particularly strong.

The sea-level in Jersey rises and falls by up to 12 metres each tide, meaning you see different things each time you go out. Travelling by sea-kayak also means accessing whole stretches of the coast you never could on foot. Derek pointed out various bird species, and told us about Jersey’s natural history and geology as we paddled.

It was only as we peeled off our wetsuits at the end that Derek finally admitted he’d been pulling my leg about the magnets. I sensed I hadn’t been the first to fall for it.

But while he might joke about kayak magnetism, one thing Jersey Kayak Adventures takes very seriously is its environmental impact. Kayakers get a discount if they use public transport, and are encouraged to pick up any litter they spot and to drink from refillable bicycle bottles rather than buying bottled water.

There are other companies on Jersey that have shown a similar commitment. Jersey was the first destination in the world to gain Green Globe accreditation, and many hotels and attractions are signed up to the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS).

La Mare Wine Estate is the only Gold award holder on the island, with eco-measures such as using discarded cooking oil as bio-fuel for the mini-bus and giving visitors a 5% discount if they use public transport to reach the estate. Jersey is on the same latitude as the Champagne region of France, so it enjoys an excellent grape-growing climate. La Mare produces not just award-winning wines but also cider, apple brandy, its own range of chocolates and to-die-for preserves.

Animal magic

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, founded by author and naturalist Gerald Durrell, holds a silver GTBS award. The Trust is involved in species conservation projects around the world, and “zoo” is something of a dirty word. Species at the centre include Andean bears, lemurs, tamarin monkeys and gorillas – you may remember TV footage from 1986 when a toddler fell into Durrell’s gorilla enclosure and the silverback sat next to the unconscious body to protect the boy from the other gorillas.

I went behind-the-scenes with a keeper to help prepare food for the family of seven orangutans. The wheelbarrow of shiny onions, leeks and cucumbers grown in Durrell’s own garden looked more like the Best In Show at a village fete than the scraps I’d imagined the animals might get. And it put me in the mind to try some local Jersey produce for myself…

Suma’s, the less formal sister restaurant to Longueville Manor hotel, is located on the waterfront in Gorey, overlooking the iconic Mont Orgueil Castle. I was spoilt for choice with brill, seabass, Royal Bay oysters, lobster and scallops caught off the very coast I’d explored by kayak the day before. Jersey asparagus and a bowl of the first Jersey Royals of the season were also mandatory.

In the last few years, the island’s cuisine has become an important selling point, and it is proud of its two Michelin stars and many AA rosettes. Marco Pierre White is to open a restaurant on St Helier’s waterfront next year, and the tourist board has recently tied up with Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. Jamie’s trainee chefs flew to Jersey to learn about oyster farming and growing potatoes, and Jersey produce was then featured on the menu in the London restaurant.

The island’s culinary kudos, coupled with an expanding choice of adventure sports and events, is helping draw a new generation of holidaymakers. “Jersey is attracting a younger crowd now, and short breaks are growing fast,” says Premier Holidays marketing manager Emma Coteman.

This summer in particular, the ash cloud and British Airways crises have raised the profile of any destination easily reached by ferry instead of flying. “Once people experience Jersey and how much there is to see and do, they get drawn back again and again,” adds Emma.

I wonder if it might be something to do with those magnets?

I knew about the impact elephants can have, tearing down vegetation.

I’ve read about the impact of cattle and invasive species like cane toads and crown-of-thorns starfish too.

But it was news to me that the common carp is also a bad guy! Apparently they uproot vegetation and can majorly affect their environment. They spend millions of dollars a year trying to control populations in the Australia and the States.

If elephants, locusts, cattle and goats are the bad guys, then bats, birds and lizards are the good guys….or so a feature I spotted on Wired Science says.

Bats, birds and lizards eat insects, thereby protecting plants from being eaten by those insects.

If birds make plants more likely to grow, then perhaps it’s safe to deduce that not having birds means plants won’t grow.

Which could tie up the total lack of bird visitors to my balcony with my total failure to grow any plants and veggies on said balcony….

I made a brilliant job of hanging a lardy-cake and sunflower hearts over the handrail too!

There were adults in four or five of the nests but we only spotted chicks in one. I couldn’t get over how big they are, at just 3-4 weeks old. How mum, dad and the chicks will all fit in the nest for another month I do not know.

It felt very appropriate to be talking about eggs and chicks on Easter Sunday. We got a few new membership sign-ups too, and lots of signatures on the RSPB’s Letter To The Future.

My bird recognition is definitely coming along. I’ve now got the pochard and red-crested pochard down – similar to the pochard but “a bit more disco”, as Abbi says.

We saw lots of Canada geese, barnacle geese, Whooper swans, coots, moorhens and so on on the lake.

I also saw a beautiful mandarin duck. An unfortunate name choice in my opinion – one can’t help thinking of duck a l’orange.

Final stats:

• Herons: 7-8 adults, three chicks
• Bird fights: some quality coot scrapping. Also an amusing vendetta between a Greylag Goose and an Egyptian Goose.
• Biscuits: half a pack of chocolate digestives, plus hot cross buns and Mini Eggs as a festive treat

There was exciting news on the peregrine falcon front this week too – a pair of peregrines have nested in the ‘perecam’ box and laid an egg! Footage will be shown on the RSPB website and hopefully there’ll be more to come.