Strengthening citizen science and participatory community-based research to promote conservation of Secretarybird in Nyanga IBA

The Bird Conservation Fund (BCF) is teaming up with the African Bird Club (ABC) to raise $3,950 to support a Secretarybird project that will create a network of 8 fully trained custodians who are locally based from various villages across the two districts around Nyanga National Park, fully equipped with knowledge and skills to conduct Secretary bird monitoring and conservation. A species distribution maps will also be developed and shared with the Nyanga National Park authorities so that they are informed in their planning for conservation and management of the park. The project is led by Birdlife Zimbabwe’s Courage Tanatswa Chimbetete who is also a student at the University of Zimbabwe.

The Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey that is endemic to Africa. It is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. Although the Secretary bird occurs over a large range, results of recent localized surveys suggest that the total population is experiencing a rapid decline, mainly as a result of habitat degradation. Its global population has been estimated to be somewhere between 6700 and 67000 individuals. The pristine grasslands in the Nyanga region, provide vital habitat for the Secretarybird, which was recently upgraded to endangered on the IUCN list due to its declining population.

The project seeks to establish the current population and status of Secretarybirds in the Nyanga IBA as the baseline information to promote conservation action and contributing to the forthcoming Red Data Book for Zimbabwe. To achieve this, the project aim will be delivered under three key pillars which are;

a. Capacity building and support to local custodians under the training of trainers for continuous monitoring and data collection,

b. Participatory species surveys, and

c. Lastly education and awareness raising.

Under the first pillar of capacity building, eight young people who drawn from different villages that surround the IBA will be trained in bird identification and bird monitoring. These will be provided with necessary equipment such as the field guide, a smart phone and a pair of binoculars to use. The trained young people will then participate in the surveys to solidify their experience in bird monitoring and also to speed up data collection process. There are isolated cases of Secretary Bird sightings and ad hoc interviews with local people have indicated that their numbers have decreased significantly. Therefore, judgmental sampling approach will be used where areas to conduct the counts will selected based on their suitability and previous records available. The communities will also assist in determining areas where individual or pairs have been sighted. The surveys will record bird's behaviors, movements, nesting sites, and counts using the smart phone and the African Bird Club Application. The data will then be exported to excel and analysed to generate information that will be then shared through an article published in the Honey Guide.