Report of the Afring Training Course November 2006, Ghana

The Avian Demography Unit (ADU, South Africa), host of AFRING (African Waterbird Ringing Scheme), organised in close cooperation with the Centre for African Wetlands (CAW, Ghana) a bird-ringing training course for West African ornithologists. The course took place in Ghana from 20 to 28 October 2006 in Accra and the Densu Delta.


Delegates from 10 countries were present at the training course. Photo: D. Harebottle

The ringing training course is a follow up of earlier courses in East and South Africa (Harebottle et al. 2005, Harebottle & Brooks 2006) and its incentive is to build regional capacity for bird ringing in Africa. To date bird ringing is limited in Africa especially in West Africa, and mostly driven by expatriates focussing on paleartic migrants and using rings from mostly European ringing schemes. In the future Africans should be able to sustain and maintain a network of local experts able to ring and study birds. The ultimate reason is to get more insight into intra-African and intercontinental bird migration. This can help to answer ornithological questions and can be used to a better understanding of the importance of wetlands and thus bird conservation.


The team was trained in catching birds with mist nets. Photo: D. Harebottle

Delegates from 8 West African countries attended the workshop: Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon. A delegate from Kenya was added to facilitate contact between the East African ringing scheme and West Africa.
The ringing course was organised in a theoretical component at CAW, Accra and a practical field work component in the Densu Delta, near Accra. Jan van der Winden from The Foundation Working Group International Wader and Waterfowl Research (WIWO) was invited to present species-related ringing research on a European-African scale partly collected in WIWO projects as well to train delegates in bird ringing and biometrics of terns.


Mostly palearctic waders and terns were captured but also this resident Pied Kingfisher. Photo: J. van der Winden.

During the theoretical course seminars on ethics, techniques and data analyses were given as well as specific project examples such as Black Tern ringing (J. van der Winden), African Black Oystercatching colour ringing (M. Wheeler), Pelican ringing (D. Harebottle) and mass passerine ringing in Kenya (T. Imboma).


At night birds were ringed and measured. The delegates were trained in all aspects of ring research. Photo J. van der Winden

The field work was executed in the Densu Delta and during five successive nights 190 waterbirds, mainly terns and waders, were captured. During each session, delegates were trained in setting up mist nest, bird handling, ringing, taking measurements from birds, moult scores, systematic registration of data and use of ringing guides. Apart from the successful training, some interesting ornithological information was collected. A good sample of terns was captured: 99 Common Terns, 41 Black Terns, 13 Roseate Terns, 2 Royal Terns and 1 Sandwich Tern. Amongst the Common Terns, 7 birds were recaptured with foreign rings (Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, UK). Of interest was the recapture of 6 Roseate Terns with rings from Ireland and Portugal. This showed the delegates the immediate positive results of ring activities. Apart from terns some palearctic migrant waders (e.g. Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling, Greenshank) as well as African residents (White-fronted Plover, Kittlitz's Plover) were captured and ringed. The group was lucky to capture an adult African Skimmer. An interesting bycatch was a Flying Calf (Nanonycteris Veldkampi), a small fruit bat species for which limited information on range and habits is available.


The difference between Common Tern (lower) and Roseate Tern (upper bird) could be studied perfectly. Five Roseate Terns from Rockabill (Ireland) were captured and 1 from the Praia Islet off the north coast of Graciosa in the Azores. Photo: J. van der Winden.

a link to the ADU/AFRING report of the course

References

Harebottle, DM, Jackson, C & Oschadleus, HD 2005. Wader ringing in coastal Kenya - results and overview from the first AFRING waterbird ringing course. Wader Study Group Bulletin 106: 55-57.
Harebottle, DM and Brooks, M 2006. Waterfowl Ringing Course, Allemanskraal Dam, Free State, 1-8 July 2006. www.aviandemographyunit.org