North,M. E. W.

Biodiversity Heritage Library OAI Repository

June 1959 Page159
THE GREAT HERONRY OF GARSEN ON THE
RIVER TANA
By MYLES E. W. NORTH
NearGarsen-theplacewheretheMalindi-LamuroadcrossestheRiverTana-
thereis a greatopenplaineastof theriverwhichis floodedannuallyfor several
monthsduringthelongrainsfromearlyMay onwards,andsomewhathighercountry
onthewestof theriverwhichisfloodedonlyin parts. Aboutacoupleofmilesbelow
Garsenon thiswestbankthereis a lagooncalledIsowe,or Kubi Balle,whichgets
filledattheheightof eachMay floodandis thensealedoff,sothewaterdriesslowly
andlastsfor severalmonths-wellintoSeptember,I think. Thelagooniselongated,
withopenwaterat thelowerendneartheriver,buttheupperportionis filledbya
thicketof hennatrees(Lawsoniainermis)whichgrowin thewater.
Thisthicketisusedduringthemonthsof flood(MaytoSeptember)asabreeding
colonybynumerouswaterbirds. As suchit mustbeoneof thefinestin thecountry,
fully comparableto thegreatcolonyat Kisumudescribedby Jacksonin his Birds
of KenyaandUganda,anddestroyedmanyyearsagoin thecourseof anti-malarial
operations.ThebirdsbreedingatIsowemakeuseof thewonderfulfeeding rounds
of thefloodedareaseastof theriver.
On the20th-21stAugust1956I visitedthe colonywith GeneralSir Gerald
LathburyandhisA.D.C., CaptainSimmons,andwithCommanderR. M. Jenkins,
theD.C. Tana River. We found 13speciesbreedinghere:Darter,Grey Heron,
PurpleHeron, GreatWhiteEgret,Yellow-billedEgret,Black Heron,Little Egret,
SquaccoHeron,NightHeron,Open-BillStork,SacredIbis, GlossyIbis andAfrican
Spoonbill. A fourteenth-theBuff-backedHeron-was suspectedbut not proved.
Thelocalpeopletoldusthatthissiteis usedeverylongrains. LongagoMajor
T. H. E. Jacksonnotifiedmeof theexistenceof thiscolony,whichhehadvisited
in July 1940andhadthenfounda numberof speciesbreedingwhichsoundedvery
similarto whatwefoundin 1956.
Fromthevisitor'spointof viewthevirtueof thisswampis thatit canbevisited
duringthelongrainsatanytimewhentheMalindi-Garsenroadhappensto beopen,
andin factit is onlya milefromtheroadata pointsomefivemilesshortof Garsen
(WanjilaHill andcampsite). Thepointto strikeoff fromtheroadis ata telegraph
polenumbered1312;herefollowa well-markedcattletrackwhichis quitesuitable
for a Land Roverprovidedthatthegroundis reasonablydry. The trackleadsto
theupperendof the lagoon,from eithersideof whichonecan obtainexcellent
viewsof thebirds. May andJunewould,I think,beparticularlysuitablemonths
for avisit. Thetimeof ourvisit-August-was ratherlate,especiallyfor thesmaller
species,manyof whichhadfinishednestingby then. More observationsarebadly
needed. It is, however,importantthat any observationshouldbe done with
discretionandwiththeminimuminterferenceto thebirds.
List of breedingbirds
Thesewereasseenon the20th-21stAugust1956. In eachcaseI havemadea
guessof thenumberof breedingpairspresent,basedonmyimpressionof thenumber
of occupiednestsor fledgedyoungto be seenthere-but it shouldbe emphasised
thatthesearemerelyimpressionsandarenotbasedonanyformof count,for which
therewasno time. No mentionis madeof non-breedingbirdshere,sincethese,
too,wouldhaveneededmoretime.
Page 160 TheEastAfricanPorcupine Vol. XXIII. No.4 (101)
DARTER. Anhingarufa. 50pairs? Severalbirdsseenincubatingin a deadtree.
GREY HERON. Ardea cinerea. Under 30 pairs? Two nearly-fledgedyoungseen.
PURPLE HERON. Pyrrherodiapurpurea. 100pairs? Many fledgedyoung clambering
about.
GREAT WHITE EGRET. Casmerodiusalbus. Several hundred pairs? Young mostly
fledged,but somestill in down.
YELWW-BILLED EGRET. Mesophoyxintermedius.Severalhundred pairs? Young of
variousstages.
BLACK HERON. Melanophoyxardesiaca. 50 pairs? Large fledgedyoung wandering
about.
LITTLE EGRET. Egrettagarzetta. 200pairs? Young seen.
BUFF-BACKED HERON. Bubulcusibis. A bird in full breedingplumageseen,but no proof
of actualbreeding.
SQUACCO HERON. Ardeola ralloides. 100 pairs? Many streakyjuvenileswandering
about.
NIGHT HERON. Nycticoraxnycticorax. A few hundredpairs? Many spottyjuveniles
walkingor flyingabout.
OPEN-BILL STORK. Anastomuslamelligerus.A fewhundredpairs? Nestswerescattered
overa considerableareaandmainlyhadyoung.
SACRED IBIS. Threskiornisaethiopicus.50pairs? Nestshaddownyyoung,for themost
part.
GLOSSY IBIS. Plegadisfa1cinellus. Fivepairs? Onenestcertainlyoccupied;perhapstwo.
AFRICAN SPOONBILL. Plataleaalba. 50pairs? Young at variousstages.
NOTES ON THE EAST AFRICAN PORCUPINE
(Hystrixgaleata)
By c. A. SPINAGE, F.Z.S.
The CommonPorcupineis generallyreferredto as adaptingan old ant-bear
hole.or somethingsimilarfor itshome. In thewriter'sexperience,however,theyare
extremelycarefuland painstakinghome-builders,the sitesoftenbeingcarefully
chosenonawell-drainedslope. My observationshaveall beenconfinedto burrows
in exoticeucalyptuswoodlandwhichtheyseemto favour. The holesare often
excavatedverydeeply,ascanbe seenfromtheamountof earththrownup which
mayrunintoseveralhundredweightsin somecases.
A simpleburrowseemsto consistmerelyof twoentrances,butin placeswhere
theanimalisconsiderablypersecutedbyAfricansperiodicallyattemptingtosuffocate
it bysmoking,theburrowmaybeextremelycomplex,havingasmanyasfiveseparate
entranceholes. The onedepictedin Fig. A alsohada holethatwas quitewell
concealedin theundergrowth(inset)andwithoutanytracksgoingnearto it. This
mayhavebeenan air holeor perhapsthegroundhadmerelycavedin whenthe
tunnelwasbeingexcavated.


The Great Heronry of Garsen on the river Tana

http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/content/part/EANHS/XXIII_No.4_101__159_1959_North.pdf

The Great Heronry of Garsen on the river Tana

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Biodiversity Heritage Library OAI Repository