January 23, 2012

Thursday, January 26 – Angola Bird Club Meeting at the Viking Club

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Bird watching in the city...


Interested in birds? Why not get out of the city and do some real birding?!?
The first meeting of the ‘Angola Bird Club’ will be this Thursday, January 26 at 8:00 PM at the Viking Club. It will be a brainstorming and planning meeting – looking at dates etc for weekends away. The outings will be strictly for bird watching. For a map to the Viking Club visit our Join Us page.

To sign up for the Bird Club people should send an email to Chris Hines: chines@lisluanda.com

 

September 27, 2011

Saturday, October 22: Bird Course at Saco dos Flamingos

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Angolan Greater Flamingo www.orla-mikkelsen-artwork.dk

Wader Identification Course at Mussulo Bay,
Saturday 22 October with Michael Mills

Although you may not realise it, if you live in Luanda you have an excellent waterbird site right on your doorstep: Mussulo Bay. Mussulo is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area, due to being a vital feeding site for large numbers of waterbirds. During Angola’s hotter months thousands of birds migrate from their Arctic breeding grounds to escape the cold and to feed on the abundance of food that places like Mussulo offers. This makes October an excellent month for birding in Mussulo. Many of the birds that visit are known as waders, and are hard to identify due to their drab plumages. But each species, with a little bit of help, can be distinguished from the other, especially by paying attention to their beak shape and feeding techniques.

On 22 October, Michael Mills will be offering an in-the-field identification course on these tricky birds. The best way to learn is to watch, so the plan is to meet at Saco dos Flamingos (just beyond the ADPP teacher’s training college past Ramiro on the road heading south) at 06h30 on 22 October and spend a few hours studying the birds through binoculars and a telescope. It gets hot, quickly, so we would restrict birding from 06h30 to 09h30 in the morning, when conditions are more pleasant.

In order to give each person individual attention, Michael is restricting the group size to 10 people. To book your spot, please email Michael on birdsangola@gmail.com. The cost will be USD 50 each. If you have a telescope, please bring it along. And your bird book.

Michael Mills (centre foreground) birding with the Angola Field Group in the Denbos. Photo courtesy Jay Blodgett

The foremost expert on birds in Angola, conservation biologist Michael Mills, invites Angola Field Group members to join him in a bird identification course, Saturday October 22nd. Michael is a professional bird watching tour guide in sub-Saharan Africa (www.birdingafrica.com) and also works on conservation projects in Angola (www.birdlife.org). In February Michael gave a presentation to the Angola Field Group, click here: “Protecting Angola’s threatened birds and their threatened habitats”. Michael also runs two websites on Angolan birds: www.birdsangola.org and www.mountmoco.org.

 

April 28, 2011

Mount Moco and Kumbira Forest Trip

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Kumbira Forest, Kwanza Sul.

Nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. An opportunity to travel off the beaten path with environmentalist and bird expert, Michael Mills (for more on Angola’s birds, go to www.birdsangola.org). You will be camping and need to be self sufficient in all aspects including transport. A four wheel drive definitely a necessity. You can accompany Michael on all or part of his trips as per the schedule below. To attend contact Michael Mills at michael@birdingafrica.com and his phone number: 934-969865. On your email please ‘cc’ angolafieldgroup@gmail.com since Michael is travelling in northern Angola and not always within communication range.

11 May 2011 Wednesday
Drive to Mount Moco

12 May 2011 Thursday to 15 May 2011 Sunday
Mount Moco
16 May 2011 Monday
Drive to Kumbira

17 May 2011 Tuesday to 19 May 2011 Thursday
Kumbira

20 May 2011 Friday
Drive to Luanda

Summit of Mount Moco in Huambo province. Photos courtesy Michael Mills.

 

February 11, 2011

Sunday, February 20 Field Trip: Birding with Michael Mills

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Gabela Akalat, endemic to the central scarp forests of Angola; endangered. Photo courtesy Michael Mills.

THIS FIELD TRIP IS NOW FULL. On Sunday, February 20th the Angola Field Group has the opportunity to go birding with South African bird expert, Michael Mills. A professional birding guide, Michael has been coming to Angola to study birds since 2003. (Scroll down to previous post to read his bio.) We will be heading northeast, taking the Caxito – Uige road where there are still some stands of forests and where the endemic Turaco can be found. In order to get in some morning birding, we will be leaving the city at 5:00AM. This will be a full day trip and no guarantee that we will be back in Luanda before dark. A four wheel drive vehicle is necessary. We must keep numbers to a strict limit so please only sign up if you’re serious about going. Final trip details including our meeting location will be given once you’ve signed up and are confirmed for this trip.

Monteiro's Bushshrike, endemic to the central scarp forests of Angola; data deficient. Photo courtesy Michael Mills.

When you are registering for this trip please indicate:

 

* if you have room in your vehicle for more passengers and how many can you take
* if you do not have transport and need a lift
* if you will be leaving from the city or from Luanda Sul

To register for this trip, email Henriette Koning at: angolafieldgroup@gmail.com. All Angola Field Group trips are at your own risk.

Pulitzer's Longbill endemic to Angola's central scarp forests; endangered. Photo courtesy Michael Mills.

 

February 2, 2011

Thurs Feb 3 Presentation: Protecting Angola’s threatened birds and their threatened habitats

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Gabela Helmet Shrike, found only in Angola. Photo courtesy Michael Mills.

Angola is considered off the beaten path when it comes to ‘birding tourism’ and remains a poorly known region in the realm of African birds. Ironically 30 years of war protected some of the rarest bird species that now are being threatened by development and a growing population. The Angola Field Group invites you to a presentation “Protecting Angola’s threatened birds and their threatened habitats”, at the Viking Club, Thursday February 3rd at 8:00 PM with Michael Mills, a South Africa bird expert who will talk about bird conservation in Angola and the important bird species that are being studied. (www.birdsangola.org) He will also update us on his projects including the well-known Mount Moco forest project in Huambo province (www.mountmoco.org) and give us a look at other projects he’s involved in such as Africa’s third largest bird skin collection on display in the Lubango museum.

Michael is a South African conservation biologist and has been watching birds for 25 years and guiding birding expeditions since he was 16. He has been studying birds in Angola for almost 8 years and works for BirdLife (www.birdlife.org), an international bird conservation organization. He also leads bird watching tours in sub-Sahara Africa. The first CD sound guide dedicated to Angolan bird calls, over 100 species, recorded by Michael Mills, will be on sale.

Everybody is welcome to attend. The talk will be in English. In close cooperation with the Viking Club, this event is offered free of charge. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks are sold at the bar, coupons must be purchased. The Viking Bar opens at 7:30 PM! You can download a map showing the location of the Viking Club on this website’s Join Us page. The Viking Club is on the main floor of the former Swedish Building at Rua Marien N”Guabi, No 118 in Maianga, across the street from the new Panela de Barra restaurant.

Field Trip: We will be going on a birding expedition to the Denbos with Michael Mills in February. Date and details will be given on Thursday, February 3 and on this website.

 

January 27, 2011

Thursday February 03 Presentation: Protecting Angola’s threatened birds and their threatened habitats

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Dusky Twinspot, exists only in the highlands of Angola and Uganda. Photo courtesy Michael Mills.

Our presenter Michael Mills grew up in the Kgalagadi and Kruger National Parks of South Africa, and obtained his training at the University of Cape Town where he received a BSc in Zoology and a Masters of Science degree in Conservation Biology. He has been watching birds for 25 years, and guiding bird watching outings since he was 16. He first visited Angola in 2003, and has returned regularly to study the country’s birds. Currently he spends half his time working for BirdLife (www.birdlife.org) on conservation projects in Angola, and half his time leading bird watching tours and expeditions throughout sub-Saharan Africa for a Cape Town-based company Birding Africa. (www.birdingafrica.com)

His work in Angola is focussed on BirdLife’s priorities of protecting habitats for threatened birds, and improving knowledge of threatened and poorly-known species to enhance our ability to conserve them. Two main project sites are under development in the main habitat types for threatened endemic birds: in the Afromontane/highland forests at Mount Moco, and the central Scarp Forests at Kumbira.

Most of what Michael will be talking about will be about this work, and the most important bird species that are being studied. He will also detail several other projects that he’s been involved in, including the databasing of Africa’s third largest bird skin collection in the museum in Lubango, the discovery of some new and significant Afromontane forests, the production of a CD of Angolan bird calls, the long-term planning for a bird atlas of the country, some new and important bird finds in Angola, and the first field information on the rare Black-tailed Cisticola. Michael also runs two websites on Angolan birds www.birdsangola.org and www.mountmoco.org.

Red Crested Turaco, found only in Angola. Photo courtesy Michael Mills.

 

 

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