December 4, 2019
Download the 2018 Annual Report of the Angolan Association for Birds and Nature (Associação Angolana Para Aves e Natureza), in English with a brief summary in Portuguese, compiled by Michael Mills, on bird conservation and research activities in Angola. Click here to download the six-page PDF.
Visit this website’s Birds page here to read more materials about birds in Angola, including past annual reports by the Angolan Association for Birds and Nature.
December 12, 2018
The International Crane Foundation conducted an aerial survey of Cameia National Park in Moxico and the surrounding Bulozi Plain of Angola, a massive fresh water floodplain, and discovered three new breeding grounds for Wattled Cranes.
Wattled Crane families, one of the newly discovered populations.
Wattled Crane habitat on the Bulozi Plain.
Click here to download a PDF version of the August 2018 issue of the Foundation’s publication, The Bugle.
July 23, 2018
Available now, The Special Birds of Angola, a guide to birds of Angola by Michael Mills. Click on the book cover to download a sneak-peek of the book:
This book can be purchased directly from the author: www.goawaybirding.com or via the BirdLife South Africa bookshop at www.birdlife.org.za.
The Red-crested Turaco is the national bird of Angola. Image taken from The Special Birds of Angola.
“Angola is endowed with the richest diversity of eco-regions of any African country. Its habitats range from the mobile dunes of the Namib Desert to the equatorial rainforests of Cabinda, from arid savannas of the Cunene Basin to the moist miombo woodlands of the Bie planalto, and from the floodplains of the Cuando-Cubango to the montane grasslands and forests of the Benguela highlands. It is thus not surprising that Angola has a remarkably rich birdlife, one of the richest on the continent.
Despite all the natural treasures of Angola, it remains one of the most poorly researched regions of the globe. Fortunately, this situation is rapidly changing. Increasing numbers of young Angolan biologists are joining expeditions led by international experts in the study of Angola’s biodiversity. For more than a decade, Michael Mills has been working with Angolan colleagues in exploring the far corners of the country, discovering and documenting the incredibly rich diversity of birds. Most importantly, he has been working with the local communities of Morro Moco to protect the critically threatened forests of Angola’s highest mountain, where many bird species known nowhere else, are found.
This book is a unique and major contribution to bringing the diversity and beauty, but also the rarity and vulnerability, of Angola’s avifaunal treasures to the attention of the Angolan people. By highlighting the birds of special interest to ornithologists, to conservationists, and to the general public, Michael and his collaborators have set a benchmark for promoting awareness of the importance of Angola’s avifauna and the habitats they occupy to the world at large. Without knowledge, there can be no appreciation, and without awareness there can be no conservation. As Angola’s critically important bird areas come under increasing threat, time is not on the side of the birds and their habitats. This book can help reverse the trend.” – From the Foreword by Brian Huntley to the newly published book, The Special Birds of Angola.
September 26, 2016
Luanda – a rise in crime and long queues in supermarkets. But in rural Angola the people are as friendly as ever, their level of poverty has changed little, they were always poor. And the countryside is as beautiful as ever. Get out of town and experience the diversity of Angola. Then share what you have discovered with a new Facebook page, Angola Ambiente: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1045499302182009/
The Angola Ambiente Facebook page was set up to give people the opportunity to post interesting observations on all aspects of Angolan natural history. Contributors are encouraged to post photographs and observations in order to further our knowledge of Angolan fauna and flora.
September 5, 2016
Biologist Pedro Vaz Pinto’s Fourth Trimester 2015 Report with photos of Angola’s Cangandala Park and Luando Reserve, in English and Portuguese, now on our Giant Sable page.
Small herd of giant sable with the bull in lead in Luando reserve.
Both Cangandala and Luando are the only two locations in the world where the Giant Sable can be found. They are protected areas yet this critically endangered mammal continues to be threatened to extinction by poachers. Here is an update from the final months of 2015.
In Cangandala Park, there’s good news and bad news. First, the bad news:
“…there had been a poaching incident with shooting involved which resulted in one of the rangers being wounded…….. “This is another sad reminder that even in Cangandala, poaching still remains a very real threat…”
The good news:
“Other than this tragic event, things seem to be going well in the sanctuary where at least the sable are breeding well and look healthy.”
Lots of calves and young in Canangdala Park.
In Luando Reserve, also good news and bad news. The bad news again involving poachers:
“…..another mutilated giant sable, tragically a very young female who had been collared in 2013 when two years old, and who should now be attending her second calf. It is another animal lost for breeding, so for the population it is as good as dead.”
Angolan air force tracking injured giant sable in Luando Reserve.
The good news:
“On a positive note, the military decided to step up their support to the shepherds in Luando reserve, making a few joint ground anti-poaching operations with ministry rangers, and subsequently deploying a few weapons to the shepherds who from now on will be better equipped to tackle the poachers.”
March 14, 2016
Download the 2015 Annual Report (Relatório Anual) of the Angolan Association for Birds and Nature (Associação Angolana Para Aves e Natureza), in English and Portuguese, compiled by Michael Mills, on Bird Conservation and Research Activities in Angola (click on the cover to download PDF):
This year saw significant changes in the logistics of running our projects in
Angola, with Michael Mills moving from Luanda to Cape Town, and Aimy Cáceres moving to Luanda. A single field visit to Mount Moco allowed us to maintain the project there, which included preparing new areas for planting and expanding the nursery. The Kumbira Forest Project received a funding boost due to a second round of funding from the Conservation Leadership Programme. Aimy Cáceres is busy finishing off her PhD and will lead this project next year, working with Ninda and Sendi Baptista and Michael Mills. Another landmark achievement was raising funds to print 3000 copies of the bilingual book on The Common Birds of Luanda, which are now in Luanda and ready to be distributed to schools in 2016.
The nursery at Mount Moco Continues to work well
December 24, 2015
Biologist Pedro Vaz Pinto’s full Second Trimester 2015 Report with photos from Angola’s Cangandala Park and Luando Reserve, in English and Portuguese, is now up on our Giant Sable page.
The major defining component in the Park and Reserve during this trimester is, “grass, lots and lots of grass”.
Mercury, now you see him…
… now you don’t!
“Mercury has now fully matured, and his behaviour is what would be expected from a master bull, calmly arrogant and imposing.”
Mercury marking the territory at salina 19
January 26, 2015
Now available to download, 2014 Annual Report of the Angolan Association for Birds and Nature, in English and in Portuguese.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD PDF.
This year saw good progress with our two main projects: at Mount Moco tree planting was accelerated and the nursery expanded, and 80 fuel efficient stoves were finally delivered to the community at Kanjonde, to reduce their reliance on fire wood.
A highlight of the year was delivering 80 fuel efficient stoves for the families at Kanjonde.
At Kumbira, a forest in Kwanza Sul province, seven weeks of field study were undertaken by Aimy Cáceres and colleagues, where a detailed study of Gabela Akalat range sizes and habitat use was undertaken, and tree biomass evaluated.
Aimy Cáceres radio tracking (left) a tagged Gabela Akalat (right).
Additionally, good progress was made with the registration of the Associação Angolana para Aves e Natureza (the Angolan Association for Birds and Nature) with the registration certificate now issued. Other highlights? The bilingual book on The Common Birds of Luanda was completed and will be launched with the launch this year, 2015, of the NGO. Several peer-reviewed publications were produced.
August 22, 2014
Calling all birders! Check out the Birds Angola website for two new papers to download, regarding the Short-winged Cisticola and the Dusky Twinspot. The Birds Angola website hosts all the latest news and information about birds in Angola, including the latest research and conservation updates. Click here to read the two new papers.
April 30, 2014
Angola is one of the countries in Africa with the highest bird diversity – 938 native species – including a high number of endemic and threatened species. Despite its richness, Angola is still one of the least known countries for birds. This lack of knowledge is mainly a consequence of both the Portuguese Colonial war and the Angolan civil war which together lasted 41 years (1961–2002), halting scientific studies and expeditions.
Angola Field Group 