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.
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.
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
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 25, 2014
Bird and nature conservation in Angola needs public input. The Angola Field Group invites you to a presentation at the Viking Club, Thursday May 1st at 7:30 PM with Conservation Biologist Michael Mills, the foremost expert on Angola´s birds. Michael will highlight the challenges and problems facing Angola´s birds/wildlife and discuss what the priorities are for a Bird Conservation NGO. (Please note, due to the holiday the presentation will kick off half an hour earlier than usual.)
Michael Mills has been working in Angola for more than 10 years. His work has included improving knowledge of birds and their habitats and running practical, community-based conservation at Mount Moco in Huambo province, central Angola (www.mountmoco.org). He has led outings for and delivered talks to the Angola Field Group. Currently his work represents the BirdLife network in Angola, (www.birdsangola.org) and now he and a group of concerned individuals are seeking the formalisation of an Angolan NGO to take forward and expand on this work.
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. Beverages and snacks are sold at the bar, coupons must be purchased. The Viking Bar opens at 7:00 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.
April 25, 2014
Shore birds at Mussulo Bay. Photos courtesy Michael Mills.
UPDATE: This field trip is now full. Calling all birdwatchers! Did you know that we have an internationally recognised ‘Important Bird Area’ right in our back yard? Mussulo Bay, just south of Luanda, is significant due to being a vital feeding site for large numbers of waterbirds including birds migrating south from the Arctic.
Angola Field Group members are invited to join the foremost expert on birds in Angola, conservation biologist Michael Mills, in a morning of bird watching in the Saco dos Flamingos area of Mussulo Bay on Thursday, May 1st (public holiday). We will meet at 7:00 AM at the new big fuel station (it’s either a Pumangol or Sonangol, we’re not sure which one it is?) on the southern outskirts of Ramiros, on the right hand side of the main road. Take along binoculars, telescopes and your bird book.
Important, there is a limit to the number of participants that can join this excursion. You must book your spot – please email Michael: birdsangola@gmail.com
For any trips outside of Luanda, you must have valid passport with you and car documents. All Angola Field Group trips are at your own risk.
Common Redshank at Mussulo Bay.
March 22, 2014
Nursery workers in the process of planting some of the 42 newly planted trees in a recently cleared area.
The challenge to prevent deforestation on Mount Moco, Angola’s highest mountain, continues in Huambo province. A total of 181 trees have been planted to date and there are 500 seedlings in the nursery, waiting to be planted. Click here to read Michael Mills’ latest report.
January 17, 2014
Download the 2013 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, and read about bird conservation and research activities in Angola:
CLICK ON THE COVER TO DOWNLOAD
Summary – This year saw good progress with our two main projects: at Mount Moco tree planting was accelerated and the nursery expanded, and at Kumbira seven weeks of field study were undertaken by Aimy Cáceres. Additionally, the first official meeting of the Associação Angolana Para Aves e Natureza (the Angolan Association for Birds and Nature) was held to commence the registration of an NGO, a first annotated birder’s checklist of Angolan birds with English and Portuguese names was published, and during a field trip a new species of primate (bushbaby) was confirmed by members of the Nocturnal Primate Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, U. K. Other highlights of the year were the publication of several papers and the start of field surveys in the northern escarpment forests (part of a project funded by BirdLife South Africa).
Resumo – No decorrer deste ano os nossos dois projectos principais avançaram a bom ritmo: no Monte Moco a plantação de árvores acelerou e o viveiro foi aumentado; em Kumbira, a Aimy Cáceres levou a cabo uma expedição de sete semanas. Para além disso, teve lugar o primeiro encontro oficial da Associação Angolana Para Aves e Natureza com o objectivo de iniciar o processo de registro da Associação como ONG, foi publicada a primeira lista das aves de Angola, e uma nova espécie de primata (galago) foi confirmada por membros do Nocturnal Primate Research Group (Grupo de Investigação de Primatas Nocturnos da Oxford Brooke University, Reino Unido). Vários artigos científicos foram publicados e iniciou-se o trabalho de exploração/inventariação das florestas da escarpa norte (parte de um projecto financiando pela BirdLife South Africa).
Seven weeks of field study were undertaken by Aimy Cáceres in Kumbira Forest, pictured here with the Endemic Gabela Bush-shrike. Photo courtesy Henriette Koning.
Ricardo Lima spent 4 weeks radio tracking endemic Gabela Akalat and Bush-shrike in Kumbira. Photo courtesy Henriette Koning.
Logging the Kumbira Forest, a biodiversity hotspot, poses a threat to endemic species. Photo courtesy A.Cáceres from http://kumbiraforest.blogspot.pt
January 16, 2014
Michael Mills and Martim Melo have launched the first birder’s checklist of Angolan birds published in Portuguese and English. It is available for free in pdf format and can be downloaded on the Birds Angola website: www.birdsangola.org/birdlist.htm.
Angola Field Group 