So far, in two weeks of field work we have explored the region north of Nairobi, between Kinangop, Nakuru, Nyahururu, Nyeri and the Aberdare range. What we do is very simple: we comb the area systematically and stop whenever we find a natural grassland that looks large enough to hold at least one territory (that is no less than a couple of hectares). Four or five observers walk at about 10-15m from each other, and we drag a rope of 50m of length transversally to the direction of our movement. In this way all the birds hiding in the grass are flushed and we can detect them. Of course we use a GPS to measure distances so that we can obtain precise estimates of the area that we cover.

We have sampled about 70 sites so far; apart from longclaws we also “sampled” a good number of other critters - including mountain vipers, African buffalos, hyenas and of course several muddy high altitude wetlands; life is hard for ornithologists sometimes.

Pleasant…

…frankly, not so pleasant…

The results so far are as follows (1) in suitable habitats the longclaw can be very abundant (1-3 indds/ha); (2) however, this species is an extreme habitat specialist: if the habitat is not exactly as it prefers it, the longclaw just disappears totally; (3) we have not found a single individual in the Aberdare National Park (Aberdare NP), despite searching more than 20 ha of grassland; (4) Lake Ol Bolossat, an area scheduled to became a Nature Reserve has the bird, but at very low densities, most likely due to excessively intensive grazing by cows and sheep which have damaged the grassland; (5) we found the bird at several unprotected sites at Kinangop, Lake ol Bolossat, Nyahururu, Kasuku, Ol Kalou and north of Gilgil, but invariably all these sites are severely threatened by agriculture, urbanization and Eucalyptus plantations. In several places we actually saw the grassland being ploughed while we were doing our survey.

The apparent absence of the bird from the Aberdare NP is worrying, but scientifically enticing. What we know for sure is that if the longclaw still exists here it must occur at a very low density; it may even have totally disappeared (it was reported from the area before WWII). So far we are just at the unconfirmed hypothesis stage, but the idea I am trying to test is that before the creation of the National Parks, high altitude moorlands (above 3000m) were intensely grazed and perhaps periodically burned by nomadic pastors (the Maasai). After the creation of the NP, the Maasai have been evicted and grazing intensity might have fallen to an excessively low level. All the high altitude grassland that we saw in the Aberdare NP was encroached by very big grass tussocks (too big and dense for the bird) and dwarf alpine shrubs (not good either). So, if our hypothesis is confirmed, a comeback of the longclaw in the Aberdare NP might only be possible if appropriate management actions are taken. These might include resumption of grazing, which is heresy here because the current policy of Kenya’s government is that all types of human activities should be excluded from the National Parks.

Similar situations might occur also in Mt Kenya and Elgon NP. If our fears are correct, then we must conclude that currently NO populations of the Longclaw occur inside protected areas. Very very worrying.

As for Lake Ol Bolossat (a potential new protected area, but who knows when it will be officially created), the habitat there has a problem that is opposite to what we found in the Aberdare NP. At Ol Bolossat tere are clearly too many domestic herbivores, and the availability of grass tussocks (the preferred nesting habitat of the longclaw) is almost zero. We only found very low densities of Longclaws (1ind/10 ha or less) here. Of course this situation could easily be reversed by setting limits on grazing intensity.

Luca Borghesio, August 10th 2008
(Edited with permission by Charlie Moores)