Citizen Science in Hamukungu

We had discussions with Hamukungu Secondary School teachers and students yesterday proposing their participation in “eBird”, a global citizen science program sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

Why would a carnivore research and conservation organization encourage participation in a bird watch program?  Because we feel it's important to support any activity that promotes environmental education, natural history observation, and scientific undertstanding.  

Queen Elizabeth National Park is a famous birding hotspot.  When we looked through the eBird database, we saw numerous entries by tourists, but it didn’t look like there were any from local communities.  So, we discussed with the secondary school teachers and students about creating an account for them in the eBird program and how best to organize their participation in it.  We also talked about how they could perhaps offer bird walks to tourists, once they get proficient in identifying birds.  

Here are some photos of the teachers and students looking through bird field guides bought with support from the Oakland Zoo.  (Thank you Oakland Zoo!)

Mr. Eliphaz, the elder we are working with on human-lion conflict, is even excited about it.  Apparently, he really likes birds!  After we told him about our idea, he started taking photos of birds with the camera we had given him a few months back.  During our meeting at the secondary school, he shared the many bird photos he had taken. 

Hamukungu is a village surrounded by park land and situated on the shores of Lake George.  Given this location, we are excited to see what bird species the students will be able to identify in the months to come.  Their sightings in the eBird database will be listed under the username "Hamukungu Secondary School Environmental Studies".