African Bird Club passes £200K milestone

Now in its 20th year, the African Bird Club has spent more than £200,000 on 202 bird conservation projects in over 30 countries.

These figures are a major achievement for the club, which has around 1,200 members in some 60 countries. The club funded 18 projects in 2014 at a cost of £32,645. These were mainly undertaken by African conservationists and researchers and included studies on such rare and endangered species as Red-shouldered Vanga, Ethiopian Bush-crow, White-tailed Swallow, Mauritius Cuckoo-shrike, Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher, Aquatic Warbler, Cape Verde Warbler, Sharpe's Longclaw, Aberdare Cisticola, Uluguru Bush-shrike, Anambra Waxbill, Maccoa Duck and Mount Cameroon Francolin.

Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei (photo: Charlie Moores)

The club aims to encourage as wide a range of projects as possible, and many different types of scheme will be considered so long as there is a clear conservation objective. Supported projects include surveys and research into African birds, educational projects or training courses, production of identification guides to the birds of a country in local languages, and interpretation material for nature reserves.

Conservation Awards can be valued up to £2,000 and are normally granted to African nationals working in their own country. In addition there are Expedition Awards which anyone can apply for and are intended for those needing to travel across Africa, and these are capped at £3,000.

The club considers applications three times each year, with a panel of experts being consulted. For more details go to: www.africanbirdclub.org/conservation-fund-awards.

Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher, Mauritius (Photo: Gemma Sivers)