Shoebills - grey ghosts of the wetlands

Dr Ralf Mullers is presenting his work on Shoebills in the Cape Union Mart/Wild Card series on Thursday August 14 at 18h30 (see http://www.wildcard.co.za/events.htm?action=view-item&id=5011 for details). RSVP to wildevents@sanparks.org (subject line: Shoebills) by 11 August if you would like to attend.

The presentation will start off with some general background information on the Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia, Ralf's field site, and what is special about it. The Bangweulu not only has some interesting wildlife and amazing birds, but also houses a large population of fishermen and their families that depend on the productivity of the system. Ralf will then introduce the Shoebills, focusing first on their morphology, distribution and behaviour. Their strange look is an adaptation to life in the swamps and their preferred prey, catfish or lungfish. Having spent two years in the swamps, the team learned quite a bit about Shoebills, but mainly that they are hard to study. Nevertheless, Ralf and his team collected 170 hrs of observations on their foraging behaviour and 19 398 photographs from camera traps deployed at nest sites. Ralf will present some of the research findings on foraging and nesting behaviour and also some preliminary GPS data. Shoebills face several threats, like fires, disturbances and illegal live bird trade, and Bangweulu Wetlands implemented a unique conservation program. He will also present the Shoebill Nest Protection Program that involved the local communities in Shoebill protection.

Ralf has also recently written a "Field Guide to Shoebills" for the online Wild Travel Magazine.