Frank Willems

Being of Dutch origin, Frank worked with the Dutch ornithology trust SOVON after obtaining his MSc in Ecology from Nijmegen University. His work focused on large-scale monitoring projects and the breeding ecology and population dynamics of birds in the Netherlands. His involvement in Foundation WIWO focused on wetland bird research and training projects, mainly in Russia and Iran. 

He came to Zambia with his wife Inge in early 2008 to work with Kasanka Trust on the management of Kasanka and Lavushi Manda National Parks, as well as Shoebill Island Camp in Bangweulu Wetlands. His tasks varied widely and included mammal and bird monitoring, supervising PhD studies (on, for instance, Shoebill, Kinda Baboon and Straw-coloured Fruit Bat), facilitating film crews, writing management plans, conducting anti-poaching activities, building scout camps and bridges, creating firebreaks, and filling potholes in the dirt roads.

Lavushi Manda National Park was virtually unexplored before the Trust's involvement from 2008 onwards. Frank is proud to have assisted African Parks in Bangweulu in unravelling and significantly reducing the illegal trade in Shoebill chicks. These Bangweulu Shoebills feature prominently in BBC's monumental ‘Africa’ production, alongside Kasanka's mega-colony of Straw-coloured Fruit Bats (the world’s largest mammal migration) and the eagles preying on them, both facilitated by Frank. 

Frank and Inge and their young daughter Robin shifted to managing the nearby Mutinondo Wilderness in 2015. A real personal highlight was the discovery and subsequent description of the Mutinondo Grass Frog, which reproduces in the seasonal and incredibly marginal seepage film habitats on the dramatic granite inselbergs that dominate the reserve. 

Since late 2017, Frank and Inge, now based in Chisamba, have run their own company, Kigelia Solutions. Major projects undertaken include creating the Birds of Zambia app, conducting a biodiversity survey of the Mafinga Mountains, facilitating large natural history film productions on, for example, African Skimmer, Straw-coloured Fruit Bats, Crowned Eagle, and Marabou, and performing consultations and survey work linked to community conservancies in the Mpumba area, as well as a comparison of Zambia’s national park management models. Frank also runs Birding Zambia, which sees him travelling intensively through Zambia and many other African countries, guiding film crews, researchers and birdwatching groups. 

Side activities – which inevitably tend to take up more time than anticipated! – include the function of ‘Zambian Bird Recorder’ and Technical Advisor of BirdWatch Zambia, chairing the Zambian Bird Data Committee, country representative for the African Bird Club, and manager of the African Bird Names Committee. Several of Frank’s free-time explorations have focused on remote and unexplored parts of the Mwinilunga and Ikelenge districts. The large evergreen forests he and others identified using Google Earth have proven to hold real surprises, like Vermiculated Fishing-owl and Spot-breasted Ibis. Frank is determined to ultimately create a large conservancy to protect the rich biodiversity of these areas, and the Mwinilunga Conservation Trust has been created for this purpose. He also started and manages Birding Zambia’s Nyachisala and Jimbe bush camps at two of the key locations, which are increasingly well-known mainly for their rich avian and herpetological diversity.

In recent years, Frank’s research interests have revolved mainly around the distribution and taxonomy of Zambian birds and herpetofauna, conserving Zambia’s threatened birds such as vultures, and Zambia’s Key Biodiversity Areas. Frank has (co-)authored over a hundred publications, including two books, an electronic field guide, numerous peer-reviewed and popular articles, research reports and policy documents. For further details, see www.frankwillems.org or https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Willems2