194
Art. # 194
BIRDSCONTOUR PRESENTATION
Contents
The cover page shows a male
Kori Bustard (Bird of the Year 2014).
Cover page layout: beeline
Cover page photo: Birgit
Leicher
Screen presentation photos:
Birgit Leicher and Stefan Rust
Presentation by: Stefan Rust
Dear participants
BirdsConTour
Structure
Bird of the Year (project)
Water for Sossus
Birds (project)
Bird and Birder
Friendly Award (project)
Birding Tour (project)
Note sheet
Cell: +264 (0) 81 129 8415
E-mail: birdscontour@iway.na
P.O.Box
5182, Windhoek, Namibia
PACK SAFARI TOURGUIDE WORKSHOP 24.-25.01.’14
BirdsConTour Presentation
(25.01.’13 / 12:00-13:00)
Photos and
text by Stefan Rust
2014
(In
terms of the Geneva Convention the copyright of these texts belongs to Stefan
Rust)
Dear Pack Safari employees, dear tour guides and all
other attendees,
some of my most pleasant childhood memories are of nursing
a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) back
to health, testing my first pair of binoculars, and traveling to foreign
places, identifying and studying new wild birds.
These precious memories accompanied me throughout my life
and led the path to that what I do today: traveling, observing wildlife
(especially birdlife) and conserving birdlife and its habitat.
In a nutshell I can say: “I’m living my dream!”
And I sincerely hope that every tour guide here today can
say the same of her/him being a tour guide. According to me this is the secret
of successfully adhering to the Chamäleon Reisen slogan: Die Reise Ihres
Lebens! (The holiday of your life!)
Almost one million people around the world are annually
discovering the charm and magic of the wonderful Namibia. This causes a lot of
pressure on nature and therefore I founded BirdsConTour in 2000.
BirdsConTour is an organization based on bird conservation
and sustainable bird tourism funded by the income created through various
projects. This structure shows how BirdsConTour is set up:
|
Divisions
Conservation
Tourism
“Input gives Wings”
“Travel gives Wings”
|
|
|
|
Projects
Projects
• Architecture for a better
Bird Life
• Bird and Birder Friendly Award
• Water for Sossus Birds
• BirdsConTour Report
• Bird and Birder Friendly
Award
• BirdsConTour for a cleaner Bird
Habitat
• BirdsConTour Report
• Bird of the Year
• Bird-based Research
•
Bird and Birder Friendly Habitat
• Bird of the Year
(Consulting, Planning,
Establishing)
• BirdsConTour Structure
• Architecture for a better Bird Life
• BirdsConTour for a cleaner
Bird Habitat
• Birds in
Words
• Birding Training
• BirdsConTour Structure
• Birds in Art
• Birding Training
• Young Birders
• Birds in Art
• Birds in Words
• Birding Tours
• Bird and Birder Friendly
Habitat
(Consulting, Planning, Establishing)
• Water for Sossus Birds
Four projects of your interest will be presented to you
(printed in bold above):
1. - Bird of the Year
2. - Water for Sossus Birds
3. - Bird & Birder Friendly Award
4. - Birding Tours
1. Project: Bird of the Year
The Common Ostrich is the Bird
of the Year 2013, Namibia. Since this project is launched in Namibia for the
first time ever, a bird was chosen that is familiar to the public. Awareness
about this project is and will be created through interviews and articles in
the media. The 2013 Bird of the Year serves as an important conservation work
and is proudly organized and funded by BirdsConTour.
On the Common Ostrich as the
bird of the year 2013, for the first time introduced in Namibia, follows this
year the much smaller Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori kori). And in contrast to the
frequent Ostrich, a few thousand, the existence of the Kori Bustard in Namibia
looks quite a bit different. Although Namibia and Botswana in southern Africa
are still considered as strongholds of this species, you will encounter them
mainly in protected areas. In Namibia in the Etosha National Park with a size
of 22 912 square kilometers, live about 1000-2000 birds of its kind. In
Southern Africa, the Kori Bustard is already declared as an endangered species.
Find out more about “Bird of the Year” in articles 43, 60,
183 and 184 and stay up to date with “Birds in Words” under www.birdscontour.blogspot.com
2. Project: Water for Sossus Birds
The 30 000 square kilometer large Namib Sand Sea, a Unesco
Natural World Heritage Site since 21st of June 2013, lies within
Namibia's Namib-Naukluft Park, bordered in the north by the Kuiseb River, in
the east by Sesriem and in the south by the Sperrgebiet National Park.
One key issue is to prevent mineral
exploration. Another key issue includes managing the increasing flow of
visitors into this area and the thereby followed impact on nature, especially
in Sossusvlei, a major attraction containing large dunes and a salt and clay
pan, located in the heart of the Namib Sand Sea.
Inappropriate management of this arid and thus highly
sensitive area can have devastating consequences and therefore bird
conservation and tourism (BirdsConTour), coordinated by Stefan Rust, took
action in the matter of the birdlife by launching the project “Water for Sossus
Birds” in Sossusvlei. This project underlies the division “Travel gives Wings”
of BirdsConTour.
Devastating footprints
It is scary what devastating footprints guests cause with
their visit to Sossusvlei. A research showed that every guest climbing the dune
Dune 45, walking to the Death Vlei and back and/or walking in the surrounding
of Sossusvlei unconsciously kills with his or her stay an average of ±50 small
animals (ants, beetles etc.). With hundred guests per day this is a loss of ±5
000 potential food items of in this case birds. Given the fact that most birds
living in this hot and dry part of the Namib Desert prey on small animals to
replenish their body moisture as an alternative to water, these footprints left
behind by the guests cause a big loss in possible moisture for the feathered
animals. This results in a severe decrease of the natural bird population in
this area.
Old water feeder
Updated version of mobile water feeder
To counteract this negative influence and to help the
birds to replenish their body moisture, BirdsConTour together with Pack Safari
and Chamäleon (German travel company) came up with a solution. Every tour guide
who leads Chamäleon guests into the Sossusvlei area takes a portable water
feeder, constructed and funded by BirdsConTour, along. When the tour vehicle is
parked at the 4x4 parking area, the guide fills the water feeder and puts it
onto the ground close to the Pack Safari tour vehicle. With peace of mind, the
Pack Safari guide together with the Chamäleon guests can now go and discover
and enjoy the Sossusvlei area, while the birds can refill their needed body
moisture with water as an alternative for the small animals that are destroyed
unconsciously by each visitor.
Every tour guide receives one updated version of these
mobile water feeders from BirdsConTour.
Find out more about “Water for Sossus Birds” in article 88
and stay up to date with “Birds in Words” under www.birdscontour.blogspot.com
3. Project: Bird & Birder Friendly Award
The launch of
the BirdsConTour Bird & Birder Friendly Award project under the division Input
gives Wings created a
significant shift in bird awareness.
The handover of
Bird & Birder Friendly Awards to various establishments and people is seen
by the awardees as a very concrete manifestation of BirdsConTours’ commitment
to support bird conservation and to make a difference to peoples’ attitude
towards birds.
BirdsConTour
(Birds conservation and tourism) believes that due recognition should be given
to establishments and people that are being engaged in one way or another in
bird conservation and sees recognitions as one of the most effective implements
resulting in the expansion of public awareness on birdlife and the conservation
thereof.
Bird conservation is no trend – Bird conservation is a
development. Therefore BirdsConTour takes action:
Similar to the star symbol award, BirdsConTour rewards
establishments and people that are taking care of the local bird life and its
habitat and offer adequate services to bird watchers (birding tourism).
Every guide is rewarded with a 2 penguin-rated Bird &
Birder Friendly Award for their participation in the “Water for Sossus Birds”
project. Livia and Peter Pack are also engaged in bird conservation with having
created a bird friendly garden on their premises and therefore receive a 2
penguin-rated Bird & Birder Friendly Award. Another recipient is the Onjala
Lodge with a 3 penguin-rated Bird & Birder Friendly Award for their bird
and birder friendly practices at the lodge.
Find out more about “Bird & Birder Friendly Award” in
articles 1 / 11 / 12 / 18 / 25 / 44 / 50 / 67 / 70
/ 71 / 73 / 79 / 87 / 89 / 90 / 91 / 92 / 95 / 96 / 110 / 112 / 115 / 116 / 117
/ 119 / 133 / 134 / 138 / 146 / 148 / 151 / 152 / 170 / 179 and stay up
to date with “Birds in Words” under www.birdscontour.blogspot.com
4. Project: Birding Tours
To sustain bird conservation with the best possible
standards, BirdsConTour thinks outside the box and engages with the private and
public sectors to a greater degree than ever before. This has given rise to a
number of innovative projects under the „Travel gives Wings“ division, which
have the simultaneous benefits of offering financial and moral support to
birdlife conservation.
Find out more about “Birding Tours” in articles 54 and 83
and stay up to date with “Birds in Words” under www.birdscontour.blogspot.com
I thank you for the opportunity to talk about BirdsConTour
and birdlife and may all of you have enjoyable tours with lots of healthy
birds, and if you have a question or something to share, please contact me,
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