Number 1 - March 1998
by Tommy Pedersen
I am very pleased to announce the birth of The Democratic Republic of Congo Birding Association with its associated newsletter Afropavo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo Birding Association - DRCBA was formally constituted on March 3rd 1998.
Due to valuable input from Greg Davies of Durban, South Africa, the start-up of DRCBA happened a little sooner than I initially had planned. His enthusiasm for the birds of the Democratic Republic of Congo is vibrant and this made me more aware of the need for a binding force for people interested in the birdlife of this unique country.
The credit for naming the newsletter Afropavo goes in full to Mr. Davies.
The goal for this organisation is to be a media for people interested in the Congolese avifauna (ex. Zaïre), and will publish a bi-annual newsletter called Afropavo. However, four issues of Afropavo will be produced during 1998.
It will also act as a central database for Congolese observations, so if you have any observations not yet submitted please take the time to do so. Eventually a report of all known observations will be made available. If you know of anyone who have visited the D.R.C. and have made observations here, please inform him or her of the existence of the DRCBA.
It should also in the future take on the responsibility of a formalised Congolese rarity committee.
Feel free to submit articles you feel our readers would be interested in. Articles can either be sent as e-mail or by airmail to the address below.
If you know of persons interested in the Congolese avifauna, please direct his or her attention to the DRCBA.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
by Tommy Pedersen
Working as an airline pilot I lived and birded in the D.R.C. (when it was called Zaïre) for a period of almost six years.
From October 1990 to December 1994 I lived in Goma, situated in the North-Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This was the ideal base for trips to areas like the Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Irangi west of Lake Kivu, the volcanoes and the Masisi mountains north of Lake Kivu, Rwindi and Lulimbi on the southern shores of Lake Edward, Mt. Hoyo in the eastern part of the great Ituri forest as well as the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and its headquarter Epulu, also in the Ituri forest.
From January 1995 to May 1996 I resided in the capital Kinshasa, flying to all parts of the country. This made short trips to areas around Lubumbashi in the south-east and Gbadolite in the north-west possible.
When working in Goma, I was lucky enough to encounter two other resident birders, namely Laurent Esselen of TMK Air Commuter and Marc Languy of WWF. We did several trips in the D.R.C. together, most noteworthy a memorable two-week excursion to the Lendu Plateau and Garamba National Park in the north-eastern part of the country in February 1994. During this trip and thanks to the keen eye of Marc we were able to find the enigmatic Prigogine's Greenbul Chlorocichla prigoginei on the Lendu Plateau. Other endemic birds seen here were Bedford's Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone bedfordi and Grauer's Cuckooshrike Coracina graueri.
Some other new discoveries we were able to make for the D.R.C. were large numbers of Little Terns Sterna albifrons at Katanda, SE Lake Edward in October 1992 and April 1993, as well as several Black-billed Wood-Dove Turtur abyssinicus in the Garamba National Park in February 1994.
Our Lada Niva on the
road from Beni to Epulu in July 1991.
Definitely requiring
all ones driving skills.
Photo: Tommy Pedersen