5. Enhancing public engagement and citizen science through the Kenya Bird Mapping project

The Kenya Bird Map Project is a citizen science-based project aiming to produce a second generation internet–based bird atlas for Kenya. Bird atlases provide invaluable information on the distribution, abundance, seasonal... [ view full abstract ]

The Kenya Bird Map Project is a citizen science-based project aiming to produce a second generation internet–based bird atlas for Kenya. Bird atlases provide invaluable information on the distribution, abundance, seasonal and long-term patterns of occurrence of species using easy to understand maps. Spatio-temporal changes in bird distribution can be used as an early warning system for environmental change. However, compiling reliable distribution maps requires huge datasets that are most effectively generated using a pool of well-coordinated and enthusiastic citizen scientists, spread over a large geographic region. Within a period of about one year the project has managed to mobilize some 500 citizen scientists spread across the country, over 100 of them being active contributors of bird records. So far the project has received over 40,000 bird records and covered some 300 pentads (5’ by 5’ atlas squares). These achievements are better than what the South African Bird Atlas managed at the same stage even with a broader base of Citizen Scientists. The project has not been without some challenges. Poor internet coverage in the country has hindered some atlasers to contribute due to difficulties in locating pentads on the ground and the need to submit records on the online database. Lack of willing and experienced ornithologists to validate records has also been a challenge as is poor bird identification skills among some citizen scientists. Citizen scientists need motivation and continuous encouragement to continue atlasing new pentads and submitting their records. This we have done by regular newsletters and a discussion forum on Facebook. We will soon be launching a smart phone birding application that will enable birders to input bird records offline and submit them to the online database from their phone when they access internet. The application automatically locates the pentad, records time spent birding, keeps hourly totals and alerts citizen scientists when they move into new pentads, all requirements of the atlasing protocol. Already the online database can be used to produce maps that show distribution changes of some species.