Sabaki Water bird count activity was an amazing experience for me, seeing the beauty of God’s creation in matters relating to birds. Getting to see different species of birds, different colors of feathers and different sounds which were so captivating and mind blowing. The sounds of the birds in the sky brought about a rhythm that was so relaxing. The great efforts from our team leader Mr Kirao, the bird count process went down smoothly, every member got a role, this made me feel involved and engaged in this wonderful and exciting experience.

Consequently, accurate data was collected data was collected. This made me appreciate teamwork and its effectiveness in the achievement of goals. The process of data collection and count requires several tools to be successful and are as follows; binoculars and telescopes are used to view the different species of birds from a distance to avoid distracting the birds hence flying away. Data entry application which records the species of birds that have been counted.

I got to realize that most of the feeding zones for the birds were occupied by mangrove, resulting to most of the birds such as whimbrel, grey plover, common greenshank, sooty gull, lesser crested tern, and little egret relocating to find new feeding zones this significantly led to the reduction in their population. To my surprise I found out that there are flamingos around the coastal region and actually this was so new to me, I have never thought I would see them here and it was such an eye opener and I can confidently say that there are flamingos in the coastal region even in places like Sabaki River mouth.

Walking in the slippery mud was such a huge challenge for me, you would risk falling and sinking in the mud if you do not balance your feet quite well to maneuver. I am grateful that I got an opportunity to volunteer with A Rocha Kenya and I don’t regret this decision. I have grown even in the things and ventures I never pictured in my entire life. The team and staff are so friendly and are willing to teach and engage volunteers in whatever aspect they would want to learn from. One lesson I would love to pass on to someone who would consider volunteering at A Rocha Kenya is, be flexible and have the heart of service to serve God’s creation.

Written by Ernest, Volunteer