We are proud to announce that Yilma Dellelegn Abebe of Ethiopia is one of five 2008 recipients of a Home Study Course in Bird Biology Scholarship.

Though he grew up in Addis Ababa, Yilma Dellelegn Abebe's love for nature was inborn. Yilma was trained as a wildlife manager and as a Conservation Biologist in Tanzania and the UK respectively. He has worked in environmental/nature conservation since 1978. Birds have held Yilma in fascination ever since he was young. He recalls that when he was young, he used to go down to a river below his home after school hours to watch migrating Green Sandpipers feeding among loose pebbles of the river. Rüeppell’s Robin Chats and Blue-breasted Bee-eaters were also so neat that he lost the sense of time when he sat for hours watching their actions. The rainy season had special treats including the Red-chested Cuckoo with its reverberating call - a bird that was always difficult to spot in tall Eucalyptus trees. Yilma never used binoculars in those days because it was too expensive to own a pair. Even if he could have owned one, his government never allowed people to handle such equipment, so instead he developed eyes and ears and all senses for birds at an early age. While in high school, Yilma became a member of the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society, which organized outings over weekends to sites near Addis Ababa. He then met people like Geoff Wood, a birdwatcher and a biology teacher at the Sandford School in Addis. Though he took Ornithology courses in Tanzania, they were graded and the never allowed one to contemplate on the beauty of birds. However, early personal and school accomplishments built in him a lasting love for birds. At present he works as a free-lance nature/bird guide and also as a volunteer with the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society. He acts as a wildlife, tourism and wetlands consultant and trains young people how to identify birds. He has written a local language field guide that will help local birdwatchers identify the most common birds around them. One of his interests is to work on bird research, Ethnozoology, and promoting nature conservation in Ethiopia. To this end, Yilma has recently started an initiative that will attempt to work on research questions and conservation matters in Ethiopia.

Yilma trained himself to watch and identify birds, but has never been formally trained as an Ornithologist. He believes that the Home Study Course will add value to his career because the knowledge will help him to upgrade his present understanding of birds. He is intrigued by the behaviour of birds, and hopes this study will help him to achieve a stronger foundation for the research he plans to carry out. In addition he would also like to promote birds and their habitat in his area, and knowing about their biology is imperative for this endeavour.

Congratulations, Yilma Dellelegn Abebe!

We are proud to announce that Debbie Davis of Max Meadows, VA (USA) is one of five 2008 recipients of a Home Study Course in Bird Biology Scholarship.

Debra Davis is employed and resides in southwestern Virginia, where she grew up. Since childhood, she has been fascinated with nature and wildlife, especially birds and butterflies. Over the years, she has set up feeders and nest boxes, and planted native species of plants, shrubs and trees to establish bird and butterfly habitats in her yard. She strives to inspire, educate and assist family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances to do likewise on their own property. She is a past member of the New River Valley Bird Club, taking part in several birding trips, Christmas Bird Counts, and bluebird trails.

Debra volunteers as a certified Virginia Master Naturalist with the Beagle Ridge Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program, which began in 2006. As a Master Naturalist, she uses her knowledge to educate others on preserving Virginia’s natural resources, and she participates in several citizen science projects that focus on birds.

Debra believes that the Home Study Course in Bird Biology will prepare her, and subsequently fellow Master Naturalists, with the advanced training needed to create educational programs targeted to the preservation of local birding wildlife and their habitats. In addition, she hopes that it will aide in the development of plans to promote and preserve birding spots that she and her fellow master naturalists discover along the way. This is a wonderful opportunity that she is very excited about and very grateful for.

Congratulations, Debbie Davis!

We are proud to announce that Stephen Lenawarungu of Kenya is one of five 2008 recipients of a Home Study Course in Bird Biology Scholarship.

Stephen works as a tour guide in Kenya, and was looking to further his education. While attending Tsavo Park Hotel Institute in Voi (at the Kenyan Coast) he took a course called Tour Guiding and Administration. Ornithology was one of the main subjects he studied there as well, and he had taken it as part of a course project, which was a rewarding experience. After completing his requirements (and graduating in 2004), he was able to work for his community. He also worked for World Food Program under Food for the Hungry International (F.H.I.). He later went to Nairobi and obtained a job as a tour guide. It is through this job that he became more exposed to birds. Stephen's main interest in birds started long time ago. He (and others) used to kill birds as part of their cultural rituals, but he felt the need to conserve the innocent creatures thereafter. The aim of applying the Home Study Course in Bird Biology scholarship is for Stephen to learn more about birds in order to work and empower his community with knowledge on how to conserve birds (i.e. doing away with the customs of killing birds) and to achieve his goal of being the best ornithologist guide on the Kenya Safaris.

Congratulations, Stephen Lenawarungu!

We are proud to announce that Martin Mwema of Kenya is one of five 2008 recipients of a Home Study Course in Bird Biology Scholarship.

Martin has had a passion for birds ever since he was introduced to birding while studying for a degree in wildlife management. After receiving his degree, Martin joined the Ornithology department of the National Museums of Kenya where he worked as an Assistant Coordinator for the National Waterbird Monitoring Programme and then as a Research Fellow in the Important Bird Areas. Both of these positions involved training volunteers and local community members to use birds to monitor their environment. It was a rewarding experience, because these initiatives helped many local people to appreciate birds and be involved in their conservation.

Martin then studied for a Master’s Degree at the Fitzpatrick Institute at the University of Cape Town where he did research on the unusual phenomenon of pelicans eating chicks of endemic seabird species. He currently works for the Tropical Biology Association (TBA), an organization that trains young biologists through various field courses in East Africa and Madagascar.

Despite having worked in research and conservation of birds, Martin feels that his knowledge of birds has been limited to particular fields, and so the Home Study Course in Bird Biology is a wonderful opportunity for him to broaden his understanding of birds. Martin hopes to use the knowledge he gains from taking the course to better train others regarding issues related to birds.

Congratulations, Martin Mwema!

We are proud to announce that Tiwonge Ivy Mzumara of Malawi is one of five 2008 recipients of a Home Study Course in Bird Biology Scholarship.

Tiwonge Ivy Mzumara is a Malawian who is currently studying for a Masters in Conservation Biology at the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town in South Africa. In Malawi, she works as the program director for Likhubula House, a project based around Mount Mulanje Forest Reserve. Her work involves working with vulnerable groups, youth development, education and conservation. Tiwonge first encountered the field of Ornithology at a Tropical Biology Association course in Uganda. She returned to Malawi to discover very few Malawians were specialized Ornithologists. She then started a self-taught course on The Birds of Malawi with help from resident birders. She has since been involved in bird monitoring projects with local hunters, volunteers with the local wildlife society, and carries out small research on Malawian birds of interest. As part of her studies will include a research project on Malawis Endangered endemic, the Yellow-throated Apalis Apalis t. thoracica. Tiwonge’s hopes to do much more research in Malawi which will help in the conservation of its avifauna.

Studying this course will help to equip Tiwonge for the much needed skills in ornithology. The course will enhance some of the aspects learned while studying Conservation Biology. She also hopes to learn more on Bird Biology so that she will be able to give environmental education talks to the wildlife clubs around her place of work. Taking the Home Study Course will help her one step further towards becoming an Ornithologist in Malawi.

Congratulations, Tiwonge Ivy Mzumara!