You Can Have Charcoal or Birds, But Not Both
Amazing, breath-taking, beyond beautiful; the animal before us deserved each of those descriptors, and more. With grace of movement, she slowly lifted one foot after another, swiveling her head from side-to-side. Only a flash seen as she struck her pointed bill into the water, lifting a wriggling fish from the murky depths, the quick flip of the head, bringing the bill nearly vertical. The food made a lump along the smooth neck as it slid slowly downwards. The sedate stroll re-commenced. Another fish looked for.
We were in the heart of the Zambeze Delta of Mozambique. A tropical wonderland, filled with a menagerie of not only 300+ species of birds, but highly-colored frogs and insects, with surrounding vegetation that could skewer with thorns, and dazzle with iridescent greens, yellows, reds and deep-purples. For the moment, however, all other portions of the scene in front of our all-terrain vehicle blurred as we focused our binoculars and cameras on the flock of Saddle-billed Storks. Brilliant white feathers framed larger areas of black plumage covering wings and long neck. The Storks’ knees appeared out-sized and swollen, set off by the brilliant red coloration, the same color reflecting from their feet when lifted above the water.
Birdwatching in the concession doesn’t always happen when the sun is up, and isn’t always such a relaxed, or relaxing, exercise. Returning home after dark in our Land Cruiser afforded some of the most up-close-and-personal bird encounters. Robert Ruark quotes are common among those of us writing about African Big-Game hunts. He got it right again when describing the feathered inhabitants of the roadways: “Nightjars whooshed and got up ghostily ahead of us, fluttering off like startled spirits.” As we made our way back to Mungari camp each evening, Fiery-necked and Square-tailed Nightjars popped out of the roadbed, flew into the beams of our headlamps, understanding them as beacons for the insects attracted to the blazing illumination. The problem was that the Nightjars didn’t stay airborne, but zipped ahead a matter of feet in front of the vehicle and dropped back onto the roadway. Playing hopscotch with the Land Cruiser meant that a non-observant driver would likely leave Nightjar pancakes in their wake. My PHs were careful to lift off the gas, or dodge around the squatting birds, saving them from their death-defying behavior. This made the journey teeth-clenching for both driver and occupants.
As passionate as Mark Haldane is about ‘his’ birds, it’s unsurprising that he hosts birdwatching tours in Coutada 11. Held after hunting season ends, groups of ‘birders’ begin arriving into Mungari Camp in late November, with small parties cycling through for five-night stays through mid-December. With pre-rainy-season temperatures well in excess of 100° F, and humidity kept tropical by rivers and marshes, these tours are not for the faint-of-heart. But, participants flock to Coutada 11 because, in the words of the tour organizer John Robinson: “From a birding perspective and for a first-time birder to the area the list of potential species is quite overwhelming and many of the species are to be found nowhere else in Southern Africa.” John goes on to list everything from eagles to woodpeckers to the African Pitta, as species that rarely if ever show up elsewhere.
When asked why Coutada 11 is such a wonder of bird diversity, John points to loss of habitat elsewhere through deforestation for charcoal production that pushes the bird species toward the protection afforded by hunting concessions, like Coutada 11. Unlike other areas in Africa, South America and Asia, charcoal production in the Zambeze Delta doesn’t involve selective harvesting of only some tree species. Instead, every tree of every species provides the starting material for producing charcoal. Because most of the cooking by urban families in Mozambique is over charcoal, the burgeoning populations of city-dwellers demand more-and-more fuel. Most of the participants in the bird tours are non-hunters, with the majority nonetheless appreciating the conservation efforts of Mark and his partners, efforts providing in this case, the invisible fence that keeps out the so-called ‘wood poachers’.
Excerpt from Mike's Upcoming Book: BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique
