Recently. we had a field trip to the Picathartes Sanctuary with the aim to investigate real time aspect of the breeding behaviour of the Red-necked Picathartes Picathartes oreas. The field work was executed from at the Boki Bird Foundation (BBF) situated in Abo Ebam, Cross River State. A team of three people comprising Team Leader, Research Field Assistant , and Driver went for the sampling trip, besides the BBF team (BBF Director, Field Guard, and a laborer) that awaited us team to arrive at the site.
A group photo with staff of the Boki Bird Foundation, Abo Ebam, Cross River
Observations
We observed five refurbished and active nests for the Picathartes during the field activities. One of the nests had fledged two chicks prior to arrival to the site (BBF Director Pers. Com), but another nest had two eggs during the field period. Using experience from previous attempt in combination with BBF teams’ monitoring information, we concealed in hideout to monitory the breeding behaviour of the birds.
A refurbished Nest of the Red-necked Picathartes Picathartes oreas
The Picathartes arrives to their colony in an unpredictable manner, and notorious sensitive to any disturbance or signs of human presence. This make the bird stay away from their colony sites. We observed more than 10 individuals of the birds during the field period.
At this time, we needed food to eat, it was a long way back to camp