The broader outcomes are 1) to have a sustainable, healthy Shoebill population, 2) monitor, research and conserve Shoebill habitat, and 3) save the areas precious wetlands.Īs with all Kenneth’s projects, community engagement and involvement is a cornerstone to success. It aims to raise awareness of the importance and value of the local Shoebill population and to conserve its habitat.
The SSCP is a voluntary, non-governmental, non-political, Eco-tourism conservation project, aimed at building community mindfulness about the importance of Shoebills and other wetland birds around Murchison Falls National Park. It will feed in swamps that are low in oxygen where an abundance of fish such as lungfish, bichirs (polypteridae) and catfish are important prey, caught as they surface to gulp air. The Shoebill’s preferred fishing sites are in either shallow waters, or deeper water with platforms of flooding vegetation. The Shoebill’s principal prey is fish, while other swamp prey is also taken, including frogs, snakes, rodents, baby crocodiles and other birds. Hunting consists of stalking, squatting and ambush, however Shoebills tend to stand and wait for the prey, often for long periods, and thus require relatively undisturbed habitat.
It usually flies past a candidate site, or perches on the tallest tree, to observe the activity in the candidate’s site before commencing to hunt. The Shoebill usually forages solitary in flooded shallow waters dominated by hippo grass, African wild rice, sedges and rushes, within 50 metres of an active fish weir.
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