Summary

The Ibadan Bird Club has met 19 times at monthly intervals between February 2016 and August 2017, and 264 people (155 male and 109 female) have registered as members. During this period, the club has successfully built local capacity in bird conservation, and 111 bird species, distributed in 39 families, have been documented in an urban Important Bird Area, southwestern Nigeria. The findings of this citizen science initiative are essential for conservation purposes.

Introduction

Conservation efforts produce remarkable results when stakeholders (landowners, indigenes, visitors, organizations and authorities) are involved in activities (Awoyemi et al. 2018). The stakeholders can contribute through citizen science, which is the collection of ecological data by members of the general public and non-specialists as part of scientific projects (Dickinson et al. 2012). This has been successful worldwide, especially in Australia (Tulloch et al. 2013), Europe (Silvertown, 2009) and North America (Dickinson et al. 2012), where enthusiasts, volunteers and nature lovers contribute data via bird and nature clubs. In some parts of Africa, citizen scientists now contribute data to bird atlas projects, which aim to map the distribution of birds in the continent (Hulbert, 2016; Ivande et al. 2017). The African Bird Club has taken this initiative by funding the establishment of bird clubs in Africa, notably the Ibadan Bird Club (IBC) (Demey, 2015).

The IBC was started on 5 March 2014 by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation in partnership with the Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, University of Ibadan, and the Forest Project at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria (Demey, 2015). The aim was to build local capacity and enhance the conservation of birds in the Ibadan area. On 13 February 2016, the club was re-launched, so that it could be coordinated by the IITA Forest Unit as an activity of the A. G. Leventis-funded Ornithological Monitoring Project 2015-2017 (Figs. 1-3). The contributions of the club to bird conservation from then until August 2017 are presented here.

Methods

Study area

The activities of the IBC since its re-launch have been carried out within the IITA campus, Ibadan (7° 29’ N, 3° 54’ E; Fig. 4). The approx. 1000 ha campus is located in the transition zone between savannah and rainforest, and experiences two distinct seasons: wet (April-September) and dry (October-March) (Neuenschwander et al. 2015). The campus has different kinds of habitats (forests, wetlands, farmlands and gardens) and supports over 270 species of birds, which are either Afro-tropical residents or migratory (Ezealor, 2001; Adeyanju et al. 2014). The approx. 360 ha forest reserve within the campus is dominated by native trees such as , , and (Manu et al. 2005). It also holds 67 bird species that are restricted to the Guinea-Congo Forest Biome, qualifying it as an Important Bird Area (IBA) (Ezealor, 2001). It is our understanding that this is the only IBA in Nigeria located in a major conurbation, justifying the need for capacity building at the local level. The campus also contains a large reservoir, several lakes and a number of fishponds which constitute important habitats for waterbirds while crops such as banana, cassava, cowpea, maize, plantain, rice and yam are cultivated in the research farm.

Results

Our sociological data reveal that 264 people have registered as members of the IBC since its re-launch. Among these were 155 male (59%), 109 female (41%) and 27 juniors under the age of 12 years (10%). The club has been consistent in its activities, and an average of 31 members attends the monthly meetings.

Biologically, 111 bird species belonging to 39 families were recorded during the survey; their relative frequency, status, biomes and habitat requirements are listed in Appendix 1. Among these were 21 species restricted to the Guinea-Congo Forests Biome, 1 species restricted to the Sudan-Guinea Savannah Biome, 7 Palaearctic migrants and 16 Intra-African migrants, while the rest were resident (Appendix 1). This diversity of birds may be attributed to the different kinds of habitats found within the study area, which allows birds to exploit them differently. For instance, all the 21 species restricted to the Guinea-Congo Forests Biome were recorded within the forest reserve, the yellow-billed shrike (restricted to the Sudan-Guinea Savannah Biome) was recorded only in farmlands, while the palaearctic and Intra-African migrants mainly utilized farmlands and wetlands. Poisson Logistic Regression shows that bird encounter rate significantly differs between habitats and seasons (Table 1; Fig. 5).

Discussion

Effective conservation of biodiversity largely depends on the involvement of stakeholders. Our findings have revealed that their involvement increases the appreciation of the natural world. If well-engaged, they can also contribute data which are essential for formulating conservation strategies as presented here. The IBC has successfully raised awareness about bird conservation and engaged citizen scientists. The club has attracted the attention of indigenes, visitors/tourists, enthusiasts, professionals, researchers and students, who in turn disseminate the knowledge gained from the club to a wider audience such as colleagues, families and friends. In addition, the influence generated online via the Facebook Group Page is producing positive cascading effects. Worthy of note is the performance of the IBC Juniors whose age averages 9 years. Children learn quickly at tender ages, and we have maximized this opportunity to inculcate environmental and conservation values in them. It is anticipated that both the values and practical skills will provide a worthwhile basis for their contributions to society as citizens of the future.

Given the focus of this study, which is citizen science, our biological data undoubtedly under-estimate bird diversity in the study area (see Adeyanju et al. 2014). It is also important to note that we were more interested in the number of species encountered per habitat but the fact that more birds were encountered in a certain habitat does not imply it is richer. In addition, the survey was carried out towards late afternoon, implying that we have missed out on some birds at dawn. Nevertheless, the study has added to the goal of constant monitoring of birds and habitats, and local capacity has been built. In addition, our study has affirmed the ornithological significance of the study area by recording 21 out of the 67 bird species that qualify the IITA Forest Reserve as an IBA (Ezealor, 2001). The yellow-billed shrike , a species restricted to the Sudan-Guinea Savannah Biome was recorded during our expeditions. Although this is hardly surprising due to the location of the study area in the transition zone between the forest and savannah (Neuenschwander et al. 2015), this might also provide a clearer indication of savannah encroachment into the forest zone. By occurring in nearly all the habitat types, three species were the most commonly recorded throughout the survey: red-eyed dove (18/18), African pied hornbill (17/18) and pied crow (16/18).

Interestingly, more birds were encountered in the wet than dry season in all three habitats (Table 1; Fig. 5). On the one hand, this may be due to the influx of migratory birds at the end of the wet season in August and September as the study area serves as an important wintering ground for Palaearctic migrants. On the other hand, it may be due to the recruitment of new individuals as most Afro-tropical resident birds are known to breed during the wet season when food is plentiful (Elgood et al. 1994). As IITA is an agricultural research institute, mechanized farming is carried out within the campus. During two of our bird walks during the wet season, over 50 birds at a time were noted intensively foraging behind tractors as they ploughed in the research fields. This might account for the higher number of birds recorded in this habitat during the wet season. In addition, we also noted that heavy downpours caused some lakes to overflow their banks. While this may appear hazardous, receding water increases the concentration of prey available to birds foraging along water bodies (Cumming et al. 2012).

In conclusion, we have provided evidence that environmental education via bird clubs is vital for bird conservation. Our findings from the citizen science data presented here may be the first in Africa and, given the rate at which habitats are lost due to anthropogenic activities, environmental education and citizen science are particularly important now. Although the activities of the IBC were restricted to the IITA campus during this reporting period, plans are underway to replicate activities in other areas around Ibadan. We will also endeavour to get more birdwatching equipment and materials (binoculars, telescopes, cameras, bird song recorders and guidebooks) to better serve the average number of members we expect at monthly meetings.

Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to the following people and organizations: all IBC members who supported the activities of the club; Chima Nwaogu and Sam Ivande advised on statistical analyses; Shiiwua Manu and Phil Hall commented on an earlier draft; the AG. Leventis Foundation funded the IBC as part of the Ornithological Monitoring Project, and IITA-Ibadan hosted the activities of the club. This is publication number 146 from the A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI), Jos, Nigeria.

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Appendix