On the 12th of January, Lisbon
airport was highly crowded, and the Invisible Links team was there,
anxiously waiting to check-in on the flight to Guinea-Bissau.
That was the start of the three week trip to
the Bijagós Archipelago, the second most important wintering area for waders in
the eastern Atlantic. As it happened in
previous expeditions to Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania)
and Sidi-Moussa (Morocco)
the main goal was to collect biological samples representative from the
Bijagós’ trophic web, so, not only from
waders, but also their prey, the prey of their prey, and so on! (take a look here and here). Some of the team members, using
their feet, even “collected” and transported to Portugal a couple of Djigan, the
native name of what scientists call Tunga penetrans. The females of this
species burrow into exposed skin of mammals and feed there while the eggs
develop!
The first week was mainly dedicated to explore
the area: where birds roost, possible catching sites, places to collect
invertebrates, etc. In addition, some members of the team also participated in
the World Waterbird Count, along with technicians from Instituto para a
Biodiversidade e Áreas Protegidas da Guiné Bissau
and Gabinete de Planificação Costeira da Guiné Bissau as well as
other experienced ornithologists from Europe.
Beside the long walks across the forest, the recognition of
the place included to travel on very comfortable (or not!) bikes from one end
to another of Bubaque island (an unforgettable 30 km ride, they say).
For part of the time the team was reinforced
with two Guinea-native ornithologists - Hamilton Monteiro and Mohamed Henriques
– whom, by sharing their expertise on birds and making the contacts with local
populations, proved to be crucial for the success of the expedition! The gang
moved a lot between and within islands to accomplish all the pre-established
goals. Those travels were not always easy to arrange, but they managed to
perform numerous nights of catching and ringing in several different places.
Regardless all the difficulties the team was able to collect over 200 samples
(almost half from birds!), which are now getting ready for analysis.
During some of the bird catching sessions the
team also captured (undesired) mammals, in some nights as many as birds! Fortunately, they did not catch other big mammals also present in the
tidal flats during the day (see the picture below).
Apart from the work the team still had time for
birdwatching, and managed to observe a large number of new and colorful species
(once that was the first time in Guinea-Bissau for the most). Plus, they made new friends, as Helena, a kind
young little girl that talks a lot! She is the granddaughter of Dora, the owner
of the hotel (Casa Dora) where the team stayed for a bunch of nights. It is a
very nice hotel! Part of the team departed a few days before the end of the
expedition, which was a pity because they did not get the taste of Bissau night life at the
X-bar!
text: Camilo Carneiro
photos: Teresa Catry & Camilo Carneiro
