Lake Ol' Bolossat community volunteers saving Kenyan endangered bird.

Africa Climate Conversations.

Lake Ol' Bolossat is the only lake in the Kenyan highlands, situated in Nyandarua County, about a three and a half-hour drive from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The lake is situated in the valley between the northwestern slopes of the AberdareRange of Mountains and Dundori Ridge.

The lake forms the head waters of the Ewaso Ngiro North Basin, Kenya's largest basin, offering a variety of habitats ranging from open water through floating marsh and swamps to open grasslands and riverine forests along rivers and springs that feed the lake.

One of the unique things about Lake Ol’Bolossat is that it has both fresh and saline waters that never mix at any given time. It's also an internationally recognised wetland as a Key Biodiversity Area. It's Kenya’s 61st Important Bird Area, with over 300 bird species. It is a breeding site for endemic and endangered birds and an international flight corridor for migratory birds.

Among the birds nesting here are the Grew-crowned cranes. The grey-crowned crane is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List. These birds are non-migratory; however, they undertake local and seasonal movements and are most abundant in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, according to the International Crane Foundation.

On my recent trip to Nyandarua County, I caught up with George Ndungu, the Cranes Conversation Volunteer’s founder. Ndungu tells us more about their work with local communities to protect these beautiful birds and benefit the locals.