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Take a close look at the image above. Each black dot is a Cape Cormorant (see below) as seen from a light aircraft. Can you count the cormorants? This aerial view of a colony of Cape Cormorants is a composite of several of the thousands of images taken during a 2017 survey of Ilha dos Tigres, an island off the coast of Angola. The purpose of this survey was to document all visible animals using this island, so every dot counts!

This study has provided baseline data on crocodile numbers from aerial and spotlight counts. These data can be used with the results of future counts to determine population trends. The census has also provided information on their distribution of crocodiles in the Kavango and Caprivi regions. And third, it has resulted in the first population estimate for crocodiles in the north-east wetlands of Namibia.

Areas surveyed: The Okavango River in Namibia, from just northwest the bridge on the Trans-Caprivi highway south to the Botswana border; the entire length of the Kwandu-Linyanti-Lake Liambezi-Chobe system, including the Mamili National Park; and the Zambezi river for its entire length on Namibia's border, including parts of the adjacent East Caprivi floodplains.

Human and, increasingly, elephant pressure on Namibia's wetlands and riparian belts are a major cause of conservation concern. Many wetland birds are listed in Namibia's Red Data Book (Simmons & Brown in prep) because of population declines caused by the degradation and destruction of wetland habitats, and because of high levels of disturbance. Good information on the status of major wetlands and their avifauna is important for their conservation management. Birds provide one of the best indicators of wetland health.

An assessment of population size is a fundamental stage in the conservation of any species. The recent availability of data from the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP) provides a tool to investigate the status and distribution of approximately 900 bird species covered by this work. Here, we assess whether or not reporting rate can be used to establish absolute abundance and thereby produce estimates of population size.

Short paper discussing previous documented records and interpretation in relation to records data.

Distribution is restricted by the availability of Sociable Weaver nests, rather than by other environmental factors. There is a 26% occupancy rate and the falcons choose larger Sociable Weaver nest masses.