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This is the second article in a series describing the results of regular wetland bird counts in Namibia and groups together inland sites where water is present most of the time. The article gives details for two perennial river sites and nine dams for which ten or more counts are available up to the end of 2008.

The following is a summary of waterbird count data for selected species in Namibia, covering the period 1977 to December 2008. For each species the Red Data Book (RDB) status, both global and Namibian, is given, the population trend as per Wetlands International, the number of times the species was counted, the number of times it has passed the 1% population criterion, the maximum count and the sites where it has passed the 1% population criterion.

Data on wetland bird numbers has been collected in Namibia on an ad hoc basis since the early 1960's. Since 1991 regular counts have been conducted at several sites and thus a considerable amount of data has accumulated. This article and the ones to follow is a summary of the available data and an attempt to derive population trends for selected wetland bird populations. To date (July 2009), data from 1703 counts at 172 places has been entered into a database. A total of 177 different species of waterbird have been counted at these sites.

During the month of July 2009 volunteers once again participated in the winter wetland bird counts all over Namibia. A total of 27 wetlands were counted resulting in just over 99,000 birds of 87 species. The number of sites being counted is up thanks to the Namibia Bird Club, which is now conducting regular counts at Avis Dam, the Gammams (Windhoek) Sewage Works and Monte Christo. The Walvis Bay Ramsar site tops the list with over 50,000 birds, followed by Sandwich Harbour and the Mile 4 Saltworks.

In more than 100 countries, millions of waterbirds are counted each year. Wetlands International coordinates the International Waterbird Census (IWC) throughout the world and the data is used to e.g. designate Wetlands of International Importance and Important Bird Areas. Namibia has participated in these counts since 1990 and hence a considerable set of data has accumulated. Data is on hand for 1703 (as at July 2009) waterbird counts at 172 sites in Namibia. The earliest counts are from 1976 and a peak in terms of sites counted was reached in 1995 when 73 wetlands were counted…

Poster summarising the results of the 2010 game count in the South.

Game counts in north-west Namibia, June 2010.

Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi; dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2009, population estimates and trends.

North West game count - map of sightings per species per 2x2km grid cell.

Maps showing live sightings of elephant, giraffe, kudu, roan, sable, buffalo, impala, reedbuck, tsessebe and zebra in the 2010 Caprivi game count.

The survey took two hours 54 minutes, which translates into a search rate of 1.6 km/min. The flight path was recorded on the GPS tracklog and is shown in Figure 2 (deviations from the transects are where rhino, elephant or large herds of animals were encountered). A total of 253 sightings were recorded during this time (Figure 3) which comprised 1539 animals of seventeen species (Table 1). Kaross game camp is 144 km² in size so the density of animals calculates to 10.7 animals/km². The distribution and herd size for selected species is shown in Figure 4 to Figure 11.

This proposed study focuses on the elephants of the Kunene/Etosha cluster. The elephants outside Etosha is still largely a free ranging population over much of a 100 000 km² range. For the purpose of this proposal the study area (Figure 1) encompasses the extreme western area of Etosha, Skeleton Coast Park, communal conservancies, concessions and the private farming land south of Etosha. The average rainfall ranges from <50mm to 300mm. Recently, human-elephant conflicts have received a lot of attention in this Region.

Caprivi is a key area for wildlife, which moves freely between Namibia and neighbouring countries. Caprivi has a number of community conservancy programmes, in addition to state protected areas. Conservancies have a strong commitment towards conservation, which contributes to rural livelihoods through the development of wildlife-based enterprises. A total of 19,212 head of wildlife (excluding birds) were observed. Information shown on this poster comes from the report: Fixed-wing aerial wildlife census of the Caprivi river systems. A survey of rivers, wetlands and…

The 30 June 2008 signaled the end of the 2007 ringing season and the following is a summary thereof. In total 9 637 birds of 270 species were ringed or re-trapped, controlled etc. this season. Out of this total 9 033 were newly ringed birds (i.e. SAFRING code 1). Data from 19 ringers was received and Dirk Heinrich once again is the "ringing king" of code 1 birds, followed by Tim Osborne and Mark Boorman but in the re-trap etc. category Tim pipped Dirk, followed by Ursula Franke. Dirk also held top spot in the number of different species ringed category.

The southern African Lesser Flamingo population was estimated to number 55,000 - 65,000 individuals in the mid-1990s, but these were either under estimates or the numbers have increased since, because at times Kamfers Dam, the Goldfields wetlands (in South Africa), Etosha Pan (Namibia) and Sua Pan (Botswana) each support more than that number. In order to try and get to grips with the size of the southern African population of Lesser Flamingos, a coordinated survey was planned for 20-21 July 2008.

The start of the new year once again meant that Namibia's bird watchers had to dust off their binoculars and venture out to do the annual summer wetland counts. The global economic crisis does not seem to have affected the birders because I'm pleased to report that twenty-seven sites were counted although the geographic coverage is still very much biased in favour of the coast. The two Ramsar sites, Sandwich Harbour and Walvis Bay, once again came up trumps in terms of bird numbers but the most species were encountered by Wilferd at Oponono.

Poster summarising results of the Dry Season 2009 game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi - numbers seen, population trends and estimates.

Summary of game count in north west in 2009: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

Poster summarising game count results for 5 conservancies in the south of Namibia in 2009, with trends for 2005 - 2009.

Maps showing number of animals counted per 100km: springbok, gemsbok, kudu, giraffe, zebra, ostrich. Plu sightings per 2x2 km grid.

BirdLife Botswana (the BirdLife partner in Botswana) identified and documented 12 sites as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Botswana. These sites are; Chobe National Park, Linyanti Swamps, Okavango Delta, Lake Ngami, Central Kalahari and Khutse Game Reserves (CKGR), Makgadikgadi Pans, Gemsbok National Park, Tswapong Hills, Mannyelanong Hill, Phakalane Sewage ponds, South Eastern Botswana and Bokaa Dam. Even though a huge amount of work has been done by BirdLife Botswana, monitoring efforts in these areas lack adequate co-ordination.

This report presents the results of the third fixed-wing aerial wildlife census of the Caprivi River systems in Namibia conducted during September 2009. The purpose of this survey is to provide recent information on the distribution, abundance and trend of wildlife species including comparisons between protected areas and conservancies. The report compares the results of this survey with earlier fixed-wing aerial surveys conducted in September 2007 and August 2004.

Knowledge of a species' ranging behaviour is both fundamental to understanding its behavioural ecology and a prerequisite to planning its management. Few data exist on the spatial ecology of cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus outside protected areas, but such areas are particularly important to their conservation. Cheetahs on Namibian farmlands occupied exceptionally large home ranges, averaging 1651km2 (
1594km2), with no detectable effect of sex, social grouping or seasonality.

Summary of game count in north west in 2008: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

The Okavango River in Namibia, from the Angolan border just northwest of 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 whole Mamili National Park; and the Zambezi River for its entire length on Namibia's border, including parts of the adjacent East Caprivi floodplains, were survey from the air in September 2007.

Elephants occur across the entire north of Namibia with two main sub-populations in the north-east and the north-west. In 2004 the total population was estimated at over 16,000 animals and, allowing for underestimates on aerial surveys, the true number in 2007 is likely to be closer to 20,000. The north-western population is about 4,000 animals and includes the elephants in Etosha. This appears to be growing at about 3.3% per annum and expanding its range.

Summary of game count in north west in 2007: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

Namibia experienced some extreme rainfall in the first three months of 2006 and this, perhaps, is reflected in the results of the January wetland counts. One counter, Wilfred, could not get to his sites because it was too wet! In terms of numbers Walvis Bay leads by far but the Mahango yet again confirms its status as the most species rich birding destination in our country.

Summary of game count in north west in 2006: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

Namibia's loyal wetland bird counters once again delivered the goods in July/August in the twice annual wetland bird counts. In total 141704 birds of 112 species were counted at 21 localities.

Summary of game count in north west in 2005: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

Conducting aerial surveys is one of the core functions of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. The surveys are essential management tools, allowing for informed decision making. Aerial surveys have been conducted in Etosha National Park since 1968. Apart from a series of elephant surveys, these surveys were strictly speaking not comparable as they were undertaken at irregular intervals with different sampling intensities and area cover. The first comprehensive multi-species sample count was conducted in 1995, and repeated in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004.

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.

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.

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.

Namibia is one of few African countries that support six species of large carnivore. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyaenas, brown hyaenas and wild dogs occur primarily in the northern and western sections of Namibia. With the possible exception of lions and leopards we have a poor understanding of the exact distribution and density of these species, although available information suggests that the populations are stable. The Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas was launched to involve the tourism industry and the Namibian public in collecting baseline data on the six large…

Namibia is one of few African countries that support six species of large carnivore. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyaenas, brown hyaenas and wild dogs occur primarily in the northern and western sections of Namibia. With the possible exception of lions and leopards we have a poor understanding of the exact distribution and density of these species, although available information suggests that the populations are stable. The Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas was launched to involve the tourism industry and the Namibian public in collecting baseline data on the six large…

Summary of game count in north west in 2004: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

Namibia is one of few African countries that support six species of large carnivore. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyaenas, brown hyaenas and wild dogs occur primarily in the northern and western sections of Namibia. With the possible exception of lions and leopards we have a poor understanding of the exact distribution and density of these species, although available information suggests that the populations are stable.