Dams as new habitat in West African savannah

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by  Patrick M Claffey

Dams as new habitat in West African savannah
Patrick Claffey
Des observations d'oiseaux ont ete faites dans le petit lac barrage a Kakikoka dans la province des
terresdusuddeBurgou province, auBenindeseptembre 1997amai 1998. Denombreuxsejoursont
etefaitpendantlasaisonseche(Octobre-Avril).Soixantedixespecesonteteenregistreesaproximiter
du barrage, incluant six nouvelles especes dans la liste Benin: Tachybaptus mficollis, Gallinula
cbloropus, Micropari'a capensis Charadriuspecuarius Charadriusforbesi et Calidrisferruginea.
. ,
W
'aterbirds have always been difficult to find in Geographical location and climate
thedrysavannahofWestAfrica,onlyoccurringin Thedamissituated5kmsouthofthevillageofKakikoka,
thesmallpatchesofsuitablehabitat,whicharescarceinthe intheGuineasavannahofcentralBenin.Thisvegetation
dryseasonandofteninaccessibleduringtherains.How- coversmuchofthecountry from07°-l1°N.Theannual
ever,inWestAfrica,asoccurredpreviouslyinsouthern rainfall is cl,200 mmwith,the heaviest rains inJuly-
Africa,habitatisincreasingwiththebuildingofnewdams. September.Monthlymeantemperaturesarec26°C,witha
Theincreaseinthewaterbirdpopulationcanbeobserved maximumof37°CinFebaiary-March.
inaveryshortperiodoftime,andthedamunderstodyhere Theareaimmediatelysurroundingthedamisheavily
hasalreadybeenvisitedbyseveralspeciespreviously cultivated.CropsincludeyimiDioscoivaspp. cassssiiManihot
,
unrecordedinnorthernBenin-4121319orthewholecoun- esculetitadeeOtyzasativa,Pennisetumamericanum,cotton
,
try*.Thesmall damatKakikoka (09°01'N02°l6'E) in dGousest]optbhuetvnasrpipe.tyaonfdhgarboiutantdsnpurteAsernatc—kiswboyopdolgaenad.H,orwiep—avreira,n
BorgouProvinceisoneofseveralprojectsofthePeople’s vegetation,smallareasofdenseforest,andfarmland itis
RepublicofChinaintheRepublicofBenin.Constaictedin stillrelativelyrichinbirdspeciesandIhaverecorded300
1995,itisc850minlengthandalittleover200mwide.It specieshereovera10-yearperiod.
hasbeendesignedtomeettheneedsofthesemi-nomadic
pastoralistFulaniorPeulpeoplewholeadtheirherds,often Species of particular interest on the
upto500cattle,andasmallernumberofsheepandgoats, Kakikoka Dam
ontranshumancethroughthenorthernsavannahsofsev- Clearlymanyofthespeciesobservedonthedamwere
—
eralWestAfricancountries. expectedatthistypeofwaterbody herons,bitterns,
AremarkinWaterbirds promptedmetoundertakea ducks,wadersandrails.Manyothersonthelistarecom-
simplestudyofthissmallwaterbodyfromSeptember monintheareaandarecoincidentaloronlydistantly
1997-May1998.Mostvisitswereduringthedryseason dependentonthewater.Afulllistofthespeciesnoted
(October-April)whenthewaterislowestandthearea withintheperimeterofthedamisgivenintheappendix.
aroundthedammostaccessible.Ivisitedthesite,often However,thefollowingarecertainlythemostsignificantin
severaltimesamonth,tocountsomeofthespeciespresent termsofbeingrarities,newtothearea,significantPalearctic
there. orintra-Africanmigrants,ornewBeninrecords.Thefirst
Thewesternendofthedam,wherethefeederstream sentenceofeachspeciesaccountdescribesthespecies’
enters,isshallow,probablynomorethan1mdeep,andis overallstatusinBenin.
quicklycolonisedbyNymphaeacaeruleal()duringthedry
season,becomingalmosttotallycloggedbytheendofApril Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
whenthewaterisatitslowest.Thereisalsoareedbedatthis NewBeninrecord.Singlemaleon12September1997.
end.Theshoresofthedamarebarelateriteduringmuch Twopairsinfullbreedingplumageon19-20February
ofthedryseason.However,severalspeciesofrushesand 1998.Threebirdsinbreedingplumageon8-15April1998.
grassarebeginningtotakeroot,aswellasvariedsavannah Twobirdsstillpresenton15May1998.Nosignofany
floraafterthefirstrains.Therearesmallareasofmuddy youngbutbreedingseemsprobablegiventhespecies’
shorewhichattractanumberofwaders,particularlyon behaviourelsewhereinWestAfrica.Thespecieswas
springpassage.Thewallandtheeasternrockyshoreare apparentlyrecordedonLacNakoueinsouthBeninin
favouriterestingandbathingplacesforseveralhundred March1997.Thisisasignificantexploitationofasmallnew
CattleEgretswhichjoinalargeroostofc5,000birdsonthe areaofsuitablehabitat2
.
OuemeRivertothesouth-westofthedam.Totheeast,
behindthewall,thereisalargeareaofsavannah.
DamsasnewhabitatforWestAfricansavannah: Claffey BullABC Vol6No2- 117
Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocoraxafricanus beenrecordedto06°38’NinTogo3.Newrecordforthis
Commonresidentthroughout.Upto20onthedamatany areaandasignificantexploitationofsuitablehabitat.
time. Vulturine Fish Eagle Gypohieraxangolensis
iMeBittern^o^rvc^nsm/nito Uncommonthroughout.ApairatthedaminNovember
Singleinthereedsatthestreamendofthedamon20 1997.
February1998.Fewrecords,althoughitisprobablynot EgyptianVulture Neophronpercnopterus
uncommonandhasbeenpreviouslyrecordedbothinthe Rareintra-Africanmigrantorvagrant. Anadulton 20
north,ontheTerouRiver13,andinthesouth,atCotonou December1998.Nopreviouslypublishedrecords9 but
,
(pers.obs.). thereisarecordfromthenorth-eastpartofPendjariPark
Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides inthelatedryseasonof1977,andrecordsfromParkW,
CommonresidentandPalearcticmigrantrecordedthrough- neartheChutesdeKoudou,inDecember1977(A.Green
out.Evidenceofmigrationwithacountof20+on11April pers.comm.).ItwasalsorecordedbySzaniawskyski18in
1998andinthefewdaysfollowing,upfrom1-6birdson theBeninsectorofParkW.UncommoninNigeria10and
earliercounts,anddowntotwobirdson9May1998. consideredavagranttobothGhana13andTogo3
.
Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis Marsh Harrier Circusaeruginosus
Abundantintra-AfricanmigrantinOctober-June.Large Uncommoninthisarea.Widelyrecordedinthesouth.
numbersroostonthewallsandstonyshoresduringthe SinglebirdonthedaminDecember-March.
afternoon.
Allen’s Gallinule Poiphyrio alleni
Green Heron Butoridesstriatus Uncommonintra-Africanmigrant.Somepreviousevi-
Commonyear-roundresidentonallsuitablewaters.Prob- denceofbreeding".Immaturebirdon12September1997.
ablybreedshere2’11. Maybreedhere.
Little EgretEgrettagarzetta Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Commonresidentandmaybreedinthearea211 Several Notuncommonresidentthroughout,breedingprobableas
.
presentatalltimesonthedam. attemptednestinghasbeenobserved.Severalprevious
GreatEgret Egretta alba records3butnotlistedbyDowsett&Forbes-Watson9.Six
NotuncommonresidentandPalearcticvisitor,especially birdspresentonthedamon23February1998,andasingle
in the south. One ortwo occurrences onthe dam in on9May1998.Probablybreedshere.
February-March. AfricanJacanaActophilornisafricanus
Purple HeronArdeapurpurea Commonbreedingresidentthroughout.Breedingprevi-
NotuncommonPalearcticmigrantwithsomepresent ouslyrecordedintheareaandalmostcertainlybreedson
the dam where up to 30 including juveniles present
year-round.SeveraloccurrencesinOctober-April.
GreyHeronArdea cinerea at all times4.
CommonPalearcticmigrantwithsomeyear-round.Sev- LesserJacanaMicroparra capensis
eralbirdspresentatalltimesonthedaminOctober-June. NewBeninrecord.Certainlythemostsignificantrecord
forthedam.ThespeciesisuncommoninBurkinaFaso21
White-facedWhistling-DuckDendrocygnaviduata Niger16andNigeria9 andhasnotbeenrecordedineither,
Commonbreedingresident.Thedamoftenhas100+birds Ghana15orTogo3 al,thoughithasbeenrecordedinIvory
present.ManyyoungbirdspresentinDecembersuggest- Coast19.Itisrepor,tedlylocalinMaliandChad11.ItWhas,
ingprobablebreedinginthearea.LayingdatesinNigeria however,beenrecordedontheMekrouRiverinPark 16
.
areJuly-October2’10. At 18.20hron7May19981observedwhatatfirst
m
African PygmyGoose Nettapusauritus appearedtobeasmallTringawalkingontheliliesc70
Probablebreedingresident,whichisuncommontorare, aheadofme.Iquicklyrealisedthatthistinybirdwasvery
throughoutthecountry.Threemalesonthedamon23 probablyMicroparracapensisandIhadexcellentviewsofthe
February1998remaineduntilMarch13.Thisisasignificant birdthroughatelescopeoverthenext45minutesand
exploitationofasmallareaofsuitablehabitat211 confirmed itas an adult ofthis species. It had a rich
.
chestnutcrown,awhitesuperciliumandachestnutbrown
GarganeyAnasquerquedula
eyestripe.Thechestnutonthecrownextendedontothe
NotuncommonPalearcticmigranttotheextreWmenorth, napeandwidenedacrosstheneck-sides.Arichgolden-
particularlyalongtheNigerRiverandinPark 12,17,20 A
. yellowwashwasapparentontheneckandupperbreast.
pairatthedamon20Februarytoatleast14March1998 Purewhiteunderparts.Slightlygreenishlegs.Orangeor
werefurthersouththanpreviousrecords,althoughithas
118-BullABC Vol6No2 Damsas newhabitatforWestAfricansavannah: Claffey
..
brownishbill. Itstinysizemadeconfusionevenwith eral observations at a muddy end ofthe dam.
a juvenile Actophilomis africanus unlikely. I ob- Wood Sandpiper Tringaglareola
served the bird again on the evening of9 Maywith CommonPalearcticmigrantthroughoutthe country.
twocompanionsandonseveraloccasionsthereafter AfewbirdspresentduringOctober-April,with20on
until at least 17 May. 15April 1998andsmallernumbersonfollowingdays
Greater Painted-Snipe Rostratala benghalensis indicating northward migration at that time.
Uncommonresidentbutprobablyoverlookedbecauseof Common SandpiperActitishypoleucos
itsdiscreetbehaviourandpreferenceforofteninaccessible VerycommonPalearcticmigrantthroughoutthecountiy
habitat.Singlefemalerecordedon17May1998.Several OneortwobirdspresentonthedamduringOctober-May
previousrecordsfrommostareasofthecountry.
Four-banded Sandgrouse Pterocles quadricinctus
Ringed Plover Charadriushiaticula Probablynotuncommoninthedrynorth13andinthisarea
CommonPalearcticmigrantinthesouth.Singlebirdon15 duringthedryseason.RecordedinDecemberandApril.
April1998isthefirstinlandrecord.
Kittlitz’s Plover Charadriuspecuarius Conclusions
NewBeninrecord.Rareintra-Africanmigrant.Anadultin Thisbriefstudyisinterestingforanumberofreasons.The
breedingplumageatthedamon8April1998,notseenon appearance of Little Grebe, African Pygmy Goose,
subsequentdays.Severalbirds,includingimmatures,at GarganeyandmostparticularlyLesserJacanaareallasso-
GrandPopoon19-21November1995,inanareaofdrying ciatedwithtirepresenceofNymphaewhichistobeexpected
swampinfrontoftheAubergeatGrandPopo5 andat onthistypeofstill-water,andallarenewtothisarea.
,
nearbyAnechoinTogoon14January1995.Thespecies GreaterPaintedSnipe,Kittlitz’sPlover,Forbes’Plover
doesnotappearonDowsett&Forbes-Watson’slist9and andSpur-wingedLapwingVanellusspinosusareallresident
israreinTogo3.ReportedtooccuronlyincoastalBenin11, waders.Kittlitz’sandForbes’Ploversarerelativelyrarein
althoughthereareseveral recordsfarinland inWest thisareaandthusofinteresthere.Severalmorespecieswill
Africa16 inevitablyoccurandthesitewillrepaymoreconstant
.
Forbes’ Plover Charadriusforhesi observation.AfricanCrakeCrexegregiahas,forexample,
NewBeninrecord.Uncommontorare.Twobirdsob- alreadybeenrecordedinthearea3andalmostcertainly
servedonthedamon4April1998.Twobirdsrecordedon occursinthevicinityofthedam.
ThedamsupportsanumberofPalearcticmigrants,
17January1992nearapoolontheroadfromOuidahtothe
Togoborder.ThespecieswasnotmentionedbyDowsett particularlyduringspringmigrationinMarch-April,as
&Forbes-Watson9 indicatedbytheoccurrenceofSquaccoHeroninsome
. numbers,PurpleHeron,RingedPlover,CommonSnipe,
Curlew Sandpiper Calidrisferruginea Greenshank,andGreen,Wood,CommonandCurlew
NewBeninrecord.UncommonPalearcticwintervisitoror Sandpipers.LittleStintCalidrisminutushasalreadybeen
passagemigrantprincipallyinthesouthofthecountry5. recordedintheareaandappearslikelytoberecordedatthe
Singlerecordedonthedamon4April1998.Previously daminthefuture.
recordedon21January1994and21November1995atthe Severalspeciesprobablybreedatthedamornearby,
southendofLacAheme.Twenty-threebirdsrecorded includingLittleGrebe,Long-tailedCormorant,Darter,
duringthe1996WaterfowlCensus8.NotlistedbyDowsett White-facedWhistling-Duck,BlackCrakeAmaurornis
&Forbes-Watson9. flavirostris,Allen’sGallinule,CommonMoorhenandAfri-
Common Snipe Gallinagogallinago canJacana.
UncommonPalearcticmigrantbutperhapsoverlooked.A Finally,GarganeyandRingedPloverarenewtosouth-
recordon23February1998wasonlythesecondforthe ernBorgou,andLittleGrebe,CommonMoorhen,Lesser
area. Jacana,Kittlitz’sPlover,Forbes’PloverandCurlewSand-
Greenshank Tringa nehularia piperarenewtotheBeninlist8, (g?
CommonPalearcticmigrant,widelyrecordedbutonlyone References
previousrecordforthisarea.Singleon15April1998when 1. Blundell, M. 1992. Wild Flowers ofEast Africa.
therewerealsoseveralothermigratingwaderspresent London, UK: HarperCollins.
suggestingthatthedammaybeanimportantsiteforspring 2. Brown,L.H.,Urban,E.K.andNewman,K. 1982. The
migrants. BirdsofAfrica.Vol 1.London,UK:AcademicPress.
Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus 3. Cheke,R.A. andWalsh,J.F. 1996. TheBirdsofTogo:
NotuncommonPalearcticmigrantinOctober-April.Sev- an annotated check-list. B.O.U Check-list No 14.
Tring: British Ornithologists’ Union.
DamsasnewhabitatforWestAfricansavannah: Claffey BullABC Vol6No2-119
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Province, Republic ofBenin. Malimbus 17: 63-84. GreatEgretEgrettaalba
5. Claffey, P.M. in prep. Review of the sources, new PurpleHeronArdeapurpurea
GreyHeronArdeacinerea
r(eDcoowrsdesttan&dDroewvsiestiotn-LoefmatihreeR1e9p9u3b)l.ic of Benin list WHhaimteer-kfaocpedScWohpisutsliunmgb-rDeutctkaDendrocygna viduata
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RingedPloverCharadriushiaticula
12. Giraudoux,P., Degauquier, R.,Jones, P.J.,Weigel,J. Kittlitz’sPloverCharadriuspecuarius
and Isenmann P. 1988. Avifaune du Niger: etat des Forbes' PloverCharadriusforbesi
connaissances en 1986.Malimbus 10: 1-140. Spur-wingedLapwing Vanellusspinosus
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EcosystemesForestiersdelaRegiondesMontsKouffes. CommonSnipeGallinagogallinago
Unpubl. report. Cotonou: FAO/PNUD. Greenshank Tringanebularia
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PendjariandArliNationalParks.Malimbus1: 14-19. CommonSandpiperActitishypoleucos
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62-73.
Woodland KingfisherHalyconsenegalensis
18. SzaniawskyWski, A. 1982. Plan Directew:- Parc Na- StripedKingifisherHalyconchelicuti
tionaldu duNiger. Rapport Technique 3- Rome: PiedKingfisherCerylerudis
FAO. CarmineBee-eaterMeropsnubicus
19- Thiollay, J.M. 1985. The birds ofIvory Coast:status Abyssinian RollerCoraciasabysinnica
and distribution.Malimbus7: 1-59- AfricanGreyHornbill Tockusnasutus
20. Thonnerieux, Y. 1985. Notes complementaires sur SingingBushLarkMirafracantillans
SunLarkGaleridamodesta
l’avifaunedesParcsNationauxdel’Arli(Burkina) et MosqueSwallowHirundosenegala
de la Pendjari.Malimbus7: 137-139. HouseMartinDelichonurbica
21. Thonnerieux, Y., Walsh, J.F. and Bortoli, L. 1989. YellowWagtailMotacillaflava
L’avifaune de la ville de Ouagadougou et ses envi- CommonBulbul Pynonotusbarbatus
rons (Burkina Faso). Malimbus 11: 7-40. Green-backed EremomelaEremomelapusilla
BleatingWarblerCamaropterabrachyura
B. P. 302, Parakou, Benin. White-shouldered BlackTitParusleucomelas
Scarlet-chestedSunbird Nectariniasenegalensis
Long-tailedShrike Corvinellacorvina
Appendix: List of 72 species observed Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurusadsimilis
PurpleGlossyStarlingLamprotornispurpureus
within the perimeters of the dam. Northern Red Bishop Euplectesfranciscanus
LittleGrebe Tachybaptusruficollis Yellow-mantledWhydah Euplectesmacrourus
Long-tailedCormorantPhalacrocoraxafricanus Red-cheeked Cordon-Bleu Uraeginthusbengalus
DarterAnhingamelanogaster Orange-cheekedWaxbill Estrildamelpoda
LittleBitternIxobrychusminutus Pin-tailedWhydah Viduamacroura
SquaccoHeronArdeolaralloides Yellow-frontedCanarySerinusmozambicus
CattleEgretBubulcusibis
GreenHeronButoridesstriatus
120-BullABC Vol6No2 Damsas newhabitatfor WestAfricansavannah: Claffey