Photo © Dick Newell
On May 6th, a one-hour bird count at Lake Oursi by the Oursi bird club resulted in the observation of 716 waterbirds in 15 species. Most numerous were the following: 333 Knob-billed Ducks, 204 White-faced Whistling Ducks, 62 African Jacanas, 34 Marabou Storks and 29 Spur-winged Plover. Numbers were substantially down from the previous count in February (see posting on that), when 52,561 individuals were counted. The only migratory waterbirds this time were 4 Wood Sandpiper. According to NATURAMA (Fondation des Amis de la Nature, the BirdLife partner organisation in Burkina Faso), the low bird numbers are due to habitat degradation and the resulting lack of food, in addition to the naturally low numbers of Palearctic migrants at this time of the year. Meanwhile, in mid-June, Lake Oursi is completely dry and it will take several weeks for the rains to arrive in July/August and fill the lake again.
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