Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa
– Training Course –
– Module 4 –
Why count waterbirds?
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Authors
Revised and designed in 2012 by:
Nathalie Hecker nat.hecker@yahoo.fr
Designed and written in 2001 by:
Nathalie Hecker & Marc Lutz
Photographs
Steve Garvie sgarvie@aol.com, www.pbase.com/rainbirder
Illustrations
Cyril Girard girardcyril3335@neuf.fr, www.cyrilgirard.fr
Translation
Rachel Wakeham moosekeeper77@hotmail.com
This training course is one of the tools of : Hecker N., 2012. Identifying and
Counting Waterbirds in Africa – A toolkit for trainers. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E.
France
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Presenting the Module
Technical
explanations
Indoor
exercises
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
Objectives of the Module
At the end of this Module, you will be able to:
 explain how census results are used at three different
levels: local, national and international
 describe the operation and role of national and
international networks
 understand how your own work fits into these
networks.
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
What are the censuses for?
Indoor exercise
Equipment: flipchart pad, marker pens
Procedure: groups of 2 to 4 people
1. Each group must find answers to the question “What are
waterbird censuses for?”
2. Each group should list their answers on paper, organising them
into local (site-wide), national and international levels
3. Each group should present their answers to the other groups
4. A joint list can be drawn up by compiling the different results
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
At site level: to evaluate the importance of the site
• To know the numbers of different species of waterbird at a site
• To know how many birds of each species the site can hold, and
how this varies
• To compare census results from different sites in the region or the
country and assess each wetland’s relative importance for
waterbirds
• To prioritise measures to be taken for threatened species
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
At site level: ensure the continued monitoring of a site
• To detect changes in numbers of birds or their specific composition
• To help identify the reasons for these changes in order to
implement conservation measures if necessary
• To assess the impact of various activities
• To regularly check if the use and/or management of the wetland is
wise and sustainable.
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
At a national level
 To know the role and importance of the country’s wetlands for
different species of waterbirds throughout their annual cycle
 To provide information for implementing conservation measures
and steps towards the sustainable use of natural resources
 To provide information for nature protection laws (including
huntable species, hunting seasons, species and areas to protect,
and threatened species) and national policy for wetland
conservation
 To provide information to compile data.
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
At an international level
•To improve the understanding of species in their distribution range
(including population sizes, annual cycle, movements and
migrations) and to monitor change in certain parameters such as
population size
•To provide information necessary for international conventions and
agreements, and for producing strategic documents.
At all levels
•To increase knowledge of species and their biology.
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
Further reading
• National and international reports of census results
• An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. 2009.
Wetlands International – Wader Study Group.
• Waterbird Population Estimates. 2006. Wetlands International.
• Wings over Wetlands:
- The flyway approach to the conservation and wise use of waterbirds
and wetlands: 2010 Training kit
- Critical Site Network Tool
• Etc.
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Why count waterbirds?
What are the censuses for?
The network is a chain made up of a series of links
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
How to count waterbirds
Knowing how to count waterbirds is:
•Knowing when to count and when to estimate
•Knowing how to count a small group of birds
•Knowing how to estimate a large group
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Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Thanks for your attention!
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