Marc Baker Safaris

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  • 7.2: Baker 2008
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  • 7.7: Baker 2002-1
  • 7.8: Baker 2002-2
  • 7.9: Baker 2001-1
  • 7.10: Baker 2001-2
  • 7.11: Baker 2000

Baker 2002

A Preliminary Survey of the Avifauna of Eminit Forest, Loima Hills, Western Turkana District. UNDP/GEF/FAO, Nairobi Kenya.

The Loima Hills, combined with the Puch Prasir plateau cover an area of 3,000 square kilometres, which represents one of the most extensive highland areas in Turkana District. Eminit Forest is situated on the Loima Hills plateau, from an altitude of 2050m to a forested peak on its southern edge at 2286m.

The UNDP / GEF Crossborder Biodiversity Project aims to reduce biodiversity loss at specific crossborder sites in East Africa. The project concentrates on forest reserves within three districts in Kenya, each chosen for their specific forest ecosystems which cross international boundaries. In order to make an accurate assessment of the focal area, a current appraisal of the flora and fauna is required to provide baseline data.

The avifauna was surveyed using a combination of general observations, mist netting and timed species counts. General observations were carried out in different areas within the forest habitat, as well as in the surrounding woodland and grassland. Species were identified by sight and by call. Mist netting was carried out from 0600 to 1200 and 1600 to 1830 hours. As mist netting only samples to 2m above ground, this method was useful in surveying birds of lower strata. The number of mist nets used reflected what it was considered both practical to monitor and necessary to provide an accurate assessment of avifauna within the forest. Timed species counts (TSCs) were carried out in the mornings between 0700 and 0900 in forest and between 1800 and 1900 in forest edge.

During the 10-day survey of the Loima Hills, a total of 87 species were recorded, representing 40 families. Of the 87 species recorded, 48 were recorded in Eminit Forest and forest edge (above 2050m), whilst the remainder were recorded in the dry Acacia / Aristida woodland between 800m (foot of Loima Mountains) and 2050m. A total of 2616 net-metre-hours were completed over a five-day period, in which 13 birds were caught and processed. A total of 16, 40 minute timed species counts (TSCs) were carried out in forest interior and forest edge, giving a species list and index of relative abundance for each habitat type.

Of the 87 species recorded, 3 were species of conservation concern. A comparative analysis of the forest dependant species composition of Loima Hills, Moroto in Uganda and Kulal and Nijiru in northern Kenya, indicates that Loima shows a greater similarity to Moroto than the other northern Kenyan mountains.

The indigenous land use system is born of an understanding for the need for dry season grazing. The land-use systems that are in place are designed around a modal of sustainability to ensure that this resource is protected in perpetuity for times of environmental stress. In terms of the conservation of biodiversity, the current land-use system would seem to be beneficial in that the current land users are also its guardians.