An Overview of Birds in the Lake Naivasha Region

Naivasha hasl long offered endless exciting birdwatching experiences, and is today one of sixty designated IBAs (Important Bird Areas) in Kenya. However, it is not just the lake and waterbirds, there are the forested areas in Eburru and Malu, the incredibly scenic Hell's Gate National Park, and the many areas of acacia woodland all of which contribute to make the entire Naivasha Region one of the most rewarding birding areas in Kenya.

Currently, documentary evidence (specimens in museums and the published literature) indicate that well over 520 species are known from the Naivasha region, with new ones being added all the time (E.g. Silverbird June 2004, Eurasian Wryneck Oct 2004). Over 150 different waterbirds have been recorded from the lakeshores, and Naivasha is internationally recognised as a major wintering refuge for large numbers of migratory duck and shorebirds. For decades, it was also a major stronghold of Afrotropical waterbirds notably Great Crested Grebes, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, African Darters, White-backed Ducks, African Jacanas, Purple Gallinules and Red-knobbed Coots. The Fish Eagle population was one of the largest in the country, and frequently, large numbers of Maccoa Ducks (a regionally endangered species) occured on the lake.

The extensive acacia woodlands in the area have changed little in the last hundred years or so, and in themselves are an important refuge for many hundreds of resident birds such as owls, cuckoos, rollers, wood-hoopoes, hornbills, barbets, honeyguides, woodpeckers, babblers, thrushes, flycatchers, warblers, bush-shrikes, cuckoo-shrikes, starlings, sunbirds, weavers, waxbills, canaries and buntings, not to mention a remarkable variety of birds of prey (currently 60 species recorded from the Naivasha Region). In addition, the area is an important wintering area for many thousands of migratory passeribne birds notably Barn Swallows, House Martins, Yellow Wagtails, Wheatears and Willow Warblers, and in many ways, and often more importantly, the area is a major refuelling point for the hundreds of passage migrants that pause briefly in the Westen Naivasha area en route to and from their wintering areas further south.

The Grey-Crested Helmet-Shrike is a globally vulnerable species occuring in this western part of the Naivasha area, where it favours mixed acacia/leleshwa woodlands, while the area is home to breeding pairs of the Bat Hawk and Southern Ground Hornbill. Sadly however, larks, pipits and cisticolas all totally depend on areas of pristine grassland (once plentiful in the Naivasha area) are now concentrated either in Hell's Gate National Park or in the few remaining areas of grassland on the Oserian, Mundui and Hippo Point estates. These few remaining grassland areas require vital and permanent protection from any future agricultural or horticultural encroachment.

An Ornithological History of the Lake may be summarised as follows:

• 1884
  Described by Joseph Thomson as one moving mass of ducks, ibises, pelicans and other aquatic birds
• 1895
  The lake at its hightst level, reaching up to the railway line. The only fish in the lake was a small minnow. Only one pair of Fish Eagles existed feeding on the small fish, or, if not entirely, on Coots and other waterbirds.
• 1928-29
  Tilapia and Black Bass introduced into the lake.
• 1940s
  Very dry years, with the lake level dropping dramatically
• 1952-53
  Lake at its recorded lowest. Depth 12 ft. Crescent island completely closed in.
• 1961
  Very heavy short rains, with floods throughout the ccountry.
• 1964
  Lake at its highest since the 1930s
• 1965-70
  Three introduced alien species (Coypu, Louisiana Crayfish and the Salvinia weed) assert themselves with devastating effects on the lake's aquatic vegetation. Meanwhile a number of Agapornis lovebirds are released into the wild. As with all introduced species, they thrive and multiply rapidly.
• 1908s-90s
  Liliy pads almost entirely disappear from the lakeshore. Commercial fishing and indiscriminate use of gill nets result in a dramatic decline in numbers of Great Crested Grebes, Darters, Long-tailed Cormorants, White-backed Ducks, Purple Gallinules and Red-knobbed Coots. Lovebird population rises to over 10,000 individuals with many local hole-nesting species, particularly Red-fronted Barbets being deprived of suitable breeding sites. The Fish Eagle population also declines dramatically due largely ot the presence of toxic chemicals finding their way into the food chain. Naivasha's town sewage treatment plant breaks down resulting in large quantities of raw sewage entering the lake. Residues from the horticultural farms enter the lake resulting in the periodic dying of numbers of fish.
• 1998
  Lake levels rise following the El Nino rains. Fish populations increase. Several pairs of Fish Eagles manage to breed successfully.
• 2002
  Population of Fish Eagles appears to stabilise at around 100 individuals.
• 2004
  The appearance of black holes, or places with little or no bird activity appear to be surfacing close to areas of intensive horticulural activity.