Lake Mikimba (03064002) | |
|---|---|
Kenya | |
| CWAC status | REGISTERED-COUNTED REGULARLY |
| Authority | A Rocha Kenya |
| Management status | COMMUNAL LAND |
| Conservation status | Not protected |
| IBA information | |
| Ramsar information | |
| Heritage information | |
| View Cards | |
Information |
|---|
| Date_registered |
| 2018-08-23 |
| Brief_description |
| Lake Mikimba is one of a number of seasonal lakes that sit in an old river channel of the Sabaki River - effectively an oxbow lake though the whole river course changed dramatically leaving a long section of river channel cut off from the water flow which is now a series of long, narrow lakes. Mikimba is one of the larger ones stretching for almost 4 km in total though the area counted for waterbirds is about 2.5 km in length. |
| Physical_features |
| A long, narrow lake with sloping shores in some areas well-wooded with Acacia-Comiphora woodland that is rich in birdlife. The open water component of the lake is fringed by broad reed beds with grass. |
| Hydrological_features |
| The lake appears to have a source of water that other lakes in the area do not have since even during the drought of 2016-2017 it was very full. Water is fresh and there does not appear to be a flow of water through the lake. |
| Ecological_features |
| The open water holds some waterlilies which are home to duck and rallids; the reed beds are popular with herons and egrets. The surrounding woodland is rich in birdlife and is likely to hold reasonable populations of other wildlife - though snaring is rampant and the habitat is certainly starting to get heavily degraded. Some of the woodland around the lake has been clear-felled in recent years which is a trend seen elsewhere with other similar seasonal lakes. For these lakes the clearance has led to serious erosion of top soil off the surrounding slopes into the lake leading to major siltation and a dramatic reduction in the area of water remaining. |
| Spp | Common name | Taxonomic name | Min | Avg | Max | IBA | Subregional IBA | RAMSAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Cormorant, Reed | Microcarbo africanus | 90 | 287.00 | 484 | |||
| 203 | Crake, Black | Zapornia flavirostra | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 52 | Darter, African | Anhinga rufa | 4 | 5.50 | 7 | |||
| 101 | Duck, Fulvous Whistling | Dendrocygna bicolor | 26 | 26.00 | 26 | |||
| 91 | Duck, Knob-billed | Sarkidiornis melanotos | 45 | 143.50 | 242 | |||
| 104 | Duck, White-backed | Thalassornis leuconotus | 7 | 7.00 | 7 | |||
| 100 | Duck, White-faced Whistling | Dendrocygna viduata | 73 | 208.00 | 343 | |||
| 58 | Egret, Great | Ardea alba | 5 | 14.00 | 23 | |||
| 60 | Egret, Intermediate | Ardea intermedia | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 59 | Egret, Little | Egretta garzetta | 10 | 10.00 | 10 | |||
| 61 | Egret, Western Cattle | Bubulcus ibis | 3 | 3.00 | 3 | |||
| 86 | Flamingo, Greater | Phoenicopterus roseus | 28 | 28.00 | 28 | |||
| 92 | Goose, African Pygmy | Nettapus auritus | 6 | 13.00 | 20 | |||
| 6 | Grebe, Little | Tachybaptus ruficollis | 5 | 5.00 | 5 | |||
| 263 | Greenshank, Common | Tringa nebularia | 18 | 18.00 | 18 | |||
| 166 | Harrier, Western Marsh | Circus aeruginosus | 1 | 1.50 | 2 | |||
| 55 | Heron, Black-headed | Ardea melanocephala | 3 | 3.00 | 3 | |||
| 56 | Heron, Goliath | Ardea goliath | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 54 | Heron, Grey | Ardea cinerea | 3 | 4.50 | 6 | |||
| 57 | Heron, Purple | Ardea purpurea | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 62 | Heron, Squacco | Ardeola ralloides | 2 | 4.00 | 6 | |||
| 81 | Ibis, African Sacred | Threskiornis aethiopicus | 4 | 7.50 | 11 | |||
| 83 | Ibis, Glossy | Plegadis falcinellus | 27 | 66.00 | 105 | |||
| 228 | Jacana, African | Actophilornis africanus | 32 | 56.00 | 80 | |||
| 395 | Kingfisher, Giant | Megaceryle maxima | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 397 | Kingfisher, Malachite | Corythornis cristatus | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 394 | Kingfisher, Pied | Ceryle rudis | 15 | 15.50 | 16 | |||
| 210 | Moorhen, Common | Gallinula chloropus | 1 | 2.00 | 3 | |||
| 74 | Openbill, African | Anastomus lamelligerus | 60 | 69.00 | 78 | |||
| 41 | Pelican, Pink-backed | Pelecanus rufescens | 6 | 6.00 | 6 | |||
| 886 | Pintail, Northern | Anas acuta | 11 | 11.00 | 11 | |||
| 238 | Plover, Three-banded | Charadrius tricollaris | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 258 | Sandpiper, Common | Actitis hypoleucos | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 264 | Sandpiper, Wood | Tringa glareola | 2 | 2.50 | 3 | |||
| 85 | Spoonbill, African | Platalea alba | 3 | 3.00 | 3 | |||
| 270 | Stilt, Black-winged | Himantopus himantopus | 15 | 15.00 | 15 | |||
| 76 | Stork, Yellow-billed | Mycteria ibis | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 208 | Swamphen, African | Porphyrio madagascariensis | 5 | 5.00 | 5 | |||
| 304 | Tern, White-winged | Chlidonias leucopterus | 22 | 46.00 | 70 |
Saturday 20 April 2024 08:35
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department
of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town
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