Lake Chemchem (03124002) | |
|---|---|
Kenya | |
| CWAC status | REGISTERED-COUNTED REGULARLY |
| Authority | |
| Management status | COMMUNAL LAND |
| Conservation status | UNPROTECTED |
| IBA information | |
| Ramsar information | |
| Heritage information | |
| View Cards | |
Information |
|---|
| Date_registered |
| 2016-08-25 |
| Brief_description |
| A seasonal wetland a few kilometres south of the Sabaki River. Surrounded by farmland, the wetland has gradually been filled in through deposition of eroded soil from the poorly farmed slopes leaving only a small area of open water during the rains. When counts first started in 1999 all of the area enclosed by the boundary on the map was open water - much as a result of the heavy 1997/98 El Nino rains. Most of the wetland has become overgrown by reeds and sedges particularly in the light of a drying climate. |
| Physical_features |
| A shallow seasonal lake surrounded by low, relatively steep-sided hills. No stream or river out of the lake. Since the late 1990s the lake has rapidly filled in with silt as a result of heavy erosion off the slopes of the hills which have been almost completely cleared of vegetation for cultivation. |
| Hydrological_features |
| Freshwater lake when the levels were high in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Thereafter it has become more saline as water has evaporated and the lake has filled in. |
| Ecological_features |
| Almost 100% open water in 1999 with just a narrow fringe of reeds along some stretches of the shore. By 2010 probably 80% of the lake area was filled in and dense sedges and reeds. Woodlands and scrub on the slopes around the lake have been cleared and heavy erosion resulted which has led to a serious degradation of the habitats and overall ecology of the lake. |
| Spp | Common name | Taxonomic name | Min | Avg | Max | IBA | Subregional IBA | RAMSAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 256 | Calidris pugnax | 1 | 8.00 | 15 | ||||
| 212 | Coot, Red-knobbed | Fulica cristata | 21 | 21.00 | 21 | |||
| 50 | Cormorant, Reed | Microcarbo africanus | 11 | 87.75 | 142 | |||
| 203 | Crake, Black | Zaporina flavirostra | 1 | 2.75 | 4 | |||
| 52 | Darter, African | Anhinga rufa | 8 | 8.00 | 8 | |||
| 101 | Duck, Fulvous Whistling | Dendrocygna bicolor | 9 | 115.00 | 221 | |||
| 91 | Duck, Knob-billed | Sarkidiornis melanotos | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 104 | Duck, White-backed | Thalassornis leuconotus | 341 | 341.00 | 341 | 220 | 110 | 250 |
| 100 | Duck, White-faced Whistling | Dendrocygna viduata | 11 | 588.50 | 1166 | |||
| 58 | Egret, Great | Ardea alba | 16 | 16.00 | 16 | |||
| 60 | Egret, Intermediate | Ardea intermedia | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 59 | Egret, Little | Egretta garzetta | 15 | 15.00 | 15 | |||
| 61 | Egret, Western Cattle | Bubulcus ibis | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 149 | Fish Eagle, African | Haliaeetus vocifer | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 86 | Flamingo, Greater | Phoenicopterus roseus | 79 | 79.00 | 79 | |||
| 92 | Goose, African Pygmy | Nettapus auritus | 3 | 47.00 | 128 | |||
| 89 | Goose, Egyptian | Alopochen aegyptiaca | 9 | 9.00 | 9 | |||
| 6 | Grebe, Little | Tachybaptus ruficollis | 90 | 90.00 | 90 | |||
| 263 | Greenshank, Common | Tringa nebularia | 1 | 2.67 | 4 | |||
| 933 | Gull, Black-headed | Chroicocephalus ridibundus | 21 | 21.00 | 21 | |||
| 170 | Harrier, Montagu's | Circus pygargus | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 168 | Harrier, Pallid | Circus macrourus | 3 | 3.00 | 3 | |||
| 64 | Heron, Black | Egretta ardesiaca | 1 | 29.33 | 73 | |||
| 55 | Heron, Black-headed | Ardea melanocephala | 1 | 1.80 | 3 | |||
| 56 | Heron, Goliath | Ardea goliath | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 54 | Heron, Grey | Ardea cinerea | 2 | 2.50 | 3 | |||
| 57 | Heron, Purple | Ardea purpurea | 1 | 2.67 | 4 | |||
| 62 | Heron, Squacco | Ardeola ralloides | 8 | 13.67 | 24 | |||
| 81 | Ibis, African Sacred | Threskiornis aethiopicus | 22 | 34.00 | 46 | |||
| 83 | Ibis, Glossy | Plegadis falcinellus | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 84 | Ibis, Hadada | Bostrychia hagedash | 5 | 5.00 | 5 | |||
| 228 | Jacana, African | Actophilornis africanus | 7 | 120.75 | 359 | |||
| 397 | Kingfisher, Malachite | Corythornis cristatus | 2 | 6.00 | 11 | |||
| 400 | Kingfisher, Mangrove | Halcyon senegaloides | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 394 | Kingfisher, Pied | Ceryle rudis | 3 | 13.80 | 24 | |||
| 210 | Moorhen, Common | Gallinula chloropus | 7 | 7.00 | 7 | |||
| 74 | Openbill, African | Anastomus lamelligerus | 131 | 344.00 | 731 | 500 | ||
| 172 | Osprey, Western | Pandion haliaetus | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 230 | Painted-snipe, Greater | Rostratula benghalensis | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 42 | Pelican, Great White | Pelecanus onocrotalus | 44 | 44.00 | 44 | |||
| 41 | Pelican, Pink-backed | Pelecanus rufescens | 4 | 8.50 | 13 | |||
| 233 | Plover, Common Ringed | Charadrius hiaticula | 1 | 4.00 | 7 | |||
| 237 | Plover, Kittlitz's | Charadrius pecuarius | 1 | 2.00 | 3 | |||
| 238 | Plover, Three-banded | Charadrius tricollaris | 1 | 1.50 | 2 | |||
| 102 | Pochard, Southern | Netta erythrophthalma | 37 | 37.00 | 37 | |||
| 258 | Sandpiper, Common | Actitis hypoleucos | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 251 | Sandpiper, Curlew | Calidris ferruginea | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 262 | Sandpiper, Marsh | Tringa stagnatilis | 1 | 9.00 | 17 | |||
| 264 | Sandpiper, Wood | Tringa glareola | 5 | 18.50 | 32 | |||
| 85 | Spoonbill, African | Platalea alba | 136 | 136.00 | 136 | 75 | ||
| 270 | Stilt, Black-winged | Himantopus himantopus | 6 | 21.00 | 36 | |||
| 253 | Stint, Little | Calidris minuta | 14 | 40.00 | 66 | |||
| 76 | Stork, Yellow-billed | Mycteria ibis | 83 | 218.50 | 354 | 250 | ||
| 208 | Swamphen, African | Porphyrio madagascariensis | 1 | 1.50 | 2 | |||
| 1274 | Teal, Green-winged | Anas carolinensis | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 97 | Teal, Red-billed | Anas erythrorhyncha | 25 | 25.00 | 25 | |||
| 902 | Tern, Gull-billed | Gelochelidon nilotica | 1 | 5.00 | 8 | |||
| 2070 | Tern, Saunders's | Sternula saundersi | 5 | 5.00 | 5 | |||
| 304 | Tern, White-winged | Chlidonias leucopterus | 150 | 150.00 | 150 |
Sunday 22 December 2024 05:15
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department
of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town
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