Citizen science plays major role in monitoring bird species in Kenya

Citizen science is a participatory research practice that draws upon members of the community in research sites.

Local residents are trained as citizen scientists who develop and implement the research methods and analyse data, often conducting interviews with policy-makers, community leaders and other residents.

Local citizen scientists have helped rate how biodiversity has evolved in the last 50 years.

Today, Kenya is ranked among the top 10 most diverse nations in the world, with over 35,000 bird species spread across thousands of kilometres.

It is now possible to draw how these bird species have moved and been fairing on in the past half-century.

The country has one of the earliest and most comprehensive bird atlases in Africa.

Thanks to citizen scientists, bird lovers today have platforms like Kenya Bird Map Initiative and eBird where they can access a wealth of information.

Bird lovers or researchers can browse data in various ways – either by focusing on a specific species and visualising how its distribution has changed on a map, or zooming in to a specific area to see which species have recently appeared, remained in existence, and disappeared into obscurity since the 1970s.

The information can also be used by conservationists, who can use the platform to target specific areas or species with effective conservation measures. Researchers can also use this platform as a source for study.

A glance at these platforms will show several significant trends of all six vulture species in the country.

Our ecosystem

One can trace the iconic Bateleur and how the number has reduced over the years. The platforms will show how the White-headed Vulture’s range has tragically shrunk by almost half of its historical range.

Conservation measures are already in place to try to protect and re-introduce these vitally important birds for our ecosystem, chiefly led by the Kenya Bird of Prey Trust.

From the platforms, it is easy to see how certain species have surprisingly thrived in urban habitat.

Others like the Indian House Crow, introduced to the coast of Kenya in the 1970s are now a menace.

They feast on local wildlife, snatch food from tourists, attack chicks in poultry farms and pose bird strike hazards at local airports.

As a safety measure, a crow control campaign was recently launched to eradicate this species of birds from the coast and avoid any further spread.

The data shows that long-distant species of migrants are not fairing so well, and typically lost more range than resident birds (that remain in the country throughout the year).

Migrant birds tend to be more vulnerable to change as they rely on a lot of different habitats to refuel during their migration journey.

Strategically positioned on major migratory flyways, Kenya has a major role to play in providing healthy habitats for the hundreds of thousands of migrant birds that fly over the country twice a year.

If you are a bird lover and conservationist, then you are most welcome to have a look at kenyabirdtends.co.ke.

Ms Nussbaumer is a researcher