Kenya's lakes see steep fall in waterbirds
Environment & Climate
By
Caroline Chebet
| Dec 20, 2025
The National Wildlife Census 2025 Technical Report has revealed a worrying collapse in waterbird populations across Kenya’s critical wetland systems, particularly in the Rift Valley and along the coast.
The census, which monitored trends in waterbird abundance and species richness between 2023 and 2025, signalled a severe decline in the health of several globally significant sites.
Lake Elementaita, a designated Ramsar site, presented the most dramatic findings documented in the report. The lake, which recorded the highest count in 2023 with 208,712 individuals, saw that population collapse to just 5,360 birds by 2025. The catastrophic decline was driven by the near-total disappearance of intra-African migrant birds — a category dominated by the lesser flamingo — whose numbers plunged from more than 202,000 individuals to just 1,476 over the three-year period.
Other iconic and globally recognised lakes within the Rift Valley also showed signs of distress. Lake Nakuru experienced a steady decline, from 22,533 waterbirds in 2023 to 15,543 in 2025. Similarly, Lake Naivasha’s waterbird population was nearly halved, falling from 15,985 to 7,497. Lake Bogoria displayed fluctuations, peaking in 2024 at 54,711 before dropping sharply to 21,903 individuals in 2025.
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Despite the drastic reduction in bird abundance, some lakes recorded increases in species richness. Lake Elementaita registered 63 species in 2023, 57 in 2024, and a notable 88 in 2025, indicating the persistence of habitat diversity.
By contrast, Lake Naivasha had the highest species richness in 2023, with 88 species, but this declined steadily to 60 by 2025. Lake Nakuru showed relative stability, recording 77 species in 2023, peaking at 88 in 2024, and falling to 73 in 2025.
The challenges extend beyond the Rift Valley lakes. Along the coast, Mida Creek recorded an alarming indicator of ecosystem instability. While overall bird numbers remained moderate, species richness fell dramatically from an exceptionally high 99 species in 2024 to just 21 in 2025.
“Coastal ecosystems, including Mida Creek and the Sabaki River Mouth, supported moderate numbers; Mida Creek rose from 2,266 in 2023 to 3,747 in 2024 before declining to 3,376 in 2025, while Sabaki River Mouth fell steadily from 4,201 to 2,654 over the three years,” the report reveals.
Despite the massive declines in Rift Valley lakes, the census revealed an interesting twist. An aerial survey in December 2024 documented an extraordinary waterbird congregation at the remote Lake Logipi in Turkana County. The survey recorded a stunning 768,768 waterbirds, which included 737,243 Lesser Flamingos.