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Waterbirds around
the world
A global overview of the conservation,
management and research of the
world's waterbird flyways
Edited by G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith and D.A. Stroud
Assisted by L.K. Bridge, I. Colquhoun, D.A. Scott,
D.B.A. Thompson and L.G. Underhill
EDINBURGH, UK: THE STATIONERY OFFICE
Extract only - complete publication at www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds
© Scottish Natural Heritage 2006
First published in 2006 by The Stationery Office Limited
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ISBN 0 11 497333 4
Recommended citation:
Boere, G.C., Galbraith, C.A. & Stroud, D.A. (eds). 2006.
Waterbirds around the world. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. 960 pp.
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supporting organisations or governments, of the political status or boundaries of any particular territory. Names of territories used (and
any alternatives) are included solely to help users of this publication apply information contained within this volume for waterbird
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Waterbirds around the world
Waterbirds of Baie de Baly, Madagascar
Rivo Rabarisoa1, Odon Rakotonomenjanahary2 & Julien Ramanampamonjy3
Takatra, BP 8505 (101) Antananarivo, Madagascar. (email: [email protected])
2&3Asity Association, BP 4096 (101) Antananarivo, Madagascar. (email: [email protected])
1Organisation
Rabarisoa, R., Rakotonomenjanahary, O. & Ramanampamonjy, J. 2006. Waterbirds of Baie de Baly, Madagascar. Waterbirds around
the world. Eds. G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith & D.A. Stroud. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. pp. 374-375.
During high tide, herons and egrets rested on mangrove trees,
and waders and flamingos moved to the back of the mangroves.
Two important nesting sites were noted at Sarika lake: a nesting
and roosting site for the Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis and
Madagascar Sacred Ibis and a nesting area for Darter Anhinga
rufa, Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis, Dimorphic Egret Egretta
dimorpha, Great Egret Egretta alba, and Madagascar Sacred
Ibis in a group of mangrove trees in the eastern part of the study
area, which is also used by roosting bats Pteropus rufus.
Five tern species frequent the Bay de Baly, the most important being the migratory Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis
(now known also to breed in north-west Madagascar, Le Corre
& Bemanaja 2004) and the Common Tern Sterna hirundo.
Two species breed in Madagascar, Greater Crested Tern Sterna
bergii and Caspian Tern S. caspia (Goodmand & Benstead 2004),
whilst the others are migratory. These species usually frequent
the bay and were abundant during January, but were infrequent or
absent in July and September. Lesser Crested, Greater Crested
and Caspian Terns were attracted by the shrimp farm and sometimes followed fishing boats all along the coast. The fifth species,
Saunder’s Tern Sterna saundersi was always seen inside the bay
near the mangrove estuary. Changes in physico-chemical parameters inside the shrimp farm force shrimps to the surface which
attracts terns and other bird species like the Dimorphic Egret
Egretta dimorpha and Black Kite Milvus migrans.
Out of the 19 migratory species recorded, 16 were Palaearctic
waders, but numbers were very low compared with those visiting
mainland African wetlands. Only one species, the Crab Plover
Dromas ardeola, occurred in numbers over their 1% population
threshold. The Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva is considered
as a vagrant species in Madagascar (Goodman & Benstead 2004)
but was seen regularly in low numbers, two to six individuals, in the
coastal area of Baie de Baly, usually associated with other waders
such as the Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii and the
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia. Numbers of migratory
waders are low in July and September, but much higher in January.
Despite four years of regular monitoring, it is likely that not all
waterbirds using the area have been recorded. For example, the
Madagascar Teal Anas bernieri, a globally threatened and endemic
species to Madagascar, was recorded in the mangroves in 1999
(Safford 1993), but has not been seen during monitoring counts.
From the waterbird monitoring, the Baie de Baly has been
identified as qualifying as a wetland of international importance
since it supports more than 1% of the populations of 12 waterbird species (Wetlands International 2002). Of these, five species
exceeded 1% thresholds in at least half the counts: Dimorphic
Egret, Madagascar Heron, Madagascar Sacred Ibis, Madagascar
Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus madagascariensis and Whitefronted Plover Charadrius marginatus. In addition, three pairs
(6% of the world population) of the Madagascar Fish-eagle were
The Baie de Baly, Mahajanga province, is located c. 450 km northeast of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. It is in the centre
of the 57 418 ha National Park of Baie de Baly, created in
December 1997, and was identified as an Important Bird Area in
1999. The establishment in 1999 of a commercial shrimp farm
inside the mangrove habitat, necessitated the development of a
strategy to maintain the stability of the wetland ecosystem. Since
2000, the Malagasy League for Bird Conservation in Madagascar
(Asity) in collaboration with the shrimp farm society “Aquaculture
des Macareigne” have made regular visits to record waterbirds as
a tool for monitoring changes to the wetland ecosystem.
The survey site (15˚57’ - 16˚08’S, 45˚17’ - 45˚27’E) includes
7 200 ha of mangrove, 700 ha of marshes, approximately
35–40 km of rivers and coast, and the 300 ha Sarika lake. The
mangrove vegetation is dominated by Avicennia spp. and
Rhizophora spp. with 220 ha of the mangrove area converted
into a shrimp farm (Autrant & Rafomanana 1998). Sarika is an
open permanent lake (3 200 m long) in a savannah palm area,
with dry deciduous forest at its south eastern end. The lake shore
is partly covered by aquatic reeds, mostly Phragmites spp., used
as bird roosts. The marshes are the flood plain of the
Ambolobozo river which joins the eastern part of the mangrove,
and is used by the local community for growing rice.
Since 2000, waterbird counts have been conducted in
January, July and September. Surveys were carried out by boat,
using African Waterbird Census techniques (Perennou 1991).
During the 12 counts undertaken from 2000 to 2003, 54
species of waterbirds were recorded (Table 1). The most diverse
families were Ardeidae (11 species), Charadriidae (nine species)
and Scolopacidae (seven species). Seven were endemic Malagasy
sub-species (Young et al. 1993). Nine other species are also
endemic to Madagasacar, of which five are globally threatened:
the Madagascar Heron Ardea humbloti, Black-banded Plover
Charadrius thoracicus, Madagascar Fish-eagle Haliaeetus vociferoides, Madagascar Sacred Ibis Threskiornis bernieri and
Madagascar Little Grebe Tachybaptus pelzelnii. In addition, two
individuals of Madagascar Squacco Heron Ardeola idea were
recorded in one count. This species breeds only in Madagascar
from October to March and leaves from May to October to spend
the austral winter in east and central Africa, visiting coastal and
inland waters (Stevenson & Fanshawe 2002). Both Lesser
Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor and Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber roseus were recorded during July and
September visits, but rarely seen in January.
Six species, including Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis,
Madagascar Little Grebe, African Pygmy Goose Nettapus
auritus and Hottentot Teal Anas hottentota were particularly
dependent on freshwater lake ecosystems. However, the most
important waterbird concentrations, mainly waders and herons,
foraged on mudflats near mangroves and in the coastal zone.
374
Waterbirds around the world
regularly recorded at Baie de Baly (Rabarisoa et al. 1997).
Using waterbirds as a tool to monitor changes in the wetland
ecosystem has led to recommendations that both the National Park
and Shrimp Farm management take measures to avoid biodiversity
loss. The presence of a shrimp farm in the National Park requires
not only good collaboration between these two institutions but also
the involvement of local authorities. Shrimp aquaculture attracts
many people for employment which in the long term can threaten
biodiversity without any adequate prevention. Recommendations
have been made for an effective public awareness campaign
concerning the importance of wetland biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources, since commercial shrimp farming can
induce changes in natural resource use and livelihoods resulting in
environmental deterioration through the acceleration of mangrove
habitat destruction, water pollution, land encroachment, and social
disruption (Barraclough & Finger-Stich 1996). Continued waterbird monitoring is recommended to provide early warning of any
changes in the Baie de Baly wetlands.
Table I. Maximum numbers of each waterbird species inside
the Baie de Baly wetland from 2000 to 2003.
Species
Status Maximum number
Tachybaptus ruficollis
B
Tachybaptus pelzelnii
VU, E
Phalacrocorax africanus pictillis
SE
Anhinga rufa vulsini
SE
Nycticorax nycticorax
B
Ardeola ralloides
B
Ardeola idae
EN, M, B
Bubulcus ibis
B
Butorides striatus rutenbergi
SE
Egretta ardesiaca
B
Egretta dimorpha
E
Egretta alba
B
Ardea purpurea
B
Ardea cinerea firasa
SE
Ardea humbloti
EN, E
Mycteria ibis
B
Threskiornis bernieri
EN
Anastomus lamelligerus madagascariensis SE
Plegadis falcinellus
B
Platalea alba
B
Phoenicopterus ruber
M
Phonicopterus minor
NT, M
Dendrocygna viduata
B
Dendrocygna bicolor
B
Sarkidiornis melanotos
B
Nettapus auritus
B
Anas hottentota
B
Haliaeetus vociferoides
CR, E
Dromas ardeola
M
Dryolimnas cuvieri
E
Gallinula chloropus pyrrhorrhoa
SE
Himantopus himantopus
B
Charadrius marginatus
B
Charadrius thoracicus
VU, E
Charadrius pecuarius
B
Charadrius tricollaris bifrontatus
SE
Charadrius leschenaultii
M
Charadrius mongolus
M
Charadrius hiaticula
M
Pluvialis fulva
V
Pluvialis squatorala
M
Numenius phaeopus
M
Tringa nebularia
M
Xenus cinereus
M
Actitis hypoleucos
M
Arenaria interpres
M
Calidris ferruginea
M
Calidris alba
M
Sterna caspia
B
Sterna bergii
B
Sterna bengalensis
M
Sterna saundersi
M
Sterna hirundo
M
Alcedo vintsioides
E
4
2
11
27
16
15
2
855
32
93
554
165
6
21
28
51
93
71
30
200
1 940
1 249
308
15
58
4
2
5
1 411
15
18
10
234
18
155
18
82
71
33
9
13
345
95
121
90
241
2 159
130
15
262
2 500
98
1 500
20
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all counters for their active participation
and the following institutions for their support: the Aquaculture des
Mascareigne (Aquamas), The “Eaux & Forêts” representative at
Soalala, the Commune of Soalala, the “Association National pour la
Gestion des Aires Protégées” (ANGAP), Wetlands International,
and the Ministère de l’Environnement à Madagascar.
REFERENCES
Autrant, M. & Rafomanana, G. 1998. Etude de Schema
d’Amenagement de l’aquaculture de crevette à Madagascar.
Consortium OSIMO, FTM, PHO & ORSTOM.
Barraclough, S. & Finger-Stich, A. 1996. Some ecological and
social implications of commercial shrimp farming. United
Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
UNRISD, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
BirdLife International. 2004. Threatened birds of the world
2004. Species factsheet for globally threatened birds.
BirdLife International, Cambridge.
Goodman, S. & Benstead, J. 2003. The Natural History of
Madagascar. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago
and London.
Le Corre & Bemanaja. 2004. Status and conservation of
seabirds at Madagascar. Unpublished poster.
Perennou, C. 1991. African Waterfowl Census: counting waterbirds. IWRB, Slimbridge, UK.
Rabarisoa, R., Watson, R.T.,Thorstom, R. & Berkelman, J.
1997. Status of the Madagascar Fish Eagle Haliaeetus
vociferoides in 1995. Ostrich 68(1):12
Safford, R. J. 1993. The Madagascar Teal Anas bernieri: a preliminary survey from Antsalova to Morondava. Dodo 29: 95-102.
Stevenson, T. & Fanshawe, J. 2002. Field guide to the birds of
Africa, Eastern Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,
Rwanda & Burundi. T. & A.D. Poyser Ltd, London.
Wetlands International. 2002. Waterbird Population Estimates
– Third edition. Wetlands International Global series No.
12, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Young, H.G., Safford, R., Green, A., Ravonjiarisoa, P. &
Rabarisoa, R. 1993. Survey and capture of the
Madagascar Teal Anas bernieri at lac Bemamba
Madagascar July – August 1993. Dodo 29: 77-94.
Status is E: endemic species; SE: endemic sub-species; VU: Vulnerable;
CR: Critically Endangered; EN: Endangered; NT: Near Threatened; M: migratory;
B: breeding. BirdLife International 2004, Goodman & Benstead 2003.
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