Project title: GHANA: REPORT ON WATERBIRDS AND WETLANDS COUNT OF THE EAST ATLANTIC FLYWAY IN JANUARY 2017

Implementer: WILDLIFE DIVISION OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSION OF GHANA

Partner institution: CENTRE FOR AFRICAN WETLANDS

Report Period: 11TH January 2017 to 20TH January 2017
 

Compiled by Jones Quartey & Charles Amankwah

Reviewed by Prof Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu & Nana Kofi Adu-Nsiah
 

INTRODUCTION

A number of key wetland sites on the Ghana coast have been regularly monitored since 1985 first by the Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS) and subsequently by the Centre for African Wetlands (CAW), thus providing long-term data on waterbird populations within the West African sub-region. The sites monitored include five coastal Ramsar Sites; Keta, Songor, Sakumo, Densu Delta and Muni-Pomadze. Analysis of the long term data has shown that peak numbers of waterbirds along Ghana’s coast are observed between September and November during the autumn migration. However in some years, another peak may be observed between January and March during the northern spring migration. There are relatively low numbers of waterbirds observed on all monitored sites between May and July, the period when most species of waterbirds have migrated to their breeding grounds. Under a contractual agreement between Wetlands International (WI) and the Wildlife Division (WD) of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, the later was tasked to undertake a ‘Total count of coastal waterbirds – January 2017’ in the framework of the International Waterbirds Census in the East-Atlantic Flyway. The WD sought assistance from the CAW to deliver this assignment. This document provides a final report on the counts carried out by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission of Ghana and its partner institution, the Centre for African Wetlands between the 11th - 20th January, 2017.

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