1. – Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa
– Training Course –
– Module 4 – Why count waterbirds?
This PowerPoint presentation does not include any personalised activities. Trainers can therefore add some to suit their needs.
Running the Module
The following factsheets should be handed out at the end of the series:
What are waterbird counts for? The main objectives: 1 page - S4.1
How a waterbird monitoring network works: 1 page - S4.2
These factsheets can be found at the end of Hecker N., Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa: A toolkit for trainers - Sub-Saharan Africa. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E. France.
2015

2. Designed and written by Nathalie Hecker nat.hecker@yahoo.fr
This training course is one of the tools of: Hecker N., Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa: A toolkit for trainers - Sub-Saharan Africa. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E. France
Designed and written by
Nathalie Hecker
Photographs
Steve Garvie
Illustrations
Cyril Girard
Translation
Rachel Wakeham
Richard Lansdown
Module 4 is part of Hecker N., Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa: A toolkit for trainers - Sub-Saharan Africa. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E. France.
These tools have been adapted from Hecker N., Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa – A toolkit for trainers -Sub-Saharan Africa. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E. France, and « La Mallette Pédagogique » by HECKER, N Formation pour le suivi des populations d’oiseaux d’eau en Afrique sub-saharienne. ONCFS - Tour du Valat, France.
This entire publication (text, photos and illustrations) is licensed by Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA.
Any part of this publication may be copied, used, adapted and distributed for non-commercial purposes, citing the authors’ names and distributing any material produced from this publication under identical or similar license.

3. Technical explanations
Presenting the Module
Technical explanations
Indoor exercises
The “Why count waterbirds?” Module includes different types of slides:
White background: technical explanations;
Shaded blue / yellow background: indoor exercises, some of which can also be carried out as fieldwork.
The English, French and Latin names of the species shown are given in the notes section of each slide.

4. Objectives of the Module
Why count waterbirds?
Objectives of the Module
At the end of this Module, you will be able to:
explain how census results are used at three different levels: local, national and international
describe the operation and role of national and international networks
understand how your own work fits into these networks.
A learner-centred approach
This Module should motivate each trainee and show them the importance of their involvement in the census network, at whatever level.
To do so, the trainer needs to help each trainee, be they a future census counter and/or organiser and/or coordinator, to be aware of their role within the network and the value of their work as a link in the network’s chain.
The trainer’s role is to:
Help the trainees with their thought-process;
Foster the sharing of ideas and showing how the trainees can help each other out;
Guide the trainees to discover and structure everything they will need to learn themselves.
Skills the trainer will need:
a sound knowledge of national and international waterbird census networks;
a sound knowledge of international conventions, agreements and organisations.

5. Why count waterbirds? What are the censuses for?
Indoor exercise
Equipment: flipchart pad, marker pens
Procedure: groups of 2 to 4 people
Each group must find answers to the question “What are waterbird censuses for?”
Each group should list their answers on paper, organising them into local (site-wide), national and international levels
Each group should present their answers to the other groups
A joint list can be drawn up by compiling the different results
Indoor exercise
Equipment: flipchart pad, marker pens
Procedure: groups of 2 to 4 people
Each group must find answers to the question “What are waterbird censuses for?”
Each group should list their answers on paper, organising them into local (site-wide), national and international levels
Each group should present their answers to the other groups
A joint list can be drawn up by compiling the different results
Trainer’s role:
Help with the thought process and compilation;
Hand out the “What are waterbird counts for? The main factors” factsheet S4.1 at the end of the exercise.

6. Why count waterbirds?
At site level: to evaluate the importance of the site
To know the numbers of different species of waterbird at a site
To know how many birds of each species the site can hold, and how this varies
To compare census results from different sites in the region or the country and assess each wetland’s relative importance for waterbirds
To prioritise measures to be taken for threatened species
Having handed out the “What are waterbird counts for?: The main objectives” factsheet S4.1, the trainer should comment on each section.

7. Why count waterbirds?
At site level: ensure the continued monitoring of a site
To detect changes in numbers of birds or their specific composition
To help identify the reasons for these changes in order to implement conservation measures if necessary
To assess the impact of various activities
To regularly check if the use and/or management of the wetland is wise and sustainable.
Having handed out the “What are waterbird counts for?: The main objectives” factsheet S4.1, the trainer should comment on each section.

8. Why count waterbirds? At a national level
To know the role and importance of the country’s wetlands for different species of waterbirds throughout their annual cycle
To provide information for implementing conservation measures and steps towards the sustainable use of natural resources
To provide information for nature protection laws (including huntable species, hunting seasons, species and areas to protect, and threatened species) and national policy for wetland conservation
To provide information to compile data.
Having handed out the “What are waterbird counts for?: The main objectives” factsheet S4.1, the trainer should comment on each section.

9. Why count waterbirds? At an international level
To improve the understanding of species in their distribution range (including population sizes, annual cycle, movements and migrations) and to monitor change in certain parameters such as population size
To provide information necessary for international conventions and agreements, and for producing strategic documents.
At all levels
To increase knowledge of species and their biology.
Having handed out the “What are waterbird counts for?: The main objectives” factsheet S4.1, the trainer should comment on each section.

10. Why count waterbirds? Further reading
National and international reports of census results
An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia Wetlands International – Wader Study Group.
Waterbird Population Estimates. Wetlands International.
Wings over Wetlands:
- The flyway approach to the conservation and wise use of waterbirds and wetlands: 2010 Training kit
Critical Site Network Tool
Etc.
The trainer can present these ideas for further reading and useful links as well as any documents relevant to the region concerned. See § Useful publications and links, Tool 2: The training modules in the Toolkit for trainer Hecker N., Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa – A toolkit for trainers -Sub-Saharan Africa. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E. France.

11. Why count waterbirds? What are the censuses for?
Indoor exercise: Diagram of networks
Procedure:
The “How a waterbird monitoring network works” factsheet S4.2 should be handed out to each trainee at the beginning of the exercise.
All trainees should take part in a discussion of the following points:
the role of each person (counters, national and international coordinators);
the results at each level, their distribution and use;
the links between each level (arrows) and the importance of each one.
Trainer’s role:
Lead the discussion and see that everyone joins in;
Make the connection with the results from the previous exercise.
The network is a chain made up of a series of links

12. How to count waterbirds
Knowing how to count waterbirds is:
Knowing when to count and when to estimate
Knowing how to count a small group of birds
Knowing how to estimate a large group
The trainer can introduce the procedure of the course on census techniques.

13. Thanks for your attention!