Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Gorongosa: Waterbird Paradise

Jun 16, 2008

Gorongosa is best known for its large mammals and scenic wilderness, but it is also a haven for waterbirds like storks, pelicans, and cranes.  This June 2008, ecologists with the Gorongosa Restoration Project surveyed key wetlands of the Park to estimate of the diversity and abundance of waterbirds that depend on Gorongosa National Park for feeding and breeding.  The survey confirmed Gorongosa’s global importance as waterbird habitat, and qualifies the park for designation as a “Wetland of International Importance” under the Ramsar Convention.

The team observed 42 different species of resident waterbirds across the Park (there are additional migrant waterbird species that visit the park during the summer), with many exciting discoveries:

• The peninsulas of albida trees that jet out to the southern shores of Lake Urema support one the largest breeding colonies in Mozambique. Thousands of yellowbilled storks, African openbilled storks, reed cormorants, grey herons, African darters, yellowbilled egrets, African spoonbills, sacred ibises, and other species raise their young in nests high in the trees—above the hungry jaws of crocodiles lurking below.
• Near Lion House, a spectacular evening fly-in to fever tree roosting sites along the Mussicadzi River features 14 species, including more than 450 darters flying in one by one at sunset. On the adjacent floodplain as many as 120 black herons were observed in a communal fishing frenzy, with each bird, side-by-side, folding its wings up over its lowered head to form a group “umbrella” to aid in fishing the shallow waters. 
• The borassus palms along Picada Urema, about 12 km east of Chitengo, support an immense breeding ground of Pinkbacked pelicans—as many as 100 palms may be used as nesting sites, producing 300 or more chicks. 
• Gorongosa supports the largest population of Vulnerable Grey Crowned Cranes in Mozambique.

Waterbird populations are one of the most important factors considered in designating a “Wetland of International Importance” under the Ramsar convention.  The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Mozambique became a signatory to the convention in 2003, when two scientists associated with the Gorongosa Restoration Project, Carlos Bento and Richard Beilfuss, successfully advocated for the Marromeu Complex of the Zambezi Delta to become Mozambique’s first designated site.  Other famous Wetlands of International Importance in southern Africa include the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the Kafue Flats and Bangweulu Swamps in Zambia, and St. Lucia in South Africa. We hope Gorongosa will be the next.