Raptor Road Count Data of Namibia

The Raptor Road Count project was launched in 1977 and collected a large amount of data up until about 2000. The project was relaunched in 2005 by Raptors Namibia - a working group established to address some of the issues affecting Namibia's raptors (birds of prey).

Road count data are collected whilst driving, and for each observation the time of day, species, number of birds (of raptors and storks) are recorded, with additional information on activity and age often being included. The amount of data collected during the first phase is impressive, with sightings of over 116,000 birds of 63 species being recorded in 1.2 million km of driving, and the second phase is also beginning to produce plentiful information. Uses of the data include:

• Assessing changes in density of raptor species over time to provide a baseline for monitoring
• Assessing effects of factors such as land use changes on raptor densities
• Assessing breeding factors and population dynamics of raptor populations over time
• Monitoring the health of species at the top of the food chain, as indicators of environmental health.