Data Zone
Country/territory: Kenya
IBA criteria met: A1, A3 (1999)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 100 hectares (1.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2023 | poor | high | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
Dunga (or Tako river mouth) is a wetland situated about 10 km south of Kisumu town on the shores of Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria. At the western limit is a beach, used as a major fish landing point. Papyrus Cyperus papyrus stands stretch south-eastwards along the shore from here for c.1.5 km, in a strip that varies in width from about 50 to 800 m. A number of streams drain into the lake through the swamp, the main one being Tako river.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. This is one of the most reliable sites in Kenya for the scarce and threatened Chloropeta gracilirostris, which is often seen along the lakeward side of the swamp. All but one of Kenya’s nine Lake Victoria Basin biome species have been recorded here, and it is especially important for Laniarius mufumbiri (relatively common), Bradypterus carpalis and Serinus koliensis, all papyrus endemics.
Non-bird biodiversity: No information is available. Wetlands around the shores of Lake Victoria are known to be important refuges for a number of the lake’s endemic haplochromine fish species.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Dunga swamp (Kenya). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/dunga-swamp-iba-kenya on 22/12/2024.