Data Zone
Country/territory: Kenya
IBA criteria met: A3 (1999)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 29,600 hectares (296.00 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)
These small, adjoining savanna National Reserves lie either side of the Northern Ewaso Ngiro river, some 340 km north north-east of Nairobi. They were established in 1948 as the Samburu-Isiolo Game Reserve, part of the once extensive Marsabit National Reserve. Now their respective County Councils, Samburu and Isiolo manage them. Buffalo Springs consists of gently rolling plains of volcanic origin, while Samburu is more rugged, with outcrops of ancient basement rocks forming isolated inselbergs. The soils are mainly sandy or gravelly; rainfall is c.350 mm/year. Despite their relatively small size, the reserves contain contrasting habitats: rocky cliffs and scarps; pools, swamps and riverine sandbanks; arid open bush and grassland; tracts of Acacia tortilis woodland; and, along the banks of the Ewaso Ngiro and its tributaries (the Isiolo and Ngare Mara), a narrow band of riverine forest with magnificent Acacia elatior, Tana River poplar Populus ilicifolia and doum palm Hyphaene compressa. The Buffalo Springs themselves, with their pools and streams of clear, fresh water, are a magnet for thirsty wildlife in the dry season.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. Over 380 species have been recorded from the reserves, and the birdlife is generally abundant and colourful. Birds of the arid northern bush country are augmented by a number of riverine forest species. Numerous raptors nest on the cliffs of Samburu’s inselbergs. Several arid-country birds reach their southern limit here, including Plocepasser donaldsoni, Nectarinia habessinica and Onychognathus salvadori. Two globally threatened species are recorded, Falco naumanni (a passage migrant) and Falco fasciinucha (status unclear, probably resident). Regionally threatened species include Anhinga rufa (sporadic visitor); Casmerodius albus (sporadic visitor); Trigonoceps occipitalis (resident in small numbers); Polemaetus bellicosus (resident in small numbers); and Buphagus africanus (fairly common resident).
Non-bird biodiversity: The reserves hold populations of several threatened mammal species, including Equus grevyi (EN), Loxodonta africana (EN) and Acinonyx jubatus (VU). The increasingly uncommon Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata occurs in good numbers. The tree Populus ilicifolia, which grows along the Northern Ewaso Ngiro river, is restricted to just three Kenyan river systems.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves (Kenya). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/samburu-and-buffalo-springs-national-reserves-iba-kenya on 22/12/2024.