Diversity, Abundance, Richness, and Birds of Conservation Interest in Nyando Sugar Belt, Muhoroni Sub-County, Lake Victoria Basin, Western Kenya

Abstract

Thus far, no expedition has comprehensively surveyed the composition of bird species in the dilapidated habitats of Nyando sugar belt, Western Kenya. This has made it difficult unearthing equilibrium between agricultural growth and bird species conservation. In response, we conducted bird assessment by stratifying the expedition area into farmlands and shrub-land. We then sampled birds by the standard point count method and opportunistic counts within a 30 m radius parcel of land. We exhaustively observed 1450 birds of 122 species. The farmland recorded a density of 2.065 ± 1.11 birds per hectare whereas the shrub-land had a density of 1.644 ± 0.70 birds per hectare. Nyando sugar belt was a diverse community with a Shannon diversity index value (H’) of 3.225 regardless of the birds being constrained in certain habitats. The magnitude of the disparity in true diversity indicated that the farmland was 4 times more diverse than the shrub-land. The facts promoted by this research validate the incorporation of bird conservation in the farmland and formulation of avian conservation strategies.