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Ornithological information See Box and Table 2 for key species. More than 100 species of bird have been recorded in Dallol Boboye during only a few visits in 1993–1994 and it is likely that many more remain to be discovered. In addition to the Sahel biome species, two Sahara–Sindian biome species and two Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome species breed (see Table 2). Indeed, for one of the latter, Falco alopex, this is the main known locality in Niger, with pairs breeding at regular intervals along the cliffs. Other observations of interest include two Falco pelegrinoides on cliffs at Damana (13°55’N 03°06’E) in August 1993, while unidentified swifts, Apus sp., appear to nest at several cliffs in the dallol during the rainy season. There is also some evidence that the dallol functions as a migration route for birds.

Site description The Dallol Boboye is the central part of the Dallol Bosso, a graben running north–south through the relatively flat south-west part of Niger, approximately 100 km east of Niamey. The dallol was one of the main valleys that, historically, drained parts of the far north of Niger and extreme eastern Mali. The site defined here extends from Filingué to approximately 15 km south of Baléyara. The dallol in this section is 5–20 km wide and is bounded in many places by Tertiary sandstone cliffs ranging from less than 10 m to almost 100 m in height. The valley floor is mostly under permanent millet cultivation or a millet-fallow rotation. On the hills on either side there is more fallow land, some natural wooded savanna and thorn-scrub vegetation, and also a number of lateritic plateaus with tiger-bush vegetation. Although degraded in parts, some of the tiger bush is in excellent condition. The water-table in the dallol is quite near the surface and locally feeds several small wetlands. There are also a few small wetlands which depend on run-off and which are therefore more temporary. Average annual rainfall during the preiod 1961–1990 varied from 350 mm at Filingué to 450 mm at Baléyara.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity None known to BirdLife International.

Management considerations Main threats appear to be the increasing pressure on natural resources caused by demographic and possibly climatic changes. Increased direct disturbance of birds is potentially also a problem, especially for cave- and ledge-nesting species. Main conservation efforts need to focus on the cliff areas, where most of the species of interest are found.

References Millington (1990).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Dallol Boboye. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013

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