Birds of prey are some of the most threatened vertebrate taxa, and in the last three decades many species have experienced severe population declines or faced extinction. The global loss of raptors per se is worrying, not just because of their charisma and flagship role, but also because reduced abundance of raptors can have cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. Raptor decline may also lead to loss of ecosystem services, sometimes acutely impacting human well-being. Therefore, population distribution, diversity and abundance of birds of prey demand investigation for potential conservation interventions. The study aimed to determine the abundance of birds of prey in Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, carried out in March to August, 2021, with a view to providing information in a bid to establish a baseline for conservation for this group of birds. Transect line method was used for the bird survey. This involved moving slowly along the transect line and recording all birds seen in and around the transect line. The survey was carried out for a period of six (6) months and each site was surveyed twice every month during the study period. Bird observation was carried out twice daily; morning between 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. and evening between 3pm to 6p.m. A pair of binoculars with magnification 7X50 was used for identification of birds visually alongside with field guide “Birds of West Africa” for identification of birds. Relative abundance and t-test were used for data analysis. The total number of birds was calculated as the number of birds seen. Transect line survey method detected a total of 1,562 individual birds of prey that belong to twenty four (24) species of 2 families. Accipitridae with 20 species and Falconidae with 4 species. The most abundant species, Yellow billed kite, black shouldered kite and gabar goshawk comprised 68.5% of all individuals seen in all wetlands in all seasons. Out of the 24 species recorded 16 are resident, 5 Palearctic migrant and 3 intra-African migrant. Four species of global conservation concern were also recorded; the Vulnerable Tawny eagle (Aquila rapax) the near threatened Red-necked falcon (Falco chicquera) and Pallid harrier (Circus macrourus) and the endangered Martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus ). Public awareness should be raised to inform the local populace about the importance of these species to the environment vis-à-vis protecting the man-made structures used by the bird species.

Birds of prey are some of the most threatened vertebrate taxa, and in the last three decades, many species have experienced severe population declines or faced extinction. Raptor decline may also lead to loss of ecosystem services, sometimes acutely impacting human well-being. Therefore, the population distribution of birds of prey demands an investigation for potential conservation interventions. The study, which was conducted between March and August of 2021, sought to map the distribution of birds of prey in Hadejia Nguru wetlands, Nigeria, to provide baseline data for their conservation. This involved moving slowly along the transect line and recording all birds seen and detected in and around the transect line. The survey was carried out for a period of six (6) months using the transect line method, and each site was surveyed twice every month during the study period. Bird observation was carried out twice daily; morning between 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. and evening between 4:00 to 6:30p.m by walking slowly along the transect line. Birds were counted as birds seen or heard. The total number of birds was calculated as the number of birds seen plus the number of birds heard. The results showed a total of 1,562 individual birds of prey that belong to twenty-four (24) species of 2 families. Accipitridae with 20 species is the richest family in species number, and Falconidae with 4 species. Public awareness should be raised to inform the local populace about the importance of these species to the environment vis-à-vis protecting the man-made structures used by the bird species.