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    Lake St Lucia (28043227)

    KwaZulu-Natal
    Card 502521
    Compiler 60
    Location code 28043227Lake St Lucia (KwaZulu-Natal)
    Start date 2012-07-31
    Season WWinter
    Start time 09:00
    End time 12:00
    Shoreline covered 90
    Openwater covered 80
    Total Species 31
    Total Count 35629
    Wetland Condition 2Partially full (mid tide for estuaries)
    Wetland Threats
    Count Condition 5Ideal
    Count Type 3Aerial
    Nil Count (No birds present) 0There were CWAC species present
    Notes The St Lucia and Mfolozi Mouths are closed. A channel along the beach is carrying Mfolozi water into St Lucia but flows in Mfolozi low. Overtopping of the beach berm by the sea is bringing in some seawater. Salinity in the system ranges from 10 to 15 in the Narrows, 6 in Makakatana Bay, 6 to 10 in South Lake and 50 to 55 in North Lake.Water levels in the system are low. The Narrows has a fairly stable water level as Mfolozi water is flowing in and this flows northwards where the natural weir at Makakatana is overtopped. North and South Lakes still linked at Fanies Island; albeit tenuously. Rich shoreline vegetation occurs wherever there are groundwater inputs, and succulent salt-marsh occurs on mudflats where there is no supplementation by groundwater. Great white pelicans Breeding in the lake - about 700 chicks White-breasted cormorants (13 pairs) breeding in the lake - 37 nests Grey-headed gulls breeding in the lake - Caspian terns breeding in the lake -
    Survey notes


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    Observer NumberNameOptions

    Current data
    Ref #SpeciesCountBreeding
    Pairs    		Breeding
    indicator
    41Pelican, Pink-backed
    (Pelecanus rufescens)    		700
    42Pelican, Great White
    (Pelecanus onocrotalus)    		72400
    47Cormorant, White-breasted
    (Phalacrocorax lucidus)    		9340
    50Cormorant, Reed
    (Microcarbo africanus)    		10
    52Darter, African
    (Anhinga rufa)    		90
    54Heron, Grey
    (Ardea cinerea)    		2110
    56Heron, Goliath
    (Ardea goliath)    		130
    58Egret, Great
    (Ardea alba)    		2100
    59Egret, Little
    (Egretta garzetta)    		10280
    61Egret, Western Cattle
    (Bubulcus ibis)    		330
    75Stork, Saddle-billed
    (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)    		10
    76Stork, Yellow-billed
    (Mycteria ibis)    		210
    77Stork, Woolly-necked
    (Ciconia episcopus)    		70
    81Ibis, African Sacred
    (Threskiornis aethiopicus)    		160
    85Spoonbill, African
    (Platalea alba)    		7470
    86Flamingo, Greater
    (Phoenicopterus roseus)    		180870
    88Goose, Spur-winged
    (Plectropterus gambensis)    		2230
    89Goose, Egyptian
    (Alopochen aegyptiaca)    		5560
    96Duck, Yellow-billed
    (Anas undulata)    		3640
    97Teal, Red-billed
    (Anas erythrorhyncha)    		9520
    100Duck, White-faced Whistling
    (Dendrocygna viduata)    		6150
    149Fish Eagle, African
    (Haliaeetus vocifer)    		140
    208Swamphen, African
    (Porphyrio madagascariensis)    		10
    212Coot, Red-knobbed
    (Fulica cristata)    		1000
    269Avocet, Pied
    (Recurvirostra avosetta)    		11200
    270Stilt, Black-winged
    (Himantopus himantopus)    		5260
    288Gull, Grey-headed
    (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)    		6940
    290Tern, Caspian
    (Hydroprogne caspia)    		3090Confirmed Breeding
    394Kingfisher, Pied
    (Ceryle rudis)    		20
    10008Wader, Unidentified
    (N/A N/A)    		12410
    10009Tern, Unidentified
    (N/A N/A)    		2840


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    Saturday 20 December 2025 07:51
    FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
    Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town

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