Email: CS/ADU no: Password:  
  Forgot/Reset password

    Zandvlei: Lower Estuary (34071828)

    Western Cape
    Card 505729
    Compiler 10691
    Location code 34071828Zandvlei: Lower Estuary (Western Cape)
    Start date 2016-07-16
    Season WWinter
    Start time 09:45
    End time 11:20
    Shoreline covered 90
    Openwater covered 95
    Total Species 23
    Total Count 1273
    Wetland Condition 2Partially full (mid tide for estuaries)
    Wetland Threats
    Count Condition 3Moderate
    Count Type 1On foot
    Nil Count (No birds present) 0There were CWAC species present
    Notes Note - The southern Marina canals were not counted, so the count should have been higher for this area. The wind was icy as the speed had increased and the birds were sheltering in the leeward areas to be out of the wind. During these conditions the birds often shelter in the Marina canal areas out of the prevailing wind. What kept many present were the fish to be caught. There was activity all over the Zandvlei water body including the Westlake Wetland river sections where fish were being chased. We observed a seal seen in mid water body opposite the Yacht Club catching fish and being mobbed by Hartlaub's Gulls. At about 10h30 the wind had cleared the overhead clouds and the sky was blue, the wind intensity increasingly making the air temp colder. We observed 1 female Peregrine on the ground of the Zandvlei Sportsfield plucking a Laughing Dove and being mobbed by Pied Crows. The sand bars from the 2nd bend were very exposed down to the mouth of the estuary, with the water flowing out over the rubble weir. Plenty of Kelp Gulls on the sand bars.
    Survey notes


    Add additional observers
    Observer NumberNameOptions
    0Barry Parker
     
    0Linda Hibbin
     
    0Robin Adams
     
    0Robyn Morton
     

    Current data
    Ref #SpeciesCountBreeding
    Pairs    		Breeding
    indicator
    4Grebe, Great Crested
    (Podiceps cristatus)    		10
    6Grebe, Little
    (Tachybaptus ruficollis)    		20
    47Cormorant, White-breasted
    (Phalacrocorax lucidus)    		370
    48Cormorant, Cape
    (Phalacrocorax capensis)    		1640
    50Cormorant, Reed
    (Microcarbo africanus)    		1610
    59Egret, Little
    (Egretta garzetta)    		180
    81Ibis, African Sacred
    (Threskiornis aethiopicus)    		10
    84Ibis, Hadada
    (Bostrychia hagedash)    		120
    85Spoonbill, African
    (Platalea alba)    		20
    86Flamingo, Greater
    (Phoenicopterus roseus)    		530
    89Goose, Egyptian
    (Alopochen aegyptiaca)    		1760
    94Shoveler, Cape
    (Anas smithii)    		40
    96Duck, Yellow-billed
    (Anas undulata)    		80
    212Coot, Red-knobbed
    (Fulica cristata)    		3120
    245Lapwing, Blacksmith
    (Vanellus armatus)    		150
    270Stilt, Black-winged
    (Himantopus himantopus)    		10
    274Thick-knee, Water
    (Burhinus vermiculatus)    		100
    287Gull, Kelp
    (Larus dominicanus)    		1370
    288Gull, Grey-headed
    (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)    		70
    289Gull, Hartlaub's
    (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii)    		1290
    686Wagtail, Cape
    (Motacilla capensis)    		80
    1016, Mallard
    (Anas platyrhynchos)    		130
    10015Mallard, Hybrid
    (Anas hybrid)    		20


    FITZ logo Ramsar Wetlands International http://www.sanbi.org/

    Thursday 06 November 2025 07:03
    FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
    Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town

    Creative Commons License
    This work is licensed under a
    Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License