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    Strandfontein Sewage Works: Central (34051830)

    Western Cape
    Card 510881
    Compiler 11352
    Location code 34051830Strandfontein Sewage Works: Central (Western Cape)
    Start date 2024-08-13
    Season WWinter
    Start time 08:32
    End time 10:23
    Shoreline covered 95
    Openwater covered 100
    Total Species 24
    Total Count 1232
    Wetland Condition 1Full (High tide for estuaries)
    Wetland Threats 0
    Count Condition 3Moderate
    Count Type 4Motor vehicle
    Nil Count (No birds present) 0There were CWAC species present
    Notes water levels very high. The Winter quarterly count was due to take place on Sunday the 14th July 2024 but this was the day that the big storm hit Cape Town. The SSW was actually closed for a while following the rains and as we all know the rain never really abated for a long time. It was difficult to find a window of opportunity to get together and do a count, even on a weekday, without encroaching on other scheduled Club outings and without rain. I was not prepared to take a chance and have the counters come from Hout Bay and the Northern Suburbs for a non-event due to rain on the day. Eventually, just to be able to record a count, Simon Fogarty and I met yesterday morning at Strandfontein and just managed to get a curtailed count done before the arrival of the mid-day rain! The count was restricted in that the Northern area is inaccessible and P7 had no birds on the Pan. The South Western sector is also very restricted due to the electric fence cordoning off most of the Pans. We actually saw the Hippo in the North-eastern corner of S2.Really only two Pans were countable using a scope. The Central Pans were fine but not the usual numbers of birds, especially Flamingos. There were however Little Grebes and Black-necked Grebes in really good numbers. The South Eastern sector was surprisingly rewarding with S5 and S6 having lots of water and a large flock of Greater Flamingos. The overall number of Waterbirds was 4966 compared to 5793 in July 2023 so not far off target. Perhaps, with all the standing water in and around the Cape, a lot of the birds, like Flamingos, have dispersed at this time. One last point is that because of time restraints and the fact that this count is obstensibly a CWAC count we only recorded each species of Non-waterbirds and not in their numbers. Although the cut-off for CWAC was the end of July I have submitted the relative data to the ADU with an explanation.
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    Observer NumberNameOptions
    0S Fogarty
     

    Current data
    Ref #SpeciesCountBreeding
    Pairs    		Breeding
    indicator
    5Grebe, Black-necked
    (Podiceps nigricollis)    		4400
    6Grebe, Little
    (Tachybaptus ruficollis)    		1510
    50Cormorant, Reed
    (Microcarbo africanus)    		10
    55Heron, Black-headed
    (Ardea melanocephala)    		30
    61Egret, Western Cattle
    (Bubulcus ibis)    		360
    81Ibis, African Sacred
    (Threskiornis aethiopicus)    		530
    84Ibis, Hadada
    (Bostrychia hagedash)    		50
    86Flamingo, Greater
    (Phoenicopterus roseus)    		670
    88Goose, Spur-winged
    (Plectropterus gambensis)    		50
    89Goose, Egyptian
    (Alopochen aegyptiaca)    		110
    94Shoveler, Cape
    (Anas smithii)    		230
    95Duck, African Black
    (Anas sparsa)    		20
    96Duck, Yellow-billed
    (Anas undulata)    		291
    97Teal, Red-billed
    (Anas erythrorhyncha)    		70
    98Teal, Cape
    (Anas capensis)    		551
    101Duck, Fulvous Whistling
    (Dendrocygna bicolor)    		40
    102Pochard, Southern
    (Netta erythrophthalma)    		360
    210Moorhen, Common
    (Gallinula chloropus)    		270
    212Coot, Red-knobbed
    (Fulica cristata)    		1030
    245Lapwing, Blacksmith
    (Vanellus armatus)    		70
    287Gull, Kelp
    (Larus dominicanus)    		1030
    288Gull, Grey-headed
    (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)    		30
    289Gull, Hartlaub's
    (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii)    		540
    686Wagtail, Cape
    (Motacilla capensis)    		70


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    Sunday 24 November 2024 03:57
    FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
    Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town

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