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

    Zandvlei: Upper Estuary (34061828)

    Western Cape
    Card 511667
    Compiler 10691
    Location code 34061828Zandvlei: Upper Estuary (Western Cape)
    Start date 2025-10-18
    Season OOther
    Start time 08:30
    End time 09:45
    Shoreline covered 90
    Openwater covered 95
    Total Species 28
    Total Count 453
    Wetland Condition 1Full (High tide for estuaries)
    Wetland Threats 0
    Count Condition 4Good
    Count Type 5Mixed
    Nil Count (No birds present) 0There were CWAC species present
    Notes "The weather forecast was uncertain at first and it cleared to be a sunny, breezy late morning, with the wind blowing SE. There was no wind until about 10h00, parts of the main waterbody were glassy smooth before the wind picked up. On Thursday 16 October there was a very strong SE wind blowing and tomorrow 19 October forecast is to be very windy from the SE again. (Note - The Cape Town Marathon was cancelled on Sunday 19 October due to the very high winds blowing on Saturday night and early Sunday morning). The reason I mention the wind conditions, is the usual bird numbers and species were not visible today at Zandvlei, as in the past. Experience shows the birds hide away in the reeds, Marina canals or leave the area when strong winds blow from the SE. Also the water level in the main waterbody was full after the full moon and the annual peak high tide and now with the estuary mouth closed. A small amount of water from the catchment had flowed in compared the the previous weekend levels. The saline conditions are very high currently. A highlight we all saw, were 6 Glossy Ibis in flight over the main waterbody. This species was regularly seen at Zandvlei 20 years ago. They are still present in the nearby Rondevlei and Strandfontein water bodies. David and Lucia noted Greater Flamingo in the ponds in the Main Reserve area. As an alternative to the lack of birds we started observing the new Rain Spider nests along the pathways and even found a female spider on her nest. A number of butterflies were seen including the Burnished Opal (Chrysoritis chrysar) a copper coloured butterfly which is not that common here. A couple of unidentified moths were also seen. We saw a pair of Heady Maiden moths (Syntomis cerbera) mating, which has 4 red bands on its body, they have been present for over a month. There were no birds seen at the pond surrounded by reeds near Promenade Road, the water level has dropped since last weekend. We saw a Yellow billed Kite being chased by a Pied Crow and it found a thermal and climbed quickly out of sight. " 2 Egyptian pairs: 1 Adult with with 5 Juvenile and 1 Adult with 10 Goslings
    Survey notes


    Add additional observers
    Observer NumberNameOptions
    0Darren November
     
    0David Walker
     
    0Katherine Child
     
    0Kyran Wright
     
    0Linda Hibbin
     
    0Lucia Pino-Garcia
     

    Current data
    Ref #SpeciesCountBreeding
    Pairs    		Breeding
    indicator
    4Grebe, Great Crested
    (Podiceps cristatus)    		90
    47Cormorant, White-breasted
    (Phalacrocorax lucidus)    		20
    48Cormorant, Cape
    (Phalacrocorax capensis)    		20
    50Cormorant, Reed
    (Microcarbo africanus)    		650
    52Darter, African
    (Anhinga rufa)    		90
    54Heron, Grey
    (Ardea cinerea)    		70
    57Heron, Purple
    (Ardea purpurea)    		10
    59Egret, Little
    (Egretta garzetta)    		20
    69Night Heron, Black-crowned
    (Nycticorax nycticorax)    		10
    81Ibis, African Sacred
    (Threskiornis aethiopicus)    		90
    83Ibis, Glossy
    (Plegadis falcinellus)    		60
    84Ibis, Hadada
    (Bostrychia hagedash)    		40
    86Flamingo, Greater
    (Phoenicopterus roseus)    		40
    89Goose, Egyptian
    (Alopochen aegyptiaca)    		1244
    94Shoveler, Cape
    (Anas smithii)    		40
    96Duck, Yellow-billed
    (Anas undulata)    		400
    98Teal, Cape
    (Anas capensis)    		20
    210Moorhen, Common
    (Gallinula chloropus)    		30
    212Coot, Red-knobbed
    (Fulica cristata)    		1190
    270Stilt, Black-winged
    (Himantopus himantopus)    		40
    274Thick-knee, Water
    (Burhinus vermiculatus)    		80
    287Gull, Kelp
    (Larus dominicanus)    		50
    289Gull, Hartlaub's
    (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii)    		50
    394Kingfisher, Pied
    (Ceryle rudis)    		70
    397Kingfisher, Malachite
    (Corythornis cristatus)    		10
    686Wagtail, Cape
    (Motacilla capensis)    		40
    1016, Mallard
    (Anas platyrhynchos)    		50
    10034Duck, Hyrbid Mallard/Yellow-billed
    (Anas platyrhynchos x undulata)    		10


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

    Friday 24 October 2025 10:34
    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