Olifants River Mouth: South Bank (31421812) | |
|---|---|
Western Cape | |
| CWAC status | REGISTERED-COUNTED REGULARLY |
| Authority | CapeNature |
| Management status | MINING PROPERTY |
| Conservation status | PROTECTED |
| IBA information | SA099 - OLIFANTS RIVER ESTUARY |
| Ramsar information | |
| Heritage information | |
| View Cards | Click here |
Information |
|---|
| Date_registered |
| 1996-01-18 |
| Brief_description |
| An IBA. An open estuary with mud and sandbanks. Counts began in summer 1996 and have yielded good numbers of a reasonable variety of waterbirds, including 10 Palearctic shorebird species (high counts of Ringed and Grey Plovers are noteworthy). Counts of White Pelican, cormorants, South African Shelduck, Whitefronted and Kittlitz's Plovers, and Swift Tern, are higher in summer, whereas counts of Sacred Ibis, Lesser Flamingo, most waterfowl, Avocet, Blackwinged Stilt and gulls are higher in winter. Good numbers of Avocet are recorded. Severe threats are dam building and water abstraction by riparian landowners. Disturbance by fishermen in 4x4 vehicles is an important threat, and net fishing by the local community is a mild threat. |
| Spp | Common name | Taxonomic name | Min | Avg | Max | IBA | Subregional IBA | RAMSAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 256 | Calidris pugnax | 1 | 12.17 | 48 | ||||
| 255 | Calidris alba | 1 | 69.00 | 530 | ||||
| 269 | Avocet, Pied | Recurvirostra avosetta | 1 | 45.36 | 597 | 250 | 125 | 190 |
| 212 | Coot, Red-knobbed | Fulica cristata | 1 | 134.12 | 681 | |||
| 49 | Cormorant, Bank | Phalacrocorax neglectus | 1 | 7.67 | 18 | |||
| 48 | Cormorant, Cape | Phalacrocorax capensis | 3 | 20.53 | 96 | |||
| 51 | Cormorant, Crowned | Microcarbo coronatus | 1 | 8.00 | 12 | |||
| 50 | Cormorant, Reed | Microcarbo africanus | 1 | 19.64 | 98 | |||
| 47 | Cormorant, White-breasted | Phalacrocorax lucidus | 1 | 15.93 | 102 | |||
| 267 | Curlew, Eurasian | Numenius arquata | 1 | 4.86 | 17 | |||
| 52 | Darter, African | Anhinga rufa | 1 | 5.93 | 24 | |||
| 96 | Duck, Yellow-billed | Anas undulata | 2 | 17.14 | 65 | |||
| 58 | Egret, Great | Ardea alba | 1 | 3.33 | 8 | |||
| 60 | Egret, Intermediate [x] | Ardea intermedia | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 59 | Egret, Little | Egretta garzetta | 2 | 12.67 | 68 | |||
| 149 | Fish Eagle, African | Haliaeetus vocifer | 1 | 1.50 | 2 | |||
| 86 | Flamingo, Greater | Phoenicopterus roseus | 1 | 124.30 | 932 | 625 | 750 | |
| 87 | Flamingo, Lesser | Phoeniconaias minor | 1 | 58.44 | 181 | |||
| 266 | Godwit, Bar-tailed | Limosa lapponica | 1 | 4.00 | 9 | |||
| 89 | Goose, Egyptian | Alopochen aegyptiaca | 1 | 10.31 | 49 | |||
| 88 | Goose, Spur-winged | Plectropterus gambensis | 1 | 6.78 | 43 | |||
| 5 | Grebe, Black-necked | Podiceps nigricollis | 7 | 10.33 | 17 | |||
| 4 | Grebe, Great Crested | Podiceps cristatus | 1 | 1.33 | 2 | |||
| 6 | Grebe, Little | Tachybaptus ruficollis | 1 | 2.25 | 3 | |||
| 263 | Greenshank, Common | Tringa nebularia | 1 | 55.34 | 215 | |||
| 288 | Gull, Grey-headed | Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus | 1 | 2.14 | 8 | |||
| 289 | Gull, Hartlaub's | Chroicocephalus hartlaubii | 1 | 45.20 | 450 | 250 | 125 | 300 |
| 287 | Gull, Kelp | Larus dominicanus | 1 | 45.25 | 368 | 300 | 150 | |
| 167 | Harrier, African Marsh | Circus ranivorus | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 169 | Harrier, Black | Circus maurus | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 55 | Heron, Black-headed | Ardea melanocephala | 1 | 2.21 | 7 | |||
| 56 | Heron, Goliath | Ardea goliath | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 54 | Heron, Grey | Ardea cinerea | 1 | 5.12 | 13 | |||
| 1015 | Heron, Little Blue | Egretta caerulea | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 57 | Heron, Purple | Ardea purpurea | 1 | 1.20 | 3 | |||
| 63 | Heron, Striated (NOTE: use Little Heron) | Butorides striata | 3 | 3.00 | 3 | |||
| 81 | Ibis, African Sacred | Threskiornis aethiopicus | 1 | 11.42 | 42 | |||
| 83 | Ibis, Glossy | Plegadis falcinellus | 1 | 10.81 | 38 | |||
| 84 | Ibis, Hadada | Bostrychia hagedash | 1 | 2.69 | 5 | |||
| 395 | Kingfisher, Giant | Megaceryle maxima | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 394 | Kingfisher, Pied | Ceryle rudis | 1 | 3.25 | 11 | |||
| 245 | Lapwing, Blacksmith | Vanellus armatus | 1 | 2.86 | 11 | |||
| 69 | Night Heron, Black-crowned | Nycticorax nycticorax | 1 | 5.80 | 17 | |||
| 74 | Openbill, African | Anastomus lamelligerus | 9 | 9.00 | 9 | |||
| 231 | Oystercatcher, African | Haematopus moquini | 1 | 5.54 | 18 | |||
| 42 | Pelican, Great White | Pelecanus onocrotalus | 1 | 35.80 | 430 | 300 | ||
| 236 | Plover, Chestnut-banded | Charadrius pallidus | 1 | 12.29 | 94 | |||
| 233 | Plover, Common Ringed | Charadrius hiaticula | 1 | 44.34 | 205 | |||
| 241 | Plover, Grey | Pluvialis squatarola | 1 | 28.66 | 104 | |||
| 237 | Plover, Kittlitz's | Charadrius pecuarius | 1 | 27.16 | 86 | |||
| 238 | Plover, Three-banded | Charadrius tricollaris | 1 | 2.33 | 8 | |||
| 235 | Plover, White-fronted | Charadrius marginatus | 1 | 31.78 | 143 | 125 | ||
| 261 | Redshank, Common | Tringa totanus | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | |||
| 258 | Sandpiper, Common | Actitis hypoleucos | 1 | 30.55 | 120 | |||
| 251 | Sandpiper, Curlew | Calidris ferruginea | 1 | 338.23 | 1108 | |||
| 262 | Sandpiper, Marsh | Tringa stagnatilis | 1 | 6.50 | 29 | |||
| 257 | Sandpiper, Terek | Xenus cinereus | 1 | 1.20 | 2 | |||
| 90 | Shelduck, South African | Tadorna cana | 1 | 19.67 | 93 | |||
| 1342 | Shelduck, Common | Tadorna tadorna | 123 | 123.00 | 123 | |||
| 94 | Shoveler, Cape | Anas smithii | 1 | 26.59 | 120 | |||
| 85 | Spoonbill, African | Platalea alba | 1 | 7.60 | 33 | |||
| 270 | Stilt, Black-winged | Himantopus himantopus | 1 | 14.14 | 50 | |||
| 253 | Stint, Little | Calidris minuta | 1 | 70.83 | 285 | |||
| 76 | Stork, Yellow-billed | Mycteria ibis | 3 | 3.00 | 3 | |||
| 10007 | Swan, Black | Cygnus atratus | 1 | 1.67 | 2 | |||
| 98 | Teal, Cape | Anas capensis | 1 | 10.16 | 49 | |||
| 97 | Teal, Red-billed | Anas erythrorhyncha | 3 | 8.67 | 12 | |||
| 294 | Tern, Arctic | Sterna paradisaea | 1 | 17.60 | 42 | |||
| 290 | Tern, Caspian | Hydroprogne caspia | 1 | 2.66 | 10 | |||
| 291 | Tern, Common | Sterna hirundo | 1 | 120.70 | 881 | |||
| 298 | Tern, Greater Crested | Thalasseus bergii | 1 | 50.81 | 533 | 500 | 250 | 200 |
| 296 | Tern, Sandwich | Thalasseus sandvicensis | 1 | 15.92 | 51 | |||
| 10009 | Tern, Unidentified | N/A N/A | 4 | 83.50 | 300 | |||
| 304 | Tern, White-winged | Chlidonias leucopterus | 3 | 3.00 | 3 | |||
| 274 | Thick-knee, Water | Burhinus vermiculatus | 2 | 2.00 | 2 | |||
| 232 | Turnstone, Ruddy | Arenaria interpres | 1 | 1.50 | 2 | |||
| 10008 | Wader, Unidentified | N/A N/A | 27 | 85.40 | 171 | |||
| 686 | Wagtail, Cape | Motacilla capensis | 3 | 4.50 | 6 | |||
| 268 | Whimbrel, Eurasian | Numenius phaeopus | 1 | 5.55 | 19 |
Sunday 06 September 2026 03:48
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department
of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town
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