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Bitou River (34012323)
Western Cape
CWAC status	REGISTERED-COUNTED REGULARLY
Authority	Private
Management status	UNKNOWN
Conservation status	UNPROTECTED
IBA information
Ramsar information
Heritage information
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Information
Date_registered
1995-07-29
Brief_description
The lower Bitou River, progressing from marsh and floodplain to tidal conditions in the lowest reaches. Includes excellent marsh habitat for rails and other secretive birds; Redchested Flufftail and Baillon's Crake may breed. Moorhen counts peak in winter although recorded numbers are decreasing; winter Dabchick counts are also decreasing. Important for foraging and roosting shorebirds, waterfowl and egrets. Good numbers of South African Shelduck and Yellowbilled Duck recorded in winter 1995; Avocet numbers are high in summer. Species numbers and total counts have decreased over the three years of the survey period. Critical threats include pollution from effluent, pesticides and fertilizers, and damage by livestock; also threatened by siltation, reed encroachment, and residential development.

Spp	Common name	Taxonomic name	Min	Avg	Max	Subregional IBA	RAMSAR
72		Scopus umbretta	1	1.33	2
256		Calidris pugnax	1	12.00	36
1016		Anas platyrhynchos	1	3.33	6
269	Avocet, Pied	Recurvirostra avosetta	1	30.08	171	125
67	Bittern, Little	Ixobrychus minutus	1	1.00	1
212	Coot, Red-knobbed	Fulica cristata	1	16.35	164
48	Cormorant, Cape	Phalacrocorax capensis	1	9.25	34
50	Cormorant, Reed	Microcarbo africanus	4	35.77	181
47	Cormorant, White-breasted	Phalacrocorax lucidus	1	5.27	19
203	Crake, Black	Zaporina flavirostra	1	1.77	4
216	Crane, Blue	Grus paradisea	2	3.48	8
267	Curlew, Eurasian	Numenius arquata	2	2.00	2
52	Darter, African	Anhinga rufa	1	2.33	10
10006	Duck, Domestic	Anas platyrhynchos domesticus	2	2.00	2
103	Duck, Maccoa	Oxyura maccoa	1	2.33	7
10014	Duck, Unidentified	Anas sp.	1	1.00	1
104	Duck, White-backed	Thalassornis leuconotus	2	5.67	10
100	Duck, White-faced Whistling	Dendrocygna viduata	1	5.80	14
96	Duck, Yellow-billed	Anas undulata	2	48.62	363
58	Egret, Great	Ardea alba	1	1.00	1
60	Egret, Intermediate [x]	Ardea intermedia	1	1.17	2
59	Egret, Little	Egretta garzetta	1	6.80	31
61	Egret, Western Cattle	Bubulcus ibis	1	65.70	318
149	Fish Eagle, African	Haliaeetus vocifer	1	1.31	3
86	Flamingo, Greater	Phoenicopterus roseus	1	6.00	14
87	Flamingo, Lesser	Phoeniconaias minor	1	6.67	17
205	Flufftail, Red-chested	Sarothrura rufa	1	1.00	1
893	Gallinule, Purple	Porphyrio martinica	1	1.00	1
10004	Goose, Domestic	Anser anser domesticus	2	2.25	3
89	Goose, Egyptian	Alopochen aegyptiaca	6	31.93	127
88	Goose, Spur-winged	Plectropterus gambensis	1	8.00	31
6	Grebe, Little	Tachybaptus ruficollis	1	9.07	22
263	Greenshank, Common	Tringa nebularia	1	5.97	26
288	Gull, Grey-headed	Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus	1	1.00	1
287	Gull, Kelp	Larus dominicanus	3	32.41	159	150
167	Harrier, African Marsh	Circus ranivorus	1	1.56	3
64	Heron, Black	Egretta ardesiaca	7	7.00	7
55	Heron, Black-headed	Ardea melanocephala	1	4.38	27
56	Heron, Goliath	Ardea goliath	1	1.50	2
54	Heron, Grey	Ardea cinerea	1	7.12	22
57	Heron, Purple	Ardea purpurea	1	1.67	6
81	Ibis, African Sacred	Threskiornis aethiopicus	1	31.85	438
83	Ibis, Glossy	Plegadis falcinellus	1	9.00	17
84	Ibis, Hadada	Bostrychia hagedash	1	16.68	75
228	Jacana, African	Actophilornis africanus	1	1.00	1
402	Kingfisher, Brown-hooded	Halcyon albiventris	1	1.00	1
395	Kingfisher, Giant	Megaceryle maxima	1	1.48	3
396	Kingfisher, Half-collared	Alcedo semitorquata	1	1.00	1
397	Kingfisher, Malachite	Corythornis cristatus	1	1.29	2
394	Kingfisher, Pied	Ceryle rudis	1	4.17	12
245	Lapwing, Blacksmith	Vanellus armatus	3	22.27	67
509	Martin, Brown-throated	Riparia paludicola	1	1.00	1
210	Moorhen, Common	Gallinula chloropus	1	13.38	78
69	Night Heron, Black-crowned	Nycticorax nycticorax	1	4.00	10
172	Osprey, Western	Pandion haliaetus	1	1.20	2
231	Oystercatcher, African	Haematopus moquini	1	4.89	26	24
894	Oystercatcher, Eurasian	Haematopus ostralegus	1	1.00	1
233	Plover, Common Ringed	Charadrius hiaticula	1	10.70	40
241	Plover, Grey	Pluvialis squatarola	2	5.50	11
237	Plover, Kittlitz's	Charadrius pecuarius	1	18.38	60
238	Plover, Three-banded	Charadrius tricollaris	1	5.71	30
235	Plover, White-fronted	Charadrius marginatus	1	6.00	19
102	Pochard, Southern	Netta erythrophthalma	1	3.14	10
197	Rail, African	Rallus caerulescens	1	1.33	2		-1
261	Redshank, Common	Tringa totanus	2	2.00	2
258	Sandpiper, Common	Actitis hypoleucos	1	3.33	11
251	Sandpiper, Curlew	Calidris ferruginea	1	39.10	150
262	Sandpiper, Marsh	Tringa stagnatilis	1	3.60	7
895	Sandpiper, Pectoral	Calidris melanotos	2	2.00	2
264	Sandpiper, Wood	Tringa glareola	1	7.38	36
90	Shelduck, South African	Tadorna cana	1	18.60	51
94	Shoveler, Cape	Anas smithii	1	20.89	89
250	Snipe, African	Gallinago nigripennis	1	2.00	4
85	Spoonbill, African	Platalea alba	1	4.44	22
270	Stilt, Black-winged	Himantopus himantopus	1	27.63	101
253	Stint, Little	Calidris minuta	3	21.50	40
208	Swamphen, African	Porphyrio madagascariensis	1	1.00	1
10007	Swan, Black	Cygnus atratus	1	1.00	1
99	Teal, Blue-billed	Anas hottentota	1	4.18	11
98	Teal, Cape	Anas capensis	1	14.68	65
97	Teal, Red-billed	Anas erythrorhyncha	2	31.54	278
290	Tern, Caspian	Hydroprogne caspia	1	2.00	3
298	Tern, Greater Crested	Thalasseus bergii	1	24.50	48
305	Tern, Whiskered	Chlidonias hybrida	16	24.50	33
274	Thick-knee, Water	Burhinus vermiculatus	1	1.43	2
10008	Wader, Unidentified	N/A N/A	1	6.63	19
685	Wagtail, African Pied	Motacilla aguimp	1	1.83	3
686	Wagtail, Cape	Motacilla capensis	1	9.94	41
268	Whimbrel, Eurasian	Numenius phaeopus	1	4.03	16

Thursday 18 September 2025 07:19
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town

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Bitou River (34012323)

Western Cape

Information