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Keurbooms River Estuary (34022324)
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 open estuary of the Keurbooms River. Two summer and three winter counts indicate good numbers of cormorants (especially in winter), an apparently resident population of Purple Heron, reasonable numbers of Little Egret throughout the year, a good variety of shorebirds (including large concentrations of Grey Plover, Greenshank and Whimbrel) and significant roosts of Kelp Gull (particularly in summer) and Swift Tern. Dabchick have been counted only in the winter and counts are decreasing. Residential development is a critical threat, while boating, fishing, general human disturbance, domestic animals, and bank erosion are also listed as severe threats.

Spp	Common name	Taxonomic name	Min	Avg	Max	IBA	Subregional IBA	RAMSAR
256		Calidris pugnax	3	3.00	3
1016		Anas platyrhynchos	2	5.55	11
255		Calidris alba	1	2.50	4
269	Avocet, Pied	Recurvirostra avosetta	3	40.86	170		125
212	Coot, Red-knobbed	Fulica cristata	1	1.50	2
48	Cormorant, Cape	Phalacrocorax capensis	1	48.69	325
50	Cormorant, Reed	Microcarbo africanus	10	76.84	288
47	Cormorant, White-breasted	Phalacrocorax lucidus	1	18.89	78
267	Curlew, Eurasian	Numenius arquata	1	1.82	7
52	Darter, African	Anhinga rufa	1	3.39	14
10005	Duck, Hybrid	Anas hybrid	3	3.00	3
1017	Duck, Mandarin	Aix galericulata	2	2.00	2
96	Duck, Yellow-billed	Anas undulata	1	4.31	17
60	Egret, Intermediate [x]	Ardea intermedia	1	1.00	1
59	Egret, Little	Egretta garzetta	5	20.64	51
61	Egret, Western Cattle	Bubulcus ibis	1	2.90	15
149	Fish Eagle, African	Haliaeetus vocifer	1	1.53	3
86	Flamingo, Greater	Phoenicopterus roseus	1	12.08	37
87	Flamingo, Lesser	Phoeniconaias minor	2	5.50	9
893	Gallinule, Purple	Porphyrio martinica	5	5.00	5
44	Gannet, Cape	Morus capensis	64	64.00	64
266	Godwit, Bar-tailed	Limosa lapponica	1	7.22	55
89	Goose, Egyptian	Alopochen aegyptiaca	1	25.02	107
88	Goose, Spur-winged	Plectropterus gambensis	1	3.82	15
5	Grebe, Black-necked	Podiceps nigricollis	2	45.00	88
4	Grebe, Great Crested	Podiceps cristatus	1	1.00	1
6	Grebe, Little	Tachybaptus ruficollis	1	36.33	183
263	Greenshank, Common	Tringa nebularia	1	21.40	108
288	Gull, Grey-headed	Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus	1	2.00	4
287	Gull, Kelp	Larus dominicanus	10	385.47	1370	300	150	700
167	Harrier, African Marsh	Circus ranivorus	1	1.00	1
55	Heron, Black-headed	Ardea melanocephala	1	1.23	2
56	Heron, Goliath	Ardea goliath	1	1.00	1
54	Heron, Grey	Ardea cinerea	1	8.95	27
57	Heron, Purple	Ardea purpurea	1	2.69	11
62	Heron, Squacco	Ardeola ralloides	1	1.00	1
10011	Heron, Unidentified	Ardea sp.	1	1.00	1
81	Ibis, African Sacred	Threskiornis aethiopicus	6	50.20	169
84	Ibis, Hadada	Bostrychia hagedash	1	4.42	22
395	Kingfisher, Giant	Megaceryle maxima	1	1.29	2
396	Kingfisher, Half-collared	Alcedo semitorquata	1	1.50	2
397	Kingfisher, Malachite	Corythornis cristatus	1	1.00	1
394	Kingfisher, Pied	Ceryle rudis	1	4.63	11
254	Knot, Red	Calidris canutus	2	3.00	4
245	Lapwing, Blacksmith	Vanellus armatus	1	8.02	23
210	Moorhen, Common	Gallinula chloropus	1	1.00	1
172	Osprey, Western	Pandion haliaetus	1	1.17	3
231	Oystercatcher, African	Haematopus moquini	5	23.86	67	48	24	55
894	Oystercatcher, Eurasian	Haematopus ostralegus	1	1.00	1
233	Plover, Common Ringed	Charadrius hiaticula	2	37.86	106
239	Plover, Greater Sand	Charadrius leschenaultii	1	1.00	1
241	Plover, Grey	Pluvialis squatarola	2	53.29	254
237	Plover, Kittlitz's	Charadrius pecuarius	1	3.40	8
234	Plover, Siberian Sand	Charadrius mongolus	1	1.00	1
238	Plover, Three-banded	Charadrius tricollaris	1	3.29	12
235	Plover, White-fronted	Charadrius marginatus	2	22.31	76
258	Sandpiper, Common	Actitis hypoleucos	1	2.67	12
251	Sandpiper, Curlew	Calidris ferruginea	1	65.07	354
262	Sandpiper, Marsh	Tringa stagnatilis	1	9.92	57
264	Sandpiper, Wood	Tringa glareola	1	7.17	16
94	Shoveler, Cape	Anas smithii	1	1.40	2
85	Spoonbill, African	Platalea alba	1	15.77	59
270	Stilt, Black-winged	Himantopus himantopus	1	5.38	12
253	Stint, Little	Calidris minuta	1	4.50	13
10007	Swan, Black	Cygnus atratus	1	1.00	1
98	Teal, Cape	Anas capensis	1	2.53	11
97	Teal, Red-billed	Anas erythrorhyncha	1	2.80	4
290	Tern, Caspian	Hydroprogne caspia	1	2.13	5
291	Tern, Common	Sterna hirundo	1	77.53	510
298	Tern, Greater Crested	Thalasseus bergii	1	186.31	2500	500	250	200
296	Tern, Sandwich	Thalasseus sandvicensis	1	34.50	169
10009	Tern, Unidentified	N/A N/A	1	163.00	325
305	Tern, Whiskered	Chlidonias hybrida	2	2.00	2
274	Thick-knee, Water	Burhinus vermiculatus	1	15.49	47
232	Turnstone, Ruddy	Arenaria interpres	4	4.00	4
685	Wagtail, African Pied	Motacilla aguimp	1	1.50	2
686	Wagtail, Cape	Motacilla capensis	1	5.33	20
268	Whimbrel, Eurasian	Numenius phaeopus	1	40.29	133

Sunday 29 March 2026 08:40
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town

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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

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Keurbooms River Estuary (34022324)

Western Cape

Information