Athlone Bird Count July 2015

View across the pans towards Table Mountain.

photograph by Doug Harebottle.

Here are the results from the CWAC count at Athlone WWTW yesterday. Thanks to to Gill Ford,
Delene van Dyke and Derek Longrigg for coming out and braving the weather!

When we arrived it seemed that there were hardly any birds around but as we started they all started creeping out of the vegetation, no doubt hiding from the pre-frontal wind! Some good counts of avocets, lapwings, stilts and flamingos. We also got some Southern Pochards, two Black Duck and single Yellow-billed Egret.

We also did a MyBirdPatch list and started a SABAP2 card for the pentad. The list came to 45 species, including the resident Jackal Buzzard, Black-shouldered Kite and Peregrine Falcon, a pair of African Pipit and small flock of Common Waxbill.

 

No.     Species                                   Totals
01       Avocet, Pied                             70
02       Coot, Red-knobbed                 117
03       Cormorant, Reed                      3
04       Cormorant, White-breasted    1
05       Darter, African                          1
06       Duck, African Black                 2
07       Duck, White-faced                   6
08       Duck, Yellow-billed                 92
09       Egret, Cattle                             5
10       Egret, Little                               1
11       Egret, Yellow-billed                  1
12       Flamingo, Greater                    126
13       Goose, Egyptian                       35
14       Grebe, Little                              9
15       Gull, Hartlaub’s                        178
16       Heron, Black-headed                2
17       Heron, Grey                               5
18       Ibis, African Sacred                   1
19       Ibis, Glossy                                4
20       Ibis, Hadeda                              37
21       Lapwing, Blacksmith                 97
22       Moorhen, Common                    9
23       Night-Heron, Black-crowned     2
24       Pochard, Southern                     6
25       Shoveler, Cape                          14
26       Stilt, Black-winged                    288
27       Teal, Cape                                  5
28       Teal, Red-billed                          21
29       Wagtail, Cape                             6
–                                               Total     1160

 

Many thanks also to Fred Cupido, Manager of Athlone Sewage Works, for permission to conduct bird surveys and to Moegamat Fakier for his support during the count.

 

This data is submitted to the Animal Demography Unit’s CWAC and MyBirdpatch, projects.

Counts take place on the third Thursday of every month and start at 13:00.
Anyone wanting to assist should contact;
Dick Bos on 021 423 2546 or dick@bosfoto.nl alternative bosfoto@outlook.com