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Strandfontein Sewage Works: Southwest (34061831)
Western Cape
CWAC status	REGISTERED-COUNTED REGULARLY
Authority	Cape Bird Club & City of Cape Town Biodiversity Management Branch
Management status	TOWN COUNCIL PROPERTY
Conservation status	PARTLY PROTECTED
IBA information	SA116 - FALSE BAY PARK (PROPOSED)
Ramsar information
Heritage information
View Cards	Click here

Information
Date_registered
2005-03-08
Brief_description
Regarded as one of the top ten coastal sites for waterbirds in the country. A sewage works on the Cape Flats; important foraging area for birds breeding and roosting at nearby Rondevlei Bird Sanctuary. There is an excellent diversity of waterbird species (72), with globally signi-ficant counts of seven species and nationally significant counts of a further three. Good numbers of Palearctic and African waders and terns occur in summer. High summer counts of Grey and Purple Herons, and winter counts of White Pelican, are also noteworthy. Most waterfowl are more numerous in summer, except for South African Shelduck and Southern Pochard. Habitat loss and disturbance will occur if a proposed ring road is built adjacent to sewage works. This site compromises ponds M1 + M2 + T1 + T2 + S1 + S2 + S3. Pond S3 is occasionally covered with Water Hyacinth.

Spp	Common name	Taxonomic name	Min	Avg	Max	IBA	Subregional IBA	RAMSAR
256		Calidris pugnax	1	8.46	33
269	Avocet, Pied	Recurvirostra avosetta	1	76.63	1095	250	125	190
1027	Booby, Red-footed	Sula sula	10	12.50	15
212	Coot, Red-knobbed	Fulica cristata	2	48.75	151
48	Cormorant, Cape	Phalacrocorax capensis	1	5.64	28
51	Cormorant, Crowned	Microcarbo coronatus	1	1.00	1
50	Cormorant, Reed	Microcarbo africanus	1	5.15	58
47	Cormorant, White-breasted	Phalacrocorax lucidus	1	31.51	294			130
203	Crake, Black	Zaporina flavirostra	1	1.00	1
52	Darter, African	Anhinga rufa	1	1.93	8
95	Duck, African Black	Anas sparsa	1	1.33	2
10006	Duck, Domestic	Anas platyrhynchos domesticus	1	2.50	4
101	Duck, Fulvous Whistling	Dendrocygna bicolor	1	6.00	15
103	Duck, Maccoa	Oxyura maccoa	1	4.00	24
10014	Duck, Unidentified	Anas sp.	2	21.67	60
104	Duck, White-backed	Thalassornis leuconotus	1	2.33	5
100	Duck, White-faced Whistling	Dendrocygna viduata	1	5.45	32
96	Duck, Yellow-billed	Anas undulata	1	38.72	413
60	Egret, Intermediate [x]	Ardea intermedia	1	1.40	3
59	Egret, Little	Egretta garzetta	1	3.09	27
61	Egret, Western Cattle	Bubulcus ibis	1	34.23	445
86	Flamingo, Greater	Phoenicopterus roseus	1	283.83	1620	1250	625	750
87	Flamingo, Lesser	Phoeniconaias minor	1	38.00	190
89	Goose, Egyptian	Alopochen aegyptiaca	1	58.42	886
88	Goose, Spur-winged	Plectropterus gambensis	1	68.37	654
5	Grebe, Black-necked	Podiceps nigricollis	1	13.96	73
4	Grebe, Great Crested	Podiceps cristatus	1	1.32	3
6	Grebe, Little	Tachybaptus ruficollis	1	23.54	404		250
263	Greenshank, Common	Tringa nebularia	1	3.13	14
288	Gull, Grey-headed	Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus	1	2.52	11
289	Gull, Hartlaub's	Chroicocephalus hartlaubii	2	143.80	1322	250	125	300
287	Gull, Kelp	Larus dominicanus	2	147.66	2118	300	150	700
10010	Gull, Unidentified	Lanus sp.	3	3.00	3
167	Harrier, African Marsh	Circus ranivorus	1	1.39	6
55	Heron, Black-headed	Ardea melanocephala	1	2.61	11
56	Heron, Goliath	Ardea goliath	1	1.00	1
54	Heron, Grey	Ardea cinerea	1	3.93	17
57	Heron, Purple	Ardea purpurea	1	1.41	3
62	Heron, Squacco	Ardeola ralloides	49	49.00	49
81	Ibis, African Sacred	Threskiornis aethiopicus	1	239.42	3995	2000	1000	3000
83	Ibis, Glossy	Plegadis falcinellus	1	12.77	164
84	Ibis, Hadada	Bostrychia hagedash	1	5.29	60
395	Kingfisher, Giant	Megaceryle maxima	1	1.00	1
397	Kingfisher, Malachite	Corythornis cristatus	1	1.00	1
394	Kingfisher, Pied	Ceryle rudis	1	2.07	6
247	Lapwing, African Wattled	Vanellus senegallus	2	2.00	2
245	Lapwing, Blacksmith	Vanellus armatus	1	11.35	96
210	Moorhen, Common	Gallinula chloropus	1	11.61	151
69	Night Heron, Black-crowned	Nycticorax nycticorax	1	1.83	7
231	Oystercatcher, African	Haematopus moquini	1	5.39	27		24
42	Pelican, Great White	Pelecanus onocrotalus	1	20.47	150
272	Phalarope, Red-necked	Phalaropus lobatus	1	1.00	1
233	Plover, Common Ringed	Charadrius hiaticula	1	18.50	75
241	Plover, Grey	Pluvialis squatarola	2	5.50	9
237	Plover, Kittlitz's	Charadrius pecuarius	1	2.00	3
1039	Plover, Pacific Golden	Pluvialis fulva	1	1.00	1
238	Plover, Three-banded	Charadrius tricollaris	1	4.37	18
235	Plover, White-fronted	Charadrius marginatus	1	3.00	5
1332	Pochard, Red-crested	Netta rufina	4	4.00	4
102	Pochard, Southern	Netta erythrophthalma	1	29.70	201
282	Pratincole, Black-winged	Glareola nordmanni	1500	1500.00	1500	100	50
258	Sandpiper, Common	Actitis hypoleucos	2	3.00	4
251	Sandpiper, Curlew	Calidris ferruginea	1	4.20	8
262	Sandpiper, Marsh	Tringa stagnatilis	1	1.00	1
264	Sandpiper, Wood	Tringa glareola	1	1.50	2
90	Shelduck, South African	Tadorna cana	1	6.62	39
94	Shoveler, Cape	Anas smithii	1	87.08	585	350	175	350
250	Snipe, African	Gallinago nigripennis	1	1.67	3
85	Spoonbill, African	Platalea alba	1	2.56	10
270	Stilt, Black-winged	Himantopus himantopus	1	53.35	261
253	Stint, Little	Calidris minuta	1	111.20	1000
80	Stork, White	Ciconia ciconia	2	2.00	2			1
208	Swamphen, African	Porphyrio madagascariensis	1	2.51	24
99	Teal, Blue-billed	Anas hottentota	1	3.60	20
98	Teal, Cape	Anas capensis	1	31.01	225
97	Teal, Red-billed	Anas erythrorhyncha	1	23.55	188
290	Tern, Caspian	Hydroprogne caspia	1	2.20	7
291	Tern, Common	Sterna hirundo	1	47.50	500
298	Tern, Greater Crested	Thalasseus bergii	1	38.12	550	500	250	200
296	Tern, Sandwich	Thalasseus sandvicensis	1	12.14	60
10009	Tern, Unidentified	N/A N/A	30	30.00	30
305	Tern, Whiskered	Chlidonias hybrida	26	26.00	26
304	Tern, White-winged	Chlidonias leucopterus	1	75.00	320
685	Wagtail, African Pied	Motacilla aguimp	1	1.00	1
686	Wagtail, Cape	Motacilla capensis	1	6.13	34
689	Wagtail, Western Yellow	Motacilla flava	2	2.00	2

Monday 27 July 2026 06:21
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town

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Strandfontein Sewage Works: Southwest (34061831)

Western Cape

Information