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Kleinrivierslvlei (Upper) (34251925)
Western Cape
CWAC status	REGISTERED-COUNTED REGULARLY
Authority
Management status	Coastal Public Property (CPP) – although the property boundaries on either side of the river extend into the river (covering the river area), this “land under the water” is technically CPP.
Conservation status	Unprotected
IBA information	Cape Whale Coast IBA
Ramsar information
Heritage information
View Cards	Click here

Information
Date_registered
2022-02-12
Brief_description
The Klein River Estuary lies on the southern coast of the Western Cape between Hermanus and Stanford, where the Klein River widens into a large, shallow lagoon before entering Walker Bay. It comprises open water, tidal channels, mud and sand banks, salt marshes, and reed beds, supporting important fish nursery areas and diverse birdlife, and is regarded as one of the region’s most ecologically significant estuaries. The site is a KBA and IBA. Key threats include reduced freshwater inflow from water abstraction, nutrient enrichment, and pollution from agricultural runoff and wastewater, sedimentation, illegal fishing, and management challenges related to recreational activities and the breaching of the estuary mouth.
Hydrological_features
WETLAND/ SITE CLASSIFICATION (%): Estuarine waters - permanent water of est. systems (100%)
Ecological_features
HABITAT/ WETLAND COMPOSITION: Emergent vegetation (30%) – Common reed Surrounding vegetation (10%) – Grasses, trees Very little submerged or floating vegetation (seasonal) – essentially, open water Dominant substrate type: mud Acidity: unknown Salinity: Fresh – Brak (seasonal, fresh in winter, and dependent on mouth open/ closed) Approximate size: 72 ha Site/ wetland context: Part of a mosaic of wetlands App. length/ width: Length - 6.5km; Width – 50m

Spp	Common name	Taxonomic name	Min	Avg	Max	RAMSAR
269	Avocet, Pied	Recurvirostra avosetta	1	1.00	1
67	Bittern, Little	Ixobrychus minutus	1	1.00	1
212	Coot, Red-knobbed	Fulica cristata	2	212.00	999
48	Cormorant, Cape	Phalacrocorax capensis	2	2.00	2
9638	Cormorant, Great	Phalacrocorax carbo	4	4.00	4
50	Cormorant, Reed	Microcarbo africanus	1	17.15	72
47	Cormorant, White-breasted	Phalacrocorax lucidus	1	2.93	7
199	Crake, African	Crex egregia	14	14.00	14	-1
203	Crake, Black	Zaporina flavirostra	1	2.43	5
216	Crane, Blue	Grus paradisea	2	2.60	5
52	Darter, African	Anhinga rufa	2	12.50	33
95	Duck, African Black	Anas sparsa	1	2.29	5
100	Duck, White-faced Whistling	Dendrocygna viduata	1	10.75	30
96	Duck, Yellow-billed	Anas undulata	11	74.27	157
60	Egret, Intermediate [x]	Ardea intermedia	1	2.75	5
59	Egret, Little	Egretta garzetta	1	2.22	7
61	Egret, Western Cattle	Bubulcus ibis	1	21.10	69
14799	Egret, Yellow-billed	Egretta brachyrhyncha	2	2.00	2
149	Fish Eagle, African	Haliaeetus vocifer	1	2.69	5
86	Flamingo, Greater	Phoenicopterus roseus	5	67.50	130
89	Goose, Egyptian	Alopochen aegyptiaca	4	24.60	85
88	Goose, Spur-winged	Plectropterus gambensis	1	14.20	72
4	Grebe, Great Crested	Podiceps cristatus	1	1.50	2
6	Grebe, Little	Tachybaptus ruficollis	1	10.23	40
263	Greenshank, Common	Tringa nebularia	1	1.00	1
289	Gull, Hartlaub's	Chroicocephalus hartlaubii	1	15.40	68
287	Gull, Kelp	Larus dominicanus	1	1.67	3
167	Harrier, African Marsh	Circus ranivorus	1	1.33	2
55	Heron, Black-headed	Ardea melanocephala	1	2.25	8
54	Heron, Grey	Ardea cinerea	1	2.25	6
14879	Heron, Little	Butorides atricapilla	1	1.00	1
57	Heron, Purple	Ardea purpurea	1	3.14	6
62	Heron, Squacco	Ardeola ralloides	1	1.00	1
81	Ibis, African Sacred	Threskiornis aethiopicus	1	19.62	66
83	Ibis, Glossy	Plegadis falcinellus	1	3.00	5
84	Ibis, Hadada	Bostrychia hagedash	1	6.93	20
395	Kingfisher, Giant	Megaceryle maxima	1	2.00	4
397	Kingfisher, Malachite	Corythornis cristatus	1	2.58	8
394	Kingfisher, Pied	Ceryle rudis	1	4.57	9
245	Lapwing, Blacksmith	Vanellus armatus	2	17.47	61
210	Moorhen, Common	Gallinula chloropus	1	11.00	40
69	Night Heron, Black-crowned	Nycticorax nycticorax	1	1.00	1
172	Osprey, Western	Pandion haliaetus	1	1.00	1
233	Plover, Common Ringed	Charadrius hiaticula	4	4.00	4
237	Plover, Kittlitz's	Charadrius pecuarius	2	4.00	8
238	Plover, Three-banded	Charadrius tricollaris	1	1.83	4
102	Pochard, Southern	Netta erythrophthalma	4	28.25	100
94	Shoveler, Cape	Anas smithii	2	14.10	38
250	Snipe, African	Gallinago nigripennis	1	1.00	1
85	Spoonbill, African	Platalea alba	1	7.33	20
270	Stilt, Black-winged	Himantopus himantopus	2	16.91	65
253	Stint, Little	Calidris minuta	1	1.00	1
208	Swamphen, African	Porphyrio madagascariensis	1	3.44	8
98	Teal, Cape	Anas capensis	1	6.33	16
97	Teal, Red-billed	Anas erythrorhyncha	2	4.83	16
290	Tern, Caspian	Hydroprogne caspia	1	1.43	2
291	Tern, Common	Sterna hirundo	1	1.60	4
298	Tern, Greater Crested	Thalasseus bergii	2	2.00	2
296	Tern, Sandwich	Thalasseus sandvicensis	1	1.00	1
10009	Tern, Unidentified	N/A N/A	1	1.67	2
274	Thick-knee, Water	Burhinus vermiculatus	2	4.00	7
686	Wagtail, Cape	Motacilla capensis	1	4.21	12

Thursday 10 September 2026 11:06
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

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Kleinrivierslvlei (Upper) (34251925)

Western Cape

Information