It was a rather cool and overcast day on 23 January in the Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve (ZENR), with only a light wind. In other words: perfect conditions for the quarterly Co-ordinated Waterbird Count (CWAC), organised by Gavin Lawson and the Cape Bird Club. This is a national census for counting water birds, which takes place across most of the wetlands in South Africa. A small group of Marina residents and ZENR staff joined in the fun.
The Zandvlei is divided into two areas for the bird count, Upper and Lower, with the Park Island bridge as the boundary.
Here is a breakdown of the findings:
Upper – Total number of birds 1121
Total number of species 29
Lower – Total number of birds 685
Total number of species 25
| Bird name | Upper | Lower |
| Greater Crested Grebe | 3 | |
| White Breasted Cormorant | 1 | 4 |
| Cape Cormorant | 2 | 7 |
| Reed Cormorant | 52 | 31 |
| African Darter | 13 | 1 |
| Grey Heron | 3 | 1 |
| Little Egret | 37 | 9 |
| African Sacred Ibis | 21 | 17 |
| Hadeda Ibis | 2 | 9 |
| African Spoonbill | 4 | |
| Greater Flamingo | 2 | |
| Spurwinged Goose | 8 | |
| Egyptian Goose | 50 | 60 |
| Cape Shoveler | 4 | |
| Yellowbilled duck | 110 | 16 |
| Cape Teal | 8 | 4 |
| Common Moorhen | 10 | |
| Red-knobbed Koot | 521 | 248 |
| Threebanded Plover | 2 | |
| Blacksmith Lapwing | 37 | 26 |
| Common Greenshank | 1 | |
| Pied Avocet | 16 | 9 |
| Blackwinged Stilt | 54 | 10 |
| Water Thick-Knee | 3 | |
| Kelp Gull | 39 | 146 |
| Greyheaded Gull | 11 | |
| Hartlaubs Gull | 79 | 56 |
| Caspian Tern | 3 | |
| Common Tern | 1 | |
| Sandwich Tern | 7 | |
| Pied Kingfisher | 12 | 9 |
| Malachite Kingfisher | 1 | |
| Cape Wagtail | 6 | |
| Mallard | 4 | |
| Mallard Hybrid | 11 | 5 |
Marina residents are welcomed and encouraged to help count birds at the quarterly CWAC count. Please contact Gavin Lawson on glawson@axxess.co.za
Counters on foot and in canoes are welcome.
Read more on https://www.capebirdclub.org.za/zandvlei-cwac-counts/
