the wonderful berg river wetlands

The Berg River estuary is one of only four perennial estuaries on the arid southwestern coast of Africa between the Cape of Good Hope and Angola (2000 km), and it is the most important estuary for waterbirds in this region. The wetlands satisfy several criteria for Ramsar designation, but the area has no official conservation status and lacks a management plan. SFR 40,000 will be used for conservation management of these Lower Berg River Wetlands.

The project’s objective is to identify the spatial and seasonal distributions of key feeding/breeding/roosting sites for waterbirds, and to prepare an effective management plan. All local landowners are keen that the area receive official protection; they have not only signed a Ramsar designation proposal but are also in the process of forming a conservation body, one of the aims of which is to develop a management plan. This will maximize the effectiveness of community-based conservation and strengthen the case for the area’s designation as a Wetland of International Importance.

“Why is the Lower Berg River so special” and “Why should it be protected” are often asked?
In fact, the whole of the West Coast is a birder’s paradise all the year round.
There are the thousands of waders which come from the Russian Arctic to spend their summers feeding on the prolific mudflats of the Berg River estuary.

Other summer migrating birds include the several species of Terns with their pirating Skuas in attendance. Then there are the  Barn Swallows, European Bee-eaters and other migrating land birds that pass through the Berg River System.
The Benguela System that drives the West Coast is a great up welling of cold nutrient rich ocean with its own endemic bird species such as Hartlaub’s Gulls and Swift terns that breed on the Berg River.

In winter Greater and Lesser Flamingoes, Red-knobbed Coots and other species migrate from the central regions to escape the cold or drought and use the estuary. This myriad variety has led to a list of over 250 species being identified of which 127 are waterbirds.

The Lower Berg River Wetlands has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA SA 104), which means that it has met certain internationally agreed criteria, holding more than 1% of a biogeographic population of a waterbird specie or holding on a regular basis more than 20,000 of a coastal bird specie. The Lower Berg River Wetlands meet these requirements many times over with more than 10 species  listed. There are also 12 Nationally or Globally near-threatened species, Caspian Tern, African Marsh Harrier, Chestnutbanded Plover which can be be regularly seen and Blue Cranes now breed in the wheatlands near by.

In addition to the river channel, the flood-plain encompasses eight major wetland types: ephemeral pans, commercial saltpans, reed-marsh, sedge-marsh, saltmarsh, halophytic flood-plain, xeric flood-plain and intertidal mudflats. The ephemeral pans comprise monospecific stands of Juncus during summer. After winter rains, abundant Aponogeton develops, along with other aquatic plants.

Reed-marsh is found mainly on inner riverine beds, and is dominated by Phragmites, Scirpus or Cyperus. Sedge-marshes are dominated by Juncus, with smaller sedge species occurring in a varied mosaic. The saltmarsh experiences tidal flooding by saline water twice a day and is dominated by fleshy-leaved salt-tolerant species. Halophytic flood-plain vegetation consists primarily of Sarcocornia, which may be interspersed with open patches, which are colonized by ephemeral growth during spring.

The xeric flood-plain vegetation is highly diverse. Succulents include Mesembryanthemaceae and Asparagaceae. Rhus and Lycium bushes also occur. The flood-plain can be inundated for up to two weeks at a time when the Berg river floods.

For the birder, especially the less mobile the birds are accessible either viewing from the car or with only a few metres walk on good surfaces. There is a hide on the mudflats above the Carinus Bridge where rareities are often seen.

Most of the records available are of the birds that use the area for feeding, however there are also the birds that use it as a safe sanctuary for a night roost, for example over 30,000 Cape Cormorants have been counted coming  in nightly.

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