Birders do waterfowl count at Marievale Nature Reserve
Birders from the East Rand Bird Club, the Wits Bird Club, the Cuckoo Bird Club and BirdLife Northern Gauteng, as well as the the Springs/Nigel Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) branch, participated in the count, where the teams went to specific areas in the reserve.
NIGEL – Teams from various clubs congregated at the Marievale Nature Reserve for the Winter Coordinated Waterbird Counts event to record the numbers of various waterbirds in the reserve.
The counts happen throughout SA twice annually – once in July and the other in January. The results are sent to the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town, which collates the information to determine the movement of the various species.
Birders from the East Rand Bird Club, the Wits Bird Club, the Cuckoo Bird Club and BirdLife Northern Gauteng, as well as the the Springs/Nigel Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) branch, participated in the count, where the teams went to specific areas in the reserve.
The Springs/Nigel Wessa branch hosted the count and treated the participants and visitors to a mug of homemade soup. It also provided braai fires.
The results revealed that 1 676 lesser flamingos and 49 greater flamingos enjoy the low water levels in the reserve. Common moorhen were abundant, with 255 recorded. Egyptian geese totaled 130, and spur-winged geese 77.
Two fish eagles were also seen. Other species recorded revealed healthy populations.
