Page 233 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

Conservation status: The estuary and saltpans are lo- 2005 b 0
cated within the Swartkops – Redhouse and Chatty Salt
Pans Global Important Bird Area and most of these areas 2006 b 0
are within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Open 2007 b 0
Space System. The saltpans are located on land leased 2008 b 0
from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The Redhouse c
pan now falls within the 950 ha Zwartkops Valley Local 2009 65
Nature Reserve, proclaimed in 1993 (Barnes 1998). 2010 d 0 21
Species and numbers breeding: Numbers of the five 2011 d 0 16
seabird species that have bred at each of the seven sites 2012 d 0 13
within the Swartkops system are detailed below.
2013 d 0 44
White-breasted Cormorant 2014 d 0 18
Year(s) Redhouse Bar None 2015 d 0 5
No. of pairs 2016 d 0 69
1984 a 36 2017 d 0 35
1985 a 152 2018-2022 d 0 0
1986 a 174 a Martin and Randall (1987)
1987 a 141 b Crawford et al. (2009)
1988 b 124 c Crawford et al. (2013)
d Martin AP (unpubl.)
1989 b 163 Notes: During 1985–1994, 124–224 pairs of White-
1990 b 138 breasted Cormorant bred at Redhouse saltpans next to
1991 b 164 the Swartkops River estuary (Martin and Randall 1987).
1992 b 174 The colony then decreased and it became extinct in
1993 b 224 2004 (Crawford et al. 2009). From 2000, the nests on
the Redhouse Saltpan were regularly raided by people
1994 b 174 removing eggs and chicks (the same for Kelp Gulls). This
1995 b 20 resulted in the eventual abandonment of the colony by
1996 b 50 the end of 2003. It is possible that some White-breasted
1997 b 94 Cormorants relocated to the Coega saltpans, where they
1998 b 49 bred in 2003–2004 and 2007–2008, and to the St Croix
group of islands (Crawford et al. 2009). Human activities
1999 b 43 at Redhouse saltpans may also have led to a decrease in
2000 b 52 Kelp Gulls there with some birds likely moving to Brickfields
2001 b 10 Island (Whittington et al. 2006).
The Bar None Saltpan ceased to operate by the end
2002 b 5 of 2017 and it dried out. The Redhouse Pans ceased to
2003 b 8 operate at the end of 2018 and dried out until filled with
2004 b 0 freshwater in 2022.

Swartkops saltmarsh (photo AP Martin)

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