Page 241 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

Damara Tern

Year No. of pairs
1980 a 14
1991 b 15-20
1992 b 15-20
1993 b 15-20
1994 b 15-20
2005 c min. 2
2008 c min. 10
2009 d 20
2016 c min. 12
Schelmhoek Damara Tern colony (photo AP Martin)
2017 c 9-10
2018 18-19 a 2018 c 5-24
2019 13-22 a 2019 c 8-25
2020 17-33 a 2020 c 9
2021 11-17 a 2021 c 1-34
The year shown is that in which the split-year breeding The year shown is that in which the split-year breeding
season starts. season starts.
Where a range is indicated: Where a range is indicated:
Minimum= number pairs proven breeding (eggs/chicks), Minimum= number pairs proven breeding (eggs/chicks),
Maximum= number of pairs on breeding territory. Maximum= number of pairs on breeding territory.
a Martin AP (unpubl.) a Randall and McLachlan (1982)
b Watson (1995)
Alexandria Dunefields c Martin AP (unpubl.)
Coordinates: 33.70 S; 26.07 E d Whittington et al. (2015)
Description: The largest mobile coastal dunefield in South
Africa. Damara Terns nest in slacks between the dunes Notes: Damara Terns were first recorded in the Eastern
between the Sundays River mouth and Woody Cape. Cape at the Sundays River mouth in January 1979, when a
Damara Tern nests were on average 114 m from the high- juvenile bird was seen being fed by two adults (Every 1979,
water mark (Watson et al. 1997). Underhill et al. 1980). The record represented an eastward
Conservation status: The dunefield is located within the extension of about 550 km in the distribution of this species
coastal section of Addo Elephant National Park, except for (Crawford et al. 2009).
a section of private land (where several pairs of Damara There was an eastward shift of the majority of nest sites
Terns nest) half way between the Sundays River mouth of Damara Terns in the Alexandria Dunefields of 5–10 km
and Woody Cape. The adjacent Sundays River estuary in the early 1990s and the late 2010s (Whittington et al.
and Algoa Bay below the high-water mark are part of the 2015). Subsequently breeding has extended still farther
Addo Elephant National Park Marine Protected Area, which east, up to 28 km east of the Sundays River (AP Martin
was gazetted on 23 May 2019. unpubl. information).
Species and numbers breeding:

Kelp Gull
Year No. of pairs
1968 a 1
2008 b 1
2009 b 1
2021 c 12
a Crawford et al. (2009)
b Whittington et al. (2016)
c Martin AP (unpubl.)

Notes: Kelp Gull nests were found during Damara Tern
surveys in 2008 and 2019 and from 2016–2021 but a
minimum count was obtained only during 2021. Most
nests are within 10 km of the Sundays River Mouth (PA A Damara Tern nest at Schelm Hoek Dunefields, 2019 (photo RJM
Whittington unpublished information). Crawford

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