Page 254 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

2.2.4.13 Coastal breeding sites of seabirds in the Eastern Cape
between Woody Cape and KwaZulu-Natal

Authors: PA Whittington, and RJM Crawford

Abstract:
Three species of seabird have bred at nine localities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province along the coast between Woody Cape, at
the east of Algoa Bay, and the province’s border with KwaZulu-Natal. There is one record of Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis)
breeding at the easternmost of these localities, Hole-in-the-Wall, in the 1920s, but no subsequent record of it breeding east of Woody
Cape. White-breasted Cormorants (P. lucidus) bred at Hole-in-the-Wall and at five other localities and Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) at
three localities, which are their easternmost nesting records for southern Africa.

Introduction:
Three seabird species have bred along the coastline of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province between Woody Cape, at the east of Algoa
Bay, and the province’s border with KwaZulu-Natal. They are Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis), White-breasted Cormorant (P.
lucidus) and Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus).
The breeding has taken place at nine localities, which are shown in Figure 1 and briefly described below. For each locality, records
of breeding by the different species were collated for all years having information. ‘√’ signifies that breeding occurred at a locality but the
numbers were not ascertained. A short summary of methods used to obtain the estimates of numbers breeding is given in the chapter
‘Introduction to Seabird Breeding Localities’.
Crawford et al. (2013) noted that a pair of White-breasted Cormorants bred at Bushmans River (33.683 S; 26.650 E) in 1947, referenc-
ing a nest record card (NRC) held at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology in Cape Town, South Africa. That NRC could not be
re-located, so Bushmans River should no longer be considered a former breeding locality for this species.
The record of Cape Cormorants breeding at Hole-in-the-Wall in 1925 or 1926 (Cooper et al. 1982) is the only known instance of this
species nesting east of Algoa Bay. Its breeding has otherwise been confined to the west of Woody Cape despite a recent shift to the east
in its distribution in South Africa (Crawford et al. 2016). One to two pairs of Kelp Gulls were recorded nesting at three localities between
Woody Cape and Hamburg, each on one occasion. These are the most eastern records of breeding by this species in southern Africa. Its
breeding too is normally confined to the west of Woody Cape (Whittington et al. 2016). However, both Cape Cormorants and Kelp Gulls
may wander east of Algoa Bay to the waters of KwaZulu-Natal (Cooper et al. 1982, Fox et al. 2024). White-breasted Cormorants breed
coastally around southern Africa from Baía do Mussulo, just south of Luanda in Angola, to KwaZulu-Natal, as well as in the interior of the
subcontinent (Brooke et al. 1982, Crawford et al. 2013, Morais 2024).

Kasouga-Kariega Point Nculura River
Coordinates: 33.652 S; 26.738 E Coordinates: 33.350 S; 27.367 E
Description: A point adjacent to the mouth of the Kariega Description: Coastal sand dunes near the mouth of the
River. Nculura River, c. 7 km west of Hamburg.
Conservation status: Not protected. Conservation status: Not protected.
Species breeding: Kelp Gull Species breeding: Kelp Gull
Numbers breeding: Numbers breeding:
Year No. of pairs Year No. of pairs
2004 1 2006 1

Source: Whittington et al. (2016) Source: Tree. (2006)
Riet River
Coordinates: 33.550 S; 27.017 E
Description: Coastal dunes near a closed river mouth.
Conservation status: Not protected.
Species breeding: Kelp Gull
Numbers breeding:

Year No. of pairs
1979 a 2
2003 b 0
Source: Crawford et al. (1982), Whittington et al. (2016)
b
a
Note: The site was monitored in February and November
2003 and no breeding birds were recorded. The exact loca- Dunes on east side of Riet River mouth, June 2021 (photo
tion of the nesting attempt in 1979 is not known. PA Whittington)

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