The winter WESSA Magaliesberg Biosphere branch and Birdlife Harties water bird count took place last Saturday under extreme cold conditions.

Birders did the annual winter bird count in icy weather.

Five teams, some on the Hartbeespoort Dam and the others on foot, braved the cold and hit the trail at 07:00, celebrating the 16th year of counting birds in the area.
“As the morning unfolded, reality dawned that bird numbers were extremely low. The final count was 2 043 birds, the lowest count in 16 years of summer and winter counts,” said John Wesson.
“The team found the Ifafi bird islands devoid of all bird life. What has happened? Was there, or is there, continued disturbance at this spot? What has happened to the heronries that held many species in previous years? Cattle Egrets, once the most abundant species, had a count of merely 69, African Darter only 29, Little Grebe, normally present in large numbers in winter, 174, and the normally abundant White-breasted Cormorant only 213.”
Questions being asked are:
Have the smaller fish stocks crashed, and why?
Have the water pollution levels reached critical levels, for instance, ammonia?
Possibly with all the rain this season, species like the Grebe and Coots still have suitable pans in the region that have not dried out as in previous years.
Are birds being illegally poached?
“The illegal gill netting is definitely impacting the diving birds. It was good to see the dam’s Fish Eagles are still around despite the damage to the key nesting site in Meerhof. Many estates are playing a key role in protecting heronries where many of our birds can roost and nest in safety. We would like to thank all the teams that participated, and especially Dion Mostert of Harties Harbour for the support,” Wesson said.