The avifauna of Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

A protected area since 1999, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve incorporates several former farms, for which past records of bird occurrences are available. No bird species appear to have been lost from the area. Between 2001 and 2005, a group of observers conducted systematic bird surveys in most months, which allowed the status (resident, migrant or irregular visitor) of most bird species to be determined. At least three species have established breeding populations in the reserve over the past 10 years. Of 302 species reliably recorded to date, 182 (60.3%) appear to be resident, 46 (15.2%) are seasonal migrants and 74 (24.5%) are vagrant visitors. Eight vulnerable and eight near-threatened bird species have been recorded; Blue Crane, Kori Bustard and African Crowned Eagle have bred in the reserve. Together with other state-owned and private protected areas in this region, this reserve holds a significant portion of the inland bird species recorded from the Eastern Cape.

Conservation implications: The varied thicket vegetation types of the Great Fish River Valley support a considerable diversity of bird species. If these habitats are managed for biodiversity conservation, they can support a large component of the terrestrial avifauna of the Eastern Cape region.