Country/territory: South Africa
IBA Criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (1998)
For more information about IBA criteria please click here
Area: 45,540 ha
Protection status:
Most recent IBA monitoring assessment | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year of assessment | Threat score (pressure) | Condition score (state) | Action score (response) |
2014 | high | not assessed | negligible |
For more information about IBA monitoring please click here |
Site description
Situated 65 km south-west of Pofadder, this site consists of five farms; Bitterputs (107 and 110) (29,555 ha), Bitterputs 111 (3,224 ha), Bosluis (5,101 ha), Kanaip (6,175 ha) and Oorstoot (1,485 ha). Bitterputs (107 and 110) forms the central portion of the IBA and consist mainly of flat gravel-plains with a red dune system that runs from north to south in the central and western portion of the property. Coarse, pale red sandy soils and red dunes form the southern portion of the fossil Koa river valley. Towards the east, sandy plains comprising perennial desert grassland and granitic gravel-plains occur.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. This is one of few IBAs holding both the globally threatened Certhilauda burra (150–250 pairs), which inhabits the red sand-dunes, and the near-threatened Spizocorys sclateri (up to 100 individuals), which occurs erratically on the barren stony plains. The site also holds many of the Namib–Karoo biome-restricted species, as well as a host of other arid-zone birds. The plains support Circus maurus, Ardeotis kori, Neotis ludwigii, Eupodotis vigorsii, Cursorius rufus, Pterocles namaqua, Eremalauda starki, Cercomela tractrac, C. sinuata, C. schlegelii, Eremomela gregalis and Malcorus pectoralis. During good rains the nomadic Eremopterix australis, Serinus alario and Emberiza impetuani can be superabundant. Low scrubby vegetation holds Anthoscopus minutus and Nectarinia fusca. Rocky outcrops hold Euryptila subcinnamomea and the recently recognized Certhilauda subcoronata.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2021) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Bitterputs Conservation Area. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 16/01/2021.