Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Situated 12 km north-west of Aggeneys, the farm Haramoep (29°07’S 18°40’E; 14,745 ha) forms the central portion of the site. The remainder is formed by neighbouring farms: Dabenoris, Koeries Wes, Koeries Oos, Katkop and the adjoining Goldfields-owned private nature reserves, Black Mountain Mine and the farm Aggeneys. The area consists of extensive sandy and gravel-plains holding perennial desert grassland and shrubs scattered between bare sand patches. The granitic Haramoep mountains lie in the central and eastern parts of the farm, with gravel-plains stretching to the south.
The koppies hold shrubs of
Adenolobus and
Rhus, especially on the mid-slopes and peak of the Haramoep mountains. The cobble-strewn bases of the koppies are covered with melkboom
Euphorbia. The western and northern regions comprise red sand-dunes overlying the fossil course of the Koa river. The gravel-plains are covered by sparse dwarf shrubland and grassland. The drainage lines support taller woody vegetation including shrubs of
Euclea,
Ozoroa,
Acacia and
Tamarix, as well as a patch of
Prosopis near the homestead.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. This is one of few sites that protect both the globally threatened
Certhilauda burra (700–900 pairs), which inhabits the red sand-dunes, and the near-threatened
Spizocorys sclateri (up to 500 individuals), which occurs sporadically on the barren stony plains. This site also holds most of the species restricted to the Namib–Karoo biome and a host of other arid-zone birds. The rocky outcrops of the Haramoep mountain support
Geocolaptes olivaceus,
Euryptila subcinnamomea,
Anthus crenatus and
Onychognathus nabouroup.
The extensive plains support
Circus maurus,
Polemaetus bellicosus,
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 verticalis,
E. australis,
Serinus alario and
Emberiza impetuani can be superabundant. Low scrubby vegetation holds
Parus afer,
Anthoscopus minutus,
Nectarinia fusca,
Sylvia layardi,
Batis pririt,
Bradornis infuscatus,
Stenostira scita,
Sporopipes squamifrons and
Serinus albogularis. Some large trees hold the communal nests of
Philetairus socius with the associated
Polihierax semitorquatus in attendance. The newly recognized
Certhilauda subcoronata occurs at the site.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The only protected parts of the Koa river valley dune system are the Black Mountain Mine Nature Reserve (76 km²) and the adjacent Aggeneys farm (7,000 ha), owned by the Black Mountain Mineral Development Company and presently set aside as a conservation area. The remainder of the properties within the IBA are privately owned and are unprotected. The addition of Koeries farm (12,920 ha) to Haramoep would result in the consolidation of a substantial conservation area in excess of 40,000 ha. Black Mountain Mine Nature Reserve supports 7.5% of the global population of
Certhilauda burra, and the whole IBA is expected to support c.15–20% of the global population. As such, incorporation of these farms into a conservation network, either through the State or NGOs purchasing these properties and converting them into nature reserves, or alternatively, establishing a private conservancy run by the land-owners, is essential.Heavy grazing and trampling by domestic livestock on many of the private farms change the vegetation on the red dunes, making them unsuitable for
Certhilauda burra. Globally, only 1,400 km² remain of the 5,625 km² that were formerly suitable for
Certhilauda burra, and this area is estimated to support less than 10,000 birds. Although grazing is widespread within the IBA, all stock were recently removed from Aggeneys, Black Mountain Mine and Haramoep. The grass and shrub cover is generally in good condition, and even the most heavily impacted areas are not considered to be permanently damaged. An appropriate conservation action at a landscape level would be to eliminate or reduce cattle-stocking in the remaining sensitive red-dune areas within this IBA.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Haramoep and Black Mountain Mine (South Africa). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/haramoep-and-black-mountain-mine-iba-south-africa on 23/11/2024.
