Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The farm Murphy’s Rust 209 is located c.20 km east of Harrismith. It consists primarily of flat grassveld plains, most of which are used for growing maize, wheat, soya beans and pasture grass, while the remaining natural grassland on the slopes is grazed by sheep and cattle. An important wetland is situated on the property. Located in rolling high-altitude grassland, the wetland is dominated at both its upper and lower ends by beds of
Phragmites; at the lower end, it has dense well-grown beds of
Eleocharis, much trampled by cattle, and some good stands of
Typha and
Leersia in shallow water. The middle section of the wetland comprises excellent habitat, hardly damaged or penetrated by cattle: it has extensive areas of
Cyperus, with
Typha growing through it in patches or as single stems,
Schoenoplectus at the edges and occasionally wet grass and forbs.
See Box for key species. The site holds
Sarothrura ayresi, principally in areas of mixed
Cyperus,
Schoenoplectus and
Typha. There is good habitat for
Ixobrychus minutus, and it is conceivable that
Botaurus stellaris might occur if the site was not extensively disturbed or the reedbeds penetrated by cattle.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The farm is privately owned and it receives no official protection. It lies in a region of commercial farmland, with much of the natural grassland being used for grazing sheep and cattle, and much of the surrounding areas being cultivated. Until the discovery of the critically threatened
Sarothrura ayresi at the site, it was not rated as being significant by local conservationists, as it is heavily grazed. The greatest threats to the site include overgrazing and burning. The area is apparently much more heavily grazed in years of normal rainfall. This should be investigated and ways should be sought to limit or manage the grazing to improve the wetland habitats, and to avoid disturbance and trampling during the summer breeding season. Murphy’s Rust should be regarded as a very important wetland, especially because it supports
Sarothrura ayresi and it possesses locally rare vegetation and habitat-types. Every effort should be made to lessen the grazing pressure at the site, to investigate its birds in more detail and to involve its owners in conservation-related management. It deserves a high rating on a regional, national and global scale.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Murphy's Rust (South Africa). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/murphys-rust-iba-south-africa on 23/11/2024.
