Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is located 5 km north-east of Kokstad, occupying the valley bottom along the meandering course of the Manzimnyama river amidst agricultural land. It lies within a narrow finger of transition between highland sourveld and
Cymbopogon-
Themeda veld. The permanently saturated to flooded areas are
Typha-dominated, particularly the lowest depressions in the vlei. Tall sedges of
Cyperus and
Mariscus are locally dominant in less permanently and deeply flooded conditions, often with other
Cyperus,
Schoenoplectus and
Juncus. The sedges extend into the seasonally flooded areas, where they occur alongside
Eleocharis,
Leersia and
Paspalum. Seasonal or ephemeral flooding in sedge meadow and wet grassland is often extensive, and up to 50 cm deep, but in some years much of the flood-plain remains almost completely dry.
See Box for key species. This is one of only four sites in South Africa known to have held
Sarothrura ayresi regularly over the last eight years. This site has held up to four
Sarothrura ayresi in years of good flooding and, if vegetation were allowed to develop more naturally, without annual burning and spring grazing, it would probably support more than twice this number.
Crex crex is probably annual in grassland around the vlei.
Botaurus stellaris is resident and is presumed to breed. The winter reedbed roost of
Balearica regulorum builds up to numbers in excess of 100.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
This is a significant site in view of the occurrence of
Sarothrura ayresi and
Botaurus stellaris. It is unique among sites for
Sarothrura ayresi in South Africa in having no
Carex-dominated vegetation—the birds occur in vegetation-types from which they are not recorded elsewhere in the country. The wetland contains flood-plain habitat found nowhere else in East Griqualand, and it merits the highest possible conservation status. Grazing, trampling by cattle and annual burning detract from the value of the site, but do not undermine its significance. In the early 1990s there was a proposal to dam the entire wetland but, after discussion and objections, this plan was abandoned. As the site is only voluntarily protected, further threats of this and other types could recur at any time.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Penny Park (South Africa). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/penny-park-iba-south-africa on 27/12/2024.
