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The site was identified as important in 1998 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini	LC	non-breeding	-	frequent	A1
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	non-breeding	-	490 individuals	A4i
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres	NT	winter	-	363 individuals	A4i
Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus	LC	breeding	-	430 breeding pairs	A4i
Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus	LC	non-breeding	-	1,112 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	unknown	-	min 20,000 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1998) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1998. The most recent assessment (2012) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini	48	55	individuals	100	favourable
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres	363	601	individuals	100	favourable
Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus	1,112	1,436	individuals	100	favourable
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia	105	22	individuals	21	very unfavourable
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	243	243	individuals	100	favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	moderate (70-90%)	poor (40-69%)	very unfavourable
Shrubland	moderate (70-90%)	moderate (70-90%)	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Natural system modifications	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Pollution	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Residential and commercial development	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Energy production and mining	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Some of site covered (10-49%)	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1993	Zwartkops Valley Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	5

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest		100
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Saltpans	major (>10)
Grassland		-
Shrubland		-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100
water management	60
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Swartkops Estuary - Redhouse and Chatty Saltpans (South Africa). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/swartkops-estuary--redhouse-and-chatty-saltpans-iba-south-africa on 23/11/2024.