Koppies Dam Nature Reserve is situated on the

highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...

of the Free State province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The town of

Koppies Koppies is a small town (railway station) situated near the Renoster River in the Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa. Geography The town is situated 63 km north-east of Kroonstad, 48 km west of Hei ...

lies 55 km north of

Kroonstad Kroonstad (Afrikaans directly translated "Crown City") is the third largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used ...

, just off the National road N1 and R82 between

and Sasolburg. The nature reserve is 16 km east of the town, and is about 4719.65 ha in size. The Renoster and Elandspruit rivers are found within its borders and feed into the

Koppies Dam Koppies Dam is a combined gravity and arch type dam located on the Renoster River, near Koppies, Free State (South African province), Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1911 and its primary purpose is to serve for irrigation and dome ...

Biodiversity

Birds

There are 250 species of bird recorded in the reserve. *

African red-eyed bulbul The African red-eyed bulbul or black-fronted bulbul (''Pycnonotus nigricans'') is a species of songbird in the family Pycnonotidae. It is found in south-western Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland ...

* African spoonbill *

Blue korhaan The blue korhaan or blue bustard (''Eupodotis caerulescens'') is a species of bird in the family Otididae which is native to South Africa. Its call is a series of frog-like croaks, usually uttered in flight. Its natural habitat is plateau gra ...

Bokmakierie The bokmakierie (''Telophorus zeylonus'') is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group. This species is endemic to southern Africa, mainly in ...

Cisticola __NOTOC__ Cisticolas (pronounced ''sis-TIC-olas'') are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other ...

* Cormorant * Duck *

Glossy ibis The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...

* Heron * Kalahari scrub robin *

Lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...

Mousebird The mousebirds are birds in the order Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Eucavitaves, which includes the Leptosomiformes (the cuckoo roller), Trogoniformes (trogons), Bucerotiformes (hornbills and hoopoes), Piciformes (wood ...

Pipit The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, ...

Secretarybird The secretarybird or secretary bird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller describe ...

Fish

Yellowfish ''Labeobarbus'' is a mid-sized ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. Its species are widely distributed throughout eastern Africa and especially southern Africa, but also in Lake Tana in Ethiopia. A common name, in particular for the s ...

* Orange River mudfish * Carp *

Barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

Vegetation

The reserve consists of grassland and acacia thickets, with willow trees found along the Renoster riverbank.

Biodiversity

Birds

Fish

Vegetation

Activities

Accommodation

References

See also