Marievale Bird Sanctuary is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

, South Africa. It is about 15 km² in size, and situated on the

East Rand The East Rand is the urban eastern part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation in South Africa. The region extends from Alberton in the west to Nigel in the east, and south down to Nigel. It includes ...

on the southern half of the Blesbokspruit wetland, a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

The Blesbokspruit is a major perennial river in Gauteng which is flanked by extensive floodplains on either side. Nearby is the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve.

History

In 1978, a reserve 524 ha in extent was established. This was further extended to 1,526.01 ha.

Biodiversity

The Blesbokspruit wetland, in which the sanctuary is situated, is designated as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. Almost 300 bird species frequent the wetland, according to the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa ( WESSA),Marievale Bird Sanctuary flyer. WESSA. 2009 with the best time to visit being between spring and the start of summer.

Birds

Birds found at the wetland include: *

African grass owl The African grass owl (''Tyto capensis'') is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. Description The African grass owl resembles the barn owl and has a heart shaped whitish-cream facial disc, with a narrow yellowish-buff rim which ...

African spoonbill The African spoonbill (''Platalea alba'') is a long-legged wading birdBaird’s sandpiper * Baillon’s crake *

Black egret The black heron (''Egretta ardesiaca''), also known as the black egret, is an African heron. It is well known for its habit of using its wings to form a canopy when fishing. Description The black heron is a medium-sized (42.5–66 cm ...

Black heron The black heron (''Egretta ardesiaca''), also known as the black egret, is an African heron. It is well known for its habit of using its wings to form a canopy when fishing. Description The black heron is a medium-sized (42.5–66 cm ...

Black-winged pratincole The black-winged pratincole (''Glareola nordmanni'') is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name ...

Black-tailed godwit The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, ''Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest ...

Buff-breasted sandpiper The buff-breasted sandpiper (''Calidris subruficollis'') is a small wader, shorebird. The species name ''subruficollis'' is from Latin ''subrufus'', "reddish" (from ''sub'', "somewhat", and ''rufus'', "rufous") and ''collis'', "-necked/-throated" ...

* Caspian tern * Curlew sandpiper * Ethiopian snipe *

Fulvous duck The fulvous whistling duck or fulvous tree duck (''Dendrocygna bicolor'') is a species of whistling duck that breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Mexico and South America, the West Indies, the southern United States, sub-Sahar ...

* Great white heron *

Goliath heron The Goliath heron (''Ardea goliath''), also known as the giant heron, is a very large wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller, declining numbers in Southwest and South Asia. Description This i ...

Marsh owl The marsh owl (''Asio capensis'') is a medium to large species of owl in the family Strigidae. Description Medium-sized, dark brown with a pumpkin-shaped head with small 'ear' tufts. The facial disc is pale buff, with a distinct dark brown ri ...

* Pectoral sandpiper * Purple heron *

Red-chested flufftail The red-chested flufftail (''Sarothrura rufa'') is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae Sarothruridae is a family of small- to medium-sized ground-living birds found mostly in Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa, with the genus ''Rallic ...

Sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the w ...

* Red-knobbed coot *

Reed cormorant The reed cormorant (''Microcarbo africanus''), also known as the long-tailed cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some se ...

* South African shelduck *

Slaty egret The slaty egret (''Egretta vinaceigula'') is a small, dark egret. It is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA) applies. It is classified as Vulnerable, the biggest thre ...

* Squacco heron * Yellow wagtail * Yellow-billed duck

Mammals

Cynictis penicillata (Herpestidae) (Yellow Mongoose), Marievale Bird Sanctuary, South Africa

In addition to birds, mammals have also been observed in the sanctuary: *

Blesbok The blesbok or blesbuck (''Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi'') is a subspecies of the bontebok antelope endemic to South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia. It has a distinctive white face and forehead which inspired the name, because ''bles'' is the Afri ...

* Cape clawless otter * Three species of mongoose *

Southern reedbuck The southern reedbuck, rietbok or common reedbuck (''Redunca arundinum'') is a diurnal antelope typically found in southern Africa. It was first described by Pieter Boddaert, a Dutch physician and naturalist, in 1785. It is placed in the genus ...

* Cape hare

Vegetation

Within the wetland

phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...

typha ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in A ...

and

juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfici ...

reeds can be found between the water pans. A grassland biome occurs near the eastern border.

Activities

Access to the reserve costs R35pp and R25 per car. There is a conference centre and 2 chalets in the sanctuary. There are four bird hides at the water pans (named Flamingo, Hadeda, Duiker and Shelduck) and a public picnic site in the reserve.

Threats

The flow of the Blesbokspruit has been hampered by the surrounding industries, i.e. gold mine tailings,

sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

plants, farmland expansion and urban development in some parts of the wetland, creating disjointed pans of water in the wetland. Previously the river had few

reed beds A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

and few open stretches of shallow water. With the profusion of vegetation like sedges,

bulrushes Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland grass-like plants *Sedge family (Cyperaceae): **''Cyperus'' **''Scirpus'' **'' Blysmus'' **''Bolboschoenus'' **''Scirpoides'' **''Isolepis'' **''Schoenoplectus'' **''Trichophorum'' *Typhacea ...

duckweed Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose ...

and reeds, and the dumping of several large sand embankments through urban expansion, the landscape has since changed, resulting in the reduction of suitable habitat on the river.

Gallery

File:Red-knobbed Coot (or Crested Coot), Fulica cristata flying over the water at Marievale. (8131772447).jpg, Red-knobbed coot File:Porphyrio madagascariensis at Marievale Nature Reserve (8830494738).jpg,

African swamphen The African swamphen (''Porphyrio madagascariensis'') is a species of swamphen occurring in Egypt, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen, which it resembles, but with bronze green or gre ...

File:Spotted necked otter, Hydrictis maculicollis, at Marievale playing with a plastic bottle like a dog plays with a ball. (27806084687).jpg,

Spotted-necked otter The spotted-necked otter (''Hydrictis maculicollis''), or speckle-throated otter, is an otter native to sub-Saharan Africa. Description The spotted-necked otter is a relatively small species, with males measuring from nose to rump, and weigh ...

File:Gallinula chloropus meridionalis Marievale 1.jpg, A moorhen family in the sanctuary File:African Darter, Anhinga rufa at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (21157049696).jpg,

African darter The African darter (''Anhinga rufa''), sometimes called the snakebird, is a water bird of sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq. Taxonomy The African darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to American (''Anhinga anhin ...

File:Lesser Flamingo, Phoenicopterus minor at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (20867179114).jpg, Lesser flamingo flock File:Black-headed Heron, Ardea melanocephala at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (21086342810).jpg,

Black-headed heron The black-headed heron (''Ardea melanocephala'') is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is mainly resident, but some west African birds move further north in the rainy sea ...

File:Cape Shoveler, Anas smithii at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (21053040472).jpg,

Cape shoveler The Cape shoveler or Cape shoveller (''Spatula smithii'') is a species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Spatula''. It is resident in South Africa, and uncommon further north in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, ...

File:Greater Flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (29316926282).jpg, Greater flamingo File:Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (21442562645).jpg, Purple heron File:White-throated Swallow, Hirundo albigularis at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (9703374780).jpg,

White-throated swallow The white-throated swallow (''Hirundo albigularis'') is a small bird in the swallow family. It is a common species, found in southern Africa, which has benefited from the increased nesting opportunities presented by the construction of bridges a ...

File:Black crake, Amaurornis flavirostra at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (8836933697).jpg,

Black crake The black crake (''Zapornia flavirostra'') is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae. It breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in very arid areas. It undertakes some seasonal movements in those parts of its range which are subj ...

File:African Rail, Rallus caerulescens at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (20627953813).jpg,

African rail The African rail (''Rallus caerulescens'') is a small wetland bird of the rail family that is found in eastern and southern Africa. Taxonomy The African rail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in ...

File:Greater Striped Swallow, Hirundo cucullata (syn. Cecropis cucullata), at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (30469692476).jpg,

Greater striped swallow The greater striped swallow (''Cecropis cucullata'') is a large swallow that is native to Africa south of the equator. Taxonomy The greater striped swallow was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in h ...

File:Coming of age of the bishop. Male Southern Red Bishop, or Red Bishop, Euplectes orix at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa. (31201506507).jpg, alt=, Juvenile male

Southern red bishop The southern red bishop or red bishop (''Euplectes orix'') is a small passerine bird belonging to the bishop and widowbird genus '' Euplectes'' in the weaver family, the Ploceidae. It is common in wetlands and grassland in Africa south of the Eq ...

References

External links

* Bird sanctuaries of South Africa Protected areas of Gauteng {{Gauteng-geo-stub