ADU travels, expeditions and events

Photo Les Underhill

Mark Anderson, conservation ornithologist for the Northern Cape, and Gilbert Matlhoko, BirdLife South Africa trained guide, were the leaders of the WESSA excursion to Kamfers Dam

The 2004 Annual General Meeting of the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA) was held in Kimberley. At the formal AGM, WESSA presented its President's Special Award to the Avian Demography Unit. As part of the AGM weekend, an excursion was made to the nearby Kamfers Dam. The excursion was lead by Mark Anderson, ornithologist of the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment and Conservation. Mark was assisted by Gilbert Matlhoko, one of the bird guides trained by the BirdLife South Africa guide training programme at Wakkerstroom. Gilbert shows ecotourists the birds of Kamfers Dam and the other great birding spots in the vicinity of Kimberley. His cell phone number is 072 173 8415. In December 2003, Gilbert and his bird guiding colleagues had a big umbrella on the the N12 national road just north of Kimberley, from where they invited passing motorists to break their journeys for a while, see and enjoy the flamingo spectacle. By encouraging travellers to stop and to stretch both their muscles and their minds for a while, they made an enterprising contribution to the "Arrive Alive!" campaign! In the article below, Mark Anderson describes Kamfers Dam, which must rate as one of the most intriguing, enigmatic and worrisome wetlands in South Africa.

Kamfers Dam, Kimberley

Mark Anderson

Department of Tourism, Environment & Conservation, Northern Cape

Photo Les Underhill

Part of the flock of Lesser Flamingos on Kampers Dam, 11 September 2004

Kamfers Dam is a perennial wetland located 2 km north of Kimberley, South Africa. It supports the largest permanent population of Lesser Flamingos in southern Africa. In June 2003, I observed c. 36 000 Lesser Flamingos were present at Kamfers Dam, about 60% of this species' southern African population. The flamingos are attracted to this 400 ha wetland by its size, perennial nature, and abundance of food (as a result of enrichment from sewerage water inflow). Although no successful breeding has taken place, I have recorded breeding attempts of both Greater Flamingo and Lesser Flamingo. Both species have proceeded as far as egg-laying, with more than 2500 nests at the dam. I suspect that the flamingos have never bred successfully because of unfavourable conditions (rapidly receding water level, which exposes the nests to predators) and disturbance by people and dogs.

The wetland also supports numerous other bird species, both waterbirds and terrestrial species; more than 200 species have been recorded during the past 10 years. Kamfers Dam is a Natural Heritage Site, an Important Bird Area, and a submission was made some years ago for the wetland to be declared a Ramsar site. Kamfers Dam is one of Kimberley's most important tourism, environmental education, and biodiversity assets.

Kamfers Dam is the focus of various research and monitoring projects. CWAC surveys, counting all the waterbirds, have been conducted during mid-summer and mid-winter since 1991. I have been counting the flamingos every month since November 1995. During 2000 a water quality study was conducted at the dam. In 2004, a sample of flamingo feathers was provided for trace element analyses.

Photo Les Underhill

Heavy metals in the Kamfers Dam water enter the feathers of the flamingos via the algae that feeds the birds

Kamfers Dam receives its water (approximately 24 Ml/day) from the Homevale Sewerage Works, from its c. 160 km2 catchment area, and from Kimberley's storm water runoff. It is a totally closed system. For the water, evaporation is the only way out!

Currently 4 Ml/day of the effluent is used for mining activities, but this might increase to 20 Ml/day. This change would have both positive and negative affects on the flamingos, The total surface area of wetland will become smaller, but it will become shallower, so that a larger area would be available to flamingos to feed in.

The nutrient rich waters sometimes result in algal blooms, a potential source of lethal toxins. Sulfide emissions from these blooms result in unpleasant smells for the communities living in the area surrounding Kamfers Dam. It is possible that heavy metals could enter the wetland via the sewerage works (particularly through the city's storm water system) and the pollutants that would then be present in the water, algae and sediments, may be detrimental to the flamingos. It is currently not known what affect toxigenic algae, algal toxins, and heavy metal residues are having on the birds. Kamfers Dam has similarities with the conditions in the East African wetlands, especially high levels of blue-green algae.

Photo Mark Anderson

Kamfers Dam with Kimberley in the background

Preliminary analyses of feathers collected and analyzed for heavy metals were undertaken by Hungarian researcher Dr Tibor Szep. He reported very high levels of cobalt, iron, lithium, titanium, vanadium, chrome, mercury, nickel and lead, some of which he described as 'dangerously high'. Although the iron concentrations in the water in Kamfers Dam's water are not excessively high, high iron levels were detected in flamingo feathers collected at Kamfers Dam. The water in Kamfers Dam has high levels of other trace metals, including boron and strontium.

The Northern Cape conservation authority has recently expressed concern about the possible effect of Kamfers Dam's water on its population of birds. A study of the potential impacts of the water on the flamingos is important becase of the size of the population of birds that frequent this wetland (a mass die-off would have a significant impact on the southern African population) and also their tourism (and thus economic) and environmental education value.

Photo Mark Anderson

Aerial view of part of Kamfers Dam

Only a few dead flamingos are located during the bi-annual waterbird surveys (usually less than six birds per survey, consistent with the natural mortality rate), so there is no indication that the water quality is currently having a detrimental impact on the flamingos. It is however possible that there may be bio-accumulation of certain toxins, which may affect longevity, breeding, or perhaps result in mortalities during periods of stress (such as long migratory flights). The mass die-off, during several incidents, of tens of thousands of Lesser Flamingos in East Africa, serves to warn us that Kamfers Dam's flamingos are potentially at risk. Although no mass die-offs of flamingos have taken place in southern Africa, the possibility cannot be ruled out. Because of the Lesser Flamingo's unique filter feeding mechanism, it is a bio-indicator species and a useful measure of ecosystem health of wetland systems.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Abrahams A, Anderson MD 2001. Messages from the mud! Kamfers Dam, waterbirds and Ramsar status. African Wildlife 55(5): 20-21.
• Anderson MD 1994. Large raft of Blacknecked Grebes at Kamfers Dam, Kimberley. Mirafra 11(1): 6.
• Anderson MD 1994. Greater Flamingo breeding attempt at Kamfers Dam, Kimberley. Mirafra 11(3): 45-46.
• Anderson MD 2000. The status of flamingos in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Ostrich 71: 431-434.
• Anderson MD, Biggs D 2004. Kimberley. Africa - Birds & Birding 9(4): 50-53.
• Anderson MD, Koen JH 1994. Kamfers Dam: a jewel in an arid land. Birding in Southern Africa 46(2): 48-53.
• Barnes KN, Anderson MD 1998. Important Bird Areas of the Northern Cape. In: Barnes KN (ed.) The Important Bird Areas of southern Africa. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa: 103-122.