Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Together these parks support at least 188 bird species. Two Geronticus calvus breeding colonies occur within the IBA, including the famous site at Cathedral Cave; they are regularly seen foraging alongside Grus paradisea, Balearica regulorum, Eupodotis senegalensis and E. caerulescens in the grasslands. The short, cropped, high-altitude grasslands also hold Anthus chloris. Gyps coprotheres, Gypaetus barbatus and Polemaetus bellicosus no longer breed in the IBA, but all are regular visitors. The high-altitude rocky outcrops support Chaetops aurantius, Anthus crenatus and Geocolaptes olivaceus. The intervening grassy slopes are home to Turnix hottentotta, Serinus symonsi, Saxicola bifasciata, Monticola explorator, Anthus hoeschi, Sphenoeacus afer and (on Protea-covered slopes) Promerops gurneyi, and Lioptilus nigricapillus occurs in wooded gullies. Falco naumanni is a regular summer visitor to the parks and Circus maurus is a regular winter visitor.

Site description These two parks are situated in the Rooiberg mountain range in the north-eastern Free State, along the border with Lesotho. Within the park, there is an altitude difference of some 1,140 m between the lowest point in the Little Caledon river valley (1,700 m) and the highest peak, Ribbokkop (2,840 m). The eastern sector of this IBA is characterized by deep valleys with dense vegetation. The only major feature is Qwaqwa mountain, on an isolated range near the south-east border of Qwaqwa National Park.

Highland sourveld dominates the vegetation, and alpine tussock-grassland is particularly common above 2,000 m. In the deeper valleys and krantzes, woody communities encroach; dominants in the thickets include Cliffortia, Cussonia, Rhus, Diospyros and Protasparagus. On the flatter, deeper soils of the mountain slopes and plateau, Protea woodland dominates. In the steeper, wetter gorges, shrubby patches of Leucosidea, Buddleja and Kiggelaria enter the landscape. An extensive marsh area, dominated by Phragmites, is situated along the Klerkspruit, Rietspruit and Rietvlei drainage lines.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species	Season	Period	Population estimate	Quality of estimate	IBA Criteria	IUCN Category
Southern Bald Ibis Geronticus calvus	resident	-	20-40 breeding pairs	-	A1, A3, A4i	Vulnerable
Southern Bald Ibis Geronticus calvus	winter	-	100-200 individuals	-	A4i	Vulnerable
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	winter	-	500-1,000 individuals	-	A1, A4ii	Least Concern
Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres	winter	-	present [units unknown]	-	A1	Vulnerable
Black Harrier Circus maurus	resident	-	present [units unknown]	-	A1	Vulnerable
Blue Bustard Eupodotis caerulescens	resident	-	present [units unknown]	-	A1	Near Threatened
Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus	resident	-	present [units unknown]	-	A1	Vulnerable
Ground Woodpecker Geocolaptes olivaceus	resident	-	present [units unknown]	-	A1	Least Concern
Bush Blackcap Lioptilus nigricapillus	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A1, A3	Near Threatened
Drakensberg Rockjumper Chaetops aurantius	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A1, A2, A3	Least Concern
Kurrichane Thrush Turdus libonyanus	resident	1998	-	-		Least Concern
Buff-streaked Chat Oenanthe bifasciata	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A1, A3	Least Concern
Gurney's Sugarbird Promerops gurneyi	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Yellow-breasted Pipit Anthus chloris	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A1, A3	Vulnerable
Mountain Pipit Anthus hoeschi	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A1, A2	Least Concern
Drakensberg Siskin Serinus symonsi	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A1, A3	Least Concern

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Golden Gate Highlands	National Park	11,568	protected area contains site	36,229

Habitats

IUCN habitat	Habitat detail	Extent (% of site)
Shrubland	Shrubland - Montane	-

Land use

Land-use	Extent (% of site)
nature conservation and research	100%
agriculture	-

Other biodiversity None known to BirdLife International.

Management considerations The Golden Gate Highlands National Park was established in September 1963. The Qwaqwa National Park was established in 1992; it is the newest national park in South Africa, and is under the jurisdiction of the Highlands Development Corporation. Once a common species in the Free State, Gyps coprotheres has declined dramatically since the nineteenth century. Desertion of the colonies at Thaba Nchu and Zastron, both in the Free State, are evidence of its contraction in distribution, which has been attributed to widespread poisonings by small-stock farmers attempting to poison mammalian predators such as caracals and jackals. Vultures are inadvertently attracted to the carcasses and unintentionally poisoned. Vultures are unlikely to return to the Free State as a breeding species unless there are dramatic changes in land-use patterns that are more sympathetic to vulture foraging habits.

References Bates (1991), Botha (1993), de Swardt and van Niekerk (1996), Earlé and Lawson (1988), Groenewald (1986), Hutsebaut et al. (1992), Kopij (1995), Pocock and Uys (1967), Potgieter (1982), Roberts (1969), Stoltz and Geyser (1973).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Golden Gate Highlands and Qwaqwa National Parks. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013

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