The area is a nature lover’s paradise, with the surrounding large commercial forests providing homes for a wide array of wildlife including buck, porcupines, civet, mongoose and even jackal. In the near distance, the Karkloof is the second largest indigenous forest in the country and is reportedly still inhabited by leopard. The grasslands and crop fields support many seed-eating species of birds and smaller wildlife like hares.
When the Spurwing geese and ducks aren’t jostling for the spot, leguaan and terrapins sun themselves on the jetties of the existing houses. Pairs of Crowned Cranes strut around on the lawns and in winter large flocks of up to 80 birds fly in at sunset to roost after a day’s foraging in the surrounding farmlands.
A family of otters can be spotted playing on the mud banks of the small islands and edges of the dam, or hunting fish at the rapids beneath the dam wall. The wetland area was formed when the dam was created and is a haven for fauna and flora. KZN Birds Magazine was amazed at the biodiversity of the area, comparing it to a miniature version of the Okavango delta. See a copy of their article here.
Sally Johnson from The Witness also enjoyed a visit to the dam and found a variety of birds happily living alongside the skiers. Click here to read a full account of her day, which included a serenade by the resident pair of fish eagle.
In years past, annual duck hunts moderated bird populations. Since their prohibition a dramatic increase in bird life has been noted, much to the delight of home owners, some of whom put out birdfeed daily. In 2013 residents had the privilege of observing 3 crowned crane chicks and the fish eagle chick being raised, as well as the special treat of witnessing a reedbuck doe give birth within the estate.
Below is a list of animals and birds recorded at the dam, please see our gallery for images
Wildlife List
|
Ref #
|
Birds
|
Other
|
|---|---|---|
| 8 49 55 58 60 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 71 72 78 81 91 94 95 96 99 101 102 104 107 108 114 115 116 126 126 127 139 141 148 152 158 165 169 196 200 203 204 208 209 213 217 223 226 228 240 258 266 286 315 350 352 354 355 386 391 401 424 428 429 431 432 435 451 473 486 489 518 541 545 568 577 596 635 677 683 689 713 728 732 764 796 801 807 814 824 824 828 840 857 860 869 TOTAL |
Dabchick (Little Grebe) Pelican White Cormorant Whitebreasted Cormorant Reed Darter Heron Grey Heron Blackheaded Heron Goliath Heron Purple Egret Great White Egret Little Egret Yellowbilled Egret Black Egret Cattle Squacco Heron Little Bittern Hamerkop Ibis Sacred Hadeda Ibis Spoonbill African Flamingo Greater Duck White Faced Duck White Backed Goose Egyptian Duck Yellowbilled Teal Hottentot Teal Redbilled Goose Pygmy Duck Knobbilled Goose Spurwinged Kite Black Kite Yellowbilled Kite Blackshouldered Eagle Longcrested Eagle Crowned Eagle African Fish Jackal Buzzard Sparrowhawk Black MarshHarrier African Gymnogine Francolin Natal Quail Common Guineafowl Helmeted Guineafowl Crested Crane Blue Crane Crowned Crane Black Redchested Flufftail Purple Gallinute Moorhen Red Knobbed Coot African Jacana Lapwing Blacksmith Plover Blacksmith Moorhen Common Greyheaded Gull Pigeon Rameron Dove Redeyed Dove Cape Turtle Dove Laughing Cuckoo Diederik Coucal Burchell’s Spotted Eagle Owl Mousebird Speckled Kingfisher Pied Kingfisher Giant Kingfisher Malachite Kingfisher Pygmy Kingfisher Brownhooded Hoopoe Barbet Crested Cardinal Woodpecker Wryneck Red Throated Swallow European Drongo Forktailed Oriole Blackheaded Blackeyed Bulbul Olive Thrush African Stonechat Swamp-Warbler Lesser Levaillant’s Cristicola Tawny Flanked Prinia Flycatcher Spotted Wagtail Cape Longclaw Yellow-Throated Fiscal Shrike Glossy Starling – Cape White-eye Cape House Sparrow Thick Billed Weaver Weaver Masked Red Bishop Red Shouldered Widow Widiwbird Fan Tailed African Firefinch Bronzed Mannikin Pin Tailed Whydah Yellow Fronted Canary98 |
Otter Terrapin Legavaan Reed Buck Bush Buck Duiker Hares Civet Mongoose Jackal Porcupine Bush Pig Water Snake Puff Adder Night Adder |
BIRD LIFE – 141 Species (March 2016)
| FAMILY NAME | DESCRIPTION |
| Barbet | Crested |
| Bee-eater | White-fronted |
| Bishop | Southern Red |
| Bishop | Yellow-crowned |
| Bittern | Little |
| Boubou | Southern |
| Bulbul | Dark-capped |
| Buzzard | Jackal |
| Buzzard | Steppe |
| Canary | Yellow-fronted |
| Cisticola | Levaillant’s |
| Coot | Red-knobbed |
| Cormorant | Reed |
| Cormorant | White-breasted |
| Coucal | Burchell’s |
| Crake | Black |
| Crane | Blue |
| Crane | Grey Crowned |
| Cuckoo | Diederik |
| Darter | African |
| Dove | Cape Turtle- |
| Dove | Laughing |
| Dove | Red-eyed |
| Drongo | Fork-tailed |
| Duck | African Black |
| Duck | Comb |
| Duck | White-backed |
| Duck | White-faced |
| Duck | Yellow-billed |
| Eagle | African Crowned |
| Eagle | African Fish- |
| Eagle | Long-crested |
| Egret | Cattle |
| Egret | Great |
| Egret | Little |
| Egret | Yellow-billed |
| Firefinch | African |
| Fiscal | Common |
| Flamingo | Greater |
| Flufftail | Red-chested |
| Flycatcher | African Dusky |
| Flycatcher | Spotted |
| Goose | African Pygmy- |
| Goose | Egyptian |
| Goose | Spur-winged |
| Grassbird | Cape |
| Grebe | Little |
| Guineafowl | Crested |
| Guineafowl | Helmeted |
| Gull | Grey-headed |
| Hamerkop | |
| Harrier | African Marsh- |
| Hawk | African Harrier- |
| Heron | Black |
| Heron | Black-headed |
| Heron | Goliath |
| Heron | Grey |
| Heron | Purple |
| Heron | Squacco |
| Hobby | Eurasian |
| Hoopoe | African |
| House | Sparrow |
| Ibis | African Sacred |
| Ibis | Hadeda |
| Indigobird | Dusky |
| Jacana | African |
| Kingfisher | African Pygmy- |
| Kingfisher | Brown-hooded |
| Kingfisher | Giant |
| Kingfisher | Malachite |
| Kingfisher | Pied |
| Kite | Black |
| Kite | Black-shouldered |
| Kite | Yellow-billed |
| Lapwing | Blacksmith |
| Little | Bittern |
| Longclaw | Yellow-throated |
| Mannikin | Bronze |
| Mannikin | Red-backed |
| Martin | Brown-throated |
| Moorhen | Common |
| Mousebird | Speckled |
| Neddicky | |
| Nightjar | Fiery-necked |
| Oriole | Black-headed |
| Owl | Barn |
| Owl | Spotted Eagle- |
| Pelican | Great White |
| Petronia | Yellow-throated |
| Pigeon | African Olive- |
| Pigeon | Speckled |
| Prinia | Tawny-flanked |
| Quail | Common |
| Quelea | Red-headed |
| Rail | African |
| Robin | White-browed Scrub- |
| Robin-Chat | Cape |
| Saw-wing | Black |
| Shrike | Red-backed |
| Snipe | African |
| Sparrow | Cape |
| Sparrow | Southern Grey-headed |
| Sparrowhawk | Black |
| Spoonbill | African |
| Spurfowl | Natal |
| Squacco | Heron |
| Starling | Cape Glossy |
| Stonechat | African |
| Starling | Red-winged |
| Sunbird | Amethyst |
| Sunbird | White-bellied |
| Swallow | Barn |
| Swallow | Greater Striped |
| Swallow | Lesser Striped |
| Swallow | White-throated |
| Swamphen | African Purple |
| Swift | Little |
| Swift | White-rumped |
| Tchagra | Black-crowned |
| Teal | Hottentot |
| Teal | Red-billed |
| Thrush | Olive |
| Wagtail | African Pied |
| Wagtail | Cape |
| Warbler | Dark-capped Yellow |
| Warbler | Lesser Swamp- |
| Warbler | Little Rush- |
| Warbler | Willow |
| Waxbill | Common |
| Weaver | Cape |
| Weaver | Spectacled |
| Weaver | Southern Masked |
| Weaver | Thick-billed |
| Weaver | Village |
| White-eye | Cape |
| Whydah | Pin-tailed |
| Widowbird | Fan-tailed |
| Widowbird | Red-collared |
| Widowbird | White-winged |
| Woodpecker | Cardinal |
| Wryneck | Red-throated |
OTHER ANIMAL LIFE
| Otter |
| Terrapin |
| Legavaan |
| Reed Buck |
| Bush Buck |
| Duiker |
| Hares |
| Civet |
| Mongoose |
| Jackal |
| Porcupine |
| Bush Pig |
| Water Snake |
| Puff Adder |
| Night Adder |
Small crocodiles under 1m occasionally appear but due to cold winters either die or move downstream to warmer areas.