Please note that as of 25 January 2019 - I have been informed that the Pan has completely dried up due to the Western Cape's current drought and giving off quite a powerful smell!
Update as of 15 December 2022 - Please note that due to moving to Limpopo in August 2018 - I was not aware of the Salt Pan’s condition. But having driven past now in 2022 - the Salt Pan is looking beautiful and full of water!
Update as of 15 December 2022 - Please note that due to moving to Limpopo in August 2018 - I was not aware of the Salt Pan’s condition. But having driven past now in 2022 - the Salt Pan is looking beautiful and full of water!
Caw!
Welcome to this week's segment of Where the birds at's Bird-Watching Hot spots - where the focus will be put on another potential bird-watching destination within one of Hermanus' suburbs - Vermont - better known as the Vermont salt pan.
This potential bird-watching destination is even recognised - like the previously explored Prawn Flats - among the top 10 bird-watching destinations along the Cape Whale Coast at no. 5 as "a variety of water birds at the Vermont salt pan.
Vermont, as a location, is described by SA-venue.com as:
The salt pan itself is considered as part of this green belt system and is unfortunately also critically endangered - due to unfortunate circumstances - which is a shame, because of its potential as a conservation site and excellent bird-watching site.
As a location itself, I was quite surprised by the size of the waterbody and after looking it up on Google Maps. Surrounded by reeds, with Milkwood woodland thickets on the eastern shore; and with some surprise in my research - endangered orchids on the western shore, which is regarded as the most threatened orchid species in SA.
However what drew me to this pan as a bird-watcher was not only its size but - like with Prawn Flats - was again the Greater Flamingos that I spotted from R43 driving past on the way to Cape Town.
The following birds - that I can recall - made an appearance:
So - to finish off this segment - I believe this is an excellent bird-watching hotspots and particularly for photographers, because the pan coupled with the mountain makes for excellent photographs.
Welcome to this week's segment of Where the birds at's Bird-Watching Hot spots - where the focus will be put on another potential bird-watching destination within one of Hermanus' suburbs - Vermont - better known as the Vermont salt pan.
This potential bird-watching destination is even recognised - like the previously explored Prawn Flats - among the top 10 bird-watching destinations along the Cape Whale Coast at no. 5 as "a variety of water birds at the Vermont salt pan.
Vermont, as a location, is described by SA-venue.com as:
- a suburb of Hermanus between Hawston and Sandbaai
- Aims lies in preserving and protecting the original coastal fynbos - thus resulting in natural green corridors - and also protecting three fynbos subvelds - Overberg Sandstone, Hangklip Sand and Overberg Dune Strandveld - all these categorised as endangered and critically endangered
The salt pan itself is considered as part of this green belt system and is unfortunately also critically endangered - due to unfortunate circumstances - which is a shame, because of its potential as a conservation site and excellent bird-watching site.
As a location itself, I was quite surprised by the size of the waterbody and after looking it up on Google Maps. Surrounded by reeds, with Milkwood woodland thickets on the eastern shore; and with some surprise in my research - endangered orchids on the western shore, which is regarded as the most threatened orchid species in SA.
However what drew me to this pan as a bird-watcher was not only its size but - like with Prawn Flats - was again the Greater Flamingos that I spotted from R43 driving past on the way to Cape Town.
The following birds - that I can recall - made an appearance:
- Blacksmith Lapwing
- Black-winged Stilt (quite a few of them)
- Cape Teal
- Cape Weaver
- Cisticola (unidentified, might be Levaillant's - too fast)
- Common Moorhen
- Egyptian Goose
- Greater Flamingo
- Little Grebe
- Sacred Ibis (flew over pan)
- Three-banded Plover
- White-breasted Cormorant
- Others to mentioned later
So - to finish off this segment - I believe this is an excellent bird-watching hotspots and particularly for photographers, because the pan coupled with the mountain makes for excellent photographs.
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