Table Bay Nature Reserve / Woodbridge Island
Entrance to the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island Cape Town
Table Bay Nature Reserve / Wood bridge Island
A short hike from Woodbridge Island, opposite Milnerton High School, is the entrance to the Milnerton Lagoon section of the Table Bay Nature Reserve conservation Biodiversity Network. A relatively small wetlands area, but part of the much wider geographical nature conservation zone covering the Rietvlei Wetlands, Milnerton Lagoon, Milnerton Beach, Milnerton Racecourse, Zoarvlei Wetlands, Diep River and the Parklands Fynbos Corridor.
I frequently hike the Milnerton Lagoon / Diep River area in the hope of spotting some of the various bird species around the roadside of the Milnerton Lagoon, the Diep River and the tiny island (not Woodbridge Island) where I regularly photograph egyptian geese, grey herons, pied kingfishers and spoonbills.
I've spotted a lonesome malachite kingfisher flying past a few times, but I'm still unable to discover his perching whereabouts - or to get a good in flight capture. On a sunny morning there are many red-knobbed coots scooting down the river.
Pied Kingfisher : Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town
Smaller Birds
Various smaller birds like the weaver and waxbill chirp and hop impatiently through the reeds. Many of the larger birds also land and feed on the Milnerton golf course side of the Diep River.
On any given day there will be at least one Pied kingfisher flying, diving and / or perched. Personally, my favorite small bird to watch and photograph.
During summer many sandwich and swift terns carry out their spectacular dives and turns out past the pump station into the main reserve area.
Malachite kingfisher
Over the last couple months I've also captured the elusive malachite kingfisher perched / (and eventually
in flight) in the reserve and on the wooden bridge.
More information on the Woodbridge Island, Cape Town
Local Bird SpeciesKaroo Prinea : Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island Cape Town
Entrance to the Table Bay Nature Reserve (Milnerton Beach / Milnerton Lagoon / Diep River) is free and the images below are captured from about a 10 - 15 minutes walk from Milnerton Lagoon / Woodbridge Island through the Diep River entrance.
There are some amazing views of the Diep River, the prominent Milnerton Lighthouse on Woodbridge Island and our majestic Table Mountain.
On the other side of the Diep River are the lushes greens of the Milnerton Golf Course - on a quite morning you will hear the regular 'ping' of golf balls being driven down the well-kept fairways.
Snapshots with Canon EOS 6D / EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens.
Table Bay Nature Reserve Management"The Table Bay Nature Reserve is managed by the City of Cape Town and consists of seven parts: Rietvlei Wetlands, Milnerton Lagoon, Milnerton Beach, Milnerton Racecourse, Zoarvlei Wetlands, Diep River, and the Parklands Fynbos Corridor.
This approximately 880-hectare reserve comprises a variety of permanent and seasonal wetlands, and is surrounded by Cape Flats dune strandveld and Cape Flats sand fynbos vegetation.
The Rietvlei Wetland is in the floodplain of the Diep River between Milnerton and Table View. The river drains into Table Bay via the Milnerton Lagoon. The wetland offers a variety of habitats including a permanent freshwater lake, shallow marshes that flood in winter, reed beds, a river, and an estuarine lagoon with salt marshes that is open to the sea. A strip of coastal dunes links the reserve to Table Bay.
Bird watching facilities, including boardwalks and two bird hides, are provided in the Rietvlei Section. The “Old Friends Hide” looks out over the seasonal pans while the “Sunset Hide” looks out over the southern deep water lake." (Source:
Cape Bird Club)
© All Images
Vernon Chalmers Photography CopyrightTable Bay Nature Reserve - Diep River View
Table Bay Nature Reserve - Table Mountain View
Links to more Table Bay Nature Reserve information
Table Bay Nature Reserve - City of Cape Town
Table Bay Nature Reserve - City of Cape TownTable Bay Nature Reserve - Cape Bird Club
Table Bay Nature Reserve - Cape Bird ClubBird Watching in the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Bird Watching in the Table Table Bay Nature ReserveTable Bay Nature Reserve - Wikipedia
Table Bay Nature Reserve - WikipediaTable Bay Nature Reserve - Cape Town Green Map
Table Bay Nature Reserve - Cape Town Green MapTable Bay Nature Reserve – Responsible Tourism
Table Bay Nature Reserve – Responsible TourismAccommodation near Table Bay Nature Reserve
Accommodation near Table Bay Nature ReserveBirds in Flight Photography Cape Town
Birds in Flight Photography Cape TownAfrican Spoonbill Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island
Entrance to the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Entrance to the Table Bay Nature Reserve is on the Diep River side of the crossing of Broad Road and West Coast Road. My recommendation if you coming by car is to park on Woodbridge Island and walk over the main bridge, past the old wooden bridge and keep along the Diep River, past the pump station 'rondawel' and enter to the left where you see the Table Bay Nature Reserve sign board (at the traffic lights).
Close-Up Photography : Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island Cape Town
More about the Table Bay Nature Reserve (Woodbridge Island)
"The Table Bay Nature Reserve is an 880-hectare (2,200-acre) nature reserve in Milnerton, Western Cape, South Africa. It consists of several smaller constituent reserves including Rietvlei Wetland Reserve, Diep River Fynbos Corridor, Zoarvlei Wetlands, Milnerton Racecourse Nature Reserve, and Milnerton Lagoon, as well as surrounding protected areas. These adjacent reserves were amalgamated on 27 June 2012, in order to improve the biodiversity management in the built-up area. It is managed by the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management Department, with offices at Rietvlei.
The Table Bay Nature Reserve consists of seven parts: Rietvlei Wetlands, Milnerton Lagoon, Milnerton Beach, Milnerton Racecourse, Zoarvlei Wetlands, Diep River, and the Parklands Fynbos Corridor. This 880-hectare reserve comprises a variety of permanent and seasonal wetlands, and is surrounded by Cape Flats dune strandveld and Cape Flats sand fynbos vegetation. The Rietvlei Wetland is in the floodplain of the Diep River between Milnerton and Table View that drains into Table Bay via the Milnerton Lagoon.
The broader reserve offers a range of educational, recreational opportunities. You can watch birds from board walks and enjoy two bird hides at the Rietvlei Section (Table View), braai and picnic on Rietvlei’s shoreline, bring school groups for environmental education programmes, paddle and canoe at the Milnerton Lagoon and Rietvlei Sections, sail, ski and powerboat at Rietvlei, and fish at selected sites.
The Table Bay Nature Reserve, which includes Milnerton Lagoon, Milnerton Beach, and Milnerton Racecourse, is part of Woodbridge Island." (Source: Microsoft)
