This is one of the most important wetlands for waterbirds in southern Africa. Sandwich Harbour regularly supports over 100 000 birds in summer and over 52 000 in winter (median 1990 - 2015, MET 2015). Traditionally, the northern wetland used to hold the highest species diversity, while the southern mudflats hold by far the largest number of birds, dominated by terns, waders, flamingos and cormorants.