Winter bird assemblages, species richness and relative abundance at a re-vegetated coal mine in the Middelburg district, Mpumalanga province, South Africa

Winter bird assemblages, species richness and relative abundance were investigated at six re-vegetated sites within the Middelburg Coal Mine (Mpumalanga, South Africa) and compared with those for a site thought to be representative of un-mined biotope within the nearby Witbank Nature Reserve. Age of site since initiation of re-vegetation had little or no apparent effect on richness or abundance. Adjacency to currently active mining and variation in current land management practices appeared to have much more profound effects. Sites surrounded by active mining had lower richness and abundance. Those with 40% or more land left as fallow and strips of un-mowed grass as well as artificial ponds had higher bird richness and abundance.