|
|
|
|
CAPE BIRD CLUB NEWSLETTER February 2016
Thank you to everyone who contributed items and photographs for the newsletter.
CLUB ACTIVITIES
Saturday 6 February OUTING ― Rondevlei
Leader: Merle Chalton ☎ 079 343 1047
Meet at 08h00. These regular monthly outings are for all Rondevlei enthusiasts and beginners are especially welcome. Duration 2½ hrs.
There is a small entrance fee.
Remember to bring a warm jacket or anorak - it can be freezing in the hides, even on the hottest days!
Directions: Travel down the M5 (Prince George Drive) towards Grassy Park and look out for Nando’s at the 5th Avenue traffic light. Turn left here into 5th Avenue and at the first set of traffic lights turn right into Perth Road and continue to Rondevlei at the end of the road.
Tues 9 February WEEKDAY OUTING —
False Bay Ecology Park / Strandfontein Sewage Works
Leader: Heather Howell ☎ 084 352 2654
Meet at 08h00. Some consider the wetland systems of the False Bay Ecology Park to be amongst the top five birdwatching areas in southern Africa, so look forward to some excellent birding.
This time of the year is especially good for Waders.
Directions: For those coming from the north, take the M5 down to the Ottery Road turn-off and turn left. Continue past the Ottery Hypermarket onto New Ottery Rd. Turn right into Strandfontein Road and proceed through Lotus River to the False Bay Ecopark turn-off where you turn right and continue through the checkpoint to the works.
We meet just before the entrance to the "Birding Area".
Those coming from the Muizenberg side should travel along Baden Powell Drive and turn left into Strandfontein Road. Continue to the turn off to the False Bay Ecopark. Follow this road through a checkpoint to the works where we'll meet just before the entrance to the "Birding Area".
Thurs 11 February EVENING MEETING —
Fascinating Fynbos: Ecology and Conservation
Speaker: Sean Privett
Meet at 20h00. Sean Privett has a master’s degree in botany and has been involved in a variety of conservation projects in the Walker Bay region for the last fifteen years. He has a passion for fynbos and a holistic approach to its conservation. Sean will be talking on the conservation significance of fynbos, its fascinating ecology, the role of fire in fynbos regeneration and some of the exciting conservation projects that he is involved in.
We meet at the Nassau Centre, Groote Schuur High School, Palmyra Road, Newlands.
Tea and biscuits are served after the meeting at a cost of R5.00.
Visitors are welcome - there is a charge of R15.00 for visitors and non-members.
Sun 14 February OUTING — West Coast National Park
Leaders: Vernon Head ☎ 076 569 1389 or vhjarch@kingsley.co.za
and Mel Tripp ☎ 083 461 4365 or tripp@iburst.co.za
Meet at 06h30 at the gate to the WCNP. Catching the tides at the right time is crucial for optimal viewing of waders at Langebaan Lagoon, so we need to make an early start. After meeting at 06h30 we will go straight to Seeberg Hide then back to Geelbek. It will be neap tide, but let’s hope there will be some tidal activity and it is not one of those days when the tide hardly moves! We will visit Abrahamskraal in the afternoon after lunch. We suggest you bring a picnic lunch and plan for a full day’s outing. Please try to share transport and remember to take your Wild Card so that you do not have to pay the entrance fee of R42.
|
|
BIRD COUNTS AND HACKS
Sunday 7 February: Kirstenbosch BIRP Count.
Meet at 08h00
Leader: John Magner (082 881 3845)
Thursday 11 February: Wildevoelvlei Count
Meet at 08h30
Leader: Eric Barnes (021 782 5429)
Saturday 13 February: Zandvlei Hack
Meet at 14h00
Leader: Gavin Lawson (021 705 5224)
Sunday 14 February: Strandfontein Count
Meet at 08h00
Leader: Dick Barnes (021 689 1106)
Thursday 18 February Athlone WWTW Count
Meet at 13h00
Leader: Dick Bos (021 423 2546)
These counts will take place weather permitting
Saturday 27 February: Paarl Bird Sanctuary CWAC
Meet at 09h00
Leader: Yvonne Weiss (021 872 4972)
|
|
KIRSTENBOSCH BIRD WALKS
Wednesday 17 February
These bird walks led by members of the Cape and Tygerberg Bird Clubs have been so popular over the past 2 years that it has been decided to continue them into 2015.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about our Kirstenbosch birds is welcome to join the walks.
The walks are free of charge but the entrance fee for Kirstenbosch is payable if you do not have a BotSoc Card.
This month the walk will take place on Wednesday 17 February
Meet at 8am at the Information Desk at Gate One.
Leader: Otto Schmidt
Please contact Linda Hibbin on 021 788 1528, or e-mail hibbins@telkomsa.net if you have any questions
|
|
Book Sale
There will be a book sale at the February CBC meeting.
Second-hand books in 3 price-groups: 2 for R25; 2 for R50 and R50 each on the memorabilia table.
Would you like a Cape Bird Club Shirt, Cap or Hat?
The memorabilia table has stock of embroidered badges carrying the Club logo and name for only R25.00 each.
These can be easily sewn onto fabric items and are an economical way to brand your own choice of articles.
Western Cape Checklists
Printed on fold-up cards – the easy way to keep your list when birding! 5 for R20 from the memorabilia table.
|
|
|
ZANDVLEI NATURE RESERVE OUTING – SUNDAY 17TH JANUARY 2016
We met in the City Council car park just before 08h00 where our vehicles would be safely locked up whilst we were on the walk.
As was the case last year, there was an excellent turnout of 37 birders which included many longstanding members as well as a number of new club members and at least one guest. After the past weeks of gale force winds the “weather gods” smiled on us and there was hardly any wind until later in the morning. The temperature also didn’t reach the forecast figure and was quite bearable.
Because of the size of the group and the fact that most of the route necessitates walking one or two abreast, Simon Fogarty and John Magner positioned themselves strategically and assisted by pointing out the birds and sharing their knowledge with the members, particularly those who were new.
My grateful thanks to them for their help.
With 37 pairs of eyes scanning the countryside the birds didn’t stand a chance and before we even reached the old car park we had about 12 species including Barn, White-throated and Greater-striped Swallow, Malachite Sunbird, Grey Heron, Spur-winged Goose and many Cape Bulbuls.
We then stood next to the canal adjacent to Marina Da Gama and had good sightings of a number of birds. These included Yellow-billed Duck, Common Moorhen, Southern Masked Weaver, Grey Heron, Red-faced Mousebird, Pin-tailed Whydah, White-breasted Cormorant, Red-knobbed Coot, Common Tern and flying up and down the canal was a Caspian Tern ( a really impressive bird ). We later saw at least three Caspian terns.
Moving on down the path we heard or saw Bokmakierie, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Little Rush Warbler, Southern Boubou, Common Waxbills, Levaillant’s Cisticola and Karoo Prinia.
The tall look-out deck which overlooks the Island and towards the Southern end of Zandvlei was not as productive as previously, as the water level in the Vlei is quite high and there is not a lot of sand-spit or beach for the birds to settle on. We did however see more Caspian and Common Terns on the sand as well as both Kelp and Hartlaub’s Gulls and of course Blacksmith Lapwings making their presence known !
Between the look-out and Skirpus hide there were a number of African Darters and Reed Cormorants drying their wings on the dead trees in the water and a Three-banded Plover flew past at a rate of knots, later to be seen on the water’s edge. Skirpus Hide produced nothing except that the African Fish eagle could be seen in the distance. We eventually got fairly close to it and it appeared to be feeding on something it had caught.
Further down the track we came across three Pied Kingfishers and had a wonderful sighting of a Purple Heron flying past. Also in the Vlei were a pair of Great-crested Grebes which caused some excitement.
Next was the Salt Pan which was completely dry. There were, however, two Grey Herons and a Black-headed Heron on the baked mud and five White-backed Mousebirds on the bushes opposite the hide.
The Central Pan was also completely dry and the only occupant was a noisy Blacksmith Lapwing !
We then made our way home, where we collected our refreshments from the vehicles and got together in the shady picnic site near the entrance. All in all it was a very enjoyable outing and taking into account the fact that the Pans were dry, a very creditable tally of 59 species was achieved. ( of these four were identified by their call )
My thanks to the management of Zandvlei for arranging the access and security and the Club Members for supporting the outing.
Graham Pringle
|
|
|
Bird Club members at Zandvlei
Photo by Hayley McIntosh
|
|
|
It's over there!
Photo by Linda McIntosh
|
|
|
Caspian Tern
photo by Peter Hills
|
|
|
Purple Heron
photo by Peter Hills
|
|
|
African Fish Eagle
Photo by Peter Hills
|
|
|
Blacksmith Lapwing in the dry Central Pan
Photo by Andrew du Blocq
|
|
LONDON WETLAND CENTRE
If any members are planning a trip to London, Ronnie Glass reports that the London Wetland Centre is worth a visit.
Ronnie sent this report -
We went to what one does not expect here—the London Wetland Centre. It was 20 years ago 4 large water reservoirs for London but at that time no longer required. So a man with determination and drive arranged for a small portion to be sold off for development .The developers paid over GBP 11M and another GBP 4M was raised and the 4 dams redeveloped into this wonderful large bird and wildlife sanctuary. Its on the Thames and the water comes from and returns to it. There are some birds with wings clipped—non local birds that would otherwise die for a lack of food but all the others come and go naturally. The man referred to as the person who made this happen , is the son of RF Scott of the Antarctic, by name Peter Scott.
For those of us who can only dream of a trip to the UK, the website is worth a visit. Click here for more information.
|
|
|
Black-headed Heron, Wilderness
Photo taken by Robin Palmer
|
|
Contributions for the Newsletter
Please send any contributions for the newsletter (interesting sightings, photographs or any interesting news items) to Cheryl Leslie at cdleslie@kingsley.co.za.
Photographs should not exceed 1MB in size.
Postal and Email addresses
Please ensure that we have your correct postal and email address, otherwise you may not receive the Bird Club newsletter or reminders.
Address changes: Please notify BirdLife promptly by post at Private Bag X5000 Parklands 2121 or
fax to 011 789 5188 of any change in address to ensure that you continue receiving Promerops.
Email changes: Please contact BirdLife at membership@birdlife.org.za if you change your email address with a copy to ackroyd.joan@broadwalk-mews.co.za
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
