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CAPE BIRD CLUB NEWSLETTER October 2016
Contents:
Botterkloof Camp
Help Needed
Dragonflies and Damselflies Course
Memorabilia Table
CBC Book Table
West Coast National Park Wader Bash 2017
Club Activities
Bird Counts and Hacks
Kirstenbosch Bird Walk
Oceans of Life Photographic Exhibition
BLSA Media Release: Free State declares first protected environment near Memel
Thank you to everyone who contributed items for the newsletter.
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BOTTERKLOOF CAMP
A double bedroom has become available for the Botterkloof Camp taking place from
Saturday 29 October to Tuesday1 November 2016.
If anyone is interested please e-mail Priscilla at pbeeton@mweb.co.za by Sunday 2 October 2016.
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HELP NEEDED
We often receive requests on an ad hoc basis for help with surveys/ bird counts or to take beginner birders round various venues such as Strandfontein or Paarl Bird Sanctuary.
We would like to set up a list of volunteers who would be willing to help out on an ad hoc basis.
If you are willing to assist please email Barbara at bemjones@telkomsa.net with your name, contact details and any specific areas of interest
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Enquiries and Registration: Judith Crosswell 021 671 1787 (after 7pm) or email judith@kingsley.co.za
Please pay by EFT to Cape Bird Club, Nedbank Account number 1046380400, Branch Code 104609,
Please provide as reference your Surname & Initial & Dragonflies. Members must provide their member number
Please email a copy of your proof of payment to Judith.
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MEMORABILIA TABLE
Memorabilia (and 2nd hand books) have acquired some scarce copies of "African Birds & Birding" magazine.
We have Volumes 1, 2 & 3, which will be on sale at the October CBC meeting.
Check your own collection and see which ones you need.
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BOOK TABLE ALERT!
We have copies of a lovely new book – “Levaillant`s Legacy – A History of South African Ornithology” by Roy Siegfried, selling at the discounted price of R275. The Publishers state that the book is a limited release with a small print run and copies are not generally available from retail booksellers, so this edition is unique!
We also have copies of Professor Branch`s book – “Two Oceans” which was so popular at the Workshop on 20th August.
We have many other books on sale at discounted prices, including the “2015 Eskom Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland”.
You are welcome to telephone Gavin and Anne Greig on 021 794 7791 to make enquiries or to order books.
All the proceeds of the book sales go to the Cape Bird Club.
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CLUB ACTIVITIES
Saturday 1 October OUTING
Rondevlei Nature Reserve
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.
Wednesday 12 October WEEKDAY OUTING — Lower Tokai Park
Leader: Frank Hallett ☎ 082 825 1788 or email halle@iafrica.com
Meet at 08h00. This area, once covered in pine forest, now has a 'wild' centre of fynbos. The 4km perimeter path (sometimes gravel and sometimes boardwalk) has been lined with young indigenous trees and also takes you through some remaining plantation areas. The fynbos, indigenous trees and pine trees along with the little river provide a variety of habitats for birds.
The walk will last about 2 hours so bring refreshments.
Directions: From the Cape Town side take the M3 (Blue Route) towards Muizenberg. Take exit 15 to Kendal Road and turn right into Kendal Road (M38) at the T-junction. Follow this road over the bridge and continue to the T-junction where you turn left into Spaanschemat River Road (M42).
Continue all the way along Spaanschemat to where it takes a pronounced bend to the left and becomes Orpen Road. We meet at the larger and shadier parking area on Orpen Road ... this is the first parking area you will see on your left with a large “Beware of the baboons” sign. If approaching on Orpen Road from the Steenberg side, it will be the second parking area on your right.
Thursday 13 October EVENING MEETING — Nomads of Namibia
Speaker: Gerald Wingate
Meet at 20h00. Gerald’s birding experience started in 1983 when his colleagues, Barrie Rose and Rob Leslie, introduced him to birding. He is an ex-chairman of Tygerberg Bird Club. Gerald took early retirement in 2004 and has subsequently undertaken numerous birding trips to local hotspots as well as to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Gerald and Deona visited Namibia on a quest to find the birds that are endemic to the north-central region of that country. The route included the Erongo Mountains, the Spitzkoppe, Kamanjab, Ruacana, and the Zebra Mountains.
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 R10.00 for visitors and non-members.
Sun 23 October SUNDAY OUTING — Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
Please note this outing is on the 4th Sunday and not the usual 3rd Sunday
Leader: Margaret Maciver ☎ 082 459 8843 or email maciver@xis.co.za
Meet between 08h15 and 08h30.
You couldn’t find a better spot in spring than Kirstenbosch for both beginners and experienced birders. Regulars to expect would be Cape Robin-chats, Cape Batis, Olive Thrush,Dusky Flycatcher, various sunbirds, and hopefully some Cape Sugarbirds. We might even find some nests and juvenile birds. Hopefully the African Goshawks will be using one of their nests and we may find an owl nest.
Our route will depend on the weather and on what Margaret has been able to find in previous weeks.
Directions: Meet at Gate 1 (the big shop, Vida cafe side - not the nursery gate) between 8.15 and 8.30.
Non-Botanical Society members must pay an entrance fee, so we will meet on the steps just after the payment kiosk.
There should be plenty of parking at that time of morning and people may leave anytime, so the outing will take as long as people are happy to wander around.
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BIRD COUNTS AND HACKS
Sunday 2 October: Kirstenbosch BIRP Count.
Meet at 08h00
Leader: John Magner (082 881 3845)
Saturday 8 October: Zandvlei Hack
Meet at 14h00
Leader: Gavin Lawson (021 705 5224)
Sunday 9 October Strandfontein Count
Meet at 08h00
Leader: Dick Barnes (021 689 1106)
Thursday 13 October: Wildevoelvlei Count
Meet at 08h30
Leader: Eric Barnes (021 782 5429)
Saturday 15 October: Zandvlei NR Quarterly Count
Meet at 08h00
Leader: Gavin Lawson (021 705 5224)
Thursday 20 October: Athlone WWTW Count
Meet at 13h00
Leader: Dick Bos (021 423 2546)
These counts will take place weather permitting
Friday 21 October: Rietvlei/Table Bay NR Quarterly Count
Meet at 09h00
Leader: Koos Retief (021 444 0315 (w)
Saturday 22 October: Paarl Bird Sanctuary CWAC
Meet at 09h00
Leader: Yvonne Weiss (021 872 4972)
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KIRSTENBOSCH BIRD WALKS
Tuesday 11 October 2016
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 2016.
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 Tuesday 11 October.
The walk usually lasts around 2 hours, please wear suitable clothing for the weather.
Meet at 8.00 am at the Information Desk at Gate One.
Leader: Peter Steyn
Please contact Linda Hibbin on 021 788 1528, or e-mail hibbins@telkomsa.net if you have any questions
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Oceans of Life Retrospective photographic exhibition
Casting our eyes over the past seven years of beautiful, ocean inspired images
BirdLife South Africa and Iziko Museums of South Africa will once again host the annual Oceans of Life photographic exhibition. In previous years, this exhibition has showcased the winners of the international Oceans of Life photography competition, where the only criteria was to celebrate the diversity in our oceans.
For 2016 the exhibition will take the form of a retrospective presentation of the top 40 images from 2009 to 2015.
Dr Ross Wanless, manager of the Seabird Conservation Programme at BirdLife South Africa says “The 2016 Oceans of Life exhibition will display the interconnectedness of conservation, love and knowledge. The exhibition aims to inspire through beautiful photographs as well educate by providing information about the subjects of the photos”.
The exhibition will be dedicated to Dr Roelof van der Merwe, a brilliant photographer and avid supporter of conservation work, who passed away in December 2015.
The exhibition concept has been built around a well known quote by Baba Dioum, a Senegalese forestry engineer. In 1968, he coined the now famous phrase: “In the end, we will conserve only that which we love, we will love only that which we understand, and we will understand only that which we are taught.”
The exhibition opens on 6 October in the King’s Map Room at the Iziko South African Museum.
The opening is part of the “First Thursdays” initiative and the public are welcome to attend.
The exhibition will run until 25 November and will be open to the public daily from 10h00 until 17h00.
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Free State declares first protected environment near Memel
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Grassland habitat that will Benefit from the new protected environment
Photo courtesy of BLSA
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Sneeuwberg Protected Environment
Photo courtesy of BLSA
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BirdLife SA released the following news on 2 September 2016.
A spectacular area of the north-eastern Free State around the village of Memel has become the first in the province to be declared a “protected environment” – for its exceptional natural beauty, diversity of species and significance as a water source area.
The 17 456-hectare protected area, known as the Sneeuwberg Protected Environment (SPE), was gazetted on Friday 29 July 2016.
A “protected environment” is a class of protection under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEMPAA), which offers the next most secure form of protection after a nature reserve. The fact that protected areas can be proclaimed on privately owned land is made possible through the innovative national Biodiversity Stewardship Programme. This programme allows for the expansion of our protected area network through ground-breaking legislation and partnerships.
Protected environments require a management plan encompassing issues like veld management and wetland protection, while still allowing residents to make a living off the land through activities such as livestock farming and tourism.
The Sneeuwberg Protected Environment lies within a strategic water source area, feeding rivers that provide water for our cities. It is also rich in fauna and flora and falls within the Grasslands Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). The area is important for unique and threatened bird species such as the threatened Wattled Crane, Southern Bald Ibis, Blue Korhaan, Denham’s Bustard, Yellow-breasted Pipit and Rudd’s Lark. Other special species to occur in this mountainous grassland environment include the Oribi and Giant Girdled Lizard.
In terms of the gazette notice, the purpose of the declaration is to:
• Regulate the area as a buffer zone for the protection of and conservation of the provincial Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve;
• To enable landowners to take collective action to protect unique and threatened grasslands, wetlands, and the associated animals; and,
• To ensure that “ecosystem services” derived from the area (such as water production) are sustained.
This milestone for the Free State underscores the importance of partnerships in working towards common environmental goals.
In this instance, WWF South Africa, BirdLife South Africa, the Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) in the Free State and 12 landowners came together in 2012 to develop a conservation plan for the valuable biodiversity within the focal area. With the declaration of the SPE, the plan is to build on this success through the establishment of additional private protected areas that are critically important for biodiversity and as water source areas in other parts of the Free State.
QUOTES
Mark Anderson, CEO for BirdLife South Africa: “The Sneeuwberg Protected Environment is another success story for our birds, grasslands and water resources, providing the springboard for future protected area declarations of this nature in the Free State. We applaud MEC Mr Malambulele Samuel Mashinini for his foresight and the Memel landowners for their commitment to conservation.
South Africa’s rich diversity of 847 bird species relies on the successful conservation of our 112 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). This is, in part dependent on achieving legal protection for priority IBAs, and can be accomplished using innovative mechanisms such as biodiversity stewardship, and through strategic partnerships between NGOs, government and landowners.”
Dr Morné Du Plessis, CEO for WWF South Africa: “I commend the Free State provincial government, landowners and our partners for reaching this significant milestone. The declaration of the Sneeuwberg Protected Environment not only recognises the unique biodiversity of South Africa’s grasslands but also the need for those who live in this beautiful part of the country to sustain their livelihoods through caring for the environment. As an important water source area, the wellbeing of this natural system is of significance to us all.”
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Membership of the Cape Bird Club
Please note that receipt of this newsletter or membership of the Facebook page does not imply that you are a member of the Cape Bird Club.
If you would like to become a member of the Cape Bird Club, please go to our website to download the application form or contact Joan Ackroyd on ackroyd.joan@broadwalk-mews.co.za or call 021 530 4435 for for more information
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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, fax to 011 789 5188 or email to membership@birdlife.org.za 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
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