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During the past 13 years the Club enjoyed a comfortable degree of stability and
continuity provided by two Chairmen; Jan Hofmeyer
June 1985 – August 1988 and Otto Schmidt February 1989 – February 1998.
Jan Hofmeyer
Jan took over at a time
when the Clubs finances were a cause for concern, but he proved to
have the Midas touch, within three years our assets had more than
trebled and we could look ahead with confidence. He also brought
with him a boundless and infectious enthusiasm and great
organisational ability. At the end of his term of office in 1988 the
following tribute appeared in the September issue of Promerops;
"Those who have
attended the AGM on 12th August 1988 and listened to Jan's third
Chairman Report could not fail to be impressed by what he has achieved
for the Club during the past three years. The enthusiastic applause
following Craig Hilton Taylors tribute afterwards shows that
this was very much appreciated by everyone.
For Jan nothing is ever too much trouble and there is no such
word as impossible. The success of this formula has proved itself in
our greatly increased membership, sound financial footing athe happy
spirit in the Club and a long list of special events in addition to
our regular activities."
Otto Schmidt
In August 1988, Otto was
one of at least 3 Vice Chairmen over the years who have accepted that
position only on the understanding that they would not be
persuaded, wheeled or coerced into the position of Chairman at a later
stage, knowing the amount of work it involves. A few months later,
circumstances arose which plunged him head first into this role. He
surfaced immediately with hardly a splutter and no doubt
everyone will agree that he has succeeded admirably in maintaining
the momentum of the Clubs activities over the past 9 years. (He says
the 10th is the last).
Bird Courses
After Jans election as
Chairman in June 1985, he organised the Bird Identification
Course given by Prof Gordon MacLean, as reported
in the December 1985 issue of Promerops.
"A stranger coming
into the darkened Robert Leslie Hall at UCT on the weekend 18 –20
October 1985, would have been startled to see 180 hunched figures
peering at the screen through binoculars muttering belly blotched,
belly spotted belly barred or belly brown belly grey belly
rufus. Not incantations but steps in one of the keys to Prof Gordon
MacLeans "new Roberts" leading us through the difficult
groups such as raptors waders etc.
Prof MacLean believes that birdwatching should be fun. the lectures
were and hard work too. He sharpened our observation skills on beaks
and legs, that should have been pinkish or yellowish or greyish. His
enthusiasm, humour and patience never flagged even at the end of four
11/2 hour lectures in one day and we all learnt a great deal. We were
particularly pleased to see so many non members on the course (almost
80) and hope they will be joining the Club soon".
The second course held in
February 1986 with the title Bird Biology for beginners attracted 248
participants. A letter received afterwards quote "Prof MacLean
must rank as one of the most entertaining and dynamic speakers in his
field – my kids (12 and 13) who attended the course with me were riveted
for the full 8 hours Praise indeed.
The courses provided the turning point for our finances and continue
to be the mainstay with at least 2 courses per year organised by Julie
te Groen. Lecturers of the calibre of Peter Steyn, Phil Hockey,
Geoff Lockwood, Aldo Berruti and Mike Fraser have presented a wide
range of subjects. Bird Identification is still tops.
1989 Bird Calendar
A financially successful
fundraising effort by Jan was the production and sale of our own 1989
bird calendar with 6 stunning colour pictures by Nico Myburgh.
Planning for this started in April 1988 and the distribution and sales
required setting up a network of member depots and a great deal of
travelling across the Peninsula to replenish stocks and motivate
sales. The result was a boost to the bank balance of R15,000!
Special events
During Jan's first year a
series of Special events was organised. We had several weekend camps
to initially Swellendam, Robertson, Ceres and Langebaan.
In April 1987 a special Beginners Camp at Swellendam
for 48 people was over subscribed and a further Course for 50 people
at Ceres also booked out in record time. Camps at Dwarskersbos,
Piketberg, De Hoop, Uilenkraalsmond and Barrydale also
a mid week getaway to the Wilderness.
Boat Trips
photograph by Otto Schmidt
Malgas Island from a crayfish
trawler.
Boat trips to off shore
islands especially by crayfish trawlers from Saldanha to
Malgas Island to see the
30, 000 Cape Gannets an unforgettable experience. These took
place annually from 1985. Also popular were the trips to Robben Island
which were also oversubscribed that places had to be allocated by "lucky
draw" and stipulated no repeat trips were allowed.
photograph by Otto Schmidt
Skirting the gannet colony.
Alison
Bosman reported in the July 1986 issue of Promerops: "Not many people have had the opportunity to view Table Mountain
from a point in the middle of Table Bay from where one can see both
the slopes of Devils Peak and the impressive face below the upper
cable car station equally well. This is the view that greeted crews of
ships that long ago put into the Bay and it is of our heritage.
On our 2 hour bus tour around the island we saw several species of
shorebirds including Black Oystercatchers, Grey Plovers,
Turnstones and Sanderlings. All were excited to see the
famous Jackass Penguin colony as well as large colonies of
breeding Swift Terns and Hartlaubs Gulls.
We did not spot the elusive Chukkar Partridge (a Robben Island
special) on our drive, although the eyes were peeled at all times. One
enthusiastic birder, her eyes desperately seeking for a blueish-grey
Chukkar form with a flash of red bill brought the bus to halt with her
yell of "There it is!" She'd spotted one of several curved
blue water taps that have red crowns and that rise out of the ground
in unexpected places. The passengers roared with laughter!
Well if the bus driver had been confused then he must have been amazed
at Phil Hockeys request to complete the tour by driving around and
around the graveyard at 5 km/h. Phil had a tip off that the graveyard
was THE place. We saw a group of 4 Chukkarsscuttling into a bush and
another group of 9 that stayed close to the bus for a while. The tour
ended with much jubilation and a spontaneous applause. What a
thrilling experience and an outing full of interest and fun".
photograph by Otto Schmidt
The view of Table Mountain from the
Robben Island ferry.
Over the 10 years
from 1986 the Club organised more than 20 trips to Robben
Island. One not to be forgotten trip in very rough weather conditions
when the small ferry "Susan Kruger" pitched and
tossed terrifyingly and nearly everyone was soaked to the skin. Jo
Hobbs recalls:
"I was not on this
trip (fortunately) but was the organiser of the Robben Island outings
and felt in some illogical way I was responsible for the bad weather
conditions and the rough uncomfortable crossing. I made anxious
enquires afterwards. Otto Schmidt was leader on this
trip and remembers holding on to the railing with one hand and hugging
his camera bag with other and being almost lifted off his feet as the
boat pitched and rolled. Strangely, almost everyone seemed to have
enjoyed it, despite getting drenched. Claire Spottiswoode, then
a young schoolgirl, was buzzing with excitement at the adventure. Margaret
Vane a rather jolly older member, then approaching her eighties,
suffered a badly bruised leg caused by some heavy object on the deck
working loose and crashing into her. When I commiserated, she said it
was a wonderful trip and she wouldn't have missed it for anything. CBC
members are amazing!"
The pelagic deep sea trips
have proved popular in spite of the additional cost and risk of rough
seas and sea sickness. For those who prefer smooth and steady annual
trips up the Berg River have been organised since 1988.
CBC Holidays
Three day trails in the Kruger
National Park were started in February 1986.
photograph by Ursula Sauerborn
Jan Hofmeyer, Bruce MacKenzie, Colleen
Jones,
Yvonne Quenet, Jo Hobbs, George Quenet, Caron Dunnill.
Two Okavanga safaris were
booked in 1986 as well as a trip to the Kalahari Gemsbok Park
in September 1987.
The Orange River raft trip in 1991 – Peter and Mary Thomson,
Christine de Villiers, Dareth Wood, Barbara Allsop, Sue Mare,
Ursula Saurborn, Peter Tomalin, Jo Hobbs, Otto Schmidt,
Joy Davis.
Lunch on the banks of the Orange River.
During the 1990's after
opening the Geelbek Environmental Education Centre we
have had several groups on week end Strandveld Trails for those
not adverse to walking 14 kms across sandy Strandveld terrain.
Bird rallies and bus
trips
There were coach outings
to Bettys Bay, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Darling and Paarl. These
proved highly popular for novices and more experienced birders followed
by a social braai. Jan claims he aged nearly 20 years after torrential
rain threatened to spoil a carefully planned outing.
An extract in the November 1991 Promerops by John Coats as follows;
"It was a wet,
dark and dismal morning when a bus load of optimistic birders set
forth for the wild flower reserves. By the time we had passed Table
View and the Koeberg Power Station it was obvious that the rainy
weather had set in. However, Jan had arranged a fowl weather
contingency plan and we soon arrived at the orchid farm outside
Darling where under cover we could inspect the orchids whilst eating pancakes
and hotdogs.
Even with the raging storm there was quite a lot of bird activity,
parties of Red Bishops and Yellowrumped Widows flew to and fro,
Richards Pipits were thick on the ground and a pair of Thickbilled
Larks cavorted joyfully beside the bus. Larks are basically dry
country birds and probably have a Pavlovian response to rain.
Back in the bus and off to Paarl with the storm still ragging and now
Jan came up with an emergency Plan B and made arrangements for us to
eat our lunches in the comfort of a factory canteen which was much
appreciated. Afterwards we drove around the Paarl Sewerage Works where
the rain lessened to a freezing drizzle. After checking out some Night
Herons we stopped at a pan where there were two groups of flamingos.
The greater number of Lesser Flamingos treated us to a show of
formation flying whilst the lesser number of Greater Flamingos watch
them in with supercilious disdain. Many thanks to Jan Hofmeyer for
turning what could have been a miserable, rain–sodden experience
into an enjoyable, rain–sodden experience".
Strandfontein Counts
photograph by Rob Lith
Greater Flamingos at Strandfontein.
This count was started by
Alan Morris in July 1983 and was underway for 5 years when Mike McCarthy took over in July 1988 and continues;
"Besides the question "Do I watch the 2 legged
kind", the next question frequently asked is "Why at
a sewerage works, doesnt the smell put you off!" with suitable
facial contortions.
We have been counting birds at Strandfontein Sewerage Works since 1983
on the second Sunday of the month every month and have missed the
count on only 8 occasions for various reasons. When I mentioned on the
BirdNet that this must be the longest on going count in South Africa.
The reply was that a count had been going on at St Lucia for a
while longer and that is done only twice a year. So we are in there
with a shout somewhere.
We have a dedicated group of 8 counters who regularly attend and
apologise profusely when they cannot do this voluntary work. For this
reason we had a champagne breakfast after the count on the 10th
anniversary – try explaining that to someone in the unknowing!
The sewerage works covers an area of 306 hectares and is criss crossed
by a number of gravel roads which are generally passable to the
average motor car and offers the best birding of any place near Cape
Town. Of course there are some very sandy patches on the roads. It is
not unknown for some who should know better to get stuck in them. Its
a long walk to find someone to help push. One time I did get stuck the
sewerage works staff were very helpful and towed us out.
We divided the areas into four parts, with at least 2 people per car.
I try to keep to the same people in the same area because they get to
know that area, also they know what and where to look for it. This is
borne out where it is possible to see Black Crake and see it virtually
on every count. Counting can be quite arduous and when you get 10
000 Cape Cormorants on the island in S3 pan then you can get some
pretty wild guesses. Our average count for winter is
around 6000 birds and for summer 10 000. These are
common or garden birds that everyone on the count has seen, many many
times, so it takes a bit of dedication to go out month after month
wind, rain or shine to do the count. We have an average of 82 species
per count in a 3 hour period. With the variance of habitat,
alien (exotic) and natural there are a variety of birds to be found,
the count is 204 species so far.
The object of the exercise is for someone to use the counts for
research, to make the count worthwhile and to give the faithful
counters a reason for carrying on the count. I do forward the results
to the ADU (Avian Demographic Unit) every month and an article will be
appearing in Ostrich at some time in the future. This will help
to justify the 14 years of continuous counting.
Thank you to all those who continue to come and to all the past
counters.
Zandvlei Bird Sanctuary
(Wildwood) Counts
photograph by Clifford Dorse
Greater Flamingos at Zandvlei.
The Marina da Gama counts
had ended in 1983, but it was felt that the counts should resume at
the Sanctuary and Eddie Friend took on the task in July
1985. He reported in the October 1987 Promerops;
"A pleasant surprise awaited the few stalwarts who attended
the monthly hack at Zandvlei last month to find a completely new fence
surrounding the Zandvlei Bird Sanctuary. The entrance gates had also
been improved leaving two instead of the original three. The Parks and
Forrest section had also been very busy removing Port Jackson
trees.....most of which would be replaced with indigenous trees.....
and it was accordingly decided to combine the bird count on 11 July
with a day of tree planting. About 15 members assisted and 179
trees were planted. Amongst these were Wild Olive, Wild Peach,
indigenous Willow and White Milkwood. A further 500 small shrubs were
also delivered to the sanctuary for planting".
In the same year Eddie was able to report to the AGM that the area of
the sanctuary had been increased from 11 to 22 ha and
the bird species total count at the time was 107. These
counts took place on a monthly basis until May 1994. Quarterly counts
until March 1995 when ill health prevented Eddie from continuing.
Since then the Club has organised quarterly beginners outings to the
sanctuary.
Wildevoelvlei Counts
Eric Barnes reports;
"As a project for the CBC a monthly census of birds at
Wildevloeivlei near Kommetjie commenced at the beginning of 1986 and
was intended to cover a period of five years. By that time CWAC
had come into being and although there was a break of several months
in the monthly counts, they were restarted in June 1992. In spite of
the vagaries of the Cape weather very few counts were affected
in any way and only a couple had to be cancelled for other
reasons.
Early counters included Bill Rudings and Mary Millar who
helped for over five years as well as Bill Hogg, Frankie
Tormey and Josie Murray for shorter periods. John Coats
was a stalwart for 8 years until he moved from Cape Town in 1993. Keith
and Madeline Muggleston joined the group in 1987 and have
given sterling help to this day. Rob and Christine Satchel became
valuable members in the middle of 1996. Apart from these regular
counters there has been a number of occasional visitors even from as
far afield as Canada.
For the record over 120 species have been recorded. Presumably
water quality and depth has something to do with the absence of
flamingos which in earlier years were regular visitors. The only time
Greater Flamingos have been seen in the 12 years of counts was a flock
of 185 in the upper vlei in January 1987. A single juvenile Lesser
flamingo was present in June 1996. Whitebacked Ducks are present most
of the time peaking in April.
The total number of individual birds varies between a low of 650 and a
high of 2500 with the majority being Redknobbed Coots and Dabchick.
On one occasion 5 Cape clawless Otters were seen swimming in the upper
vlei.
Wildevoelvlei has always been interesting and as has been proved a
number of times, one never knows what is going to turn up
next".
Paarden Eiland vlei
counts
Paarden Eiland vlei from Frank Wygolds
– West Coast Field Studies Centre.
These counts were started at the request of the Citys Scientific
Services to assist with an assessment of the viability of declaring
the vlei a nature area and affording it some form of protection. The
counts were organised by Jo Hobbs for two years from May 1986
and the May 1986 Promerops had this article;
"Picture a swirling mist on a winters day with four bedraggled,
binoculared individuals stumbling through mud and gloom intent on
counting coot on an inky black vlei bordered by dismal container
depots and factories. Nuts? Well maybe. After squelching around for
two hours without finding a proper pathway we finished with wet feet
and dripping hair and notched up a meagre 26 species. Not an
encouraging start. As the weather improved we began to enjoy the
counts. Even the containers and cranes looked less unsightly when the
sun shines, if only they did not block out the view of the mountain.
38 Coot nests were counted in August. When the flowers come out in
October and November the vlei looks almost pretty if you can avert
your eyes from the rubbish lying around".
At the end of the 2 year period 94 species were recorded
and the results lodged with the ADU at UCT. Encouraging reports seem
to be to upgrade the area and possibly re–unite the vlei with the
Greater Rietvlei wetlands system.
Paarl Bird sanctuary
counts
photograph by Susan Botha
Cedric Morkel (left) and Yvonne
Weiss (right) with staff members
beside the new bird hide.
Counts started in 1995,
lead by Yvonne Weiss who writes;
"A golfer, a social worker, a printer, a twelve year old girl,
an engineer, a retired school inspector, a photographer, a music
teacher and a grandmother – what can all these people have in
common? They are the group of monitors who have been counting birds at
the Paarl Bird Sanctuary for the past few years. The difficult pond to
the north has two special volunteers who walk its perimeter and note
down all unusual sightings (pregnant dog, inebriated sleeper, bird
trap removed and destroyed). They also contribute a list of non water
birds for BIRP. CWAC forms completed are displayed in the information kiosk
and stored on a computer with Dr Tony Williams who makes
recommendations for the sanctuary.
With the help of CBC three hides have been built in 4 years. The
enthusiastic superintendent of the treatment works Cedric Morkel continues
to oversee the many improvements such as bird rafts and parking bays.
The most unusual sightings? A Blacksparrow hawk making a slow fly past
at the Kingfisher hide in the evening, Lesser Flamingos juveniles
practising mounding on the sand island meters away from the CBC hide,
140 Avocets feeding on fish fry in the central pond, thousands of
Whitewinged Terns scooping up fly larvae in the aeration ponds and a
"happy band of disparate" enjoying a braai on the picnic
grass in October one evening.
Some come, some go, but those who say it is always the same and go,
miss the ever changing pattern of bird life which makes a
sanctuary".
SW Cape Bird Atlas
The Atlas of the Birds
of the South Western Cape was published in 1989 after a
magnificent data gathering effort by CBC members over the five year
period from 1982 – 1986. This was a close collaboration between
professionals and amateurs resulting in a really worthwhile
publication. The original proposal came from Tony Williams at a
CBC Committee meeting towards the end of 1981 and details of this
ambitious project were published in the December issue of Promerops.
A sub committee was set up with Miriam Neatherway, Les
Underhill, John Cooper, Peter Ryan, Rob Martin and Phil Hockey
as members. Following Tony Williams transfer to Windhoek in March Phil
Hockey took over as co-ordinator of the project.
When the Atlas was finally published in 1989 the list of atlassers who
had helped filled a whole page. Most of the physical preparation of
the final manuscript was done by volunteers as the budget was very
tight. This was a publication of which the Club can be justly proud
and a project which had inspired and motivated scores of members to
put their birding to practical use over a five year period. It was
fortunate that the National SA Bird Atlas project started immediately
afterwards as many atlassers were hooked on this pastime and could
transfer their efforts to the new project without interruption.
Where to watch birds
Our next major venture
into publications was the production ofNo20 in the Southern Birds
series, Birds of the South western Cape and where to watch them, was
compiled by Wally Petersen and Mel Tripp and published
jointly by SAOS and the Cape Bird Club in 1995. This is an invaluable
guide to 40 of the best birdwatching localities in the south western
Cape.
CBC slide library
At the end of 1996 Mike
Herlihy relinquished the custianship of our slide library after 11
years. He commented at the time:
"I received the library from the Neatherways in February 1985
at which time the 300 odd slides could be carried about in two plastic
bags. In 1988 Mrs Broekhuysen donated her late husbands collection of
over 3000 slides and Nico Myburgh gave a further 900. Those slides
still form the backbone of the cllection".
With further donations
from several other photographers and a constant flow of superb quality
slides from Peter Steyn the current total is almost 4600 – a
magnificent collection. These have all been sorted and classified by
Mike and put on a computer base so that we now have a main collection
a reserve collection and separate collection for young birds - nests,
eggs, chicks, and young. Donations of slides have also been made to
other clubs and even interested parties overseas. A more recent acquisition
was that of Dirk Uys's wonderful slide collection donated
to the CBC by his widow Ann.
CBC video library
From a modest beginning in
1987 with just 6 RSPB videos, the library has now expanded to 40
titles, as listed in a recent issue of Promerops. These are looked
after by Des and Mary Frylink who also handle our shop
sales of bird call tapes (yes, we do also have our own CBC tape),
decals and other items.
CBC book library
Elizabeth Coward was
an enthusiastic and highly intelligent member with great determination
to learn all she could about any subject which
interested her. She was widely read and travelled abroad almost every
year, amasing quite a collection of books, including bird books and
field guides. She married Wallace Harding in her later years, a
gentle natured widower. They enjoyed several years together before
Elizabeths death in May 1990. Jo Hobbs recalls;
"Shortly before her death Elizabeth expressed her wish to
donate her collection of over 50 bird books and field guides to the
CBC to establish a library. I went to her house in Wynberg to collect
them although she was very ill and was going to the Hospice in a week.
She organised Wallace and myself to sort and pack the books while
receiving and dealing with worried calls from relatives in England.
She asked me not to disclose her reasons for disposing of her books as
she did want to receive any more sympathy calls. "You can say I
have gone away". After a pause she added "I suppose it is
true in a way."
I shall always remember her for that, brave and witty to the last. She
died 10 days later in St Lukes Hospice.
Elizabeth Harding's
bequest
Even her closet friends
were astonished to learn that not long after her death Elizabeth
Harding had left R6M to the SA Nature Foundation, stipulating
that it should be used "for the creation and enlargement of
nature reserves and sanctuaries in the Western Cape, with particular
emphasis on the conservation of wild birds". According to Custos
in August 1991, this was the largest bequests to conservation in
the world.
Most of us realised that Elizabeth was comfortably off, but she was
completely unpretentious and the extent of her wealth came as a great
surprise. Part of the bequest was used to purchase the farm Zeeberg an
area of some 400 hectares situated between Bottelary and Langebaan
which was one of the last pieces of land to be added to the West Coast
National Park to consolidate the entire southern shoreline of the
Langebaan Lagoon. This was particularly appropriate as it was an area
which was close to her heart and to which she became attached during
her visits to Bottelary with the Club.
On 18 May 1991 a commemorative plaque was unveiled at Zeeberg by her
husband Wallace with guest speakers Dr Anton Rupert, President
of the SA Nature Foundation and Dr Robbie Robinson, Chief
director of the National Parks Board, followed by a lunch at Geelbek,
attended by a hundred people including more than 30 CBC members and
friends of Elizabeth's.
Derek Longrigg, Sheila White, Romana
Longrigg,
and Jan Hofmeyer in conversation at the Zeeberg
function.
Conservation
Although the CBC cannot
claim credit for such a giant stride for local conservation, in our
smaller way we have achieved some success over the years and greatly
due to Dave Whitelaw, Chairman of the Conservation sub – committee. Dave volunteered to take on the thankless and
time consuming task in 1988 and has worked tirelessly at various
projects, extending activities to education of under privileged school
children.
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