This is a working relationship with the City of Cape Town and the Cape Bird Club.
Alan Morris started the co-ordinated bird counts in December 1974 and they still continue at Zandvlei.
Thank you to Darren Hare who counted the Maina northern canals and the night heron roost by canoe today. The weather was forecast to rain and turn cold during the count this morning. A fresh wind was blowing from the north when we started and sqawls of rain showers moved across the vlei. We did not get too wet.
There were 3 Spotted Thick knees in the grass outside the main gate area and a pair of Pied Crows dive bombing anyone standing about. They must have a nest nearby. The Flamingos arrived at zandvlei this week. During the count there was excitement that a Bronze Manakin was present, which would have been another first record for the Reserve. On closer inspection of Sue Gie’s photos at home, it turned out to be a juvenile Pintail Whydah. Something evident based on previous years is the lack of spawning carp. We used to hear what sounded like “crocodiles splashing about” in the upper regions of the vlei in October, the spawning month. The carp are not present in the Rutter Road Pond as the salinity has pushed back up the rivers.
Thank you to Gasan Moses who counted the southern Marina canals today by canoe. We found the pair of Water Thick-knees again in their secluded area. There was a mobbing by gulls and cormorants moving about the vlei indicating shoals of fish being chased. Luckily we did not have to count hundreds of coots this quarter. The pond weed has not come back yet, and this is probably due to the high salinity throughout the main waterbody and the Marina canals and even into the Rutter Road Pond. Felicity found a turquoise egg with a broken shell and a chick inside. It looked like it had been broken open by a bird, probably to eat or to prevent the hatching.
The water level was very low as it was low tide, which just started to ripple into the estuary as we finshed counting at 11h15. The water flow towards the mouth was also measured at 1 metre per 6 seconds near the Thesens bridge. By then the sky had cleared to bright sunshine with a strong SW wind blowing.
A month ago A Familiar Chat made an appearance in the new nursery at “The Lookout” offices. This species was last recorded in 1975 at Zandvlei.
Conditions were not favourable for birding this morning, there was a very strong gusting wind from the NW swinging to the west while at the railway bridge. Showers of rain started to blow from the mountain towards us while there. Something we noted was a single Egyptian Goose with 12 goslings, 5 larger and 7 smaller. Could she/he have adopted part of another brood? A photo shows some of them. The water flow under the railway bridge was 1 metre per 6 seconds and the level was very low indicating a low tide as the estuary mouth was still open. The plan by management is the close the mouth after the full moon this coming week.
(update – the whole waterbody has been closed again for recreational use on Friday 22/10/2021 after testing revealed there is a very high ecoli count present).
Thank you to all the participants who came to help today.
photographs by Gavin Lawson.
Gavin Lawson.
Below are the count datas for 16 October 2021.
Zandvlei Westlake Wetlands and Rutter Road Pond.
