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.
It rained the day before with very cold air temperatures. There was a strong inflow via the Keysers and Westlake Rivers with the water very turbid and muddy, visibility less than 15cm. Also the Sand River was flowing strongly with the litter trap blocked.
The wind was from the SE with some high cloud covering. Immediately noticeable was that the birds were missing for some inexplicable reason. The light was good, the temperatures were warmer than the day before. The mouth of the vlei was open, and the waterbodies were full, indicating a strong inflow from the catchment. The flow rate of the water was 1 metre per 4 seconds at the railway bridge.
An observation is that the winter cycle / season is at least 6 weeks late compared to the previous 2 to 3 years. The insects are not all visible yet. The first crane flies are only appearing now. The dragonflies and robber files as well as the skipper butterflies (one of the first) are not present.
The SE wind cleared the sky of the larger clouds. We saw a large splash in the main waterbody, presumed to be a leervis jumping near the Yacht Club basin. The water was turbid and muddy in the main body down to the sand prawn beds before Thesens footbridge. At the rubble weir the outflow was strong, the full width of the channel and the tide appeared to be near low.
No counts were done in the Marina channels for this quarter.
photograph by Gavin Lawson.
Gavin Lawson.
