This is a voluntary working relationship with the City of Cape Town and the Cape Bird Club since 1974.
It was partly cloudy and warm with a NW wind blowing. The clouds mainly on the mountain tops. The estuary mouth was closed and the water level about medium level. The water inflow under the railway bridge was at 1 metre per 8 seconds. There was Parrots feather waterweed drifting in clumps into the canal towards the main vlei. There were no scouts sailing, canoeists or wind surfers on the vlei this afternoon.
There were insects about mainly grasshoppers and wasps of various species. No dragonflies or butterflies were seen. Sue found a chameleon crossing an open pathway in a hurry, so out with the cameras. He was removed and put in a shrub in the direction he was moving. Robin found a Sand cricket with very long feelers. We have not seen one like this before so our memories tell us. But wait there is a photo of one on the old Zandvlei Trust archive website, so we have seen one! Also to be seen are photos of a Yellow wings grasshopper and a Bee Wolf opening a closing holes in the mounds of sand in the flat open areas. The isolated pond seemed to have a little more water in it, maybe from the rain during the week and or ground water seepage from the main vlei.
Bert carried on from where he left off last month chopping Manatoka trees. Sue Robin and I pulled and cut Brazilian pepper, Rooikrans, Manatoka and Port Jackson saplings and seedlings.
The bird activity was low today with few birds on the waterbody or in the air. A possible reason is the approaching rain. Total count was 16 species.
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See this link for the past reports of what we have done.
photographs by Gavin Lawson.
Gavin Lawson.
