This is a voluntary working relationship with the City of Cape Town and the Cape Bird Club since 1974.
There has been some very welcome rain in the catchment since the last hack. The soil is damp where we are working. The weather was partly sunny with clouds moving in from the west with a coolish breeze all afternoon to make good working conditions. We had visitors George and his son Adam who is doing a community social service project and chose hacking at Zandvlei. Adam is at the Michael Oak Waldorf School. So I spent some time showing them what to do and explaining the background of why we are involved. They got stuck in and sorted out some copsed stumps and pulled seedlings and small saplings which came out quite easily as the soil is damp.
Robin continued finding and cutting Port Jackson saplings, Barry went in search of and found plenty for us next month. Bert fetched his axe and got stuck into the Brazilian Pepper regrowth along the Keysers River edge. There was a very vocal resident on the other side of the river opposite where Bert was working telling whoever it was to stop chopping the trees or he will shoot. When Bert went to investigate he was gone and a woman was standing who said nothing and all was quiet afterwards.
There were not many birds about this afternoon maybe the imminent weather was keeping them from moving around. There were a number of insects active. Cocktail ants were very active on the old stumps and were biting when disturbed. There were dragonflies moving about and we saw a spider hunting wasp very determined rushing about in the grass and shrubs without any luck while we watched. Robin found some mushrooms while cutting some saplings. We also saw a new Grysbok midden near where Bert was working. There were some pieces of a crab shells near the reeds. Robin found some low growing wetland plants called “Goose Feet” in the area where the Sarcocornia capensis (seasonal wetland sedge) are flowering. Not many shrubs or plants were flowering. There is new leaf growth on the thorny shrub Lycium afrum where the mossie nests are built.
There are wild mustard seedlings are sprouting by the thousands where there is a sandy patch spurred on by the rain we had during the week.
A total of 14 bird species were seen. Highlight the 3 White necked Ravens circling above just before we left to go home.
See this link for the past reports of what we have done.
photographs by Gavin Lawson.
Gavin Lawson.