01 May 2011 – Ajay Bhoopchand sent this photo of a Glossy Ibis with a ring around its neck and beak. It was seen at the edge of a pan struggling with its noose.
This is the price to be paid for careless disposal of our plastic refuse.
17 November 2010 – Victoria Day, Reserve Manager reports we did a night count last night at Strandfontein.The drive included part of the Zeekoevlei Road. Here we saw 2 Spotted Eagle Owls, 1 Cape Hare, 2 female Duikers and another unidentified antelope. We also saw a Spotted Thick knee.
Inside Strandfontein Birding Area we saw 3 female Grysbok and 2 males, with 1 unknown gender Grysbok. 3 Spotted Eagle Owl, 12 Helmeted Guinea Fowl, 2 Black Crowned Night Heron, 1 Water Mongoose, 1 Grey Mongoose and a Genet.
We saw other birds as well but due to the monitoring during the day we did not take note of their exact numbers or species.
An up date for the water hyacinth: we did follow ups yesterday on pans S2 and P7. We found one piece of hyacinth in P7 and +/- 50 pieces in S2.
The excavator is working in P8. Once he is done a hand team will go in and collect the smaller pieces. We are currently doing follow ups in two of the canals and T1.
October 2010 – Victoria Day, Reserve Manager, Strandfontein Birding Area (SBA) reports;
Staff Information.
All of the staff members at Strandfontein Birding Area have received First Aid Level three training (Certificates not received yet).
Strandfontein has a new member of staff: Amanda Jacobs. She is an intern from the CPUT and will be with us for six months. She is studying Environmental Resource Management and will be putting together a project on an alien faunal policy for the aliens found at the FBEP. When she is not doing this she is on the ground with the SBA team.
Felicia Meyer, one of the skills development team members at SBA and one of the seven people chosen, was recently given the opportunity to go to Kruger National Park to participate in a Field Ranger Course. This course consists of physically and mentally demanding training. I am pleased to say that she passed and will be coming back to Cape Town this Saturday 30/10/2010.
Alien Clearing Information.
Water Hyacinth:
Pans P7, P6, P2, S2 and two sluits are now in the maintenance phase of the hyacinth clearing. This requires a follow up every six months. The quantity of water hyacinth being removed is becoming less and less and much easier to manage.
Pans T1 and T2 are about a week away from initial clearing completion.
There are plans to start clearing pans S1 and S3 soon. We need to move the barge from Zeekoevlei and put it into one of the pans to start the clearing. There are only 2 large pans, three smaller pans and two sluits to have the initial clearing started.
Terrestrial alien clearing:
About 5 to 6 ha of Rooikraanz, Port Jackson and Cestrum have been removed from behind S8.
Funding has been received from the City for an alien clearing contractor to come and work at SBA. This is very exciting as SBA is being recognised more as a conservation site with in the City!
Other projects.
Up grading of J-dam (P3) the fishermen are causing quite a bit of erosion on the sand bank between the pan and the sluit. To prevent the erosion from deteriorating further measures are being put into place. These measures consist of three bridges, parking lots and a couple of bollards. One bridge has already been built and has been quite successful with fishermen using it.
Hopefully we shall receive some photos in the near future.
photographs by Ajay Bhoopchand and Greg Morgan.
L to R – Glossy Ibis, Blackcrowned Night Heron, Spotted Thick knee.
