Dargle Wildlife Sightings – September

We’ve had a very dry autumn, winter and spring this year in Dargle, but thankfully this weekend brought a few millimetres of rain that  helped to settle the dust.  Remember we are custodians of the water catchment that millions of people rely on. Besides not using water wastefully, we also need to ensure that water in our care is unpolluted and riparian areas are free of invasive plants – to allow wildlife access, as well as improve the quality and quantity of the flow.  With little snow, our ground water supplies have not been replenished either.  Robin Fowler, who keeps seasonal records going back many years, provided these interesting figures comparing 2013 (first column) and 2014

• June                    21     0
• July                      1.5    3
• August             21.5    8
• September       7.5     10.5 (only 1mm recorded before this weekend’s rain!)
• Winter total 51.5     21.5
• 11 year average (September to August) = 951.5mm
• 2013/14 = 946.5mm
• Wettest year = 2004/5   1271mm
• Driest year = 2006/7      718mm

Katie Robinson – Lemonwood

Oh how I love living in Africa. This was one of those moments which will remain with me forever. Siyabonga brought me a ‘pigeon’ in a box the other morning. He told me that he had seen it being chased by an eagle (I wasn’t there, so have no idea which variety) and flew into the kitchen window. I peered into the box and immediately recognised this frantic creature jumping up and down trying to get out as the elusive Narina trogan. So thrilling as I have only ever seen it once before. I carefully picked it up and felt that unmistakable terrified heartbeat.

I wanted to just check that there was nothing broken.   In a matter of seconds, he had calmed down and I was able to examine his wings and legs. He started to sort of purr/coo at me and despite my hand being completely open, he sat there for nearly 5 minutes! Maybe it was just vanity ‘cos one of my staff had time to go and get his phone and take the pictures. When the photo shoot was over, he flew back into the forest where he belongs, seemingly completely unharmed. What a magic moment.

27 Sept Would you Adam and Eve it! I rescued the second Narina trogan which failed a suicide flight into my daughter’s bedroom window this morning! What are the chances of 2 such elusive birds needing help in as many weeks?  This one seemed much younger as the colours were not quite all there and it was smaller. It stayed with me for quite a long time and then I put it on a branch in a deep bit of the garden where it remained for a further 20 minutes until flying off into the forest. Wow!

I seem to be having a very exciting couple of days. Yesterday I heard the Samangos going absolutely crazy at the end of my garden, they were screaming like banshees! As I turned around to see what was going on a huge Martial eagle flew out of the forest, swerved around towards me and sliently flew past about 20 metres away. it is only when they are that close that you fully appreciate the sheer size of these birds! Thank goodness there was not a baby Samango hanging from its talons. Wow!

Kathy Herringytn and Wayne Lourens – Aloe Ridge Farm

Being a hot September, reptiles came out quite early, and one afternoon, while repairing electrical outlets that serve our pressure-booster water pump and the new “coldroom” container, I came face-to-face with a boomslang of about 750mm, which had come to the water pump to drink – there’s a minor water leak there that no amount of clamping has been able to stop completely. We stared at each other for a few seconds, before it made its way over the cut-back granadilla stems, to the bushy areas on the other side of the dividing wall.

On the subject of reptiles, Kat & I spent a short time at the old house ruin overlooking the Hopedale Mistbelt Sanctuary dam, and were thrilled to see that the Natal Spotted Green Bush snakes that are resident in the ruin, are thriving and growing. I first saw two shed skins, each of about 500mm in length, and then 2 of the 3 known residents showed themselves, one with just a few coils, the other with its whole length along the top of the northern wall of the ruin.

Kat visited the Aloe Ridge indigenous forest on Sunday 14th, and saw ten Bushbuck in the forest, and a whole lot of Reedbuck on the grasslands around the fringes of the forest. She also heard the wild pigs fairly close by, but didn’t see them in that dense part of the forest.

It seems we’re managing the remaining KZN Midlands Mistbelt Grasslands to the satisfaction of the buck species resident on Greater Hopedale, as the Blesbuck and Reedbuck are congregating on the short-mowed grasslands and the wider firebreak we burned this year – down the watercourse feeding the main dam (the first burn of the area since 2008’s runaway fire that started higher up in the Dargle and raced across Upper Hopedale in about 10 minutes, under Berg wind conditions). On Saturday, we saw the Blesbuck grazing on the new growth on the firebreak, near a group of 3 Reedbuck, with a further 3 “reedies” not far away. The Blesbuck have been decimated by poaching over the last few years (mainly on Hopedale Portions 1 & 2), and less than half of the herd of 15 that were resident when I joined Kat on Aloe Ridge 4 years ago, remain. Similarly, the Reedbuck population has been affected by poaching on Hopedale 2 and around the fringes of Hopedale. Since buying Hopedale Mistbelt Sanctuary from Andrew Nash 3 years ago, we have established a presence on that part of Hopedale, confronted dog hunters on Aloe Ridge hill, and removed numerous snares along the Umngeni floodplain, all of which have almost eliminated poaching on our own 2 portions of Hopedale.

Due to jackals hunting in packs having taken half of our 2013/2014 season’s Nguni calves, we now bring cows that are due to calve up into the sheep-fenced pastures just below the house on Aloe Ridge. About 10 days ago, we were woken at 2am by a cow, and, on checking, we saw that it was getting ready to calve. Feeling confident that our calving management plan was good, we went back to bed, & were woken again just before 4am with a jackal sounding off. I sprang out of bed, grabbed the spotlight torch, and saw that the beast was disappearing down the roadway. It had been in the roadway between the house and the field that the cows were in, and the cow we’d seen earlier had just calved. Since then, we’ve had 2 more calves born in that same field, but the jackal hasn’t returned, and it must have told the rest of the bunch that it had a close shave, as no others have showed up at calving time either.

Our Belgian Shepherd, Kelly has taken over the role of watchdog, and, about a week ago, at about 2 in the morning, she gave 4 sharp barks. When I went out to investigate, she sat bravely on the veranda while I scanned the area with my torch. Hearing a rustling, I shifted the torch beam in that direction …. right onto one of the biggest porcupines I’ve ever seen!! It was quite relaxed, with its “mohawk” quill-line intact. It wandered around for a few minutes before getting out of torch-beam range below our sand arena. Kelly’s braveness in staying on the veranda while I followed the porcupine across the lawn is a result of her having run full-tilt into one in the dark driveway a few years ago.

On Friday afternoon, Kat persuaded me that, since we’d worked through Heritage Day with our staff (who then had Friday off), we should take a belated Public Holiday and go to Hopedale Mistbelt Sanctuary dam for some fishing. Sitting on the boat (Kat-a-Splash), we noticed some juvenile Grebes swimming & diving not far away. Eventually, one came quite close to the boat, & I tried to get a photo with my mobile phone camera – at times like this I regret not having a good camera any more!!! Also, a solitary waterfowl that looked almost like a Pygmy Goose, flew in and did a perfect touchdown on the dam, before paddling over to the exposed rocks to sit and preen, and call. We used our “far-eyes” (binoculars) to get a closer look, and then, that evening, pulled out the ‘birder books for amateurs’ to look up what we’d seen. It turns out it was a South African Shelduck.

Nikki Brighton Old Kilgobbin Farm

Beside the dam seems the most sensible place to be in the hot, dry weather.

Along the edges here is evidence of plenty of visitors at cooler times of the day.

Obviously, there are lots of hungry creatures about, so getting your legs stuck in the mud is a risky business.

On the exposed damp banks there are masses of tiny white flowers – Limosella longiflora.

I have heard the so called “rainbird” – Burchell’s Coucal – calling lately along with Blue Cranes, Bar-throated Apalis and Crowned Eagles. Heard the first Klaas’s Cuckoo on 27 September, Piet-my-Vrou won’t be far behind!  Lots of birds are seeking succour in the relative cool and damp of the garden. Drakensberg Prinia, Cape Batis and Chorister Robins are my favourites. Tree dassies are making a huge racket at night. Samango monkeys are making the most of the fresh green leaves on the Celtis trees.

This fellow enjoys the abundant fruit on my lemon tree.

There are flowers in the grassland – especially in protected rocky areas. I have spotted Rabdiosella, Teucrium, Bekheya, Helichrysum, Nemesia as well as the delightful Acalypha penduncularis which has male and female flowers on different plants. These are male.

Sandra and Pat Merrick – Albury Farm

A new visitor to our garden this month is a Southern black flycatcher.

A pair of pied crows are making a nest in a pine tree. They have been carrying grass for a couple of weeks now and fly from the Dargle side, so I wonder if its some special kind of thatch/grass. On 2 occasions 5 crowned cranes have arrived in the dry dam and have not stayed very long when no water was found. Once saw 2 blue crane on the farm but have heard them quite often. Seen the female oribi on a few occasions mostly in the long grass but once on the green burn.

Our pair of white throated swallows arrived on the 5th Sept and are looking to build a nest on top of the verandah light again. Our sparrow hawks still occupy the canopy of gum trees. Still see them sitting on the dead gum logs in the early mornings. Saw the one eating something on the log a few days ago. Not sure if they are feeding themselves or not as have not seen the adults.

Many reed buck around still and quite a few youngsters.

Malachite, black and greater half collared sunbirds have returned. The malachite is the perfect model as loves his photo being taken.

Not so the half collared which flits all over the place and never sits still for a minute. The gurney sugar birds are also very accommodating with photos.

Caught the one with a hornet or wasp in its beak, beating it on the branch of flowering peach tree. Took a while but eventually swallowed it. Never knew sunbirds ate insects but have seen them doing so lately in competition with the drongos and flycatcher.

I have been listening to the cry of the southern boubou lately and decided that I would track it down. Unfortunately the pair of them live in a dense thicket of cassia bushes, so I sat one morning waiting for the special moment when they would appear. One eventually hopped around the branches – first got a tail, then a face and that was it. I know they are solitary and elusive so I was determined that one day it would happen and it did. Watching the Springbok/All Black rugby match one Saturday morning got too much for my nerves, so took the camera out to the verandah and stood looking for a few minutes. Saw a movement in the bushes and took a few photos. Thought it was the olive thrush. It was only when I checked out the pics after the rugby match that I howled with delight, my Southern Boubou at last. I was at a friends house looking out of her sliding doors late one afternoon, when I saw several Southern boubous hopping around her lawn quite happily, socially mixing with the olive thrushes, and I had no camera with me. I will take it with me next week when I revisit and hope to see them once again.

The cape wagtail is nesting once more in the jasmine creeper but no eggs as yet. Male red shouldered widow is getting new feathers.

Pat and I checked the two hollow poles where the redthroated wrynecks hop in and out of. No eggs there either. She is still calling lustily, probably looking for a mate. The barn owls have still not returned. The jackal are still very active at night. The secretary bird flew over the farm this morning but landed out of view unfortunately. Pat saw it striding out on the other side of the dam. Due to the hot weather at the beginning of the month, saw a number of beautiful butterflies and some very bedraggled and torn ones too.

An African hoopoe also visited the garden on morning. They have nested in the wattle plantation for years, so seldom see them here.

Scilla flowering in the rocky grassland

and this Morea – might it be albicuspa?

Neville van Lelyveld on  Iain Sinclair’s – Benn Meadhon Farm

Oribi During weekend of the 5^th we observed 5 Oribi in the usual Oribi paddock. This is fairly normal as occasionally some of them stay on Howard’s property and don’t come across. On the weekend of the 8^th we observed all 8 Oribi in the normal paddock, however on the Saturday night of the 9^th we also observed another 6 Obri on the hay Paddock at the back of the maize fields on the plains above the valley that leads down to the Umgeni River. This is the first time that we had observed this “new” group of Orbi. It was the high light of our visits this month. Where they came from remains a mystery to us but we are delighted to have them on the farm as they could possibly improve the gene pool of the Oribi on the farm. This now brings the total Oribi population on the farm to 14 with 2 groups one of 8 animals and one of 6 animals. All the animals in both groups appear to be in an excellent condition.

Bush Buck During this month’s visits a total of approximately 20 bush buck where sighted with an even balance of male and female. This is good news. All the animals seen both male and female are in good condition. Reedbuck During our July and August visits we observed an average of 30 Reedbuck. During our September visits we have only observed an average of 7 to 9 Reedbuck. The animals are surprisingly in a very good condition. Grey duiker Once again there were 14 duiker sighted during each of the September visits.  The duiker population seems to be stable at this time and they appear to be in a very good condition. Most of the does seen seem to be pregnant.

Vervet Monkey A small troop of 5 animals were sighted in the Valley near the Umgeni River. This troop has been there for a while now and it is great to see them again on the farm as the bush buck is dependent on them particularly during this dry period. Porcupine A very large ± 20kg porcupine was seen on the night of the 13th Jackals There was a lot jackal activity during both weekends of our September visits. Jackals were seen every evening during our September visits. Antbear Once again we saw the Ant bear hole in the back jackal / hay paddock. There appears to be a second ant bear hole down on the plains down by the Umgeni River. This was very exciting to see and to possibly have the second ant bear around on the farm. We will continue to monitor these holes and hopefully see both of them at some time.

Blue Crane Several blue cranes were seen during both weekends. Spurwing Geese Over last few visits we have noticed that this year there has been a dramatic increase in the Spurwing goose population. A flock of 10 geese is not uncommon now. It is very nice to see that their numbers have finally increased. Egyptian Geese The Egyptian geese population on the farm has also increased over the last few months which was also very pleasing. Several flocks of geese can be seen flying around almost all day. Herons Several Herons were seen all over the farm during this month’s visits. Guinea Fowl It is pleasing that the guinea fowl population has increased dramatically over the last few months. During both weekends we saw a flock of some 50 birds. This is the most we have seen in many years. Their population seems to be stable at this stage with a similar number of birds counted during the visits last month. Grass Owl During both visits this month we had the amazing privilege to see a grass owl as these are endangered. Francolin During this month’s visit no Francolin were seen, but many were heard. This is not uncommon as they do tend to stick to forested/wooded areas and are masters of camouflage. Pigeons There appears to be a reduction in the number of pigeons and doves around at the moment, but this is probably normal considering that the maize crops have all been harvested now and there is a clear reduction in food around for them. Owls A few barn owls were seen near the top end of the cross road forests. As a whole the owl population does seem to be on the increase at the moment. Olive Thrush There are a lot of olive thrushes around on the farm at present.

Once again several jackal buzzards and crown eagles were seen and an overall increase in raptors was seen. A large population of swallows were seen almost everywhere on the farm.

Mpofana River – Report & Recommendations

The DUCT River Walk team have just completed their exploration of the Mpofana River. This is part of the Midlands Conservancies Forum’s Protecting Ecological Infrastructure Project which includes monitoring the tributaries of the uMngeni river and conducting water workshops for Conservancies.  N3Toll Concession fund the costs of these projects.  For more information about this river see the River Walks blog at:

• http://umngeniriverwalk.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/mpofana-the-river-that-went/
• http://umngeniriverwalk.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/mpofana-we-are-all-borne-of-water/

How do you respond to a community who are facing the future impacts and threats of phase two of the Mooi-uMngeni Transfer Scheme, initiated in the mid 1980’s when phase one of this scheme came into operation, transferring water from Mearns Weir on the Mooi River into the Mpofana, a tributary of the uMngeni?

Today, with phase two (Spring Grove Dam and transfer) close to completion, this community faces the threat of inundation of lowlands and causeways, cutting off access to parts of their farms,

loss of land and damage to buildings through erosion,

decline in the ecology of the river, canalisation i.e. the straightening out and acceleration of water flow and erosion of banks, and future lack of seasonal variation in flow – the highs and lows which are part of the healthy riverine ecology.

From a macro picture the two big threats that affect rivers with transfer schemes worldwide, are transfer of nutrients, invasive plants and other contaminants from the transferring catchment, in this instance, the Mooi River. Transfer schemes are recognised as contributing to the reduction in riverine ecology and reducing the lifespan of dams through siltation.

These are some of the issues that came under discussion at a meeting of the Balgowan Conservancy last night at the home of chairperson, Yvonne Thompson, where members heard a summary of the three day Mpofana riverwalk by team leader, Penny Rees.

There are so many impacts within the 32m buffer and associated wetlands, potentially affecting the Mpofana such as: the uMgeni pipeline,

roads,

buildings; homes and pump houses,

a cemetery under construction,

gardens, pastures,

eroded livestock access points,

rubbish pits,

haybale storage

and alien vegetation including black and silver wattle, bramble, encroachment of timber plantations

and escaped garden species.

It must be noted that any disturbance of the natural riparian vegetation along the river banks will invite the presence of alien species, erosion, loss of soil health and biodiversity. This loss, negatively impacts the health of the river.

It is heartening to note the extensive work being done by the Balgowan Conservancy and landowners along the river to address some of these issues and in particular the eradication of alien invasive species.

A huge congratulations and thank you to everyone involved in this valued work.

It’s been a pleasure walking the Mpofana river and these are some of the considerations that we have held in mind as we made sense of our observations and make initial interpretations of the data collected. We are grateful for the support and enthusiasm of the landowners along the route and it is wonderful to interact with such a close community that cares so much about the river and the future of their valley.

We would like to thank Yvonne Thompson for hosting the riverwalk team, for her kindness, generosity and hospitality in accommodating us in her beautiful home at Caversham Hall.

We wish the Balgowan Conservancy everything of the best as they continue their efforts to ensure the health of the Mpofana River and the well-being of the Balgowan community that act as custodians of this beautiful little river and all its tributaries.

Some recommendations to improve the health of the Mpofana include:

• Tackle newly emerging alien invasive species as part of regular farm work on an on-going basis, prioritising riparian areas.
• Based on the pending Mpofana Riverwalk Report develop a strategic plan and source funding for prioritising, implementing and coordinating the alien invasive species eradication programme.
• Target particularly invasive species which are not necessarily common invaders in this catchment, for example, Camphor, Privet and Syringa, Catsclaw before they become a future threat.
• Prepare a long term strategy for reducing and eliminating invasive garden escapees such as; canna/Indian shot, Japanese honeysuckle, Periwinkle, Wondering jew, London Plane tree, Pyracanthus (Fire thorn)
• Ensure all new development goes through the appropriate planning process that ensure any application for development within the 32m buffer zone undergoes the necessary EIA and other planning process.
• As far as possible, limit or reduce livestock access to the river banks and into the river.
• Develop a plan for the withdrawal and appropriate re-siting of existing intrusions into the 32m buffer.
• Re-site waste pits to outside the 32m buffer (consider recycling the bulk of landfill at a local recycling centre)
• Avoid mowing in the 32m buffer, allowing for the regrowth of indigenous vegetation as habitat for riverine species, including invertebrates which are key species for river health.
• Ensure all dams release some water back into the stream to ensure that the stream remains healthy and does not dry up.  This is usually done by means of a pipe built into the lower section of the dam wall so that there is always a flow of water being released.  These pipes sometimes block and stop functioning and need to be checked regularly.

Some recommendations for addressing the future threats of the Mooi-uMgeni transfer include:

• Monitor your stretch of your river, measure the size and depth of the channel, take regular photographic evidence.
• Be in contact with the ECO (environmental compliance officer) for the MMTS pipeline and insist on regular updates and community interaction.
• Obtain a copy of the EMP (Environmental Management Plan approved as part of the ROD (Record of Decision) and check that this is being followed.
• Constitute a Water Users Association as legislated within the Catchment Management Agency framework to legalise and protect your water rights and to enable recognised interaction with respect to both the health of the Mpofana and the impact of the transfer scheme.
• Know and take up your rights with respect to public participation and protection of the environment and don’t give up in the face of the challenges facing the Mpofana and its community as custodians of this river and its significance within the greater context of Kwazulu-Natal.

The DUCT River Walk Team – Penny Rees, Preven Chetty, Pandora Long, Moraig Peden and John Fourie

 

Pea Pyramid, Chicken Tractor, Yellowwood Inspiration

The Mpophomeni Conservation Group arranged a visit for supporters to the Khula Shanti Sanctuary and Food Garden in Boston recently. Thanks to the Global Green Grants Fund and N3TC for sponsoring the inspiring day.

Carol Segal reports: We were given the most glorious sunshine day to enjoy the splendour of Khula Shanti Sanctuary. A group of 15 beautiful beings arrived at the Pickle Pot Café. We introduced our staff and our dogs.

We refreshed ourselves with fresh spring water, infused with lavender flowers, mint and orange slices and munched on just baked carrot and banana bread.

All systems charged, walking shoes on and time to explore the forest. The forest walk was an enlightening success, the feedback at the end of the day revealed that this was a first time experience for many of our visitors.

We had the opportunity to observe and talk about biodiversity, planting in guilds, forest mulch, eco-systems, habitats and conservation. The abundance of Podacarpus trees in the Khula Shanti Forest sparked discussions on national trees, animals and flowers. The idea of a national tree was new knowledge for some visitors, and many took to spotting all the Podacarpus along the walk.

Deep in the heart of the forest is a solid, cool rock face – time to touch energy as well as observe example of the use of rocks in nature and how we can integrate them into food garden design. The moss and lichen growing on these rocks provided classic photographic material and also more discussions around habitat and biodiversity. As well as the unanswerable question. “how do trees grow out of rocks?”

Our precious finds for the day were some fresh samples of duiker droppings, porcupine droppings, as well as a magnificent feather which we are almost certain belonged to an owl.

Ntombenhle shared some valuable insights on bugweed removal and the problems of alien invaders in our natural forests. Carol comments “she bubbles energy and optimism which was contagious for the group.” Tutu loved learning about the importance of rocks in the garden and left inspired to rehabilitate the eMashingeni forest at the top of the Mpophomeni valley.

We took the walk slowly and allowed individuals to absorb and receive what was required from nature as it was apparent that for many the experience was fresh and new. Moses said “I grew up in Jozi, so today, walking in a forest was a whole new experience for me. I have never done that before. Walk and listen and look at the forest. It was good. This is a new era for me, I am blessed to have met MCG.”

The forest walk is a fairly steep incline for some, so many were pleased to see the cheerful welcome of the bright and happy floral food forest garden. We spent the first 10 minutes of our time in the garden, walking around silently, observing feeling the Khula Shanti Food Gardens.

We then opened discussions around what new knowledge could be taken from the food gardens. The cucumber and pea pyramid, the chicken tractor, rock pathways, circular beds, companion planting, Vermiculture, compost making, comfrey tinctures, mulch and tea trees are only a few of the discussions we shared.

“It is important to have a place to sit in your garden. To enjoy the work you do, and to watch the work of little things.“ said Ntombenhle

Skhumbuso dug his hands into the compost heap and filled them with rich moist compost teaming with red wriggler worms. Everyone was pleased to hear that goat and horse manure is fantastic for the compost heap.

Nqobile was most impressed by the idea of worm wee. “I still don’t believe what I saw. The chicken tractor, the indigenous forest. This is the first time I have seen these things and it is wonderful.” The Khula Shanti Chicken tractors were the source of much curiosity and questioning. “I’m going to try this at home” she said.

It was encouraging to observe the contagious enthusiasm and tangible inspiration while people were browsing, grazing, sniffing and tasting the sensory explosion of the food garden. Questions around seed saving, seed-plug propagation, succession planting were answered. Gertrude liked the idea of using old cans to grow plants in “Tomorrow I am going to collect all the scrap around my place to use.” she said.

The day still in full bloom, we sat down and chatted about marketing strategies for food gardens, how and where to sell organic veg. Carol demonstrated her food box scheme and shared ideas, obstacles and visions her experience. Ntombenhle made some notes about Marketing their produce:

• Tell people what you have to sell
• They will order what they need
• Wash the veg and pack nicely in a box
• Pack different things together
• Make a name tag for that person, make it pretty
• Make sure you add R20 so you can make some money
• Start small
• Sell to weddings, tuck shops, neighbours, schools

We divided ourselves into two groups to pack 2 food box orders – went back up to the garden to select, pick, wash and prepare the orders. This was a fun and hands on activity which could be further expanded in the future. For many visitors new learnings were – variety of vegetables and herbs, presentation of vegetables before selling them, pricing and packing, where to sell and who to sell to.

When discussing the possibilities of starting a food box scheme, Carol shared the obstacles she has faced and also reminded the group of the importance of co-operatives as well as the danger of over-promising and under-delivering. We shared ideas around how to successfully start a business and start small rather than big to ensure a steady supply as well as to be reliable in quality as well as quantity of produce. The food box packing demonstration was well received, everyone participated and much was learnt, including how to pick and eat peas before packing them.

Finally, time to feast. We shared briefly about nutrition and the importance of eating foods from our gardens and raw food first.

The idea of salads and salad sandwiches, for lunch was not received with glee by all visitors. Carol did overhear the request “Is there any peanut butter and bread to eat?”

However, the majority of participants tucked into the lunch with gusto and enjoyed the harvest from the garden. Kwenza commented “That kind of juice food we ate was delicious and healthy. Now we know about organic gardening.” Stembile added “I really enjoyed eating the lunch; my taste-buds are still dancing”

We closed our day with a feedback session on what new learnings had been received and where people would like to go to from here.

Some comments made in the feedback session were:

“I never thought you could plant flowers in a vegetable garden”

“I am so surprised how clean this place is, I have never been to a place like this, where there is no litter”

Ntombenhle was delighted ”This workshop helped the group to know and understand what we are trying to do on the community garden site. They now have a good picture of what is going on. I am glad that we are not alone anymore.”

Mpofana in Peril

Members of the Midlands Conservancies Forum gathered in Balgowan recently to explore Milestone Forest and learn more about the fate of the Mpofana River.

It was the ancient Yellowwoods of Milestone that inspired the first Conservancy in South Africa – formed right here. Walter Addison shared some of the history of how they came to be here (survivors of the last ice age) as we gazed in awe at the giant trees that form the ‘Cathedral’.

Balgowan Conservancy hosts a guided walk in this forest on the first Friday of each month. It is well worth a visit. Contact Marilyn on 082 427 3365 to book.

As we drove back to Michaelhouse we passed the spot where the water release/outfall from the new Spring Grove Dam will enter the Mpofana river. We had invited Kate Fenenga of TCTA to address our meeting on the impacts the Spring Grove water release will have on the Mpofana, but she was not able to unless we submitted all the questions we might ask beforehand.

Instead we had Kevin Meier from Umgeni Water share their operating philosophy of Spring Grove Dam.   This was really interesting.

He told us that the uMngeni river catchment is now completely utilized and that we cannot build any more dams on these rivers. Their job is to supply water to the municipalities. They pump as much as possible to keep Midmar and Albert Falls dams full and watch the weather closely to stop pumping when rain is imminent.

Obviously, we were most concerned about the impact of more water on the Mpofana river as the Mooi Mearns Transfer Scheme (MMTS) had already had a negative impact according to some of the landowners present.

Kevin said “We believe we can release 4,5 cubic metres per second without impacting the environment.” Currently they transfer 3,5 m3 in the wet season (about 3 months of the year). Once the new pipeline is in they will increase transfer to maintain continuous minimum flow of 4,5m3 although pipe capacity is 5,4m3. The thinking is that the river will adjust from minimal basal flow to 4,5m3 over the first year or two of operation. We were aghast to hear that this release will continue throughout winter when the normal river only has about 1 cubic metre per second of water. No doubt this will impact negatively on the health of the river.

Balgowan Conservancy members whose properties have already been affected by the raised levels of water in the Mpofana (from the Mooi Mearns Transfer Scheme) asked questions about their causeways, river banks and bridges. Kevin suggested that most of these concerns needed to be addressed by DWAF, not Umgeni Water. Apparently the Dept of Water Affairs is about to conduct a survey of the entire Mpofana and Lion’s rivers. It appears that their main focus is on erosion of the river banks, not the ecological health of the riparian zone. They assume that the river will realign itself. SASS surveys will be conducted four times a year above and below the outfall to monitor the impact.

Kevan Zunckel was up next. Kevan has done extensive research the negative affect of dams in general and the importance of keeping our rivers intact and shared some fascinating information with us, relating to the points Kevin Meier had raised.

It is currently costing Durban R100 million to treat water – Durban’s current water treatment bill is approximately R100 million per month and based on the findings of the uMngeni River Walk where the water quality improved from extremely poor to natural below the Albert Falls Dam as a result of riparian vegetation restoration, it can be calculated that it will cost 10% of the monthly water treatment spend to replicate this restoration work along the entire length of the uMngeni River’s main stem. This would lead to the creation of hundreds of jobs and a reduction in the treatment costs.

Both the Lion’s and Mpofana rivers do an excellent job of assimilating impurities. These tributaries are highly sinuous, i.e. they meander extensively, with associated flood plains and oxbows. This gives them the potential to assimilate both sediments and impurities as the actual length of the channels is significantly longer than the direct distance between a source of pollution and Midmar dam (as the crow flies).

The nutrification of the big dams – this would be “eutrophication”, i.e. the artificial or accelerated increase in nutrients coming from intensive agriculture. We know that the Lions is not in good condition and has a dense concentration of intensive crop and animal production activities along its banks and in the catchment, and now that the MMTS-2 is coming on ‘stream’, the added impurities from the Mooi system will exacerbate this situation. Although Umgeni Water’s water quality monitoring suggests that the Mooi and Lions are in pretty good shape, it is possible that with a little more intensive monitoring a different picture will emerge. Penny’s walk of the Lions showed this to be true. Without the MMTS-2 I have been told that the prediction for Midmar’s eutrophication to similar levels as Hartebeespoort Dam, was between 15 – 20 years. Now with the MMTS-2 adding to the system, it is predicted that this may happen in 10 to 15 years.   Inanda is already showing signs of algal blooms in the upper and mid sections, but its depth and convoluted shape allows for this to be dealt with by the time it gets to the lower end where the raw water is abstracted. So it is not a water quality and treatment problem as yet, but in drier years when the concentration increases, it could well reach the threshold from which it tips across to the Hartebeespoort type of situation.

Ecological infrastructure has the capacity to do wonderful things with our messes, but if we push the systems too far, then we will exceed this capacity and lose the ecological services. Intensive agriculture can work with ecological infrastructure if it recognises the value of the services and respects the thresholds, otherwise that is when the R100 million/month bills begin to emerge.

It turned out to be a truly interesting afternoon, with plenty of food for thought. MCF has raised funds (from N3TC) for the DUCT River Walkers to explore the Mpofana this month, Balgowan Conservancy is helping with the organisation and generously providing accommodation. Follow the journey on their blog: www.umngeniriverwalk.wordpress.com

As we left, a Spotted Eagle Owl nest with a couple of chicks was pointed out to us in the car park – beside the busy rugby field! Despite the handy ledge that was built especially for them, the noise must have annoyed them after a while – or perhaps the heated debate at the MCG gathering was the final straw? They have now all moved to the Rectory garden where they are thriving. Nature certainly is resilient and adaptable, but as Kevan Zunckel said – it is about thresholds, sometimes we push Nature too far. Then we will all suffer.

Midlands Marches for Climate Justice

You might think that Climate Change is something happening somewhere else. It’s not, it is right here already. The hundreds of people who gathered in Howick last weekend were determined that our leaders got the message, raising their voices in solidarity with people across the planet to say that the time for talking is way past. Act Now, Act Fast. We have seen the impacts on our local weather, on food prices, and watched in horror as tragedies unfold across the globe. Protests began early in Mpohomneni when the Mpophomeni Conservation Group led a march along Mandela Drive. Across Africa, thousands of people called on their governments to take real action by holding the global north accountable for starting climate change, and by ditching coal and investing in clean solar and wind energy in their countries. ‘Angifun’ ifracking’ shouted a banner at the Howick March, another suggested we need ‘Farming not Fracking’. “Fracking could destroy our water resources.” Said Penelope Malinga of the Mpophomeni Conservation Group “We can’t drink gas. We need clean energy. Amandla elanga kunegas.”  Fracking is a real threat in the midlands unless we reduce our energy consumption drastically. Many other banners focussed on clean energy. “It is possible to have a meaningful impact by simply focussing on your own energy consumption at home. Small changes add up to big things.” said Karen Zunckel, initiator of the KZN Midlands Green Map that lists many of the sustainable options available right here. “We have to do this, or we are stealing our children’s future.” Candy Zuma hit the nail on the head with her banner. Environmental impoverishment links directly to human suffering. At the UN Climate Summit in New York City on 23 September, Ban Ki-moon hopes to inject momentum into efforts to reach a global deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2015, at a conference in Paris. “Time is not on our side,” he said, “We cannot delay any more, change needs to happen now. We are the first humans to ever breathe air at 400parts per million CO2.” The People’s Climate Mobilisation and the Climate Summit in New York mark the beginning of a busy 18 months of crucial international negotiations. Climate negotiators will head to Lima, Peru, in December 2014 to make progress towards a global climate deal. Then, in September 2015 world leaders will meet back in New York to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals, the global post-2015 development agenda. Three months later, the world will gather in Paris to try and sign a new international climate treaty. With almost 3000 activities around the world last weekend, the sheer scale and diversity of the People’s Climate March, has shown politicians that there is a massive, energized movement demanding immediate action to address the climate crisis. This is true people powered movement – people from all backgrounds acting locally, mobilising their communities, shaping the future of our planet. Tafadzwa Bero of Shea O’Connor Combined commented “Imagine what this world will look like in the next 20 years? All the small changes could mean a huge impact towards reducing Climate Change.” Judy Bell Chair of the MCF concludes: This is a human rights issue, as along with global development, climate change is already starting to affect the quality of the air we breathe, as well as our capacity to provide safe drinking water and sanitation, sufficient food and secure shelter. The World Health Organisation expects there to be an additional 250 000 deaths every year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone. We all need to look at ways we can reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases through making responsible choices, especially regarding transport, food and energy. We must commit to becoming more informed and involved. We must take every opportunity to influence decision-making in terms of development at the local, regional and national level. This can be at home, at work, in our communities and municipalities. We must all do our bit as all the small changes will have a big impact. We consider ourselves privileged to have the source of the uMngeni River and its tributaries in the heart of the KZN Midlands. The Midlands Conservancies Forum has a water focus in all we do to help protect these water factories which sustain the flow of clean water, supporting the lives and livelihoods of 5 million people downstream. Our work involves inspiring and motivating those who live, work and play in the area to cherish the ecosystems, such as the forests, grasslands and their interdependent wildlife, that form the basis for these water-bearing life support systems. Without these natural places, which provide us with clean air and water, good soil to grow our food and raise our livestock, absorbent surfaces to attenuate the effects of flooding and drought, sinks for carbon dioxide and modulation of the extremes of temperature, our life on earth will be much shorter and less enjoyable. In order to appreciate and protect them, we need to immerse ourselves in these precious places, so go to our website and FaceBook page to find a walk to inspire you and your family. You can also find out more about the work we do and how you can become involved to make a positive change. To change everything, it takes everyone. That includes you. Stand with the hundreds of thousands of people who marched around the world to help rock world leaders into action where they have only offered words before. http://act.350.org/letter/ready-for-action/

Midlands Wildflower for September- Dombeya rotundifolia

Common name: wild pear; Zulu name: unhliziyonkhulu; Afrikaans name: blompeer; Sotho name: umbikanyaka

A sight not to be missed during September is the hillsides of Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve when the Dombeyas are in flower. This small tree with dark brown, craggy bark and a rounded crown is literally covered in white blossom, which is particularly striking as the tree is usually leafless at this time of year. Each flower is about 2cm across and part of a heavy cluster at the ends of branches.

A quick growing and versatile tree, it does best in drier areas and is remarkably hardy to drought, frost and fire. The dark green leaves are heart shaped, and although rough, are popular with game, while porcupines are fond of the bark. Bees love the sweetly scented flowers which contain abundant nectar and pollen and it is also host to the Ragged Skipper butterfly.

The wood is heavy and fine textured which makes it ideal for tool handles and bows and the bark is reportedly used for twine. Traditional medicinal remedies include treatment of heart weakness, intestinal ulcerations and palpitations in pregnant women.

School Stuff – eco-art, trees, insects, cranes and water

Each midlands Conservancy receives a slice of the Environmental Learning and Leadership pie for eco-activities in a school of their choice.  The idea being to build relationships between conservancies and schools in their areas, and to inspire youngsters to value the biodiversity and ecosystems on which we all rely. As there is little point trying to outdo the professionals at their game, we work with partners MMAEP and KZNCF to do what they do best.

For some, it is easy to decide which school to work with – like Curry’s Post Conservancy. They already support Curry’s Post Primary and are thoroughly enjoying working with the MMAEP to assist the school achieve WESSA Eco-School status.  MMAEP have turned the flower beds into veggie gardens and plan to sort out the library next.  Recently, the MMAEP Bugs did lessons on Biodiversity.

The little Grade 1 class was introduced to ‘nunu’s’ and learnt that an insect has 6 legs and three body parts and then set off outside on an insect hunt. We managed to find some bugs – a locust (perfect), some flies and ants. Back in the classroom the children were given big pictures of different insects, chose their favourites and drew them with pastels and crayons. This exercise required focused observation and resulted in fantastic pictures.

Grades 2 and 3 played the string card game where everyone is given a card depicting a different animal. The game is about who needs who, not who eats who – the basics of ecology.  We played the funky-chicken song and dance game, which is always a great hit, before reading a story. The other older grades learnt the word BIODIVERSITY and played the web of life game. We then selected local animals and birds for them to talk about and draw, ie jackals, cranes and buck. We also talked about habitat and characteristics and played the animal card game which shows the learners all the different species and categories of animals and where they live.

Sarah Allan, Conservancy Chair: “With advice from the MMAEP we have opted for a slow start to our recycling/recovery initiative at Curry’s Post Primary. We’re collecting bread bags for re-use as skipping ropes, old newspapers for paper mache/energy-fire bricks. We’re also encouraging folk to collect the bread tags so they can be donated towards wheelchairs for less privileged people.  We don’t want a recycling depot to become a burden or turn the school into an informal dump.”

Mountain Home Primary School in the hills of Sweetwaters was chosen by Winterskloof Conservancy for a day of eco-art.  The children were very excited to see the colourful MMAEP visitors arriving. The teachers were busy finishing their reports and were quite happy to hand over ALL the children – we had the Grade 2, 3, and 4 all together. The famous magic hats were distributed. In a large circle we did some fun warm ups and ice breakers including two long massage lines which caused lots of laughter.

We set the Grade 2 and 3 class doing simple puzzles (made from cut up pictorial calendars). They found this VERY difficult. The older grade cut out colour groups from magazines to use in their eco-portfolio.

We had some quiet time and read the story of ‘Siyolo and his jersey’ about a little boy whose jersey begins to unravel and he uses bits of it to help other people. It is a lovely story about kindness and sharing. Afterwards the older children learned how to do printing using polystyrene trays and pencils. They carved out a picture about the story we had read and then lined up to get a selection of acrylic paint roller on to it and learnt how to print it on paper. They came up with some fantastic designs and were thrilled with their resulting pictures. They got more polystyrene and everyone got to do a few different prints in different colours. As they finished they went on to use their coloured shades of magazine cut-outs to create sections for their eco-portfolio. The teachers joined us at the end and were very interested in the printing as it combined recycling with some easy techniques.

For many years Kamberg Conservancy has supported Dabulamanzi Combined School. This year, in collaboration with the KZN Crane Foundation they sponsored an excursion for 26 Grade  4-7 learners to  visit the Hlatikhulu Crane Sanctuary, to see and learn about the three African Cranes. After introductions, learners were taken down to the Sanctuary, where the rescued cranes are kept. Learners said they heard about the cranes but most had never seen them, besides a few who had spotted Grey Crowned Cranes on farms in Kamberg.  Learners couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the cranes and couldn’t stop smiling. “The wattled crane is so big” said Siyanda Mncwabe, in awe.  The hand reared Grey Crowned Crane called Boston accompanied them throughout the program, keeping the kids very amused.

Learners then enjoyed  two lessons from the Cranes in the Classroom series, facilitated by Nkanyiso Ndlela of KZNCF – Footprint Friends and Lily pad Lament. These painting lessons promote crane awareness and caring for the crane’s habitats, which are grasslands and wetlands. Learners and teachers participated well in these activities and the result was  beautiful posters. The lessons took longer than expected because some were very slow and want to perfect their posters – they were very proud when they finished.

Cedara Primary School in Khanya Village at Cedara Agricultural Collecge is situated beside a wetland and stream. Doug Burden of uMgenyane Conservancy thought it a good idea to select this school as that stream flows into Gwensspruit which passes through their Conservancy and eventually into the uMngeni river. “Good for the kids to understand the impact their actions in the wetland has on the bigger catchment and down stream users.” he said.  MMAEP facilitators, Zinhle Msimango and Gugu Zuma went to visit.

In the Grade 6 and 7 class Zinhle defined the word wetland – a wetland is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally and acts like sponge to store water.  When we went to investigate the wetland we found that it was not as big as they thought. We spoke of the plants  and animals that can survive on the wetland. We only had a chance to see a crab in the wetland this day, probably because the water is polluted and the wetland to had too much litter and in some areas it had a bad smell.

We did a water cycle lesson for the children and used the Windows on our World Wetland Catchment game. Children used cards and a chart to put right pieces of cards in the right place. Water, wetlands and people.

With the Grade 4 and 5 class Gugu discussed the importance of water and why we need to take a good care of our streams and rivers. They filled in a worksheet with two rivers – one was clean and the another one was dirty. After break everyone went down to the stream to do a mini SASS. This stream does go into the uMngeni river after some time. They were surprised that five million people use water from the uMngeni river.  They learnt about the small insects, animals and plants that live in the river. Our miniSASS test showed that water wasn’t in a good condition. “It was a lovely day in the school we had so much fun and learned a lot. You guys are amazing” said learner Ayanda Hlophe.

ZInhle comments: “It was interesting for me and the children as they said they know of wetlands but never had a chance to learn about it and to learn about it practically. I feel people in the area need to be educated in not polluting the wetlands as it seems they just come and leave their rubbish in the wetland. I hope our lessons help. It was a fun, hot, productive day. Thank you to the Midlands Conservancies Forum and uMgenyane Conservancy for supporting meaningful environmental education in the midlands.”  Educator Petronella Gasa concludes “We were very glad  to meet the new Bugs team. We hope that we can have more environmental lessons with them.”  Derren Coetzer, Chair of the uMgenyane Conservancy,  is looking into arranging an excursion for the older learners to the Hilton College Nature Reserve later in the year.

World’s View Conservancy battled a bit to find a school to work with, but then hit the jackpot! At Sibongumbovu Primary  in Cedara, dynamic Vanessa McKay has recently started working as the English teacher and inspiring Beth Drennan runs the library, ensuring that the learners have regular access to books and a real appreciation of their value to learning.

Eidin Griffin of the MMAEP worked with the Grade 6 and 7 class introducing them to the word Biodiversity (and was thrilled when they came up with the words Biosphere and Bio-fuels). They looked at the concept of trees as habitats and practiced some ‘genius’ techniques like quiet time and breathing exercises. After reading ‘The Lorax’ by Dr. Seuss, everyone skipped outside to plant a Celtis africana (White Stinkwood) near the tap run-off. The younger children danced and sang and blew loving kisses to the tree to help it grow!

In the meantime some big lads were fixing the fence with extra fencing Eidin had brought to the school. Eidin commented: “What a positive day! The school is planning on becoming an WESSA Eco-School next year and many thanks are due to the Worlds View Conservancy and the Midlands Conservancies Forum for arranging this visit.”

Elli Hamilton of World’s View Conservancy comments: “I visited the Grade 7 class the day after Eidin’s visit and Vanessa was in the process of recapping their exciting lesson from the day before. The children were involved and enthusiastic and Vanessa used her laptop to show us all pictures of the lesson and the tree-planting session. During the lesson I was also able to appreciate the colourful , cheerful artworks and displays in the classroom with some even hanging like celebratory bunting from the ceiling.  One of the girls took me out to introduce me to the newly planted Celtis Africana and on the way through the grounds I noticed that there is another well established ( 12 year-old? ) Celtis near the school buildings.

It is good to know that Eidin has already made such an impact on these Grade 7 children and as a Conservancy we would most definitely like to stay involved with both the School and MMAEP.I also informed Vanessa  that on  Thursday 11 December we  are organising a Carols by Candlelight service at the Worlds View Girl Guide Hall and it would be really good if some of the school children could attend.”

Learn more about good work of the Midlands Meander Education Project and the KZN Crane Foundation .  MCF are proud to count them as partners in our Environmental Learning and Leadership Programme which is funded by N3 Toll Concession.

Dargle Wildlife Sightings – August

Spring has brought a myriad of things for us all to look at. Beautiful blooms appearing on the trees as well as new leaves starting to shoot, loads of animal and bird life out and about, as well as a rain spider desperately trying to bring us all some respite after these dry few months. Here’s hoping the rain comes soon…

Brandon Powell – Bukamanzi

This month I haven’t seen anything very LARGE except for this mad rain spider (Palystes) – he hadn’t heard about us not having had any lately.  He crept out of my watering-can after I had done about ten trips with it overflowing its brim. Hopefully he’ll stick around and devour some of my jumping spiders?

Things are looking very sad and khaki except for Jenny Stipcich’s proteas and new grass shoots struggling through the fire-breaks.

On the Conservancy’s camera I caught several clips of wonderful, leaf-munching duiker, usually alone but once in a pair. A very beautiful foxy-faced genet has also been cutting ’round the place. I’ve scrubbed down my door-steps with clove oil in the hope that one doesn’t have any melodramatic snake sightings as winter draws to its close!

Ashley Crookes – Copperleigh Farm

Wild flowers that have now started popping up all over the place. Ledebouria

Helichrysum

Senecio speciosus

We also had about 16 Guinea Fowl appearing back on our farm aound the sheep camps after disappearing for a good few months. They were also calling the rain and are welcome back!

Nikki Brighton – Old Kilgobbin Farm

Saw the first Yellow-billed Kite on 19 August.  Afternoon walks are a real delight where paths are mown through the tall golden grass.

This magnificent Yellowwood on the edge of the forest can be seen for miles.

Interesting reflections in cold pools, where there is just a little water left.

N3TC brought a group of media people to visit the Midlands and we took them for a walk in the forest. Barend had them enthralled.

Anita Heyl said “I absolutely loved, loved, loved the time spent with your group! Oh, my goodness what a special piece of paradise. I do hope to visit again soon and spend proper quiet time there. If I was Winnie-the-Pooh that would most definitely have been my part of the forest.”

Our forest even made the morning news on SABC! Watch the film clip here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3yIKpWoRxs

Anne and Mike Weeden – Hopedale Farm

The other morning at around 11 o’clock we spotted an African Striped Weasel on the fire break close to the house. We walked to within about 5 metres of it and it was totally unconcerned about our presence. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me but it was definitely a weasel rather than a polecat as it had a solid white patch on top of its head and lacked the white markings under its eyes.

Pat and Sandra Merrick – Albury Farm

Dr Amy-Leigh Shuttleworth (nee Wilson) came to the farm during the month and Pat took her to 4 burrows. Unfortunately, they all seem to be empty of aardvarks. The one we had last year has vanished perhaps due to lack of termites in the area where he dug.

Have seen a number of reed buck this month. One evening as many as ten on the burn, just driving up to my house in an area of 1km. There are always 2 males.

One stands some distance away and the other one mingles with the females and youngsters. These are the same 2 that were fighting some months ago. A number of male and female duiker.

Seen female oribi quite often. She seems to keep to the long grass and on occassion see her nibbling the green burn.

Saw and heard a pair of jackal buzzards – their cry reverberated for an hour one morning. Our 2 blue crane arrived at the dry dam one morning. Haven’t seen them since. Hear them occasionally. Saw 2 yellowbilled kites for the 1st time on 10th August. Saw a pied kingfisher pick up a frog from our pond. He flew to the dead tree where he pounded it to death with his beak and then swallowed it.

A pair of gymnogene flew over the house early one morning. Heard a very loud peeu cry one morning – went on for ages – I eventually tracked it to the hollow pole next to the  gate where a red throated wryneck was calling for attention. This is the second one we have on the farm. The other one is in a hollow pole half way down our driveway.

Early one morning, Pat heard a freckled night jar in the trees behind the house. The siting of the month for me was seeing and photographing a spotted eagle owlet and adult – not sure if male or female, but I am sure someone will advise me.

Pat had been walking around the gum trees looking for the sparrowhawks when he heard a loud hooting from the ground. On investigation it looked like the owlet had fallen out the tree and one of the adults was on the ground with it and the other was hooting high above in the tree.

Pat left them as had the dogs with him. The next day he again went looking for them and found the owlet in the fork of a gum tree and mom/dad nearby on the branch of a tree. Pat phoned me and told me to come post haste with my camera which I did. Got some lovely snaps. The adult was not too happy and screeched loudly, while the other one which I could not see was hooting higher up. We left them after a few minutes. When I walk down through the gum tree avenue I see one of them flying through the canopy.

So now its egyptian geese, black sparrowhawks and spotted eagle owls flying through the canopy.

Our sparrowhawks left the nest on 26th July. A pair of egyptian geese took over straight away. Early in the mornings and late afternoons would see the sparrowhawk youngsters sitting on a dead gum tree probably waiting for their food, as saw three sitting on same tree late one afternoon. But for the past 2 weeks they have been flying around the canopy of the gums. When I walk around that area, they fly through the canopy and screech loudly. We have seen the adults fly past the house from Dargle side late in the afternoons carrying a bird. Quite large, so presumably a dove.

Dr Ian Little of the EWT Threatened Grasslands Programme commented on my sparrowhawk story last month. I was wrong about a number of things. This is his letter:

Just a quick clarification on Pat and Sandra Merrick’s wonderful sightings with the Black Sparrowhawks. The Male is not rufous coloured, they were in fact looking at one of the juveniles, the male is the same colour as the female but smaller. He delivers food to the female to take to the nest and hence is not often seen at the nest. Thanks for the great pics, now to answer your questions:

How old would you say they are now and is it possible to tell if they are male or female? They must be about 6-8 weeks now, They leave the actual nest at about 35-40 days after hatching. Juveniles are both rufous the only way to tell the sex is by their size. By 30 days they are fully grown and the males are almost half the size of the females. Your confusion is that I think your two youngsters are both females and hence same size.

Are they still being fed by the adults and how long does that go on for? They are fed by the adults for another 1-2 months so yes at this stage they are still being fed by the adults. You very seldom see both adults at the nest as the male provides most food but he will clean the food (remove feathers) away from the nest and then pass the food to the female who brings it in to feed the young.

There is also one more bit of confusion that can crop up. Black Spars (as I call them) come in two colour morphs. What you have are the standard colour morphs but adults can be pitch black with no white on the stomach and juveniles can be pure white with black flecks as opposed to the rufous colour which you have seen here. Anyway, no need to add further confusion. Basic rule of thumb, if it’s rufous it’s juvenile, if it’s Black and white it’s adult and females are almost twice the size of males.

Other birds we have seen include: Black headed Oriel

Common Stonechat

Drakensberg Prinia

Gurneys Sugarbird

Malachite Sunbird

Olive Thrush

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (passer diffuses)

Yellow eyed Canary

Lots of scat amongst the rocks – doe this belong to the wild or Natal Red Hare?

Gilly Robartes – Wana Farm

I’ve been taking pics of this Scadoxus puniceus (I think that’s the correct species) over the last 2 weeks. It was the first one that I saw – since then, loads have popped their pretty little heads up. The dates are shown. It changed quickly over the first few days.

Not the best pics – (with my Blackberry )That’s the best I can do!

Learn more about Scadoxus https://midlandsconservanciesforum.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/midlands-wildflower-for-august-scadoxus-puniceus/

I also saw a little black otter playing in the river. A few others have spotted it, but it’s the first time I have.

Dieter Setz – Wakecroft

The nicest thing about August was the sight of Spring putting and end to Winter…

The resident pair of Egyptian Geese are also happy about the end of winter

A Raven also “changed his tune” sitting on the fence outside my studio window

Charles Robinson – Hebron Nguni Farm

Buck sighting was on 2nd September 2014 100metres from the main house around 9am.

Reedbuck along Petrus Stroom road, taken on cell phone.

There is also a pair of Owls, sighted on the Hebron Nguni farm, but not photographed. They do not yet seem to have a nest,  should we put an owl nest up? Ed’s note: Come to Shane McPherson’s talk on 5 November at Tanglewood – he has just started an owl box project.

Please can you advise, we at Hebron Nguni farm have a monkey problem, who can we talk to for advice? Nikki suggests the following reading:

• http://verdantlifekzn.com/2014/06/05/help-theres-a-monkey-in-my-kitchen-and-a-mousebird-on-my-kale/
• http://verdantlifekzn.com/2014/06/06/tolerance/

Kathy Herrington and Wayne Lourens – Aloe Ridge

Kathy writes: Whilst enjoying an early evening walk – I heard our ridgeback Murray excitedly barking and turned back to investigate.  There was a cacophony in on the edge of some tall grass – a growling, thumping and loud crackling noise which I had not come across before.  On getting closer I saw a very large porcupine, holding his head very low and growling/howling, whilst thumping hard with the front paws and rattling his considerable quills.  Our other dogs then appeared and our ridgeback and german/belgian shepherd withdrew circumspectly, as they have had (painful) experience with this species before!  I only had to remind our intrepid jack-russell type hound to stay back, whilst I attempted to take a slightly closer photograph of the spectacular animal using my phone, for the Dargle sightings!

I approached a couple of steps talking quietly in what I hoped would be a reassuring manner – but my ‘animal whispering’ is clearly not up to scratch, as he/she took one look at me – growled and charged – leaping forward and spinning to show off the fearsome array of very sharp quills.  Suffice it to say, I withdrew hurriedly and assured the beast that taking clear photos was not THAT important.  I, and the dogs, then continued on our perambulation and left the porcupine to its own devices.

Wayne writes:

Just after 8am on the morning of 22nd August, Kathy and I were on our way to Mount West with our two young horses for a Classical Equitation Clinic held by our German friend, when, with the horse trailer in-tow behind the Land Rover Defender (Kathy in with the 2 young horses on the dirt roads to keep them settled), right in front of me on the Hopedale main access road, was a Serval. Completely owning the roadway and parts of the verge!! Hoping Kathy was looking out of the horse trailer window, I gestured for her to look, and at the same time I grabbed my phone camera. So, while creeping along at the sedate pace that was suitable for the young horses on bumpy roads, I followed the Serval as it made its way along the roadway just ahead, not in the least bit intimidated by the looming Land Rover and horse trailer. At the same time I managed, with one hand on the wheel keeping the Defender & horse trailer on the best parts of the road, and the other setting up the camera on the mobile phone, and managed to take a few shots of the Serval as it sauntered down the roadway for about 100 metres, between 5 metres and 10 metres ahead of us. To me it seemed as though it was a sub-adult female, but that was just my intuition at the time. She playfully tapped at pieces of larger stone aggregate on the roadway along the way, and eventually found an interesting run, probably made by the resident flock of Spurfowl (formerly known as Natal Francolin), down which she disappeared from my view.

Take Nothing but Wonderful Memories

Dargle Primary School Grade 6 and 7 classes were very excited about their trip to the Dargle Nature Reserve last week, but first decided on a few rules.

• To be quiet in the forest
• To be kind and helpful to each other
• To respect the forest and its inhabitants.

Using Share-net booklets on forests and grasslands, Gugu Zuma and Eidin Griffin of the Midlands Meander Education Project helped them look at all the possible animals we might find in the forest. We also learnt a new word – ‘nocturnal’ – before Dennis Sokhela, of Old Kilgobbin Farm, arrived in the kombi to fetch us. We gathered up our water bottles and hats and set off for Kilgobbin forest.

Barend Booysen greeted us warmly as we sorted our picnic into different rucksacks and met his very excited dogs. The children were initially frightened by the enthusiastic canine welcome committee but the two new Labrador puppies soon had them giggling and playing happily. Leaving the dogs behind, we headed into the forest. Barend explained how he and Helen look after the forest and why we need to leave only footprints.

As we walked along the sun dappled paths, Barend pointed out interesting trees including wonderful yellowwoods in different stages of life from 20 years to 1000 years old and showed us how to differentiate between the various leaves. Everyone was thrilled to spot some Samango monkeys browsing on new leaves in the trees. We sat for some quiet time, breathing in the clean air and breathing out all our cares. Mlungisi was amazed at the old trees saying “Wow, you will never find a person that is 200 years old.”

Barend had the children really intrigued when he took out his cellphone, played bird sounds and then the birds came to visit! So exciting! The children recognised different bird sounds and were lucky enough to see two African Harrier Hawks skimming above the canopy.  Finding porcupine scat and looking at where the bush buck and bushpig scratch themselves on trees was also a thrill. They got to swing on a liana and investigate mosses and lichens.

We headed up a steep hill to our picnic spot in the forest. After healthy sandwiches, oranges and a chocolate muffin the children carefully packed away their packaging and we climbed up and out into the grasslands.

Finding a comfortable shady spot under some flowering Ouhout trees we settled down again for a story. Eidin choose ‘The Lorax’ by Dr. Seuss. It was a perfect story as we chatted about how we need to protect our indigenous forests and all their precious inhabitants.

Then we hopped and skipped across the hayfields and had a little playtime on the raft at the dam before arriving back at Kilgobbin where everyone hugged Barend and clambered into the kombi before Carl Bronner drove everyone back to school.

Eidin said “We had an utterly magic day. It could be described as the perfect day.” Gugu added enthusiastically “We had so much fun and learnt so much. What a wonderful place. I would like to bring the kids from my Zenzane and Nxamalala Enviro Clubs here too.”

The children LOVED their adventure in the forest with ‘Papa Ben’ and have started writing stories and drawing pictures about their experience. Thanks to Dargle Conservancy for giving these children such an incredible experience. Big hugs to Barend for his generosity of time and spirit – he children were especially impressed when he challenged them to catch him and raced off across the hayfields! It would not have been possible to get all the children back and forth without the help of Carl Bronner and Dennis Sokhela, so we are very thankful to them too. What a wonderful and inspiring day.

Boston Wildlife Sightings – August

Christeen Grant – Sitamani

We have had a very dry, mild to hot August, unusually for this time of year, almost wind free. That was until the last weekend, on the 29 August it was bitterly cold with snow flurries that didn’t settle, but the Drakensberg had a dusting, glimpsed between moving clouds; then wild wind for two days.

Spring flowers have been sparse. There were fewer ragged Anemone fanninii flowers on our hillside and quickly ravaged by the wind, as were Apodiolirion buchananii. Ledebouria obvatifolia have flourished, bright purple spots of colour between the rocks.

Cyrtanthus tuckii bravely fly red flags.

Pale pink confetti of Dimorphotheca jucunda daisies shine on dry ground.

One hive of activity is the winter remains of Rocket in the vegetable garden. Bees, Cape Canaries and Striped Mice feast on the flowers and seeds.

The Leucosidea sericera and Halleria lucida flowers also still attracted many insects, Carpenter bees, Bees, Ants and Ladybirds.

Cape White-eyes, Bulbuls, Cape Robin-Chats and Southern Boubous enjoy the bird bath. A Malachite Sunbird and Red-collared Widowbirds are in the process of growing their summer plumage. Amethyst Sunbirds busily gather cobwebs for new nests. The first Yellow-billed Kite of the season joined the Long-crested Eagles and Jackal Buzzards soaring overhead.

Black-backed Jackal call in the evenings. Common Reedbuck come close to the house to feed. Sadly we found an adult Serval lying dead, with no apparent cause on the driveway early on 21 August as we drove out before dawn. When we returned the next evening all evidence of it had gone.

Barry and Kirsten Cromhout – Highland Glen

Single Cape Vulture flying above; African (Ethiopian) Snipe in a ; Denham’s Bustard.

Rory and Sue Brighton – Elandsvlei

Pair of Fish-Eagles on the dam for the last month. What a lovely cry to hear first thing every morning.

Trevor Scheepers – Lapa Lapa

While visiting at “Four Gates” farm, saw a single Southern Ground Hornbill

Bruce and Bev Astrup – Highland Glen

Pair of Common Reedbuck lying outside garden fence and watching activities

David and Wizz Lawrence – The Willows

Single Grey Duiker, seen often outside garden fence in field.

Crystelle Wilson – Gramarye

Yellow-billed Kites are often regarded as the harbingers of spring when they return from overwintering in Africa north of the equator. I saw my first YBK on 26 July near Ashburton, Pietermaritzburg, when Boston was still very much in the grip of fierce frosts. Winter birding was still slow with low numbers, but it is easier to see forest birds with less foliage on the trees. I was pleased with finding a Lemon Dove, Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler

and Swee Waxbill at Norwood forest in the Boston pentad, as well as seeing some swifts making a return.

The list for pentad 2940_3000 were: Alpine Swift, Greater Striped Swallow, Rock Martin, Terrestrial Brownbul, Lemon Dove, Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler, Forest Canary,

Bar-throated Apalis, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, African Olive-Pigeon, Olive Woodpecker, Yellow-breasted Apalis,

Swee Waxbill, Sombre Greenbul, African Firefinch, Blacksmith Lapwing, Yellow-fronted Canary, Little Swift, African Black Swift, Southern Boubou, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Red-throated Wryneck, African Harrier-Hawk,

Speckled Mousebird, Black-headed Oriole, Pied Crow, Black Sparrowhawk, Jackal Buzzard, Grey Crowned Crane, Common Moorhen, African Sacred Ibis, Little Grebe, Red-knobbed Coot, South African Shelduck, House Sparrow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Common Fiscal, Common Waxbill, African Stonechat,

Fan-tailed Widowbird, Hamerkop, Reed Cormorant, Cape Wagtail, Cape Crow, White-breasted Cormorant, Cape Glossy Starling, Long-crested Eagle, Egyptian Goose, Spur-winged Goose, Yellow-billed Kite, Black-headed Heron,

Pin-tailed Whydah, Cape Canary, Cape Sparrow, Village Weaver, Cape Robin-Chat, Drakensberg Prinia, Levaillant’s Cisticola, Bokmakierie, Cape Longclaw, Red-necked Spurfowl, Cape Turtle-Dove, Red-eyed Dove, Hadeda Ibis, African Rail, Olive Thrush.

In the Elandshoek pentad I saw a Secretarybird between Kia Ora and Boston View and hope that they will breed this year in the area that Rob Geldart had pointed out to me.

The list for Elandshoek pentad 2935_300: African Harrier-Hawk, Red-throated Wryneck, Red-billed Quelea, Giant Kingfisher, Black-headed Oriole, Dark-capped Bulbul, Southern Black Tit,

Southern Red Bishop, Red-knobbed Coot, Black Sparrowhawk, African Pipit, Red-capped Lark, Fan-tailed Widowbird, White-breasted Cormorant, Hamerkop, Yellow-billed Kite, Cape Glossy Starling, Pied Starling, Speckled Pigeon, Amethyst Sunbird, Wattled Crane, Sombre Greenbul, Cape White-eye, Cape Batis, Common Waxbill, African Stonechat, Bokmakierie, Malachite Kingfisher, Little Grebe, Three-banded Plover,

Spur-winged Goose, Yellow-billed Duck, Reed Cormorant, Jackal Buzzard, Brown-throated Martin, Cape Wagtail, Common Fiscal, Cape Crow, Pin-tailed Whydah, Cape Canary, Levaillant’s Cisticola, African Rail, Cape Longclaw, Speckled Mousebird, Egyptian Goose, South African Shelduck, Olive Thrush, Blacksmith Lapwing, Grey Crowned Crane, Village Weaver, Cape Robin-Chat, African Dusky Flycatcher, Cape Sparrow, Hadeda Ibis, Drakensberg Prinia, Fork-tailed Drongo, Cape Turtle-Dove, Red-eyed Dove, African Sacred Ibis, Red-necked Spurfowl, Helmeted Guineafowl, Southern Boubou.

David Clulow, while visiting Boston on 11 August:
Between 10 am and 11 am overlooking Melrose dam

African Fish-Eagle circling overhead; Egyptian Geese; Huge flock of flying yellow-billed Ducks; Spurwing Geese; lots of African Shelduck on water; Little Grebe; Reed Cormorant; Common Moorhen; White-breasted Cormorant; Blacksmith Lapwing; Sacred Ibis; African Stonechat; Common Fiscal; African Darter.

On leaving the dam: Brown-throated Martin; Yellow-billed Kite; many Pied Crows; Cape Crows; Jackal Buzzard; Cape Turtle-Dove; Hadedah Ibis; and in garden at “The Willows”: many Village Weavers; Cape Sparrow; House Sparrow; Cape Weaver; Red-billed Quelea; in silage pit -Helmetted Guineafowl.

Driving by “Kampoko”:

Three Grey Crowned Cranes feeding near R617

Question for Bostonians and well-wishers of Impendle Nature Reserve:

What will the plans for Smithfield dam, downstream the uMkomaas river from the R617, in the old Deepdale valley; and the Impendle dam upstream from the R617 have as an impact on these two places?