The Bird Club walk on Thursday 5th April to Stanford will be led by Barbara Palmer
It will include walking along the footpath by the river, a visit to the hide and walking around the village.
Those wishing to join this enjoyable and interesting trip should meet at Fernkloof at 7. 00 a.m.
The walk should take between two and three hours.
Following the confusion that appears to dog our members regarding the starting times for meetings, Craig, last night, made a decision to simplify the matter. All monthly meetings will in future comply with the following times, irrespective of seasons:
6:00 pm. Arrive at the Fernkloof Hall for a pre-meeting get-together with a glass of wine, if so desired.
6:30 pm. The meeting will commence and will aim to finish at 7:30 pm, thereby giving members a chance to have supper, or whatever! More time will be allowed for the AGM, annual quiz and other special events.
Our guest speaker this evening will be Christine Hagen and she will speak “New Horizons for Penguin Conservation”
WE HAVE HAD A CANCELLATION FOR A COUPLE OR TWO SINGLE PEOPLE – IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE MAIL ME ASAP at pcsholmes@telkomsa.net
We have arranged for a special trip away and this is notice long in advance. This is due to the difficulty in getting accommodation and stringent reservation protocols by Cape Nature.
The itinerary is as follows:
May 7th Make our way to Calitzdorp and on to Redstone Hills where we will spend the next two nights. We will explore the farm and the area around the farm looking for the many species in the area. On our last visits we have managed to see over 70 species
May 9th We will leave Redstone Hills and make our way up the Swartberg Pass – at the top we will turn left and head off for Die Hel – a two hour drive part of which is a very steep and winding road down to Die Hel and our accommodation in the Cape Nature restored cottages.
We will spend the next two days exploring this amazing place – birding is difficult but I am sure we will have some good sightings.
As usual we will share accommodation and we will make sure that we have braais ready to cook on each evening. We will have catering teams to ensure that the evening meals have salads etc each evening. You would need to bring your own breakfast and lunches and of course drinks and meat for the braais.
The road down to Die Hel is a gravel road and it is recommended that vehicles with high clearances only use the pass. Having said that I have seen VW Golf’s in the valley but higher ground clearance would be clever.
The price of this trip is R1025.00 pp – or R256.25 per night – a bargain say I – BUT I do need a 50% deposit upon confirmation as I have to make payment to Cape Nature and Redstone Hills. If you are under 60 I am afraid the price will change as this is senior citizens rate. I will also need valid Wildcard numbers with the bookings please – no Wildcard means that there is a Conservation fee to be paid.
Bookings are on a first come first served basis.
Craig
Somerset West Bird Club planned to spend a morning at Rooisand on Saturday, the 17th. Sonja Peacey, who was leading the outing, thought it would be a good idea to ask someone from our Club to join them, and show them around, as it’s on our home territory. John Saunders, our ‘walks and talks man’, was asked, but he was going to be away stargazing. So we were invited to do the honours. We asked Mike Mac Naught to join us.
On the morning, it was blowing a gale in Vermont, but surprisingly, when we arrived at Rooisand, there was hardly any wind. We were joined by Sonja and 13 other members of their Club. The water level at the hide was even lower than when our Club visited Rooisand in early February. But birds were steadily picked up by the sharp eyed participants. Most of the ‘usual suspects’ were seen. On the way back from the hide we walked along the shore of the vlei, and steadily added new birds to the list, although the wind had now picked up. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the Cape Longclaws. However, the highlight of the morning was early in the walk, when we were fascinated by an interesting interaction between a Western Osprey and a Caspian Tern which was harassing it repeatedly, for whatever reason, right over our heads. We all enjoyed stunning views of this interaction.
We were also able to add a couple of new birds to our Challenge list.
So a good morning was enjoyed by all, several of the visitors not having been to Rooisand before. And our role in the outing was appreciated. A great example of cooperation between Bird Clubs in our region.
John and Sheelagh Bowman
Frank Hallet has sent me the following pictures taken at De Hoop
For the past several years the away outings, not to be confused with the Walks and Talks which are looked after by John Saunders, has been in my portfolio.
It is time for a change and for someone with fresh and bright ideas to take on this role and to join the committee.
The role includes the following functions:
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED AND FEEL UP TO THE ROLE AND ARE HAPPY TO JOIN THE COMMITTEE PLEASE CONTACT ME ON 0283132458
Craig
With more than 200 members, I am sure that there will be several volunteers for this important job! Ed.
Jill Eckstein took the following images whilst at De Hoop, but failed to identify them. I have taken the liberty of doing so. Ed.
It was easy to accumulate birds for the Challenge in months one and two, however, the strain is starting to tell and it is getting more and more difficult, if the numbers are anything to go by. Good news is that we have a new leader, the Lester and Cheryl van Groeningen team, who have 613 species worth 785 points, closely followed by Ronnie Hazell with 626 species worth 772 points. Then comes Ed Meyer with 411 birds worth 482 points, so there is some scope for catching up. Lets hope that the final two months see a rush for the finishing line!
The weather, though overcast, did not result in those who went to De Hoop being downcast. Spotting waders at De Hoop was part of the fun had by 16 of us. In total 111 species were counted.
Anne Philip
