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Newsletter |
June 2002 |
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From the Hide |
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There is a film of water
almost right up to the hide at the time of writing, and
every morning just before sunrise, I see Pelicans standing
ankle deep in this water, surrounded by hundreds of Kelp
(Cape) Gulls who have roosted there overnight. In summer,
when the pan is dry, the number of Gulls roosting rises to
over 1500, and I often wonder where these birds go once the
pan is full of water. A visit later in the day usually
produces the Lanner Falcon, who likes to use the dead trees
or boardwalk rails as a perch. |
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The Flamingo flock is more than 100 strong and seems to
divide its time between the south lake and the back pan. We
are fortunate to have both Greater and Lesser Flamingos in
one flock - most years we only see Greater Flamingos at
Rietvlei. I've watched this flock flying often over the past
weeks and been thrilled, even though they're usually flying
as they are being harassed by light planes and helicopters! |
I had the unusual pleasure of watching one of our Fish
Eagles flying across the South Lake with a fish firmly
clasped in its feet - while I was driving from Table View to
Milnerton on the R27 recently! I often see the Fish Eagles
while driving on this road, as I know where they hunt from,
so if you would like to see them, follow these directions.
If you are driving towards Milnerton, pull off into the
yellow line just past the point of the peninsula, which
divides the North and South Lakes. Look across to the right
hand side of the peninsula into the trees and look fairly
high up near the top. The Eagles sit there between fishing
forays across the lake. Please don't do as I do, which is a
quick two-second glance as I'm driving! This could be
extremely hazardous, especially if there are vehicles right
in front of or behind you! I am not guaranteeing you will
see them, as they don't sit there all day, but I've been
lucky most days from about 11a.m. onwards. Seeing one
carrying a fish was a real thrill, even though I couldn't
stop as the traffic was heavy. Not quite what one expects to
see from a busy roadway.
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Did you know that the
Friends of Rietvlei are represented on the following
Committees? |
Rietvlei Management Group
Blouvlei Environmental Committee
Potsdam Group
Parklands Environmental Liaison Committee
Big Bay Liaison Committee
Milnerton Race Course Development Environmental Committee
Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area |
While the above are ongoing Committees with monthly
meetings, we also attend Public Meetings concerning any new
developments in our area which may affect Rietvlei, and
register ourselves as Interested and Affected Parties (IAP's).
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Louis Raubenheimer's
Alien Vegetation Removal Report for June 2002 |
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We are making progress clearing Rietvlei. As advertised, a
hack was held in Rietvlei on Saturday morning 27 April.
Although poorly attended, it turned out to be a rather
successful morning. While Nelis Visagie tended to the area
where shrubs were planted last year, Kees de Jongh and I
cleared the area between the model aircraft field and the
robot at Sunset Beach. Hundreds of small Port Jacksons were
pulled, also in the road reserve along the fence. And that
within one and a half hours! |
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On 27 January I pulled 428 small Port Jacksons within a
hundred meter radius from the gate leading to the model
aircraft field. On 13 April I repeated the exercise in the
same area and removed 350 more small plants. Another
follow-up is needed again. This area still has not
stabilised. |
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On Tuesday 12 February a worker and I spent three hours
halfway between Sunset Beach and Dolphin Beach in an area I
somehow missed last year. We removed a number of fairly
large Port Jacksons and three large Manatoka, which we
treated with herbicide. I am happy to report that the
Manatoka all died. On Saturday 20 April the same worker
spent the whole day removing more Port Jacksons from the
same area. And on 23 May I used two workers from my
Municipal team for three hours to take out some more large
trees in this area. Which all goes to show how important
immediate follow-ups are. Cleaning the same area last year
would have been much simpler and quicker. |
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We have now also started on the east side of Rietvlei. A
team of five highly motivated workers has been making great
strides in clearing certain areas.
While clearing along an artificially dug ditch, we
discovered a lot of water lettuce in the water, as well as a
whole area covered with young sour prickly pear (Opuntia
monacantha, previously known as O. vulgaris). The water
lettuce was removed but the prickly pear still has to be
attended to.
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| This newsletter comes to you with the kind
assistance of Caltex. |
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