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From the Hide |
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There is still very
little water in the pans at the time of writing, so we can
go straight to our very good news - the Council has approved
our Education Centre and we hope work will be able to begin
very soon with completion by the end of October. We are
studying the various quotes and meeting with our sponsors at
the moment and it is now time to turn to our members for
assistance. We will be in urgent need of a fundraiser to
help raise money for furnishing the interior of the Centre.
We need to purchase sufficient chairs, a desk or two, an
overhead projector, blinds and various other small items.
Gloria Wilson used to handle fundraising and held some very
successful play evenings amongst other functions and we
would like one of our members to take over this portfolio.
If you have a talent for organising such events, please
contact Nelis Visagie on 082 777 5708. Even if you are only
able to assist, any help would be greatly appreciated. |
Further news on the Education Centre will follow in each
subsequent newsletter.
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Evening Talks |
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We have two upcoming
talks planned and you might like to diarise the dates now. |
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September 25th 2003 - A talk and slide show by one of our
members, Ralfine Naegele. Ralfine travels extensively and
also hikes in various parts of the world, and will be
telling us about one of the countries she has hiked. |
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October 23rd 2003 - A talk by another member, Kirsten Louw,
on Bird Calls. Kirsten is a student at the Percy Fitzpatrick
Institute of Ornithology and will tell us how and why birds
sing. This promises to be a great evening so come along and
ask any questions you may have on birdsong. |
We will endeavour to get a newsletter out before each
evening talk, but in case we don't, please make a note of
the dates now. Times and Venue will still be 8p.m. at the
Milnerton Aquatic Clubhouse.
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Renewals |
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This will be the final newsletter for those who have not
renewed their membership. Please contact Margaret on
557-4990 if you need details on renewing. |
All new members should please remember that your membership
only entitles only yourself, if you have individual
membership, to free entry into Rietvlei. If you have family
membership, your direct family members such as spouse and
children will receive free entry. Your extended family
members are not included, and neither is parking inside the
Reserve. Friends of Rietvlei free entrance is a privilege
granted to us by the City Council and we need to take care
not to abuse it, or else we may lose it!
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Total Rainfall for
Rietvlei (mm) for 2000-2003 |
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We thought our members
might be interested in the following table, which shows just
how badly we are faring this year. Where there are blank
spaces, no data was available. |
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2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
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January |
- |
16 |
57.9 |
3.5 |
|
February |
- |
2 |
10 |
6 |
|
March |
- |
0 |
10.1 |
32.2 |
|
April |
5+ |
18.9 |
19.8+ |
10.9 |
|
May |
26.1 |
48.7 |
- |
22.2 |
|
June |
51.6 |
36.4 |
40.3+ |
13.1 |
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July |
46.1 |
175.7 |
69.5+ |
19.5 |
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August |
24.3 |
108.7 |
66.9 |
- |
|
September |
49.3+ |
61.5 |
19.5 |
- |
|
October |
5.3 |
31.2 |
33.7 |
- |
|
November |
8.8 |
22.5 |
13.2 |
- |
|
December |
2.5+ |
10.5 |
20.1 |
- |
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Sightings at Rietvlei |
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The recent waterbird
count on 11th July produced some good figures in spite of
dry conditions. 212 Whitebreasted Cormorants were counted as
well as 39 Spoonbills, 297 Redknobbed Coot, 54 Lesser
Flamingos, 92 Kittlitz Plovers and 2 Malachite Kingfishers.
A Cape Clawless Otter was seen in the Diep River just below
the Blaauwberg Rd. Bridge. |
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A new record has been found at Rietvlei - a Dusky Sunbird
has been present in the garden area behind the ablution
block for the past two weeks. These birds are found in arid
regions, and were last recorded in Cape Town 20 years ago,
also during a drought! |
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| This newsletter comes to you with the kind
assistance of Caltex. |
