Zandvlei Trust

Spring Festival  – Thursday 22 September

About 25 members and friends attended presentations by Dr Alan Boyd (Marine and Coastal Management) and Doug Harebottle (Avian Demographic Unit at the University of Cape Town).

Alan Boyd discussing the latest research projects in Estuary Management along the Southern African coastline.

Alan went through some diagrams in his presentation to show us how in the last 50 years due to building, farming developments, human population growth and other impacts have effected the 250 odd estuaries along the South African coastline. It is complex and there is not one simple solution to answer the problems.
He explained there are 6 different working model studies of estuaries which are to develop management methodologies and practises to be applied in future by the governing municipal authorities along the South African coastline. This will become a legal requirement once these working sample estuaries have produced the models.

He also showed us some very recent results of an economic study done at the Margate Kongweni estuary, KZN. People surveyed valued the presence of the estuary and its good water quality, more than the blue flag status of its beach. This was an interesting finding.

Something we all found encouraging to know is that estuaries are dynamic – ever changing, infinitely adaptable to weather patterns and cycles and a whole host of other influences including removal of pollutants suspended in the water.

 Alan suggested that the proclaimation of the area around Zandvlei as a protected natural area is an  important component for its longterm viability and well being. This is currently in a legal process of proclaimation by the Provincial and City authorities.

Doug Harebottle shared some of his findings at the Zandvlei Nature Reserve.

Doug has being ringing birds for 5 years at the Nature Reserve on a monthly basis. He has ringed over 1200 birds so far. 
He started off explaining why birds are rung and continued on with many examples of what information can be gained by retrapping the same bird, especially if it was ringed soon after it was fledged. The Sedge Warblers migrate to the central parts of Africa for our winter and return here in the summer months. These birds move some distance and return to Zandvlei annually. He has not had too many expamples of other birds moving between Rondevlei, Strandfontein and Zandvlei and explains that no one is presently ringing at Strandfontein. It is not known if birds move there or not.
 
What is interesting when ringing birds is the information that can be gleened from the birds when they are in the hand. The feathers are all replaced annually and usually after the breeding season. The condition, the length of the primary feathers all tell a story of the health, age and conditon of the bird. Parasites are looked for as well. This all takes training and experience. 18 months of training is a minimum considered before a bird ringer is independent to establish his or her own ringing sites. More ringers are needed as Doug illustrated there are so many gaps where information is not recorded.

It became apparent that Dougs work can be incorporated into ZIMP (Zandvlei Inventory and Monitoring Programme) and should show some interesting and complementory information in the future.

If you are interested in helping him his contact information is below. Also what if you see a dead bird with a ring on its leg, please note the details of the bird and ring, place, date and time found and report the information;

SAFRING, 
University of Cape Town,
Rondebosch, 7701.
ph  (021) 650 2421/2
fax (021) 650 3434
email safring@adu.uct.ac.za

Come and help Doug Harebottle, at the Nature Reserve on the last Saturday of the month, in the morning.

Phone:   (021) 650-2330
Fax:       (021) 650-3434
Cell:       082 408 5004
E-mail:   doug@adu.uct.ac.za 

For more information see the ringing data.