What happened at Dunefields?
We are in the process of preparing for stack burns to be implemented. These burns are a means to get rid of the dried branches from the alien clearing that was done previously. To implement these burns we require a burning permit from the Fire Department. Here they did a site visit where we discussed the methods of preparation of these stacks, and making it safe around the stacks to prevent a runaway fire
CapeNature officials did a site visit to discuss future research projects that we can collaborate with that will be of value at a regional and national scale. They were pleasantly surprised with the near pristine state of the nature reserve. They have highlighted the importance of this threatened ecosystem and will provide us with support were needed in the future. Collaboration with our regional conservation entity is important in ensuring conservation projects and outcomes fall within national governmental objectives, and knowledge can be exchanged. Projects of importance include, monitoring of species diversity, monitoring of rare and endangered plants and animals, annual bird species surveys, alien plant identification and removal, to name a few.
To refresh our knowledge on the stabilization techniques of an array of wild animal species, we did an accredited Wildlife Rehabilitation Course. Here we learned about identifying different injuries in different animal species, and how to stabilize these animals. We practised to inject, tube and bandage animals (cadavers) to ensure that we are equipped with the necessary first aid procedures. The biggest take home message is that stress is the number one factor that can cause an animal to die when rescued and stabilized, hence when saving an animal, one must always be conscious of minimizing stress to the animal.
Public engagements are a large part of our role as conservationists. These engagements allow us to not only educate but also to raise awareness, in this case about seabirds. Zanri spent a day at the Seabird and Penguin Rehabilitation Centre to educate the staff and volunteers on the life of gannets both at sea and at a gannet colony which aided an understanding of how to better care for gannets in rehabilitation.
Whether we are at work or on leave, we find the greatest pleasure in rescuing animals in need. This tern was taken straight to the nearest veterinary clinic as it was showing signs of avian influenza. This is a notifiable disease to be reported to a state veterinarian. Symptoms include a lack of fear for humans, weakness, milky eyes, eye twitching and other neurological symptoms. The disinfecting of your hands and clothes, transportation towels etc. are extremely important in preventing the spread of the disease.
After nearly a year of data collection, we have a great data set from which we are seeing some interesting trends. With the gannets being spatially constraint in the breeding season while caring for a dependent chick, the gannets are not observed at Dunefields in as high numbers (average number per survey) as when they are not breeding (March to September). With that said, so far we have observed gannets in our waters every month of the year which is indicative of the importance of our waters as a feeding ground for this Endangered seabird species.
We have received another penguin which we stabilized. As diagnosed through blood smears by Knysna Veterinary Clinic, this individual had contracted avian malaria which was transmitted by the House mosquito. We medicated the bird to treat the disease. Animal rescue and stabilization is an important aspect of conservation especially in the case of endangered wildlife such as the African penguin whose population were over 1 million breeding pairs in the 1900’s to just over 10 00 breeding pairs today, a drastic decline.
Five days after the abovementioned penguin was rescued, we stabilized another young individual. We are permitted First Responders for seabirds in our area, and we value our time spent assisting to nurse the birds back to health. The first five samples of caracal scat were collected for the scat analysis to be done. This analysis in our proposed Dunefields Laboratory will shed light on what caracal diet on this coast, on a fossilized vegetated sand dune, consists of.
Who Calls Dunfields Home?
Zanri was invited as the opening speaker of the Plettenberg Bay Marine Science Symposium. The audience consisted of the general public, avid birders, scientists and reserve managers who were all highly intrigued by the gannets at Dunefields. Zanri raised awareness on the seasonality of gannets in this area, and the importance of our waters as a feeding ground for both juvenile and adult gannets.
Tiaan attended the Garden Route Environmental Forum which is a meeting for scientists, land managers, government bodies and people with an interest in the conservation of the Garden Route. Here we were addressed by the minister of environment expressing her support for the greater conservation of the Garden Route, one of South Africa’s greenest environments where people can live sustainably in a still relatively intact natural environment. Conservation actions that were addressed were habitat loss through urbanisation, restoration of degraded land, alien invasive plants clearing and protection of biodiversity all of which aligns well with what we are doing at Dunefields. The conservation projects developed at Dunefields and the execution of these projects will have immense benefits for conservation in the Garden Route and set a bench mark for other landowners what is possible in conserving an important coastal ecosystem.
The Dunefields residents have been expanded with seven chicken chicks in addition to our current two hens. The chicks have been voice-trained which eases the daily management of these birds to follow us on command. We have also provided them with lots of stimulation through the means of perches and food of different types. They also enjoy sleeping under the feather dusters that mimic the hen keeping them warm at night.
Dunefields got its own game viewing vehicle an army jeep. We are extremely excited about the new wheels to explore the reserve especially for night drives to monitor our nocturnal animal such as bushpig, genets, owls, cats and nightjars.
Who Calls Dunefields Home?
A carpenter bee pollinating a September bush (Polygala myrtifolia). These bees do not live in colonies such as our honeybees and do not produce honey. Instead they nest in rotten wood and can bite into wood to create cavities, hence it got the name carpenter bee.
This is a common bird that we see feeding between tall grass and on the sandy roads of Dunefields. Guess what this animal is with such interesting colour formation, and find the answer at the end of the report.
The Cobra lily (Chasmanthi aethiopica) is a fynbos species that flowers in winter and grows under the canopy cover of other plants. Ecologically, it is beneficial that some plants flower in summer months, and other in winter or spring providing food to a variety of pollinators such as butterflies, bees or sunbirds throughout the year.
Discolorous heath (Erica discolor) is a medium sized fynbos shrub species and a rare sight at Dunefields standing out in the greenery with all the pink-tubed flowers. The shape of these flowers is generally indicative of which species can pollinate the shrub. These long-tubular flowers is mostly pollinated by butterflies having a long proboscis (butterfly tongue) and sunbirds that can access the nectar at the back of the flower with their long, thin bills and tongue.
Limestone snakethistle (Cullumia carliniodes) a small fynbos shrub species that is part of the daisy family (Asteraceae) which is evident from its daisy-like flowers. These flowers being more open than the abovementioned ericas, and providing more pollen than nectar is generally pollinated by insects such as bees and beetles that collect the pollen grains from the flower. Flat flowers allow these insects to land and sit on the flowers while they eat or collect the pollen, and then move to the other flowers whereby they get pollinated.
Dune koko tree (Maytenus procumbens) in fruit. Most of the subtropical dune thicket species are fruiting in winter providing much needed food to frugivorous and generalist birds such as the Sombre greenbul, Cape bulbul and Speckled mousebird to name a few, as well as some mammals such as the large spotted genet that can forage in the trees or bushpig that pick up fallen fruit from the ground.
Yellow-billed ducks that use the dam for resting and feeding. They are still very scared of humans and always fly away when we are nearing the dam. We are glad they utilize the dam and hope they become more at ease with our presence over time.
A rare sight at Dunefields was the occurrence of two western ospreys. This is a bird of prey that flies at great heights to locate their prey. They have very good eyesight and once their prey is located they will dive down and grab them with their sharp talons.
We had our first sighting of a Bryde’s whale passing along the Dunefields coastline. These whales are residents in South African waters, and do not migrate like Humpbacks and southern Right whales do. Seeing these whales is a rare sight as they are elusive and do not jump out of the water such as the other two aforementioned whales species do. Bryde’s whales feed at the bottom of the ocean and only surface when needed to breathe, making the tracking of these large beauties at sea very difficult as they can hold their breath for quite some time.