Cederberg Microcosmos

There are just too many great photos to put in one blog

Its the little things... that really matter

ZSSA 2013

The Zoological Society of Southern Africa held its 2013 annual symposium at Tshipise, in the far north-east of South Africa… just shy of the Zimbabwean border and close to the top end of the magnificent Kruger National Park.  A UKZN contingent of 16 students set out at 4am to reach Tshipise after an 11 hour roadtrip.

what... no blue dotted line at the tropic of capricorn?  ... but its on every map

who filled out the registration form?

UKZN campsite

The Zoological Society symposium was hosted by the University of Venda and University of Limpopo, they revealed a wide range of topics and studies, with a particularly large proportion of student presentations this year.  On the third day I presented the results of the first year of Camera-trap nest data. Seemed to go well.

Certainly the highlights were to see some familiar faces including Prof. Ara Manadjem’s plenary talk on the fate of Africa’s Vultures (not good news by the way).  Prof Colleen Downs also presented a plenary talk, covering the ins and outs of physiology, and ecology of the Epaulatted fruit bat. Also of particular interest and relevance was the plenary talk by Dr. Franz Holker on the loss of the night.  How artificial light, especially urban light domes, have a dramatic effect on the biosphere.  This was relevant for two reasons; a) the Durban crowned eagles will likely be influenced by the urban light dome in some way, and b) way out at Tshipise, once the moon set in the early hours of the night, the milky way was so spectacularly smeared across the inky sky (funny how you realize just how fortunate being a kiwi is in a world of light pollution).

In between relevant talks, I would sneak out for an hour at a time and go hunting (with camera) on the Tshipise grounds.  The neighboring koppie was a magnet for soaring raptors, while the aloe gardens on the grounds attracted plenty of birds and butterflies. The resort grounds also home to two large businesses’ of banded mongoose, and these characters provided endless entertainment particularly when twice I watched drawn-out territorial disputes, where front lines were drawn within clouds of dust, behind which the trouble would lay their scent markings on the boarderlands.

Marico Sunbird

Common Orange Tip

Golden Piper

Bearded Scrub-Robin

A business of Banded Mongoose

Aprils Insects

I hadn't, until very recently, appreciated the vibrancy and diversity of bees and wasps that rivals the glamour of the butterflies that have recently been highlighted on the blog.

It all came about while inspecting the emerging autumn blooms of one particular Dune Soapberry.  I camped out here for a few hours and while initially I was struck by the number of blue butterflies and others stopping by it was soon apparent that wasps had much more of a fancy for the nectar and pollen this tree provides. 

And then, yesterday, I spent the day at Cumberland Nature Reserve, I was invited to tag along with the Witteveen family for a picnic and to make a plan with the landowner about revitalising a regular bird ringing station here.  We couldnt have planned a better day, one of the classic winter days, the air was cool and calm, the sun beating down onto the canopy of paper-bark acacias that cast beautiful shadows among the picnic area.  A zebra and foal loafed around just off to the side while we ate and enjoyed the lazy pace of the day.

While the bird list was just reasonable with 33 species, there were some interesting species that could be had in future ringing weekends: groundscraper thrush, golden-breasted bunting, and grassbird to name a handful of my picks.  Also there seemed to be a guarentee of long-crested eagles as they nest on an approaching tree, while it was interesting to see black-breasted snake-eagle there too.

By infact, my attention was forever drawn to the butterflies… yup, its been a recent focus of mine, and the new Canon sx50 is getting tested on its macro and short focal distance capacity. Pretty pleased with the results.

brown-veined white

bush brown

caterpillar of african monarch

african monarch

maybe speckled red acrea

maybe a dotted border

To finish off a trilogy of greebly interests, and to wrap up the most recent blogging emphasis on entomological critters, here are a few more dragons, and my first pictures of damsels.  All taken at one lilypopnd in Plett last week.

Fynbos Flora

There have been two occasions to explore the fynbos around Plettenberg in the last few weeks.  The first was coastal fynbos and the second being at the Groot River Pass in the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park.

The fynbos is a world renown biome - the Cape Floristic Region - that comprises a stunning diversity of 9,000 species of flowering plants, two thirds of which are endemic. [more detail] 

The coastal fynbos on the Robberg coastline.... 13 April 2013

On the 14th April further inland at the Groot River Pass, the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park...

Revisiting the Groot River Pass area on a wet morning on the 4th of May, and then fortunately a dry morning the following day...