Flowers and feathers: Vanrhynsdorp : 4 to 7 August 2024

We visited Botuin Cottages between 4 and 7 August to enjoy the spring flowers and do some birding and ringing. Flowers and feathers. It was also a test run to evaluate whether we should repeat the initiative next year, and on a larger scale! The answer was an unambiguous YES. Read on to understand why this was such an easy decision.

Plants

Namaqualand is famous for its carpets of spring flowers. The flower season averages August and September, but sometimes it is earlier or later, and sometimes it is much shorter than two months; it depends on the rainfall. The period we were there, 4 to 7 August, is usually early in the season, and that proved to be the case this year.

Salome Willemse, our hostess at Botuin, told us that the best displays were at the Maskam Guest Farm, and we ended up going there twice. We went back because it was so good the first time (and also because Dieter found a bird ringing site with real potential – see below).

Daisies, part of flowers and feathers — *White daisies stretching back to the Maskam Mountain*

flower display — *Orange and yellow daisies*

It is easy to focus solely on the panoramas of daisies. But there are equally big rewards for zooming in on individual plants. There’s a selection below!

Jakkalsblom - flower part of flowers and feathers

Dimorphotheca sinuata. Known as Namaqualand Daisy in English, and as Jakkalsblom in Afrikaans

Babiana curviscapa. Common names are Perde-uintjie and Bobbejaantjie. Endemic to Namaqualand

Beetle Daisy --- flower part of Flowers and Feathers

Gorteria diffusa. The common name is, appropriately, Beetle Daisy

Lapeirosia jaquinni

Mesembryanthemum spp.

Oxalis purpurea. Syringa purpurea

Dimorphotheca sinuata. Known as Namaqualand Daisy in English, and as Jakkalsblom in Afrikaans

Birds

Lots of bird species have the southern edges of their ranges near Vanrhynsdorp. The districts straddles a variety of bird habitats; there is a discussion about this here.

On this trip, our focus was not so much on making an overall list of the species we saw, but on getting photographs which were good enough for identification purposes, and uploading these to the BirdPix section of the Virtual Museum. Table 1 has a list of species for which we submitted records to BirdPix. If you can see a species for long enough to get a photograph, it must be a species which has a realistic chance of being seen by other visitors. At the end of Table 1 there are links to websites which give fairly comprehensive species lists for this area.

The Blue Cranes in the photo on top are near the edge of their range. During the first bird atlas project, which ended in 1991, Blue Cranes were rare vagrants this far north of Cape Town. The range has steadily extended northward, and this pair now breeds here.

Salome Willemse’s garden at Botuin is an oasis in the desert, and the birds grasp that. The common birds are here in abundance. The vagrants passing through find this garden a magnet.

It was in Botuin’s garden that Salome noticed that the Cape Bulbuls were steadily being replaced by African Red-eyed Bulbuls. African Hoopoes are regular visitors. There is a resident Namaqua Warbler. This European Golden Oriole would have snuck through the garden undetected on 30 June 2023, but it failed to detect a mistnet!

It was in Botuin’s garden that Salome noticed that the Cape Bulbuls were steadily being replaced by African Red-eyed Bulbuls. African Hoopoes are regular visitors. There is a resident Namaqua Warbler. This European Golden Oriole would have snuck through the garden undetected on 30 June 2023, but it failed to detect a mistnet!

Birders are notorious for seeking out the local sewage works, and especially so in arid areas. The Vanrhynsdorp sewage works never fails to be a pleasure for the eyes, and it is only mildly offensive to the nose.

Lesser Flamingo: feather part of Flowers and Feathers — There is usually an interesting variety of waterbirds on the series of pans at the sewage works. Among the species we saw were Lesser Flamingo, Maccoa Duck and Blue-billed Teal. The small reedbed in one of the pans has a breeding colony of weavers. The trees and shrubs in the sewage works area host many species of “bush birds”. Here an African Stonechat poses in front of the Maskam Mountain, more commonly known as Gifberg, Not many sewage works have a backdrop as impressive as this. We often do bird ringing here, putting mistnets up in the dark, long before dawn. Sunrise paints those sandstone cliffs with a kaleidoscope of colours.

There is usually an interesting variety of waterbirds on the series of pans at the sewage works. Among the species we saw were Lesser Flamingo, Maccoa Duck and Blue-billed Teal. The small reedbed in one of the pans has a breeding colony of weavers. The trees and shrubs in the sewage works area host many species of “bush birds”. Here an African Stonechat poses in front of the Maskam Mountain, more commonly known as Gifberg, Not many sewage works have a backdrop as impressive as this. We often do bird ringing here, putting mistnets up in the dark, long before dawn. Sunrise paints those sandstone cliffs with a kaleidoscope of colours.

Vanrhynsdorp sewage works : Flowers and feathers — *Except for flamingo on the left, perfect balance. Scenic sewage works*

Flowers and feathers : pan along Mauerskop road — This pan, along the Mauerskop Road is usually dry. After the winter rains it contained about 10 cm of water at the deepest, and about as many species of birds. Here are three, all actively feeding in the shallows along the edge of the pan: Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet and Cape Teal. The coordinates for this spot are 31.6491 S, 18.7815 E

This pan, along the Mauerskop Road is usually dry. After the winter rains it contained about 10 cm of water at the deepest, and about as many species of birds. Here are three, all actively feeding in the shallows along the edge of the pan: Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet and Cape Teal. The coordinates for this spot are 31.6491 S, 18.7815 E

Bird ringing

Dieter Oschadleus reports. “Ringing was limited to a few nets and spring traps and one ringer. Ringing was conducted at Botuin, Vanrhynsdorp sewage works and at a new site – Maskam Guest Farm. Only spring traps were used at the sewage works, although nets would have worked well becasue the weavers were breeding – one Cape Weaver nest contained newly hatched chicks (but too small to ring!). Of the 49 birds caught, eight had brood patches – four Cape Robin-chats, one each of Cape Sparrow, Cape Weaver, Southern Fiscal and Karoo Scrub Robin. So the breeding season is underway.

“At Maskam, a net was placed in front of an outbuilding that had a stock of old oats. Cape Weavers were flying in and out through the day, and thus 17 were caught – 14 adult males, two immature males and a breeding female. Mostly adult males were using this food source, so the catch seems representative of those visiting here. There were several colonies in thorny Prosopis trees scattered around a nearby dam.

“Table 2 below has a list of the species handled, and the numbers of each species.”

Cape Weavers in mistnet : flowers and feathers — *These Cape Weavers were gently intercepted in the mistnet. Through the door there is an infinite supply of oats, consumed by the birds with the owner’s approval*

Measuring the tail of a Laughing Dove. Botuin in Vanrhynsdorp is one of the locations at which we train bird ringers. For a list of future ringing courses, go to Upcoming BDI Events. Go to Links to Reports to read up about past bird ringing courses.

Botuin is also one of our long-term bird ringing sites. We are reaching the stage at which a fair proportion of the birds we catch are already ringed. These retraps will enable us to estimate survival rates of many species for which this information, crucial for understanding conservation priorities, is not available. We have written a blog on the value of bird ringing.

If you would like to be put on the list of people who will be the first to get news about the dates for the 2025 editions of “Flowers and Feathers” next spring, please send an email to chat@thebdi.org.

Thanks

Dieter Oschadleus wrote the section about bird ringing. Ancarene and Awie van der Westhuizen welcomed us to ring at Maskam Guest Farm. Jean Ramsay took the close up photos of the flowers. Salome Willemse identified the flowers. Thanks especially to Salome for the invitation, and for the amazing hospitality at Botuin Cottages.

Table 1. BirdPixing records for Vanrhynsdorp trip 4 to 7 August 2024

Sp no	Common name	Vanrhynsdorp QDGC (Maskam)	Botuin QDGC (includes sewage works)	Piketberg QDGC (Winkel- hoek on N7)
6	Little Grebe		Y
55	Black-headed Heron		Y
81	African Sacred Ibis		Y
84	Hadada	Y
87	Lesser Flamingo		Y
89	Egyptian Goose		Y
94	Cape Shoveler		Y
96	Yellow-billed Duck		Y
98	Cape Teal		Y
99	Blue-billed Teal		Y
103	Maccoa Duck		Y
123	Rock Kestrel	Y
152	Jackal Buzzard	Y
165	Pale Chanting Goshawk	Y
192	Helmeted Guineafowl		Y
210	Common Moorhen		Y
212	Red-knobbed Coot		Y
216	Blue Crane		Y
238	Three-banded Plover		Y
245	Blacksmith Lapwing		Y
269	Black-winged Stilt		Y
270	Pied Avocet		Y
311	Speckled Pigeon		Y
317	Laughing Dove		Y
318	Namaqua Dove		Y
391	White-backed Mousebird	Y
463	Large-billed Lark	Y	Y
522	Pied Crow	Y	Y
524	White-necked Raven		Y
544	African Red-eyed Bulbul	Y	Y
568	Capped Wheatear		Y	Y
572	Sickle-winged Chat	Y
576	African Stonechat	Y	Y
604	Lesser Swamp Warbler		Y
619	Rufous-eared Warbler		Y
665	Fiscal Flycatcher		Y
681	Cape Wagtail		Y
707	Southern Fiscal	Y
733	Common Starling	Y
735	Wattled Starling	Y	Y
745	Red-winged Starling			Y
746	Pied Starling	Y
784	House Sparrow		Y	Y
786	Cape Sparrow		Y	Y
799	Cape Weaver	Y	Y
803	Southern Masked Weaver	Y	Y	Y
808	Southern Red Bishop			Y
1104	Karoo Thrush	Y	Y
4134	Southern Black Korhaan		Y
	Number of species	18	38	6

For a list of the species recorded in the quarter degree grid cell into which the Maskam Guest Farm falls, technically called 3118DA, and find the full species list here. and that link contains a map of the area to which it refers. Botuin and the Vanrhynsdorp sewage works fall into grid cell 3118DB, with species list here. On the way to Vanrhynsdorp on 4 August, we stopped to get petrol on the N7 at Winkelhoek, Piketberg. We got photos of six bird species (final column of table above), and added them to the BirdPix section of the Virtual Museum.

Table 2. Ringing totals for Vanrhynsdorp trip 4 to 7 August 2024

Sp no	Common name	Botuin Cottages	Maskam Guest Farm	Vanrhynsdorp Sewage works	TOTALS
317	Laughing Dove	6			6
544	African Red-eyed Bulbul	2			2
581	Cape Robin-chat	2	2		4
583	Karoo Scrub Robin	2			2
658	Chestnut-vented Warbler	1			1
686	Cape Wagtail			1	1
707	Southern Fiscal	1		2	3
784	House Sparrow	2			2
786	Cape Sparrow	6			6
799	Cape Weaver	2	17		19
1104	Karoo Thrush	2	1		3
	TOTALS	26	20	3	49

Reports on previous bird ringing events are listed here, and it is easy to pick out those that refer to Botuin!