After returning from Port Elizabeth I had a couple of days out in the field following rockjumpers whilst Ruby stayed back at the house to allow her achilles to recover. Getting out to our observation sites is no easy task, the furthest of which is a 45 minute brisk walk through a valley and up some steep hills, constantly climbing over loose rocks which often slip away under your feet and leave you sat on your backside.
On Saturday I went out to Saimic with Alan and Krista and saw more lizards, a couple of birds of prey and even a Sangi (a little elephant shrew). It was a really cold morning but as soon as the sun came out it was blisteringly hot. I didn’t have much luck finding the rockjumpers but Alan and Krista did a great job of keeping track of them.
The view from Saimic
Sangi
Steppe Buzzard
Aranda Copper (we think) Butterfly
Gamma that was doing press ups
Gamma lookin’ good after his workout
Sunday 1 March 2015
On Sunday we had our first completely full day off to do what we wanted. We had fresh eggs from the resident chickens for breakfast, then we did some bird watching out the windows and got some snaps of birds getting breakfast in the bushes around the cottage.
Fiscal Shrike
Cape Bulbul
Cape Bunting
Speckled Mousebird
Cape Weaver
I picked a book off the shelf in the cottage called “Frontier Flames” by F.C. Metrowich. It was about the conflicts between European colonies and African communities in the 18th century. It also mentioned some early attempts to enforce a system of apartheid along the frontier between them. I didn’t get too far through the book though, because we decided it was time explore.
We took a walk along the 4×4 track beside the cottage into the nature reserve. We didn’t go too far but it was a gorgeous morning and we saw some new parts of the reserve just around the corner from where we’re staying.
The small stream in a valley by our cottage
Just round the corner
Checking out the view
Posers
Trying to identify some tracks in the path
Aardvark hole!
Trying to look inside
The house among the hills
Back home to the Baviaans Cottage
In the afternoon we checked emails, football scores and played with chutney before heading back to relax and do some more reading whilst it rained.
Being soppy
Watching Chutney reflect on life
Deep in thought
Distracted
Playtime!
It was lovely to have such a relaxed day to unwind and try to let it settle in just where we are. Even though it has been great fun being busy and out on the reserve most of the time it hasn’t quite sunk in that we are on the other side of the world from home yet. But we are having an amazing time in an amazing place. And we’ll be coming back with some incredible stories and experiences.
On Monday we packed our bags and took a road trip with Alan and Krista to Port Elizabeth on the south coast of South Africa. The views all along the journey were fantastic as we travelled east through the Langkloof valley. We stopped along Route 62 at a place called “The Sweaty Dutchman” to try their pancakes. Filled with curried chicken breast and bacon, with a side of small potato wedges and sweet chilli sauce, and a sweet apple sauce to top it off. Amazing.
We jumped back in the 4×4 and got on the motorway. before long we were cruising past Jeffrey’s Bay, and soon we arrived at Port Elizabeth itself. It is a gorgeous city and when we arrived it was sparkling in the afternoon sun. We rode along the coastline until we found the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Once there, we met one of Krista’s supervisors, Ben, and attended his lecture on the drinking behaviours of birds in the Kalahari desert. It was interesting to learn how they studied which birds were drinking from an artificial water source by doping the water source with deuterium, and subsequently measuring the relative concentrations of normal and heavy water in the birds bloodstream.
Pitching up at Falcon Rock
Me, Ruby and Alan then headed just outside of Port Elizabeth to the Falcon Rock Trading Post camp site. It was very remote and situated at the bottom of a mountain, with signs such as “May Peace Prevail on Earth” dotted around. We were instantly greeted by the resident dogs who roamed the camp site freely and were always looking for a fuss and some food. It was a very welcoming place. We pitched up, started a fire, cooked some wors (sausages) and made hot dogs (I have since learned that in South Africa this is known as a “braai” rather than a barbecue). It soon became apparent that we were the only guests at the site that night, so we turned in and got an early night ready for the following morning…
Tuesday 24th February 2015
We got up early, and left the camp site at 5am to make our way to the nearby Van Staden’s nature reserve before sunrise to set up the bird ringing nets in the rain. We were met there by Ben, and two other students called Jerry and Nick. Ruby has done a lot of ringing back in England but I’ve never seen it before, and it’s pretty impressive. Huge nets which have bag-like compartments are set up along a pathway, and unsuspecting birds fly into them and get caught. The birds are then extracted from the nets (by someone who knows what they’re doing) and taken to the ringing station, where other people (who know what they’re doing) weigh and measure the birds in all kinds of ways, check for problems and then test a few behaviours, such as whether they’re keen to bite a nearby finger.
Ringing in the rain!
As someone who didn’t know how to handle the birds, I had a clipboard and jotted down all the information for each bird. Each bird then has a small metal ring attached to their leg which the unique number, so that the specific bird can be identified if it is ever caught again, and his developments can be studied. We also put colourful rings on male Cape Sugarbirds so that Jerry can identify individuals with a camera for his study on the species in the coming months.
We caught loads of other colourful species, such as various sunbirds, a canary, and an emerald spotted wood dove (which Alan got particularly excited about). I also had a quick go at holding a young Malachite Sunbird, but they’re so tiny and fragile that I was terrified of hurting it, so I soon gave it back to Ruby.
Greater Double Collared Sunbird
Holding a Malachite Sunbird and looking very uncomfortable
A King Protea
Some fiery looking dude
We grabbed some bunny chow (a hollowed out end of a loaf of bread filled with curry and potatoes) on the way back to Falcon Rock and setted down for a relaxed evening, ready to do it all again the next day.
Wednesday 25th February 2015
Up ridiculously early again, and we were greeted by a very large rain spider on our tent door. We were a bit wary of it because the thing was gigantic, but we were later assured they are completely harmless. Except that they could probably swallow you whole. I was glad to get away from that tent for a bit.
We arrived at Van Staden’s before sunrise again and nets were set up. We were met by the same gang as yesterday, along with Krista. We caught some more really cool birds, including some more canaries, a common fiscal shrike that was keen to tear peoples’ fingers off and a paradise flycatcher.
Paradise Flycatcher
Bully Canary
The ringing station
Greater DC Sunbird
Rain Spider
At lunchtime we went to pack up our tents, say goodbye to the rain spider and start the journey back to Blue Hill. We stopped at the Jeffrey’s Bay Mall, picked up some bits and pieces and tried some sushi. When we got back to Blue Hill we were greeted by a very excited Chutney and some baboon poo smeared on the wall outside our cottage. I’m not even sure how they managed it. It was pretty high up. Very impressive. But we were tired. And we soon crashed and got a good night’s sleep.
We have been living at Blue Hill for over a week now and it is a fantastic experience. The scenery is beautiful, the people who live here are amazing and we have a little critter who keeps us company whenever we have free time. The sky at night is absolutely breathtaking too, I have never seen the Milky Way appear so clearly across the sky.
Chutney waiting for us at the cottage
Keeping a look out for predators
Baboon poo!
Hanging with Chutters
Cuddling with Chuts
Walking with ma Chutney
Every other day we go out and help Alan and Krista with their research project into the behaviours of Cape Rockjumpers. We usually get up around 4am and leave at 5. The ride to each location is bumpy in the back of the 4×4, and then we have to trek up the rocky hills to our observation locations before sunrise. I still find it nearly impossible to find the birds, they are tiny and cover a large area with plenty of places to hide, and we have to watch from quite a distance. Once we have one in the telescope I’m not too bad at tracking them though.
Usually I am on data collecting duty, we have a small laptop with a built in solar panel which we record the weather, location and behaviour of the birds on every 5 minutes. I’m far better at that than finding the birds. But having the others there means I have seen a hell of a lot more of the birds than I ever would have done on my own. And it is fascinating to follow their behaviour.
Alan easily picking out a bird. I still have no idea where it was.
My new office!
View on the way home on Friday
It is hard working such long days but definitely worth it, we have seen so much wildlife that would be incredibly hard to find for a tourist visiting the area. I definitely feel like we are getting a richer experience because we are volunteering, we spend a lot of time in incredibly remote places on the reserve and always have Alan and Krista to ask questions if we see something we’re not sure of. I am yet to see anyone else out and about on our travels around the reserve, there are no sounds from cars or aircraft from anywhere nearby, it is really relaxing when we are out in the hills. The only thing we can hear is the rush of the wind and the calls of the animals.
We also see a lot of wildlife just around our cottage and the house without having to venture out further into the reserve. We have had baboons roll past, there are always birds hopping around the bushes outside our windows and there have also been some leopard tracks seen down the road today. The leopards are incredibly rare (and the remaining ones are the target of disgruntled farmers trying to protect their livestock so they do their best to avoid human contact) so it’s very unlikely that we’ll see one, but I’ve got my fingers crossed we will catch a glimpse.
I actually have access to my emails and facebook now and I’m checking them every day or two, so I am contactable. We still don’t have a phone though. I’ll be keeping an eye on the score on Sunday too. Come on you Spurs!
We made it! Flying into Cape Town on Tuesday morning gave us jaw-dropping views of the Cape mountains. And our flight from Cape Town to George was just as incredible, following the south coast along the Western Cape. We were met at George airport by Alan Lee, our host at Blue Hill Escape. Along the two hour drive to the nature reserve where we are staying he pointed out a range of wildlife, from Springbok to Ostriches. We also got to watch the sun set over the mountains as we got closer to our destination.
Flying over Europe
Sunset
Cape Town Airport
Our little plane to George!
Lift-off over Cape Town
Cruising over the sea
A view from our flight to George
Our first African wildlife encounter – a Dassie stuck in a crisp packet on the side of the road
We are staying at the Blue Hill nature reserve, a beautiful area in the fynbos region of South Africa. We are staying in a small cottage with no electricity, but plenty of other things to keep us entertained. This morning we have seen several species of bird around the cottage, as well as a troop of baboons passing by (until Ruby scared them away). We also took a small walk and came across what we believed to be african wildcat and kudu tracks within a couple of hundred yards from our front door.
Our Blue Hill home 🙂
We have already spent two days tracking Cape Rockjumpers from 6am to 6pm. It is very draining, especially in the heat (32 degrees in the shade on Wednesday), but we are getting used to it. It is also a great privilege to be involved in this research as we have already seen several species which are endemic to the fynbos region and we wouldn’t see anywhere else in the world. The amount of wildlife we have seen in just our first few days on the reserve is staggering.
We are staying on the reserve with Alan, his wife Anja, and their two children. As well as a student from Canada, Krista, who is helping with the research, and a Swiss volunteer babysitter called Sarafina. Alan’s parents also live on the reserve but are in Norway at the moment. They also have a resident and very tame meerkat called Chutney, who we are both already completely smitten by, despite his occasional biting.
Me waving the radio equipment around and finding nothing…
Lambey in Africa 