LATEST NEWS

BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA OWL AWARDS 2008
CITATION: FRIENDS OF NYLSVLEY AND NYL FLOODPLAIN (FoN)
published:19-06-08

The Friends of Nylslvey and the Nyl Floodplain (FoN) have been in existence for nearly eighteen years, helping to protect this important RAMSAR site. Their vision is to conserve the unique biodiversity of Nylsvley Nature Reserve and the Nyl Floodplain, and their objective is to encourage the cooperation of all the stakeholders to promote the conservation and sustainable utilisation of the entire floodplain and its catchment.

For a number of years, until fairly recently, the reserve fell off the radar of the provincial authority, and without the efforts of the Friends, in particular the late Herman Van Dijk and the staff, the reserve would have not been in the fine condition that it is now.

Through their fund-raising and physical efforts, the Friends have enabled the construction of two hides, the Sasol Dragonfly walkway, the replacement Jacana walkway, the Bittern Bridge , the rehabilitation of the campsite long drop toilets and a number of windmills and water points by Herman Van Dijk, and the enviro loo at Vogelfontein. The Friends and reserve staff work together on such projects.

The Friends support the staff at Nylsvley by providing an annual Christmas party and providing them with assistance when required. Since 1996 they have run nearly 90 nature courses, covering such diverse topics as birds, trees, stars, butterflies, arachnids and snakes. Thus they have kept this gem of a reserve in the public eye.

An Annual Woodland Bush Birds Census has been organised by Friends of Nylsvley carried out by some 80 volunteers and members since January 2000.

In addition, FoN scans for proposed developments in the catchment area, and registers as interested and affected persons in order to help ensure that all future development in the catchment area adheres to the proper permission and assessment processes.

Their view is that the Nylsvley catchment has high importance as a conservation area, especially for birds because of its character as a RAMSAR site, and that the reserve itself should be used for education, tourism and research.

FoN should be considered for an Owl Award, because of their inestimable contribution to the welfare and viability of this important area, and their ongoing and unstinting efforts to preserve the habitats and the birds.

Dear Friends, 24-05-08

Nylsvley is again in 'Cinderella mode'. Nomcebo has not yet been replaced as Reserve Manager, the promise was that the appointment would commence on 1 June. Nomcebo sounded very pleased with herself when I phoned a few days after the birth of her second son on 7 May but we have since heard that he died on 22 May, we send our condolences to the family. We welcome Josias the new intern at Nylsvley and wish him well during his time with us.

The reserve staff are still awaiting help to start the Firebreaks which normally get attended to at this time of the year. Diesel has been delivered which is a good start.

We understand that the water levels are dropping but that there are still plenty of waterbirds around.

Just after we had been at Mosdene, Allan Salkinder sent some graphic pics of a snake eating a buck, that story I will use in the news letter. The snake apparently lives near we were working!! The attached pic of the severely injured rhino happened a day or two after our visit. It was a young bull that entangled with the alpha male who apparently has quite a reputation this was his 5 th victim and third since he has been on Mosdene!!! Allan says to note the power of the animal to have shattered the leg bone like that!!

The AGM at Pretoria Zoo went off very well. Good discussions were held, one of them being on how we should celebrate our tenth Woodland Bird Census at the end of January next year!!! We thank all our committee members who were re-elected, welcome Roger Ford and look forward to his input into our project.

We welcome these new Friends and their families: Isabel Benninghoff, James and Joan McLuskie, George and Lorraine Rowe, and Russell Smith we hope you will enjoy helping us to do the necessary to ensure that Nylslvey survives. We thank all our Friends who have so enthusiastically renewed their membership; your cards etc have been posted.

Upcoming events : Saturday 19 July in at Irene Homes in Irene a one day Beginner's Bird course using waterbirds as examples. R100 per person, bring your binoc's, bird guide and lunch, teas will be served. 09h00 for 09h30 until about 16h30.

25-27 July work party at Ezemvelo Nature Reserve.

Friday 8 -Sunday 10 August camp at Mosdene Private Nature Reserve.

Saturday 25 October at Nylsvley ‘Birding by Ear', R400 with all meals overnight accommodation and calls CD.

May 22 was International Day for Biological diversity; do you suppose it has any significance that Jan Christian Smuts who seems to be the first person who explained the intricacies that all living creatures have with one another and called it ‘Holism' was born on 24 May in 1870? World Environment Day is 5 June: The theme this year is: “Kick the habit” encouraging all of us to de-carbon our lives, by aiming towards a low carbon usage economy. See the latest ‘Femina' magazine for some helpful hints.

The Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. Seattle, Chief of the Suquamish, 1790-1866 . The office will be closed from Monday 28 May until Monday 9 June while we are on a tour of Namibia ! God Bless, keep well.

We had a most successful Woodland Bird Census over the weekend 1-3 February. The weather was kind to us but the good rains did mean some of the teams sloshed through water at times and one got seriously stuck in mud in his Landy!!!! The overall count was higher then in previous years, but the species count stayed on average at 134 for the two hour session. Warwick 's report makes interesting reading and we wonder if the range of species identified is significant in terms of climate change. We will only know the answer to that in a few years time. As well as 3649 birds counted, many bullfroglets were seen close to the floodplain. If anyone would like to read the full report and spread sheets please just ask.

The annual Co-ordinated Waterbird Count (CWAC) was carried out at Nylsvley 2 weeks before the Woodland census. Nearly 5200 birds were counted, 4200 being Cattle Egrets coming in from the north to roost. Imagine the sight from the Kingfisher hide late in the afternoon? Another stunning sight was + 340 Black-crowned Night-Herons strangely enough departing in a northerly direction at the same time over a period of about one and a half hours.  Highlight of the day for Koos van Dyk, CWAC co-ordinator, was a pair of Dwarf Bitterns giving excellent views for a long time at the Dabchick hide at Vogelfontein. Another point of note was the nearly 60 African Black Ducks that we counted on that day. 159 Reed cormorants were present and more Comb Ducks than I can remember seeing. The water bird species count was 35.

The Raptors of the Bushveld course taking place on Saturday 1 March has received a good response, you are welcome to attend but all the hostel beds are accounted for!!!

On Sunday 17 February, a sister organisation, Friends of Ezemvelo will be hosting an outing to the curious cave at Ezemvelo Nature Reserve. Meet at reception at 08h00, the cost will be in the region of R40 per person payable at reception before the event. Bring a bite to eat and please book with Marion : 012 667 2183 or 083 455 1736.

Have you booked yet for the GPS course to be held in Irene on Saturday 29 March? After that the next date is over the long weekend in April Friday 25 to Monday 28 when we will be running a work party at Mosdene Private Nature Reserve. By then the water will have receded at bit and birding should be excellent.

Our neighbours at Dinonyane Lodge have made a special offer for Friends who might like to be around on the Bird Census weekend 1-3 February. It is R260 per person per night that includes dinner and breakfast/ lunch box, plus a 10% discount for pensioners. An additional offering is a regular 10% discount for card carrying Friends on Dinonyane's normal rates. This is very special and we hope lots of our Friends will treat themselves and take advantage of these special offers. Hentie Swart and team at Dinonyane are great Friends of Nylslvey and we do appreciate having comfortable accommodation nearby. Preparations are well on the way for the census, we look forward to a busy birding weekend. It has been raining at Nylsvley much like Gauteng , we expect wet conditions for the census plus possibly more water coming down from the Waterberg. The water birds are now well in evidence. Who is JP Nel? He /she made a deposit into our account on 2.1. 2008, but we do not have a JP Nel on our books???

The local paper carried the story that some R18 000.00 worth of goods were stolen from the stores/workshops at Nylsvley, I have no more details at present.

Names are coming in for the Raptors Course on Saturday March 1, Ulrich is an excellent trainer and we look forward to sharing his profound knowledge and to the guided walks with him that are part of the course.

With Lent just around the corner (starts Wednesday 6 February) may I suggest you give up using your tumble drier! Thus you will do a small penance AND help conservation. Tumble driers, ovens, geysers and heaters are the most extravagant users of power.

Friends of Nylsvley