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| As the dry season sets in the 'autumn' colours begin. |
A busy month at the Soutpansberg Centre for Biodiversity and
Conservation. There were some significant sightings and developments for the
project.
The period saw the last days of summer and the beginning of
the cold nights of winter. This a beautiful time of year, the trees begin to
loose their leaves and before they drop them the leaves begin to change colour
and the result is a landscape washed in warm autumn colours.
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| European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) preparing to depart. |
This time year sees a spike in reptile observatons. As the
weather begins to cool, many reptiles are out basking. This month we saw a lot
of Mozambique Spitting Cobras.
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| Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica). One of the most commonly seen snakes in the area. |
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| Spotted Bush Snake (Philothamnus semivariegatus). Beautiful arboreal snakes. |
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| The Stripe-bellied Sand Snake, Psammophis subtaeniatus, this is the snake which is most often seen. |
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| Crested Guineafowls grow rather tame in the dry season. |
It is always exiting to add a new species to one of our
growing lists and this month saw two new mammals, a new bird and a new reptile.
For me the highlight of the month was seeing a Nile Crocodile, Crocodylus nilotica, for the first time
in the area. The animal was spotted in a large pool to the North of the
property. Unfortuanately I was not fast enough to get a picture. As soon as I
manage to photograph the animal it will be a good record for the Soutpansberg
and Greater Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. Another new species was the
White-breasted Cuckoo-Shrike, a good record for our bird list. In terms of
mammals we were lucky enough to get two new records this month. The first was
an African Wild Cat caught on Alan Carr’s camera trap. The second new mammal,
something that has been under our noses this whole time, was a Yellow-spotted
Hyrax. Every time I had seen this species in the past, and they are common, I
assumed that they were Rock Hyrax. That was foolish as they are quite different
looking.
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| South African Rock Python (Python natalensis). |
There were also some amazing sightings/encounters with
animals. Namely a porcupine sighting that was very unusual. These animals
usually leave the area at the slightest disturbance, but we had one that
allowed close approach before slowly moving off.
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| Damon variegatus, these arachnids are perfectly harmless and common in the area. |
As far as infrastructure at the Soutpansberg Centre for
Biodiversity and Conservation is concerned, we finally managed to get our solar
power system up and running. At the moment we are able to charge a computer for
data entry and also batteries. The system is modular, so as our needs grow, we
can grow the system to accommodate the needs.
As for conservation activities, there were some developments
in our nursery – finally I have managed to germinate Baobab seeds. All
horticultural activities are for conservation, be it selling trees for
fund-raising or planting trees out into the veld. The next month will see path
clearing for ecotourism taking place and also alien invasive clearing. The
illegal sand mining operation has begun its activities again and the fight to
stop them will have to continue, hopefully there will be some developments
soon.
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| Boaedon capensis, known as the Brown House Snake. This juvenile was consuming a gecko. |
Participant Report
Recent participant Melissa Petford from London recently visited the SCBC. The following is an account of her impressions of the programme.
"I was at the SCBC for three amazing weeks over March
and April 2015. The SCBC is located in a stunning area of the Soutpansberg next
to the sand river. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful and never ceases to
amaze; whether it be the picturesque mountains reflecting in the river with the
everlasting sunlight, or the Milky Way stretching between the mountain ranges
in the night-time sky.
The fauna and flora in the area are extremely diverse. You are guaranteed every day to see amazing things from the typical vibrant flat lizards basking in the sun, to the shiny dung beetles battling over the latest excrement. One of the most notable sightings of the three weeks was an amazing porcupine sighting at night; we were able to get to within 5m of the animal without disturbing it and it was a very rare and exciting view.
The day-to-day activities included biodiversity hikes and
setting up camera traps. Often we went on croc duty; one day we saw a crocodile
in the sand river but were unable to capture a photograph, therefore we
frequently went back to look for it. Croc duty involves walking along the train
track adjacent to the river, which often feels like a scene out of “The Railway
Children”, and hope that you catch a glimpse of a dark shadow under the water.
To sum up the SCBC offers a great opportunity to actively
learn about South African wildlife in a remote and picturesque area whilst also
allowing you to take part in the conservation efforts in the area which are
extremely important in the Soutpansberg region.
The trip has definitely been an amazing experience and I
hope to return soon. "
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| Namaqua Doves (Oena capensis) can occasionally be spotted in the dry area south of Medike. |
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| The familiar chat, Cercomela familiaris. Delightful little birds. |
Bird List
Natal Spurfowl; Crested Francolin; Crested Guineafowl;
Eqyptian Goose; African Black Duck; Golden-tailed Woodpecker; Bearded
Woodpecker; Black-collared Barbet; Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird; African Grey
Hornbill; African Hoopoe; Green Wood-hoopoe; Common Scimitarbill; Malachite
Kingfisher; Brown-hooded Kingfisher; Giant Kingfisher; Pied Kingfisher;
White-fronted Bee-eater; European Bee-eater; Red-faced Mousebird; Speckled
Mousebird; Red-chested Cuckoo; Burchell's Coucal; Alpine Swift; African Black
Swift; Little Swift; Purple-crested Turaco; Barn Owl; Cape Eagle Owl; African
Wood Owl; Fiery-necked Nightjar; Freckled Nightjar; Speckled Pigeon; Laughing
Dove; Red-eyed Dove; Emerald-spotted Wood-dove; Tambourine Dove; African Fish
Eagle; Cape Vulture; Brown Snake Eagle; Little Sparrowhawk; Black Sparrowhawk;
African Goshawk; African Harrier-Hawk; Verreaux's Eagle; African Hawk Eagle;
Rock Kestrel; Lanner Falcon; Goliath Heron; Grey Heron; Green-backed Heron;
Hammerkop; Hadeda Ibis; Black-headed Oriole; African Paradise Flycatcher;
Fork-tailed Drongo; Black-back Puffback; Southern Boubou; Tropical Boubou;
Orange-breasted Bushshrike; Gorgeous Bushshrike; Grey-headed Bushshrike; Retz's
Helmet-shrike; White-crowned Helmet-shrike; Cape Batis; Chinspot Batis; Pied
Crow; White-breasted Cuckooshrike; Southern Black Tit; Wire-tailed Swallow;
Barn Swallow; Rock Martin; Dark-capped Bulbul; Sombre Greenbul; Yellow-bellied
Greenbul; Long-billed Crombec; Cape White-eye; Rattling Cisticola;
Tawny-flanked Prinia; Bar-throated Apalis; Yellow-throated Apalis; Grey-backed
Cameroptera; Kurrichane Thrush; Ashy Flycatcher; Grey Tit-Flycatcher;
White-throated Robin-chat; Red-capped Robin-chat; White-browed Robin-chat;
White-browed Scrub-robin; Familiar Chat; Mocking Cliff-chat; Red-winged
Starling; Collared Sunbird; White-bellied Sunbird; Spectacled Weaver;
Red-billed Quelea; Swee Waxbill; Blue Waxbill; Red-billed Firefinch;
SouthernGrey-headed Sparrow; African Pied Wagtail; Yellow-fronted Canary;
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
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| African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp). Nice little birds. |
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| The huge Goliath Heron, Ardea goliath. |
Reptile List
Crocodylus niloticus Nile Crocodile
Afroedura broadleyi Flat Gecko
Chondrodactylus
turneri Turner’s Gecko
Hemidactylus mabouia Common Tropical House Gecko
Homopholis wahlbergii
Wahlberg’s Velvet Gecko
Lygodactylus capensis
capensis Common Dwarf Gecko
Smaug warreni
depressus Flat Dragon Lizard
Platysaurus relictus Soutpansberg Flat Lizard
Gerrhosaurus
flavigularis Yellow-throated
Plated Lizard
Afroablepharus
maculicollis Spotted-Necked
Snake-Eyed Skink
Mochlus sundevallii
sundevallii Sundevall’s
Writhing Skink
Trachylepis
margaritifer Rainbow Skink
Trachylepis striata Striped Skink
Trachylepis varia Variable Skink
Scelotes l.
limpopoensis Limpopo Dwarf
Burrowing-Skink
Varanus niloticus Nile Monitor
Agama armata Northern Ground Agama
Python natalensis Southern African Python
Boaedon capensis Common House Snake
Psammophis
subtaeniatus Stripe-bellied Sand
Snake
Naja mossambica Mozambique Spitting Cobra
Philothamnus
semivariegatus Spotted Bush
Snake
Leptotyphlops species Thread Snake
Myriopholis longicauda Long-tailed Thread Snake
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| The Cape Porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis). Massive rodents. |
Mammal List
Bushveld Senghi
Lesser Bushbaby
Thick-tailed Bushbaby
Chacma Baboon
Vervet Monkey
Cape Porcupine
Tree Squirrel
Denderomus
Spiny mouse
African Wild Cat
Leopard
Cape Clawless Otter
Large Spotted Genet
African Civet
Banded Mongoose
Dwarf Mongoose
Water Mongoose
Yellow-spotted Hyrax
Rock Hyrax
Bushpig
Bush Buck
Kudu
Sharpe’s Grysbok
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| Camera Trap in remote Ochna woodland. |
