Deep in the heart of the Karoo lives a princess. She is not a local princess but a Dutch royal, and she’s on a mission to help all of us regain our relationship with nature. It’s all about balance, she says, and she’s not just talking about it.
(This article is written by GUY LIEBERMAN. He writes about the Patron of the Rhenosterspruit Nature Conservancy, Princess Irene.
Photograph by Eric Stockenstroom
April's bird of the month is the Crested Barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii).
Colouring: Iris red-brown; bill yellow-green to greenish grey, tip dusky; legs and feet greenish grey. Head crested; back, tail and broad breast-band black, spotted and scalloped with white; head and face yellow, scaled with red; crest and nape black; rump red; belly yellow, broadly streaked red.
Voice: Sustained penetrating unmusical trill, lasting up to 30 seconds; sounds like an alarm clock with its bell removed.
Habitat: Thornveld, thickets in woodland, riverine bushveld, exotic plantations, parks, gardens.
Distribution: Natal, Free State, Gauteng, Northern Cape, Botswana, Caprivi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to Angola, Zaire and Tanzania.
Habits: Usually solitary or in pairs, vocal throughout the year, especially in early summer. May roost in disused nests, unusually in own nest hole. Tame - comes to feeding trays and nestboxes in gardens. Forages in bushes and trees and hops around on ground.
Food: Insects (especially termites), worms, fruit, snails, birds' eggs.
Breeding season: All months, but especially August to February. May rear up to four broods per season.
Incubation and fledging: Clutch: usually three white eggs. Incubation: 17 days. Nestling: 27-30 days.
References: Gordon Lindsay Maclean: Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa, Sixth Edition. 1993.
Kenneth Newman: Newman's Birds by Colour. 2000.
Text: Hartebeestfontein Conservancy, Bird of the Month Series
February’s bird of the month is the Blackcollared Barbet (Lybius torquatus).
A period of intensive work towards the proclamation of a Nature Reserve/Protected Environment has commenced, and more frequent direct communication is required.
The bi-annual MTK (MmaTshepo Khumbane) Awards ceremony, organised by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) announced the 2011 winners. The awards serve to recognize and reward individuals, communities and schools which take responsibility for their environment and for people in their care.
The winner in the category of Best Environmental Awareness went to the Rhenosterspruit Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy won for its 9-year long effort to foster a positive and proactive response to alien invader species.
On Sunday 17 July more than sixty people gathered in the beautiful "green classroom" at Bathabile School in Doornrandje for the Conservancy's Annual General Meeting.
"The City of Joburg Property Company (JPC), the project proponent, is proposing to establish a township on the Remaining Extent of Portions 1, 5 and 6 of the Farm Diepsloot, 388 JR, and on the Remaining Extent of the Farm Rietfontein, 532 JQ. These three properties are located in Dieplsoot, Johannesburg, and also form the southern section of the Diepsloot Nature Reserve.
The Cradle of Humankind Environmental Management Framework closed the comment period today, 2 March.
A submission was sent highligting as concern the exclusion of the Egoli Granite Grassland, particularly as Management Objective reference this vegetation type. Of greater concern is the cultural, historic and archeological sites of the Conservancy. We have asked that these be specifically indicated on the GIS layers (mapping tools used by officials). The COH is a cultural landscape, and these sites are valuable in that context.
Page 1 of 2