Today's CAR route was most memorable from
the least number Blue Cranes counted, but its been the trip with the
most number of chicks seen, albeit only 3.
As Chris and I headed off to our
monitoring route start point today, there was plenty of action which
meant we nearly didn't arrive on the start point at the suggested
time of one hour after sunrise. There was plenty of small game
including duikers and hares on the route from Blue Hill to the
Winterhoek turnoff, plus a dispersed flock of Amur Falcons and Lesser
Kestrels.
We were so distracted looking up at the
whirling raptors, that we were caught by surprise when a Blue Crane
took off from the road in front of us. On the verge of the road, the
partner slunk along rapidly, before climbing through a gate to get to
the veld beyond. It was then that we noticed the chick next to us
that the adults had obviously been trying to protect or distract us
from.
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| Blue Crane climbing through a gate |
But it was not long before that gangly
pile of legs was freaked out by our proximity and to our surprise the
Blue Crane colt wriggled its way through the jackal proof fence and
into the field where mommy was. This sighting was at the same location where I recorded the display dance about a month earlier.
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| Blue Crane colt hiding |
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| freaked out |
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| through the wire unscathed and off to find mommy |
Our route starts at the interface of
renosterveld and Karoo, works its way through some thicket covered
hills, and then into wide planes of karoo veld. Now that the ADU has
us counting crows and selected raptors, one tends to be very busy.
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| Pale Chanting Goshawk |
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| Not all Steppe Buzzards perch on poles |
Not least because in the Western Cape
one also counts a variety of antelope, of which Steenbok is Abundant.
Although Kudu are not included on this list, we note them down anyway
for ourselves, as this district is big game hunting country, and we
feel its a species worth recording.
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| Four young male kudu know what's good for them and run for the hills |
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| This female kudu looked very unhealthy |
The most common animal along the route
is the Angora goat, as this is Mohair producing country.
Unfortunately, many stock camps have an
electrified wire very low down (ostensibly to keep out jackal). This
wire is responsible for the deaths of many tortoises, which simply
withdraw their legs when shocked and then suffer one of the most
painful deaths imaginable drawn out over an extended period of time.
We counted four dead tortoises along one particular stretch of fence.
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| Electrified to death Leopard Tortoise |
For the first time actually on the
route we recorded a pair of Secretary Birds. But our Blue Crane Count
on route was only 2 – the lowest ever; and the case was the same
for Karoo Korhaan – although detecting them is always at the mercy
of how much they feel like calling on any particular day. At the end
of the route we did spot another pair of cranes with a pair of
chicks, a nice way to round off the count.
Previous Car Accountings:
This Leopard Tortoise was not amused by
a Fast driver in the Slow lane
so when you meet the road speed bumps, do you get out and give them an express lift to the side?
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