• Courses going strong!
• Pretoria Bird Club enjoys eventful outing to Nyslvley.

• Good rains make for bumper season.
• WWF-SA Project - Working for Water.

• Fire ravages Vogelfontein
• Nylstroom Sewerage Problem threatens wetland

• Work Party to follow up on tree removal (7-10 August)
• Hippos in trouble need your help !

• Ramsar Status Confirmed
• New hides are complete
• Research
• Conservancy Mooted

Courses going strong !

Professor Mark Williams and Dr Martin Kruger lead out Butterflies course over the weekend 19-21 February. What amazing and beautiful creatures they are! The course was a great success and we Dr Martin and Prof Mark will most definately be invited to share their amazing knowledge with us again - THANK-YOU BOTH.
Our Beginners bird course was packed. It was presented by Rose and Ernie Buric and was most informative. We all came away feeling more confident about identifying birds.

Pretoria Bird Club enjoys fantastic weekend birding.

The Pretoria BirdClub held a very successful birding weekend from 15-17 January, which was led by Andre Marx. Members of PBC were joined by a host of other birders, including a number from Wits Bird club. Andre estimated that 70-80 birders were present over the weekend and commented on how much he enjoyed the camaraderie and general air of excitement that was around.
The floodplain was is in good birding condition, although water levels have dropped a bit in the last week.
Star birds included the two Lessers (moorhen and gallinule) because of their sheer numbers - and these provided a lot of lifers. Some were lucky enough to see a Lesser Moorhen out in the open foraging on the dirt road which crosses the floodplain - and this one seemed quite unconcerned. Apart from this, good views of the Lesser Moorhen were had at the Kingfisher and Dabchick hides. The biggest megatick was the Slaty Egret which was recorded by a couple of birders on the Friday afternoon. Pygmy Goose (once) and African Crake (once) were seen and Dwarf Bittern seemed to be pretty common, particularly in flooded acacia on the eastern side of the floodplain.
The overall tally for the weekend was 240 species.

But perhaps the highlight was the Sunday morning queue at the Main Hide inside Nylsvley Reserve - the reason? A Jacana nest directly in front of the hide. What's more, the eggs were laid right before the eyes of a hide packed full of birders!

Good Rains make for Bumper Birding !

Good rains late last year have ensured that the floodplain has been flooded to nearly its full extent. This is the third year in a row that the floodplain has been inundated - quite exceptional. The rains have brought their usual harvest of find birding. Black Coucal and Crowned Crane have been recorded for the first time, the former is unknown from the region, but according to Dr Warwick Tarboton - the habitat at Nylsvley should suit it! Other birds recorded include Slaty Egret, Dwarf Bittern, Lesser Moorhen and Lesser Gallinule.

Working for Water Project is producing results!

The WWF-SA project is producing results. The Groot Nyl River did not stop flowing this last winter and spring as it has done in recent years. The working for Water project has now taken over the project. 56 People are employed, working in three teams. These teams are fllowoing up on the areas where trees were felled last year, to ensure that new growth does not take place. This project aims to reduce water loss through large exotic trees - and will help ensure the stability of the floodplain.

Fire Ravages Vogelfontein

As fire-breaks were being burn't, a vicious wind carried sparks onto the grassed floodplain causing a large area to be set alight. At least 500 ha of grassland was burned, and the affected area extends from the road at Vogelfontein up to the reedbeds within the reserve itself. Tragically, the new Sasol Dragonfly Walkway was almost completely destroyed. Thankfully the new Kingfisher Hide, the Crake and Dabchick hides all escaped the fire. Of course the area will recover, but we are worried that some trees favoured as nesting sites by Herons, Storks and Spoonbills have been damaged. The entire Vogelfontein area is pretty barren and charred at the moment. There are still quite a lot of waterbirds about, and the new growth which will come when the vlei is inundated will no doubt make for spectacular birding !

Pollution threat to Nylsvley

During August, a problem at the Sewerage Works at Nylstroom led to the release of raw sewerage into the Nyl River. Farmers first noticed the pollution when cattle refused to drink the water and dead fish were noticed in waters fed by the Nyl stream.

Fortunately the river is hardly flowing at this stage (being the dry season), and a clean up operation is presently underway. This involves the Department of Nature Conservation/Tourism, Nylstroom Town officials and farmers. The Nyl is being temporarily dammed just above the point where it crosses the N1 highway, and the offending sewerage is being physically removed from the dammed area. Dead fish are being collected. In addition water may be released from the Donkerpoort dam (above Nylstroom) in order to "flush" the system with fresh water. While fish populations may be affected in the coming season, the pollution has not affected the main part of the floodplain - and the sewerage is still some distance from where the floodplain widens - Fortunately there is hardly any flow at this time of year !

Work Party to follow-up on Tree Removal

During the Work Party on 7-10 August, we plan to do a follow up on a stream running from the farm right next door to Nylsvley. Until recently an extensive plantation of alien Eucalyptus trees stood and sucked a large amount of precious water into the atmosphere. The trees have been felled, but in order to improve the water runoff into Nylsvley we have to ensure that the trees do not re-grow ! Bring your own tools and food and help us to help the birds and animals of the Nyl floodplain.

Hippos in trouble need your help !

The very dry conditions around the Limpopo and Mogol Rivers is resulting in a shortage of grazing for the hippos in these rapidly drying up rivers. Local farmers have set up a committee to save the hippos - about 25 animals in all. Each hippo needs a bale of food a day which costs R10. Please Send Donations to Friends of Nylsvley, United Bank Centurion Acc Number 7 1241 1228. Please mark the deposit slip: "hippo fund" and fax it to us.

RAMSAR Update

YES ! it is now final ! Nylsvley Nature Reserve is officially a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. Now that Nylsvley has received not only national but World Status as a significant refuge for birds, we hope that the status will influence all future development in the area. For more on Ramsar, visit the Ramsar Web-Site.

New Hides complete

Research

• A quarter of water stored in dams is lost through evaporation
• There are about 200 dams in the Nyl Floodplain catchment area
• The floodplain should receive 37% of its water from the Groot and Klein Nyl
• 26% of the mean annual run off water available actually falls onto the floodplain as rain
• 37% of the water supplies should come from the other rivers suppling the floodplain