A supposedly routine trip to the peninsula turned
into a great adventure! We arrived at Poortjies to launch the canoe, only to
find the lock had rusted shut, not good. So back home we went to get some Q20 –
if it sticks when it’s not supposed to use Q20, if it doesn’t stick when it’s
supposed to use duct tape! In this case the damage was too bad and despite
drowning the lock with Q20, it refused to budge. So Shirley and I decided to
borrow a canoe. There are a number of canoes and various other floatation
devices that are left at Poortjies, clearly not often used judging by the sand
collection, often to the point where it is half buried! So we chose a suitable
craft, cleared out all the sand and water, a huge job in itself, and stole off
onto the water hoping that (1) it didn’t have any leaks! And (2) that the
rightful owners didn’t decide that they wanted to use the canoe at that
particular moment. Thankfully we made it to the peninsula without any leaks and
mishaps and began our relative missions. I am not enjoying the peninsula too
much at the moment, with the Sacred Ibis breeding I need to be so careful where
I walk and I am unable to check on some gull nests because they are too close
to the Sacred Ibis breeding aggregations. The gull nests I did check still have
no eggs, but I did notice a large number of new, well-developed nests that I
will return and mark soon. The one spoonbill that we saw on the last trip was
there, with 3 friends, so that will be exciting if they decide to breed there,
but also will add another complication to my trips there. Some of the Sacred
Ibis eggs have hatched with is so wonderful! Strange squeaking noises were
being emitted from the one main aggregation of nests and after some time of
looking I saw the fluffy chicks. Unlike the gulls which hatch and within a day
are up and running around, Sacred Ibis chicks are quite helpless and unable to
do much except lie around after hatching, and days thereafter, even their head
movements are limited. It is going to be so delightful to watch as these chicks
grow up, and hopefully in time some will wear one of my rings!
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| A selection of the birds on the peninsula: Kelp Gulls, Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbills and Egyptian Geese. |
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| Spot the fluffy chicks! |
Cute little blobs!
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| Did you find them all? |
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| Find these chicks.. |
Did you get them?
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| I cant wait for them to get bigger! |
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| Our trusty borrowed craft! |
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