Bushbuck Hills Newsletter February 2018
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
BUSHBUCK HILLS NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2018 Zebra drinking at Waterbok dam on a hot December afternoon With daytime temperatures reaching almost 40 degrees in December, these Zebra took time out to walk to the middle of the dam before quenching their thirst. It seemed like a really good idea and made for an excellent photo opportunity. As the summer continues the number of moths visiting the lights of the accommodation during the evenings continues to provide new and exciting species. For most none experts identifying moths can be a time consuming business, possibly only resolved by looking through every image of every page of a suitable reference or guide book. The Rivulet triangle on the left may be found on the fourth last page of Pinhey’s African Wisp wing (Coenina poecilaria) moths – 221 pages later... Rivulet triangle (Cuneisigna rivalata) The Wisp wing to the right is a common but very beautifully coloured moth – it is however quite small so easily over looked. Two much larger moths and also much less commonly seen are shown below. Delagorgues prince only seems to be seen during the summer months. With its wings closed it looks quite drab and possibly even a little boring but when disturbed it opens its wings to display its eye spots to scare away a would be predator, and in doing so show off its beautiful colouration and patterning. The centre of the eye-spots on the hind wings and the strangely shape marks on its fore- wings are both transparent (hyaline). With the wings open the falcate shape of the fore-wings becomes apparent. The Cape Hawk to the right below, also seems to be more commonly seen during the summer months though too few observations have been made to know whether this is just coincidence or not. Like the Delagorgues prince it prefers to sit with its fore wings covering its much more brightly coloured hind-wings and only uncovers the latter when necessary to scare away predators (or annoying photographers). Delegorgues Prince Cape Hawk (Theretra capensis) Potter Wasp. ‘Something’ flying through the open door dangling a long caterpillar was the first indication of the Potter wasp. Firstly though it was a case of trying to identify exactly what it was and secondly watching to see what it would do next. It flew to a ledge where there was already a small clay “pot” of about 14 mm diameter and with an opening of about 4 or 5 mm in its centre. The wasp landed and proceeded to stuff the unfortunate caterpillar into the opening. The caterpillar was fairly quiescent throughout the procedure, apparently having already been ‘sedated’. The wasp then flew off and returned with some fresh mud with which it sealed the opening in a very short space of time. The wasp then proceeded to build a new pot adjacent to the original one and sharing one wall with it. Another caterpillar was found and put into that pot. Finally, for that day, a third pot was made, Packing the first cell Cap fitted to the first cell Potter wasp (Delta emarginatum) again sharing one wall with the last pot made. This time the wasp didn’t return. However, the following day it was back again carrying a caterpillar about twice its own length. At the entrance to the empty pot the wasp seemed to use the tip of its abdomen to either lay eggs on the unfortunate prey or to subdue it prior to stuffing it Final touches prior to packing Starting construction on second cell into the pot. The wasp spent some time putting its own head into the pot but quite what it was doing was unclear. Finally the wasp closed the entrance to the third and final pot prior to adding a new layer of clay across all three of them. All cells finished Final layer of mud applied Packing the last cell It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the wasp’s eggs to hatch and to then see how they effect their ‘escape’ from the pots – three weeks later and nothing has happened yet! Weavers. There seemed to be many weavers building nests this year. The blue thorn (Acacia erubescens) adjacent to Huis Karee and the Fever tree (Acacia xanthophloea) next to the pool at the bush camp were very popular sites, though their nests were to be found all over the farm. The most commonly seen weaver was the Southern masked-weaver. It is a primarily yellow bird with a black face and conspicuous red eye – at least the breeding male is. The black mask only extends to just above the eye and forms a sharp point on its breast. The adjacent photograph shows one in a nest that it had just constructed. It would seem as though they may overnight in the nests even when not actually breeding. This photograph was taken in the dark at about 21:00. Southern masked-weaver roosting Other males were occupying adjacent nests. The nest itself is an almost spherical construction with an uncomplicated entrance hole. The “grass” used to construct the nest is usually strips of larger leaves and often not of actual grass at all. Most areas of the farm only seem to have the Southern masked-weavers active but at the bush camp close to the swimming pool there are a number of Lesser masked-weavers – at least this year. We are at the edge of the distribution for these birds and so are quite fortunate in having them visit us. Physically these birds are different in a number of ways from their Southern masked cousins. The black mask extends to almost the top of their heads, their eyes are white (not red) and the black mask does not form a point on the chest. Their nests are also quite different. The material used to construct them is finer than that used by the southern masked weaver and is actually built from grass – not stripped leaves. There is also a very noticeable entrance tunnel (directed vertically downwards). Finally their calls are far less raucous than that of the Southern bird. Just three weeks after these photographs were taken the nests had fulfilled their purpose (presumably) and the birds left. The nests were quickly going into disrepair and falling off the trees. Just one solitary southern masked weaver remained and, whilst still calling, was not actively building any nests. No Lesser masked-weavers were to Lesser masked-weaver be seen. Sour Plum During January the fruit of the sour plum were starting to ripen. Lesser masked-weaver and nest For most of the year this tree, or bush, looks quite inconspicuous but becomes a lot more visible when it starts to bear fruit. There are a number of them on the farm but they’re certainly not common. This one was found to the left of the road travelling towards the bush camp. The fruit is not too sour when ripe although the closer you get to the stone the more sour it becomes. Sour plum (Ximenia caffra) Sun downer time Large Kudu bull in the light of the setting sun Evening is definitely the time for kicking back with a couple of sundowners and enjoying the view. The light of the setting sun provides an extra attraction to those animals that it reflects off and the animals themselves Kudu ewes (copy, paste and paste again) seem to enjoy this time of the day too – in some cases just lining up to have their photographs taken. Baby Rock Monitors Entering the back door of Huis karee something fell from above the doorway and scuttled into the house and onwards into the bathroom. Despite the room being small and almost empty it took some time to find this little guy (hiding in the pipe work underneath the sink). Like most of its kind once caught it decided to play dead until such time as it was left alone outside. After a short while it decided it was safe and run off alongside the wash house wall. A similar sized monitor lizard was seen looking through the kitchen window of the main chalet at the bush camp before climbing up the brick Young rock monitor (Varanus albigularis) wall and disappearing into the roof void. Bush Pig. This bush pig was found in a very bad way sheltering under a bush. With the horrific wounds to its neck and its general condition it was felt best to put it down with a shot from a rifle. Whether it was caught in a snare or whether it was trapped by some discarded wire is a matter of conjecture. Please be on the look out for either of these items and pick them up for disposal at the main house. In the case of snares please notify the manager. It is our responsibility to try avoid this type of incident from ever happening. Bush pig (Potamochoerus larvatus) New baby giraffe! Trail camera photographs showed the female giraffe still pregnant in early November. Just under a month later the same camera picked up the female being closely followed by her new born. Baby following mum one month later As with her previous new-borns the female giraffe seems to prefer to stay in the area of the middle field with her young. Perhaps this is because there is good browse for herself, flat ground and despite what might be first thought good places to avoid detection. Giraffe are the only animals born with horns – though at birth they are made of cartilage and Baby giraffe 26th November 2017 not fixed to the skull.