A collection of indigenous flowers at Treeferns Trout Lodge :

A rare sight awaited me when I  have  been to Treeferns last :  the biggest flock of white Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis),  (Afrikaans Veereier or Sprinkaan voël) I have ever seen, blanketed the herd of black Drakensberger cattle  as close as the farm house, creating a spectacular  black and white contrast.  These birds are often mistakenly called Bosluisvoël because they perch on animals’ backs presumably to feed on ticks clawing on  them. In stead they catch their food by following  cattle grazing and thus disturbing insects on the ground. They will naturally  also eat insects on the animal.

The Cattle Egret is a white bird of medium size with a long yellow bill and light orange  legs and feet. They normally live in colonies often in a single big tree. When together in numbers they make a hummimg chorus. Indigenous to Africa they have now distributed themselves to most continents.

I was fortunate to take some nice pictures of them on the ground  and in flight :

( Courtesy :  Google.com )

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/cattle_egret.htm

The Secretarybird(Sekratarisvoël)(Sagittarius serpentarius) is endemic to Africa south of the Sahara. It favours open grassland of  the savanah type. They are  often seen in  pairs on the open veld at Vlakfontein, and are an attraction to visitors to Treeferns Trout Lodge. They are birds of prey, and feed on all sorts of small prey like mice, snakes, lizards, birds, insects, etc. They have cranelike legs with an eagle like head and beak, with head plumes.  It is a spectacular, secretary like,  erect, and proud bird 1,3 meter tall, mostly light grey in colour with  black tail feathers and legs, often mistaken for the Blue Crane, which is our National Bird.  Though not the National Bird, it has an honorary and prominent place in the South African National  Coat of Arms, in the top centre with spread wings.

Sorry, I couldn’t get a closer look; they are very shy :

A close-up with courtesy Google Wikipedia

http://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekretarisvo%C3%ABl

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During the weekend of 6 – 8 January 2012 Frikkie du Plooy and family visited Treeferns, and apart from flyfishing, occupied themselves catching birds with nets. Nets were erected where birds normally prevail. There are a variety of nets differing in lengths and heights, as well as mesh size and strands. The nets, not clearly seen in the pictures,  are deployed vertically on poles 5 – 6 m high for birds to fly into and be captured.

Bigger birds like falcons are caught in cages with a lure like an artificial mouse. The purpose of the exercise is to ring and record birds, and then release them.

Here are pictures of some of the birds caught and released :

Vlakfontein Farm is blessed with a variety of flowers, lilies , and bulbous plants, eg. agapanthus, watsonia, gladioli, pineapple lily, etc.  The latter is a spectacular rare plant with a flower resembling a pineapple, the Eucomis Pineapple Lily, with the botanical name, Liliaceae eucomis, common name Pineapple Lily.  In spring flowers like small pineapples, with leaves on top like shields, in the opening stage erupt from a crown of broad succulent foliage lying close to the ground  becoming a cluster of small tubelike flowers yellow to orange in colour. Nature never fails to surprise :

( Courtesy : Google.com)

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At Treeferns Trout Lodge at least two species of  Watsonia occur, Watsonia angusta, and Watsonia marginata or spp. The former grow abundantly near water sources and favours marshy spots of which there are plenty on Vlakfontein, home of Treeferns. The two species differ mainly in size and form and colour of flowers. The Watsonia angusta are taller and boasts red or crimson tubular flowers well sought after by sugar birds. Watsonia marginata on the other hand has more purple like flowers.

The plant Watsonia was named after Sir William Watson(1715-1787), a physician and naturalist, and the subspecies marginata comes from “marginate” referring to the thick leaf margins. As far as I could find out, the word “angusta” in Latin means narrow or narrowing (perhaps like in angina) to describe the flowers as little tubes.

As I am not absolutely sure of my identifications, I am open for correction, and if someone could ID them accurately, it will be appreciated. Data acknowledgement Google. http://capeseedandbulb.com/watsonia.html

The Gladiolus plant has  swordlike leaves, from where the Latin “gladiolus”, meaning a small sword, originated. The subspecies name, dalenii, derived from a Cornelius Dalen, Director, Rotterdam Botanic Gardens, thence Gladiolus dalenii. It grows in summer rainfall regions, and is endemic to the Eastern Escarpment of which Vlakfontein farm is part. It favours open grassland, and  rocky areas in high altitudes.

The Gladiolus dalenii grows up to 2 m tall, with evergreen erect swordlike leaves spreading like a fan. The flowers resemble spikes coloured orange to red with a yellow throat blooming December to February.

Gladiolus dalenii

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The Agapanthus inapertus is a  very attractive tuberous plant occuring naturally on Vlakfontein in open grassland and also rocky areas. It blooms with very dark blue to violet drooping tubelike flowers as shown in the pictures.Flowering is normally January to March. Six (6 ) different species of Agapanthus occur endemic in South Africa.

The botanical name, Agapanthus, is derived from the Greek words agape (love) and anthos (flower), and inapertus in Latin means “closed” as in tubular.

The five subspecies of Agapanthus inapertus differ in the shape and size of their flowers.

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They are clearly distinquished from the Agapanthus africanus, one of South Africa’s popular garden plants, with striking blue or white flowers.

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/agapaninapertus.htm

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A frequently asked question is what the difference is, if any, between the South African and Australian treeferns.  Summarily, the Australian species are taller with a wider crown and finer fronds :

The  South African treefern, cyathea dregei, or Common Treefern,     Gewone Boomvaring(Afrikaans), is the species we have at Treeferns Trout Lodge. They are a widespread species in the  most southern-eastern countries of Africa. It favours banks of rivers and streams where it is moist and protected from wind and cold. They are most common in the high regions, but are also found in the Cape Province,  as cyathea capensis. The cyathea dregei grow up to 5 m tall, with erect stout trunks and a crown of 6 – 8 m in diameter.

The two main species of treeferns which occur in Australia are the cyathea australis and cyathea cooperi :

Cyathea australis, also called Rough Tree Fern, occurs along the east coast of Australia and also in Tasmania. It favours mountainous areas with moisture, but is very hardy, and can tolerate various climatic conditions.

Courtesy iStockphoto

The other well knownAustralian treefern, cyathea cooperi, is native to New South Wales and Queensland, Australia,  at 15 m taller than the South African treefern, faster growing, and some say more attractive. The light-green fronds form a crown of 8 – 10 m in diameter. They normally grow in protected, shady and moist conditions. In South Africa they are favourite garden plants.

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Ons het lekker gekuier vir die kort tydjie wat ons daar was en die eenheid is goed toegerus en op ‘n pragtige plek geleë.

Ek het net vir  ± 3 ure ge-vlieghengel en het 2 forelle van ongeveer 700 g gevang en vrygelaat, een in dam 6 en die ander in dam 10 – ek weet nie of jy onlangs “ge-stock” het nie maar hulle was nogal maer.

Betreffende die voëlkyk het ons daar naby jou by Middelpunt saam met die Noord Gauteng Voëlklub die “Whitewinged Flufftail” gaan sien. Sien asb ‘n lys van die voëls wat ons gesien het hieronder (ek stuur die lys aan met die engelse name):

1. Cape crow
2. Common Fiscal
3. Banded Martin
4. White Throated Swallow
5. Greater Striped Swallow
6. Black-eyed Bulbul
7. Wing-snapping Cisticola
8. Zitting Cisticola
9. Cape Rock Thrush
10. Cape Robin Chat
11. Pied Starling
12. Malachite Sunbird
13. Southern Masked Weaver
14. Cape Weaver
15. Cape Wagtail
16. Cape Longclaw
17. Lesser Striped Swallow
18. Barn Swallow
19. Ant-eating Chat
20. Southern Bold ibis
21. Egyptian Goose
22. Red-throated Wryneck
23. Blacksmith Lapwing
24. Wattled Lapwing
25. Crowned Lapwing
26. Cape Vulture
27. Jackal Buzzard
28. Amur Falcon
29. Reed Cormorant
30. Cattle Egret
31. Black-head Oriole
32. Southern Boubou
33. Bokmakirie
34. Laughing Dove
35. Red-eyed Dove
36. Steppe Buzzard
37. African Olive Pigeon

Groete

Len Stoltz

19 Februarie 2011