Otter Spotter

Hop Along Cassidy

Admin (Trev) — Tue, 03 May 2011 09:29:30 +0000

I happened to chance upon this little guy one night while driving down Liesbeek Avenue. He let me take quite a few pictures before I had to prod him to get him off the road, and he then disappeared into the darkness with one giant leap.

Changling…..a chameleons world

Admin (Trev) — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:31:16 +0000

Here is a nice shot taken in the wonderful area of the Liesbeek that Joan Parker and other Bishopscort Village residents have worked so hard to transform from an ugly mess into a beautiful sanctuary by the river.

None other than the Bradypodion pumilum (Cape Dwarf Chameleon) which is a CITES protected endangered species.

Chameleon on Brilliantaisia

This specimen is climbing a Brillantaisia subulugurica (Giant salvia) which is pictured below in its full flowering glory.

Brilliantaisia subulugurica

Thanks very much for the kind permission from the Bishopscourt Village Ratepayers Association for the use of their pictures. Please visit the full gallery on their website.

Finally an Otter…….well almost!

Admin (Trev) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:30:29 +0000

I went for a walk around Kirstenbosch gardens on Freedom Day. When I passed by this handsome fellow. I guess I have seen this many times before but it only really regsitered with me in terms of this web site! So here in all its cold steel glory is the Cape Clawless Otter (Aonyx capensis) – follow link for more info.

Cape Clawless Otter Sculpture at Kirstenbosch

Krusty Krab

Admin (Trev) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:21:41 +0000

Early in December 2009 I was driving down Liesbeek Avenue as I do at least twice every day and stopped to make sure this little critter was not run over by another vehicle. Unfortunately he though wedging himself under my front tyre would be a good place to hide. It too some coaxing my me and a colleague to get him out. I guess if I had just grabbed him it would have been easier, but those pincers looked quite menacing!

Krusty Fighting Back!

After Krusty was extracted I set him free on the banks of the Liesbeek.

I will try to find out some more details about this little fellow and will add them when I do.

Krusty Free!!

After some research this crab is from the Potamonautes species. It is Potamonautes perlatus the Cape River Crab. Potamonautes parvicorpus is a species that is found in pristine conditions in the upper reaches.

Spring Duckling

Admin (Trev) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:12:01 +0000

Spring is here and so is lots of new life. There must have been about thirteen little gyppos. Picture taken along the Liesbeek trail next to Newlands Pool.

Misty morning

Admin (Trev) — Sat, 31 May 2008 22:10:44 +0000

“Misty morning; can’t see no sun”.

A nice view along Liesbeeck Avenue one misty morning in May.

On the river recently

Admin (Trev) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:32:44 +0000

It is not unusual to find dead carp in the river, but when it is a fully developed fish in pond opposite Rhodes Office Park in Mowbray, one has to wonder how it got there.

Goosey goosey gander

Admin (Trev) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:38:28 +0000

I consider myself privileged to drive a length of the Liesbeek to work every day. Since all the heavy winter rain, the wetland has come alive with birds. I have seen pelicans, egrets, herons, cranes and of course the subject of this article the good old Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus)

Of course, as I always recommend, the WikiPedia is a great place to find more information on the Egyptian Goose

The geese in the photos that follow, carefully look after their five young. I have watched them grow up from tiny chicks to the ‘teenagers’ they are now.

And here is a final image with Dad in the picture

This work by
Trevor Hughes is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 South Africa License.

Liesbeek Flood Good For Yellow Billed Ducks

Admin (Trev) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 23:07:15 +0000

The recent deluge of rain and partial flooding of The Liesbeek, whilst concerning for human settlement (particularly The River Club), has been really beneficial to the bird life alongst the Liesbeek.

The wetland area near Valkenberg is a wetland again (even if only for a while) and the yellow billed ducks (Anas undulata) are having a great time swimming and feeding in this area.

Unfortunately my cell phone camera cannot capture the ducks so this photo coutrtesy of Wikipedia User:Haplochromis The photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license.

As usual the Wikipedia article is a good place to start looking for more information on the yellow billed duck. You can also try this link.

Technorati Tags: Liesbeek, flood, wetland, duck

A Pelican Brief

Admin (Trev) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:58:24 +0000

A couple of days a go we had a slightly less usual visitor to the waters of The Liesbeek. A Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) graced the river with its presence. Read more for a picture.

A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican,
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week
But I’m darned if I know how the helican!

Dixon Lanier Merritt (1879 – 1972)

For some background information on pelicans vist the Wikipedia pelicans page

For more specific information about Great White Pelicans in the Western Cape refer to UCT’s Avian Demography Unit (ADU) web pages here.

Also have a look at The Great White Pelican Project page.

Here is a report of a recent ADU pelican count.

Late breaking news (10 Aug 07) – a pelican returns and then flies away……..

Technorati Tags: pelican, liesbeek, river