NEWSLETTER MAY-JUNE 2019 – Steenbok Nature Reserve

MONTHLY NEWS AND REPORTS

A walk in Steenbok with Esther Townsend

Credo Environmental Services have agreed that, without consultation with affected residents, no further major clearing will be undertaken on the high-tide pathway to Kingfisher Creek and that the involvement of Credo will be extended to a further visit and review in second quarter of 2020. Visit our website for the latest Credo Eradication of invasive/alien plant species report.

https://www.steenboknaturereserve.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Credo-June-2019-report.pdf

In the interim Esther Townsend, a member of our Management Committee, visits the site regularly to provide guidance on identification of remaining aliens. Walking with Esther in Steenbok is always a delight. She not only identifies the plants that need removing but also points out the new plants that have begun to establish themselves in this very precious area. Esther is also responsible for helping out with the Steenbok flora and invasive flora section of our website.

The links below will start your virtual tour:

https://www.steenboknaturereserve.org.za/flora/ https://www.steenboknaturereserve.org.za/alien-invasive-species/

A few examples of plants that were identified by Esther during her last visit:

INVASIVE/ALIEN PLANTS

INDIGENOUS GROWTH

VOLUNTEERS

Steenbok Nature Reserve welcomes new volunteers

Louis and Barbara Krige are familiar faces on Leisure Isle. They regard themselves as an ‘old Knysna’ family. Barbara’s grandfather had the parish at Belvedere, and bought land on Leisure Island when it was first laid out as residential suburb many years ago. Her father, Prof John Day, was a marine biologist and estuarine specialist and as such did a lot of work on the Knysna lagoon. He wrote many notable reports which are still consulted today.

Louis and Barbara, now retired, want to be more involved in preserving the treasure that is Leisure Island. Their enthusiasm and energy make a welcome addition to the Steenbok team, and they are already making a difference helping out with various tasks and maintenance. As a mechanical engineer, Louis brings very useful skills to Steenbok.

The reserve is managed entirely by volunteers who want to do something positive to preserve this beautiful natural area. The cost of basic maintenance activities is borne jointly by the Knysna Municipality and Leisure Isle Residents’ Association. All improvements and new projects are funded by the Friends of Steenbok. You can support this endeavour by joining the Friends, or by making a (tax-deductible) donation.

For more information visit https://www.steenboknaturereserve.org.za/ or email news@steenboknaturereserve.org.za

JUNE RAINFALL CHART

Rainfall June 2019

Rainfall was a disappointing 37 mm compared with a ten-year average of of 72mm for June. The cumulative graph, comparing this year with last, looks curiously like the score-chart graph in an evenly matched world cup cricket match!

Thanks to Peter Dieterich and Peter Godsell for the monthly rainfall reports. These charts are proving very popular with our Facebook followers.

STEENBOK VISITORS

A night visit from Knysna Basin Project

One of the advantages of Steenbok Nature Reserve being always open is that students are able to collect night time data for their projects. The entrance to the Reserve is home to quite a few Knysna Dwarf Chameleons and Knysna Basin Project took this opportunity to do a bit of night studies. The students collected additional data (recording head, tail and body size) for Cara Trivella’s (supervisor Dr Shelley Edwards) Honours project. One of the project’s criteria is to study the habitat use and population structure of Bradypodion damaranum. The samples are usually taken from forest areas but the Steenbok exercise was to get extra info from more urban areas.

Pieter Verhoef, Louw Claassens, Merrisa Naidoo, Ntombi Vudla and Nina de Villiers

Nina de Villiers, Ntombi Vudla
and Merrisa Naidoo

A day out In Steenbok

The residence and day attendees of Epilepsy Knysna, South Cape Karoo Branch enjoyed a morning walk in Steenbok Nature Reserve. Under the supervision of Gayle Anne Campbell Schmidt, the residence were able to comfortably walk along the Tow Path and paved paths and enjoy the wonderful views. Maxine Meyer is a UNISA student studying for her honors degree in psychology. This year she volunteered to assist Epilepsy Knysna on outings and teaching the residence coordination exercises.

World Bee Day

On World Bee Day on the 20th of May, Steenbok Nature Reserve was visited by this happy group from Queen Bee Nursery and Pre-primary School. With the help of Steenbok’s ‘Look Deep into Nature’ educational book, the children buzzed around the Aquifer, and learned all about the colorful flora and fauna that can be found in the park. The Aquifer is a favorite place for visiting bees, as there are indigenous camphor trees in bloom, providing pollen, and a shallow water source at which the bees can quench their thirst.

INFORMAL SPORT IN STEENBOK

Saturday Soccer in Steenbok

CX united Soccer school enjoying a morning of sunshine and exercise with their Coach Arthur and guest Coach Khuse Dasi, Provincial Head Coach of Youth Development Structures.

Fun and Games in Steenbok Nature Reserve.

Oakhill boys of various ages playing rugby with Dads in preparation of the Woodridge Derby.

MAINTENANCE

A bright picnic spot in Steenbok Nature Reserve

Ivy Garden services hard at work around the Sideroxylon inerme (white milkwood) tree near the boat club entrance of Steenbok. The white milkwood has been trimmed and vegetation around the tree cleared. Now there is a beautiful, sunny picnic spot with wonderful views of the lagoon and the Tow Path. The Steenbok sign has also been repositioned to enhance the views. Roger Voysey who initiated and supervised the clean-up is in possession of the required licence issued by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the pruning or removal of Sideroxylon inerme trees.

Scattering seeds in Steenbok

Winter is well on its way and evidence of this is the helichrysum foetidum
(yellow everlasting) looking dried and withered. The fruits have pappus bristles which are easily dispersed by the wind.

The photos show Roger enjoying the task of collecting the dried seed heads along the Tow Path, to disperse elsewhere in the Reserve, and then giving Mother Nature a helping hand in the area west of the tennis courts by simply shaking the dried pods that are already there!

You too can help to spread this pretty daisy by gently shaking the dried helichrysums to release and disperse the seeds.

The irrigation maintenance team in Steenbok

Mihan of O.D.S. landscaping had a walkabout with Louis Krige. Mihan does a quarterly maintenance check of the irrigation system and Louis is on hand as a Steenbok volunteer to do frequent checks that the system is running properly and to fix any minor breaks in the pipes that might occur. To report a damaged pipe, please phone Diana or Dave 0738879769.

New Dog Poop signs

New Informative signs are being placed along the pathways to bring awareness of the ongoing problems of pollution caused by dog poop. Steenbok thanks KAWS and Knysna Basin Project for their support.

The signs have simple instructions about what to do and why it is necessary.

FLORA

TREE OF THE MONTH : THE CANDLEWOOD

Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus

Candlewood (Eng.); kershout (Afr.)
Tree Number: 409

Watch out for this beauty at the moment, actually you cannot miss it due to its numerous bright orange seed pods which are carried all along its branches making this tree one of the most colourful in Steenbok.

This evergreen, low-branching shrub or small tree guides you along some of the paths on the way to Kingfisher Creek. They are thriving now that the alien vegetation has been cleared in that area.

It has a densely branched rounded canopy which may reach down to the ground. It can be compared to a chameleon due to its many different characteristics.

Firstly, depending on its habitat, it can grow from 2 to 20m!!!! In Steenbok, they seem to be around 3 to 5m.
Secondly, the leaves:

– The colour can vary from yellow-green to blue-green or dark and glossy.
– The shape of the leaves can also be puzzling. From short, broad and oval-shaped to long and slender ; the leaf stalks can be short or medium in length. Most of the time, the tips are rounded, sometimes with a notch, or may be blunt or pointed, with flat or rolled margins.

BUT, no matter the colour or the shape, a great way to identify this shrub is by folding one of the mature leaf which will snap in half.

The small fragrant flowers are a dainty eggshell white are grow profusely in dense flowerheads. They are followed by the colourful seed pods that we can all see at the moment. The picture above clearly shows the funky looking capsule which has split open and is about to release its seeds.

This shrub / small tree has been used by the Xhosa, San and early colonists for many different things. The resin in the roots and branches can be used as glue or a mean to make torches and the wood itself makes good flooring or panelling and due to its resin content, it is also good fire wood.

Aloes, beautiful aloes….

These three majestic Aloes will be entertaining our visitors for the next month or two.
Bright colours and impressive heights make these giants our show stoppers during autumn and early winter.

While A. ferox and A. arborescens display bright orange and yellow flowers, our magnificent, 3m tall A. thraskii will be standing its ground along Links Drive and in the Indigenous gardens.

A. ferox (picture left) is probably the best known in South africa because of its long history of medicinal use.
Watch out for its ferocious, spiny leaves though.
Easy to recognise with its large candelabra-like flower-heads.

A. arborescent’s leaves extracts (picture right) is widely used for healing wounds and calming burns.
This Aloe tends to grow into a dense, rounded shrub. Colours can vary from deep orange (almost red) to yellow.

A. thraskii (picture right) is tall & fast growing. It has long, pale, grey-green, deeply grooved and recurved leaves. It is believed to be a threatened species due to coastal developments. The flowers grow in short, compact, cylindrical racemes, on multi-branched inflorescences

FAUNA

The very famous Mudprawn (Upogebia Africana)

Everyone in South Africa is familiar with the Mudprawns and most fishermen would have used them for bait at some point. The Steenbok boundary bordering the lagoon is abundant in this aquatic species for several reasons:

The Mudprawn habitat – or burrows – are shaped in a U and the prawns need the correct mud consistency to build them i.e. a good ratio of mud and sand to avoid the collapse of the burrow.
Their complex breeding habits require access to the open sea which is the case for our estuary. This is because, during their breeding period (between July & October and between December & March), the female hatch the eggs and the larvae migrate out to sea to undergo three development stages before returning back to the estuary.

Mudprawns also play a huge part in the cycle of aquatic life, providing food for many species of birds and fish, hence the importance of having areas where baiting is prohibited – such as around Leisure Isle (except from the area near Bollard Bay). By protecting the Mudprawns, we can make sure the food chain remains in place. Furthermore, baiting causes huge disturbances and damages to the ground itself, demolishing the burrows and surrounding flora in the salt marshes.

Mudprawns are benthic organisms (meaning living at the lowest level of a body of water), they decompose dead organic matter and release good nutrients which in turn feed other plants. By filtering the sea water on the lagoon floor, removing sediments and organic matter they also act as a water cleaning agent.

Any illegal baiting should be reported to SANParks on 044 382 2095

Bird Watching in Steenbok

There are quite a few places in Steenbok Nature Reserve to enjoy this pass-time.

Land’s End is a perfect place to sit quietly and watch plovers moving quickly along the water’s edge. Plover, White fronted, are occasional visitor to Leisure Isle. Most white fronted Plovers show a conspicuous brilliant white triangle covering the forehead, has some black separating forehead from fore-crown, upper body parts with rusty wash, legs grey. Grey herons are usually spotted near the harbor entrance or perched on the signs in Kingfisher Creek. Heron, Grey, are common in shallow water, usually solitary.
They are described as large and slim, with black, white and grey markings.

A early morning walk along the Tow Path rewards one with flocks of cormorants flying low over shallow waters.

The Reed Cormorant is a small, long tailed, dark cormorant with a short bill. Juveniles are fully white below. Seen in the channels around Leisure Isle feeding in the water and resting on the mud banks. Reed Cormorants inhabit most freshwater habitats, with the exception of fast flowing rivers, preferring quiet, sheltered, shallow and well vegetated water bodies where they hunt underwater, primarily for fish as well as frogs, crustaceans and molluscs, either singly or in small groups. They often rest with wings outstretched to dry.